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CONNECTICUT COUNCIL ON DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
Council Public Forum and Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 10, 2022, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
(Online via Microsoft Teams)
The 237th meeting of the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities was held on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, from 10:04 a.m. to 12:57 p.m. on Microsoft Teams. It was the Council’s Public Forum.
Presiding: James Hexter, Chair
Recorder of Minutes: Donna Devin, Program Assistant
Members Present: Emily Ball, Michelle Baughman, Chuck Bergamo, April Burke, Andy Cirioli, Kevin Daly, Antonia Edwards, Lynn Frith, James Hexter, Chair; Shannon Jacovino, Bryan Klimkiewicz, Doris Maldonado Mendez, Vice Chair; Kaitlynn Ramos, Santina Sciaba-Douglas, Amy Soto, Brenda Stenglein, Jennifer Switalski, Tara Viens
Members Absent: Louis St. Felix
Staff: Walter Glomb, Director
Members of the Public: Molly Cole, Tom Cosker, Win Evarts, Aimee (guest), Jordan Fairchild, Pamela Fields, Melissa Kremmel, Elizabeth LaFlamme, Susan Lucek, Michael Menard, Carol Scully, Amanda Sechow (ASL Interpreter), Self Advocate (online guest username)
1. Greetings from Council Chair:James Hexter, Chair, opened the public forum segment of the meeting by welcoming everyone in attendance. He invited members of the public to voice their concerns and opinions.
2. Council Overview: Walter Glomb, Council Director, reviewed the Council’s new Five-Year Plan that started October 1, 2021. He summarized its three goals and gave an update on the current developments in those areas.
3. Comments from Members of the Public:Molly Cole, Executive Director, Connecticut State Living Council, felt this legislative session demonstrated some serious declines in support in certain areas for people with disabilities. She sees it as a concerning slide in attitude that needs to be addressed. To assist the Council in meeting one of its objectives, she wants to mobilize Partners in Policymaking grads and join forces to bring about system change. The Council has funded Partners substantially over the years and it can be used to address some very serious concerns now.
James Hexter, Chair, thanked Molly for sharing her thoughts. He wants to see Partners grads collaborate on future Legislative sessions, as well as administrative, advocacy or education at the administrative level.
Doris Maldonado Mendez, Vice Chair was disappointed the last Partners reunion was in 2016. Although some grads have gone on to do amazing work, others have fallen by the wayside. She wondered what happened to all the great products and projects, what they were and who has them, and how can we get them into the hands of people in the disability community.
Molly agreed with Doris and James and noted a lot people on the Council are former Partners’ grads. She said “This is a very serious time for people with disabilities, that Covid has really impacted people substantially, and food and housing shortages are abysmal for the people we serve. It’s our responsibility to take what we have and use it.”
Walt Glomb, Council Director said the most effective use of the Council’s money is having grants go to nonprofit organizations to do work. The Council relies on these other organizations to submit grant applications that contain actions the Council can fund to address these issues. A proposal needs to be submitted to the Council addressing outreach to Partners grads and the compilation and archiving of their projects.
Win Evarts, Executive Director, Arc of Connecticut, spoke about the Parent Leadership and Encouragement Group. Formerly, it was Parents with Cognitive Limitations Group and was started with Council funding. They have developed a website with much information for people with cognitive issues and are looking for help. The site is very user friendly and written in very plain language. Recently, they were given a grant from another entity to produce videos on Covid and staying healthy. The grant is ending soon and Win doesn’t want to see the group fall apart. He wants people interested in assisting them to reach out to him.
Walter Glomb, Council Director, put the word out he would like to engage in a discussion with other nonprofit organizations about alternative sources of support. He discussed a project he’s begun, to build connections with major foundations, charities, and philanthropic organizations in Connecticut, to find common cause and develop a kind of agreement with them.
James Hexter, Chair, encouraged organizations seeking grant funding from the Council to apply when the next fiscal year begins in September. He thanked the members of the public for their comments and proceeded to the next item on the Council’s agenda.
4. Call to Order: With a quorum present, James Hexter, Chair, called the business portion of the meeting to order at 11:08 a.m.
5. Approval of Agenda:April Burke, motioned to approve the agenda. Doris Maldonado Mendez, Vice Chair seconded the motion. The agenda was approved.
6. Approval of Minutes from March 8, 2022, Council Meeting: Kevin Daly motioned to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Michelle Baughman. The minutes were approved.
7. Report from the Council Director: Walter Glomb, Council Director, said the conference on assistive technology by the MidState Arc being held on July 18, and 19, in Mystic, CT, is coming together very smoothly. Their site visit is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, at 10:00 a.m. on Microsoft Teams.
