Minutes for October 9, 2003

Meeting Location: Four Points Midway Sheraton, St. Paul

Present: Lois Johnson, Mark Eggen, Karen Larson, Mary Pennington, Sharon Johnson, Bryan Jensen, RoseAnn Faber, Phyllis Coppess, Linda Lingen, William Bauer, Bradley Westerlund, David Hancox.

Absent: Janiece Duffy (excused), Ann Zick (excused), Cory Heit, Clarence Jones.

Guests: Melanie Fry.

Call to Order

The October 9, 2003 meeting of the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Lois Johnson, chairperson. Introductions followed.

Approval of September Minutes and October Agenda

Lois Johnson requested if there were any revisions to the September minutes. Sharon Johnson moved, Mark Eggen seconded, that the September 11, 2003 minutes be approved as written. There was no discussion and the motion carried. The chair then called for revisions to the October agenda. There were no requests. Mark Eggen moved, RoseAnn Faber seconded, that the October 9, 2003 agenda be approved as written. There was no discussion, and the motion carried.

SPIL FFY 2005-2007 Facilitators

William Bauer provided the names of three prospective facilitators for the January 8, 2004 SPIL planning meeting. These individuals are Barbara Deming, Ralph Brown, and Robert Andre. Following discussion, Phyllis Coppess moved, Karen Larson seconded, that Barbara Deming be contacted to serve as facilitator. There was no further discussion and the motion carried. William Bauer will contact Ms. Deming to determine her availability, fee, and willingness to facilitate the upcoming SPIL planning session. He will also prepare any required paperwork for Ms. Deming's contract.

State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind Update

RoseAnn Faber reported that the last meeting of the SRCB was October fourth. State Services for the Blind has not, to date, hired a permanent director. The SRCB will hold a special meeting on November seventeenth to finalize the annual report.

Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities Update

Due to Ann Zick's absence, there was no GCDD report.

Minnesota Association of Centers for Independent Living Update

David Hancox reported that the MACIL directors have not met since the September tenth SILC meeting. MACIL has completed the first year of the CMS grant, for which Metro CIL serves as the fiscal agent. The grant was awarded to promote consumers' relocation from nursing homes to community living and provided funding for the provision of technical assistance, as well as the development of a workbook, videotape, and a brochure. A copy of the video, workbook and brochure will be brought to the December meeting for the SILC's review. The second priority of this three year CMS grant is the ongoing issue of insufficient accessible, affordable housing; a matter about which the state legislature has requested hard data; thus, the CMS grant provides funding for the development of a survey instrument, testing of the instrument, and the completion of a statewide survey. A research group from Southwestern Minnesota University has been working on the survey instrument objectives. David Hancox reported that the survey instrument has been field-tested and will be revised as required. Each of the eight Centers will be conducting the housing surveys.

The annual MACIL retreat will be held in Brainerd during the first week of November. David Hancox also announced that Metro CIL will be holding its annual meeting on October 22 at the Saint Paul Company -- the corporation is underwriting a significant portion of the event. Discussion followed, and David Hancox commented that the Centers are inviting legislators to their annual meetings as a "thank you" for their support during the last session. MCIL's annual meeting tickets are ten dollars, and reservations can be made by contacting the Center.

IL Needs Survey Update

William Bauer reported that Steve Scholl is presently working part-time due to illness. It is projected that the needs survey final report will be completed prior to the beginning of work on the new SPIL. The report will provide opportunities to compare and contrast rural and urban IL needs.

SILC Web-site

Bradley Westerlund provided an overview of the web-site. There are three versions of the SILC application on the site: Word, Word Perfect and PDF. Those interested in applying can do so on the site and print a copy for mailing. It is currently not possible, however, to submit an application electronically.

Discussion followed, and it was recommended that "persons" with disabilities be changed to "people." It was also recommended that future consumer forums be publicized on the "SILC News" section of the web-site. There was a discussion on whether the "SILC News" section should include CIL news. The consensus was that this should be SILC news only. It was also recommended that SILC agendas be posted prior to regular meetings. There was a discussion on posting SILC members' e-mail addresses on the site. Discussion followed. Phyllis Coppess moved, Sharon Johnson seconded, that SILC members' personal information; including addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers; not be posted on the web-site. A lengthy discussion ensued until Sharon Johnson called the question. The motion carried on excluding personal information from the web-site.

