Minnesota Statewide Independent Living Council"Creating the future of Independent Living through guidance and direction from people with disabilities"
Meeting Minutes for January 25, 2007
Members Present: Bryan Jensen, Mark Eggen, Hulet Sherry, Adrienne Haugen, Lois Johnson, Julia Washenberger, Roberta Cich, Vicki Dalle Molle, Judy Sanders, Ann Zick, Barbara Chromy, Larry Lura, David Sherwood-Gabrielson (ex-officio), Linda Lingen (ex-officio).
Members Absent: Connie Lee Berg (excused)
Guests Present: Steve Thovson
Staff Present: Gail Lundeen, Brad Westerlund
Welcome and Introductions
The Chair brought the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Members introduced themselves.
Approval of December Minutes and January Agenda
Roberta asked the Council if they had any revisions to the December minutes. Judy moved that the minutes be approved as written. Mark seconded the motion. Adrienne Haugen asked that if members are listed as absent, that it also be documented if the absence was excused. The motion carried, with all in favor.
Roberta asked if there were any additions to the agenda. Vicki Dalle Molle asked to speak briefly about the Metropolitan Association of Centers for Independent Living (MACIL) plan for the use of Part B dollars. This topic was placed under the SILC Congress section. Lois asked to have five minutes to speak about the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC). Roberta said that there would be time under the announcements. Adrienne asked to have five minutes during the announcements. Brad asked to speak about the 704 report during the SILC Congress section. Ann moved to accept the January 25 agenda as revised. Mark seconded. The motion carried, with all in favor.
Adrienne asked members to identify themselves before they speak, so she can know where to look and who is speaking. Adrienne asked about hiring a PCA to help locate who is talking. Adrienne asked for print documents to be in a different font. The font that she uses is Franklin gothic heavy. Brad indicated that he will make every effort to ensure SILC documents are printed and sent in an accessible font. Discussion followed.
Judy asked that materials be sent to the Council in a more timely-manner. Vicki asked Judy how much time in advance SSB needs the materials, in order to Braille and send them out. Judy stated that it should be sent to SSB seven days in advance of the event. Discussion followed.
Network of CIL's Presentation- Steve Thovson
Steve Thovson, SWCIL E.D., provided an overview of the status of the independent living services provided by Centers for Independent Living as it relates to the development of a statewide network of Centers for Independent Living.
Steve discussed the status of MN counties receiving IL services funded by core IL appropriations.
A map with the current funding levels for the CIL's in Minnesota was shown, along with the areas of the state that are currently unserved and underserved.
Steve provided a chart which identified the areas of the state that would be served if the base funding level was at $500,000.
Steve worked with the University of Montana to identify the costs of opening a new center and in which location a new CIL would benefit Minnesota the most.
Bryan Jensen talked about home based offices, and thought that this would be a less expensive option. Steve agreed, but commented that this option does not work for every location and in every situation.
Ann Zick talked about satellite offices, and whether or not the CIL satellite offices can do core services. Ann asked if Satellite offices function solely on fee for service or do they receive core IL dollars from the Center to provide services. Discussion followed.
Vicki Dalle Molle asked Steve to summarize MACIL's proposal for the network and the attainment of the base funding level, and it's implications for the SPIL. Steve said that the ultimate objective is to develop a succinct plan, which better identifies where a new CIL will be located, and a plan that would be able to accurately document the state's populations and use this data to make recommendations for new CIL's. We need to outline what Minnesota needs down the road, in order for us to address the unserved and underserved issues in the state.
Other comments made were:
- Money is always needed to run centers. The day when a small amount of start up dollars could be provided and a Center could then obtain other revenue streams is gone. Federal dollars fund the Center's ‘core services'. United Way does not fund core services. Counties, a former source of funding, have little capacity to support the CILS.
- Census data, though imperfect, is useful to map out population of people with disabilities, how far they would have to drive to Center.
- New center's location must be carefully planned.
- Client numbers are driven by having stable staff. Staff needs to live in the community they serve.
- MACIL has yet to make recommendations about where the next Center would be located, once the Centers are brought up to base funding level of $500,000.
(Please see the attached MACIL Network Plan (ATTACHMENT 1)
SILC Congress Reports: Julia Washenberger, Ann Zick and Roberta Cich.