Walt has started building solid relationships with Healthy Equity Solutions, the Ministerial Health Fellowship, and African Caribbean American Parents of Children Disabilities (AFCAMP) and has met with all of them. He expects to see grants from them in the upcoming year.
Western Connecticut Association for Human Rights (WeCAHR) has been doing trainings at Southbury Training Institute. People First of Connecticut President, Josh Meyers, has been on-site providing advocacy training and working directly with residents on some of their concerns. A site visit is scheduled for Monday, May 16, at 10:00 a.m. on Microsoft Teams
Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) continues to produce quality webinars with the Legal Rights Project and the Center for Children’s Advocacy. A site visit is scheduled for Monday, May 23, at 10:00 a.m. on Microsoft Teams.
Futures has begun providing assistance to individuals with disabilities to create food service businesses. Walt is fostering a connection between Futures and the Social Enterprise Trust (ReSET), a Hartford based organization with their own resources, focused on people with disabilities. He hopes to see a partnership blossom. Futures has a site visit scheduled for Thursday, June 2, at 11:30 a.m. on Microsoft Teams.
Payton Jameson Grit & Flo hosted a meet and greet at the end of March with assistance from the Council. Walt was concerned about a lot of organizations being “trained out” on the topic of supported employment and job development. Their first training session was at the end of April. A site visit is scheduled with Payton Jameson for Wednesday, May 25, at 3:00 p.m. on Zoom.
Keep The Promise Coalition (KTP) has been hosting their monthly meetings and their attention remains on the Legislative session. The site visit for KTP is scheduled for Thursday, May 12, at 3:00 p.m.
Parents Available to Help (PATH) is continuing their Parent to Parent training sessions in LifeCourse with Sherri Romblad. CT-KASA is holding their monthly meetings. PATH has a site visit scheduled for Tuesday, May 24, at 11:00 a.m. on Zoom.
Although the Council didn’t fund People First of Connecticut during the current fiscal year, Walt has been meeting with their board and assisting them with their planning. He’s helped them with two of their statewide meetings that covered the topics of legislative advocacy and municipal services.
The State Independent Living Council (SILC) took over the Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance and is undergoing reorganization. The SILC also runs the very successful Partners in Policymaking which is on month four. The site visit for the SILC is on Monday, May 23, at 11:30 a.m. on Microsoft Teams.
The Down Syndrome Association has assembled a steering committee and is holding a conference centered around Down Syndrome and aging. It will be a model for other disability communities to use. DSA has a site visit scheduled for Thursday, May 26, at 2:00 p.m. on Microsoft Teams.
During the upcoming months, Walt will be working on providing the Governor an annual review and analysis on all Connecticut councils focused on developmental disabilities.
A meeting has been arranged in June between Walt and Claudio Gualtieri, the Senior Policy Advisor for Health and Human Services at the Office of Policy and Management. He was a former lobbyist for the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) to the Connecticut Legislature and a national lobbyist for AARP to the U.S. Congress. His experience advocating and lobbying with the nonprofit social services world makes him an important contact for the Council.
The Council was awarded $95,000 in a grant from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to create a new national Community of Practice focused on bridging the disability service networks and aging service networks. The funding must be spent on Community Health Workers to expand the public workforce serving people with developmental disabilities. Walt is working with William Zaragoza from the Community Health Workers Association of Connecticut, recognized by the Connecticut State Office of Health Strategy as the organization that trains and certifies Community Health Workers. A key player in this venture is Health Equity Solutions who are experienced in dealing with marginalized and underserved communities.
The National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities NACDD gave the Council $5,000 in funding to become one of the first five states in the new National Community of Practice. The Council will be working with the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), the State Unit on Aging, the State Independent Living Council (SILC), The Arc of Connecticut, the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), and Home Equity Solutions.
A Legislative Task Force was set up by a special act in 2018 to study the short and long term needs of individuals with intellectual disabilities. At that time, the people behind this were hostile to the Council, but when the Covid hiatus ended and the task force was finally assembled, Orville Karan, Education Psychology Professor at University of Connecticut University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCONN UCEDD) was named as its Chair. He is a long-time advocate and professional in the area being studied. Walt has known Dr. Karan for 30 years and was invited by him to speak to the Task Force on May 19, about the Council’s view on the unmet needs of individuals. With his assistance, a stronger bridge can be built and the Council can be more of a resource to the Legislature.
Charles Bergamo asked if Council members would have to pay full price for tickets to the MidState Arc Assistive Technology Conference. Walt said there is portion of the conference for just families and individuals that will only cost $40.