Issues, Announcements, Correspondence

Karen Larson announced that she accepted a nursing position with an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded.

FFY 2003 704 Reports

William Bauer reported that RSA has not yet released the FFY 2003 704 Parts I and II instructions and forms. It is his belief that these materials may be due for an OMB review this year, which could result in a late release date; nonetheless, he will begin work on the Part I report in November and SILC members will be apprised and consulted throughout the various drafts. He urged Centers to begin work on their narratives soon. He concluded that should the instructions and forms be released in November, the Centers' deadline for submitting their Part II reports will be December 31, 2003.

SPIL FFY 2005-2007 Preliminary Planning

Lois Johnson opened the floor for visions and discussion regarding the new SPIL's priorities. Advocacy, education, housing and transportation were suggested for SPIL priorities. It was recommended that other issues be considered in that the above were priorities in the current SPIL. Financial self-sufficiency was recommended. A discussion concerning affordable, accessible housing followed. It was recommended that initial planning should involve a determination of what is needed, then backing up to set goals and objectives. Discussions followed regarding the development of a systems change program along the lines of the GCDD's "Partners in Policy-making" program, with the new program focusing on IL.

The chair asked committee members to review the current plan to determine which goals and objectives had been accomplished to date and which were in progress.

Waivers Training

Melanie Fry, DHS Disability Services Division, provided an overview of her various responsibilities at DHS, which include serving as a co-leader of the Community Assistance for Disabled Individuals (CADI) waiver program. She walked council members through the various waiver handouts that were included in this month's SILC mailing. (Please refer to these materials for additional information on the various waivers' eligibility requirements, etc.)

In brief, a waiver "waives" traditional nursing home care for people with significant disabilities, and allows consumers to live in the community. Ms. Fry commented that Minnesota has one of the most extensive programs in the nation. A consumer can receive up to twenty-two hours of service per day, and should he or she require more than twenty-two hours per day, he or she can go on a waiver for the additional services required to live in the community. CADI waivers tend to serve primarily people with physical or psychiatric disabilities; however, there are some individuals with developmental disabilities on CADI waivers. The Mentally Retarded Related Conditions (MRRC) waiver has greater protections, by statute, than CADI. The Community Alternative Care (CAC) waiver is for individuals requiring hospital level cares. A consumer no longer must be institutionalized to be eligible for a waiver. Ms. Fry explained that conversions are individuals removed from institutions, and diversions are consumers who are prevented from entering institutions via waivers.

Ms. Fry requested the SILC's assistance in correcting an inaccurate report printed in a local newsletter regarding the number of new slots on the CADI waiver. The newsletter article reported that ninety-five new slots would be available for the year; in fact, the number of new slots available is ninety-five per month, or 1140 annually.

Ms. Fry reported that many consumers use a CADI waiver for short-term assistance; e.g., for ramp construction; then return to home care services. Counties are permitted some flexibility on CADI caps; the theory being that some consumers need less assistance than others. She added that other long-term waivers are going to this system. Waivers are always the payors of last resort. There are periodic evaluations of need and eligibility. Consumers have a choice in vendors with the only limitation being the amount of money a consumer has in his/her approved budget. Ensuring a waiver consumer's health and safety is the county's responsibility, and the state takes this concern very seriously. All waivers are fifty percent State dollars, and fifty percent Federal.

Ms. Fry briefly discussed cuts, but added that Minnesota has made it as hard as possible to get oneself placed into an institution and very easy to get out. Questions and answers followed.

Committee Reports

RoseAnn Faber reported for the finance committee. After reviewing the current SPIL's finance goals and objectives, she stated that all goals/objectives were either completed or underway.

Mary Pennington reported for the education and advocacy committee. Work on the training manual is ongoing. The committee's remaining goals/objectives are completed.

Lois Johnson stated that the SPIL committee also reviewed goals/objectives. Objective eight requires the planning and implementation of annual statewide consumer forums. For FFY 2003, this objective was met through conducting a statewide needs survey.

Visitors' Comments

There were no visitor comments.

Next Meeting, Adjournment

The next SILC meeting will be on December 11, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton, St. Paul. The October meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m.