Brad Westerlund, Roberta Cich, Julia Washenberger, and Ann Zick attended the National SILC Congress in New Orleans January 11-15.
Some of the primary themes were:
- Disaster Preparedness. Does the SILC want to make disaster preparedness for people with disabilities one of their priorities?
- There was little to no disaster planning in New Orleans. People with disabilities were particularly hit hard.
- There were problems with FEMA and Red Cross capacity to help people with disabilities. Red Cross is in litigation. FEMA has been instructed to hire a disability coordinator.
- The SILC and CILs should have a role in each state's disaster preparedness plan. Zick has sent out a questionnaire to the CIL directors asking for information on disaster preparedness.
- SILC Congress materials have been distributed to members. In preparation for the February retreat to write the SPIL, members should review the SILC quiz on pages 28-29 and "What every SILC Member Should Know: A Self-Administered Test" (pages 37-39)
- The SPIL outcomes need to be measurable.
- Jennifer Sheehy Keller, Special Assistant for Employment to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and Acting Deputy Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration, pointed to Minnesota as being a ‘front runner' in the area of youth transition. She expressly spoke about Minnesota's Disability Mentoring Day.
- Priority issues included assistive technology, barriers in transportation and housing, and youth transition.
Members discussed the key areas that the Congress focused on, and talked about emergency preparedness and the efforts that other states have made to ensure that people with disabilities are prepared for a disaster. Roberta talked about Executive Order 13347 – signed by George W. Bush on 7/22/2004, which created an Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC), to facilitate coordination and collaboration among Federal Executive Branch agencies on emergency preparedness plans, as they impact the issues unique to individuals with disabilities.
Please see the attached notes from the SILC attendees (ATTACHMENT 2)
Part B Dollars Discussion- Vicki Dalle Molle
Vicki Dalle Molle asked the SILC to examine how the Part B dollars will be used. She made the following points:
- Part B dollars have been expended in a certain way for many years. These dollars do not have to be spent in the same manner from year to year.
- The availability of the IL/VR dollars is not well known. If Part B dollars continue to be disbursed to IL/VR counselors, criteria for eligibility need to be published. Disbursement needs to be equitable and consistently applied throughout the state.
- If these dollars were re-distributed to the CIL's, assurances would be made that they be used only for direct services.
- Dalle Molle suggested that a menu could be developed with a variety of SILC specified options such as independent living services, studies, increased capacity, seed money for developing a network on Independent Living Services, staff training, travel to SILC meetings, and developing new service strategies. Each Center would be accountable to the SILC, but could choose from the menu what was appropriate for their location.
- The Centers would regard the proposed arrangement as an opportunity to strengthen their relationship with the SILC.
Westerlund stated that the SILC part B dollars are committed through October 1 of 2008. Vicki Dalle Molle will provide to the SILC, a copy of MACIL's plan for the use of Part B funds.
State Rehabilitation Council Invitation to Participate in Moorhead Public Forum
Lois Johnson reported that the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) is slated to hold a public forum in Moorhead this Spring. The SRC would like to know if the SILC would like to participate in this forum. Consensus was that the SILC is open to such collaboration, but the SILC Spring public forum is for the purpose of seeking input on the SPIL and would best be held independently.
704 Report Update:
Brad Westerlund discussed the status of the 704 Part I report. He indicated that there were several areas that needed to be reviewed. Each section of the report was reviewed and members were given the opportunity to comment, and make the necessary edits to the report. Brad reminded members that this report needs to be signed and sent to RSA no later that January 31. Brad asked members to email Roberta with any comments or suggestions by Monday January 29. The SILC decided to plan an Executive committee meeting for Tuesday January 30 to go over any changes to the report, and to review the final draft.
Lois Johnson motioned that the SILC allow Roberta Cich to sign the 704 report, Judy seconded. The motion carried with all in favor.
Preparation for the February SPIL Planning Retreat
Roberta informed the SILC that the following reports need to be provided at the February 8th and 9th retreat.
Outreach Report- Judy Sanders
Network of CILs- Vicki Dalle Molle
Use of Part B dollars- Ann Zick
The January 25, 2007 meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
