Meeting Minutes for November 8 , 2007

Meeting Location: Four Points Sheraton, Minneapolis

Present: Larry Lura, Roberta Cich, Ann Zick, Hulet Sherry, Judy Sanders, Vicki Dalle-Molle, Julia Washenberger, David Sherwood-Gabrielson (ex-officio), Brad Westerlund (staff), Gail Lundeen (staff), Linda Lingen (ex-officio), and Ann Roscoe (ex-officio).

Absent: Mark Eggen (Excused), Connie Lee Berg (Excused) and Barbara Chromy.

Guests: David Hancox.

Approval of October Minutes and November Agenda

Roberta asked if there were any revisions to the October 2007 minutes. Ann listed corrections to minutes of last meeting that had already been discussed with Brad regarding reporting of attendance and the number of people who would be sent to the SILC conference. Brad reported that at the time of his conversation with Ann regarding the corrections, the minutes had already been sent to members. However, Brad has included those corrections in an alternative version of the minutes. Judy moved, Larry seconded – approved as sent.

Ann Zick pointed out that under Committee Reports it was decided that reports need to be submitted after the meeting, so Brad can type them up for the next meeting. Also, under the SILC Congress report, Connie Lee Berg moved, and Julia seconded, that the SILC send four delegates to the Congress.

Judy Sanders moved, and Larry Lura seconded, that the October 2007 minutes be approved as corrected. There was no discussion and the motion carried.

The chair next asked for additions to the November 2007 agenda. Gail Lundeen asked if there would be time to discuss SILC recruitment. Vicki Dalle Molle moved, and Judy Sanders seconded to add time for a SILC recruitment discussion. All were in favor, and the motion carried.

DEED-RS Update

David reported on progress of the RS-IL collaboration that was discussed at the last SILC meeting. The RFP was finalized and made available to the Centers on 10/17/07. RS staff also met with MACIL on 10/17/07 to discuss the RFP. One modification was made regarding the time line. The due date in the RFP was 11/2/07. However, some Centers said that they needed more time in order to complete the collaborative conversations necessary to develop the proposal in consultation with the Rehabilitation Area Managers (RAMs). Some Centers have to coordinate with several RAMs. It was decided the submission date for the proposals could be flexible based on local needs.

There has been discussion of the RS-IL collaboration at the Fall DEED/RS Community Partners meetings. The Partner meetings include Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs), RAMs, and Center staff. On 10/31/07 the Northland Community Partner meeting was held in Hibbing at the CILNM. The Northland meeting included three RAMs from the northern area and there was discussion of how the proposed collaboration was developed between VR and Center staff.

On 11/7/07, the Southland Community Partners meeting was held in Rochester, and similarly RS-IL proposals that are developing in the southern area were discussed. Vicki Dalle Molle attended the Rochester meeting and reported on the discussion about SEMCIL's proposal which will focus on school-to-work transition. There was also some discussion of the proposal being developed by SMILES (Mankato). In the discussion, there was a question raised by CRPs about their potential role in such collaborations.

David Hancox commented that MCIL's RS-IL proposal was developed after several meetings with the Metro area RAMs. The proposal would provide IL staff coverage for the nine metro area Workforce Centers.

SRC, SRCB, and Other Council Updates

Judy Sanders reported for the SRCB. She recently attended the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind Conference in San Antonio. Discussions at this meeting included the role of the Statewide Independent Living Council and how to obtain Medicare reimbursement for services. Ann Roscoe attended a transportation public forum titled "The Long Road to Work." A white paper will be available in the future.

Ann Zick reported for the SRC. Ann Zick has attended her first State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) Meeting. Rehabilitation Services (RS) has developed five goals to support the RS mission statement. The goals were developed at a workshop at which Cich and Steve Ditschler, SRC Chair, participated. The fifth goal relates to RS support of the SILC, "Facilitate robust and effective participation of the State Rehabilitation Council and the Statewide Independent Living Council in the achievement of our mission, consistent with the letter and spirit of their statutory roles." The SILC expressed interest in sharing a public forum with the SRC. Zick attended a regional ‘Can Do' conference. The focus of the conference was to discuss regional disability issues and develop action plans.

SILC Budget Report

Brad Westerlund reported on the current standing of the SILC budget. Westerlund informed members that the SILC has roughly $22,000 in FFY 2007 carryover dollars. Westerlund asked members if the current budget reports will work, and if there were any requests for change to the current report.

Visitors' Comments

There were no visitor comments.

Next Meeting, Adjournment

The next meeting of the SILC will be December 13th, 2007 from nine a.m. to three p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton Minneapolis. Judy moved to adjourn, Ann seconded. The meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m.