Bryan Klimkiewicz offered his support to the conference and will promote it to increase awareness of the new IEP being rolled out by the State Department of Education (CSDE) in July. It contains a new section called Supplementary Aids and Services that expands on assistive technology and accommodations.
Brenda Stenglein asked if he was suggesting using the conference to introduce the new IEP.
Walt acknowledged agencies and people in attendance need to see what the new IEP looks like, and how agencies, especially in the transition years, can be a part of that and knowledgeable about how to address the needs of young people coming into adulthood. He raised the possibility of setting up an exhibit table.
Doris Maldonado Mendez, Vice Chair, is contracted by the national Got Transition Group, and along with Family Voices, wanted to know how they could collaborate with CSDE to get the word out about the new IEP. She has a meeting scheduled with the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) and PATH CT to discuss the IEP changes and the transition piece.
Bryan welcomed the opportunity for collaboration. He said the Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) is working with CSDE on a training series and the Public Consulting Group (PCG) is partnering with them for this initiative. They have created a variety of resources for parents.
Doris asked how CT-KASA could promote the new IEP with CSDE.
Bryan acknowledged there wasn’t much time before the launch, but the CSDE has been partnering with the State Educational Resource Center (SERC) to meet with a variety of student youth advisory groups. He encouraged Doris to connect him with CT-KASA.
Michelle Baughman asked Bryan if he could post the link where the resources for the new IEP roll-out could be found. Bryan said all of the recordings, demos and slide shows can be accessed on the following site: https://portal.ct.gov/SDE/Special-Education/New-IEP/New-IEP-CT-SEDS
Jennifer Switalski said the statewide coordinator for the State Unit on Aging is returning to the office in July and will be able to provide an overview of the Choices Program and how to access it. The presentations are free of charge and offered in various languages. The agency has been working hard on accessibility and ensuring materials are tailored to those with vision impairments. They also have a Center for Independent Living provider that is ASL trained. A link was provided regarding Medicaid and Medicare questions: CHOICES Connecticuts program for Health insurance assistance Outreach Information and referral Couns
8. Report From the Membership and Support Committee:April Burke, the Chair of the Committee, spoke on behalf of it. At their meeting on Monday, May 9, the Committee discussed the six openings on the Council. Two of the slots are for representatives from nonprofit organizations, two are for individuals who are family members and two are for self advocates.
Charles Bergamo said the Committee is reaching out to two specific nonprofit groups to ask if they’re interested in serving on the Council. They will make the recommendations to the Council after they receive the applications. Council members should think about individuals they would like to serve on the Council.
Walter Glomb, Council Director, asked for interested parties to contact him, and Donna Devin will send them an application. He encouraged Council members to consider people from amongst advocates they know, what they bring to the Council in terms of lived experience as a family member or individual, what they can contribute and where they’re coming from.
Walt thanked Brenda Stenglein for speaking up about the Council membership issue and requesting a meeting with him, Doris Maldonado, Vice Chair, and Donna Devin, to work on a solution. Walt has connected with someone from the Governor’s Office who understands how a federally mandated program works. His goal is to shorten the length of time between submitting a Council recommended application and a new member’s receipt of their confirmation letter from the Governor’s Office. Eight membership terms will expire per year, but some members will reapply to serve a second term.
Brenda Stenglein asked if the newer Council members would receive an introduction notebook that Molly Cole had created.
Previously, Walt emailed Council members a link to review the materials at the Information and Technical Assistance Center (ITACC) website. Only one member sent him feedback on the PowerPoints slides. He’ll resend the link. The binder of orientation information is being edited due to changes since Covid.
Michelle Baughman would like to see a mentorship begun for new Council members. She explained that communication on an ongoing basis is very important to someone with her type of disability, because they need to feel a sense of psychological safety in order to effectively be present and participate in the meetings. She said having that connection, the ongoing relationship, to be able to ask questions, is really important.
Walt Glomb, Council Director, thinks it’s a great idea. It’s a matter of who is willing to volunteer to be a mentor, the process, and how formal and structured it will be. He wants to discuss it during the Council’s orientation meeting on Tuesday, June 2. It will be a combination orientation and work group for the attendees.
Doris Maldonado Mendez, Vice Chair, stressed the importance of new members having a suitable amount of time available in their schedules to devote to the Council. She pointed out the position is intense and requires time and energy. Also, technology for connectivity is a requirement.
9. Announcements and Adjournment:April Burke made a motion for adjournment. Kevin Daly seconded the motion. The meeting concluded at 12:57 p.m. The next Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 12, 2022, online via MS Teams.