CTCDD Meeting 11-14-17
MINUTES
CT Council on Developmental Disabilities
COUNCIL MEETING
November 14, 2017, 10:10 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Temple Beth El, 2626 Albany Avenue, West Hartford, CT
The 210th meeting of the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities was held on Tuesday, November 14, 2017 from 10:10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Temple Beth El in West Hartford, CT.
Presiding: Shelagh McClure, Chair
Recorder of Minutes: Donna Devin
Members Present: Chris Blake, Vice Chair; April Burke, Kevin Daly, Ann Gionet, James Hexter, Alicia Kucharczyk, Joyce Lewis, Shelagh McClure, Chair; Megan O’Neill, Patricia Richardson, James Rosen, Robin Wood
Members Absent: Margaret McDermott, Brenda Stenglein, Kathy Wolkner,
Non-Voting Members Present: Gretchen Knauff, Ellyn Little,
Linda Rammler
Non-Voting Members Absent: Gary Gross, Michael Scanlon
Staff: Donna Devin
1. Call to Order: Shelagh McClure, Chair, welcomed everyone and started the meeting at 10:10 a.m. Since a quorum wasn't present, she began her report.
2. Report from Council Chair: Shelagh McClure, Chair, opened the meeting with a refresher on public comment at Council meetings. A small time allotment will be scheduled at every regular Council meeting for the public to bring matters to the attention of the Council. This will enable members to offer assistance to individuals or to invite them back to a future meeting for a more full and open discussion of an issue.
The General Assembly passed a budget at the end of October. Following intense lobbying by parents and advocates, full funding was included in the DDS budget for employment and day services. Funding was provided for the ID Partnership, a systems change initiative that deals with the DDS residential waiting list and rate stabilization for providers. Family Support grants combined with multiple programs was given funding. DORS was allocated funding for the Independent Living Centers. The Office of Early Childhood remains an independent agency, but the Birth to Three Program lost some of its funding. The Community First Choice Program received funding. Funding for the Behavioral Supports Program was cut. Although the Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance expended great effort trying to prevent Medicare cuts and changes, they were unsuccessful.
The National Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities released a statement in opposition to the Federal Tax Cuts and Job Act. The House bill includes a proposal to repeal the medical expense deduction. It also contains a provision to eliminate the tax benefits for businesses that hire people with disabilities, as well as repeal the tax credit for business that make their facilities accessible to people with disabilities. The U.S. Senate's version of this bill doesn't eliminate the medical expense deduction. The Council was urged to contact their Legislator with their concerns.
The State Treasurer announced she has selected the State of Oregon's program to partner with for CT's ABLE Program. Their program stood out as having the most input from disability groups. Plus, they did a very good job at explaining their process and gave a well thought out presentation on it. CT hopes to have the program in place during the first half of 2018. The ceiling was raised on the amount of money ABLE Program participants are allowed to deposit in their accounts annually, from $14K to 15K.
At their annual meeting, The Arc of Connecticut is presenting an advocacy award to the DD Council for their advocacy endeavors and work in training leaders. The Arc's President is Win Evarts, a 2016 graduate of Partners in Policymaking.
3. Call to Order: With a quorum present, Shelagh McClure, Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:28 a.m.
4. Approval of Agenda: Joyce Lewis motioned to approve the agenda. Megan O'Neill seconded the motion. The agenda was approved.
5. Approval of September 12, 2017 Minutes: The names of Gary Gross,
Ellyn Little and Danielle Webber will be adjusted to read as non-voting Council members. Robin Wood motioned to approve the minutes from the Annual Meeting with the edits. The motion was seconded by Joyce Lewis. The minutes were approved.
6. Approval of September 27, 2017 Special Council Meeting Minutes: Kevin Daly motioned to approve the minutes from the May 9th Council meeting. The motion was seconded by James Hexter. The minutes were approved.
7. Report from Director: Walter Glomb gave the Director's Report. The Building A Great Life documentary will be shown at the Building A Great Life Conference. Plans are in the works to show the documentary at an additional 5 locations around the state with time set aside for discussion. The goal is to get the documentary to groups that may not have tuned in to view it.
The Building A Great Life Conference, a cooperative effort of the DD Network, is being planned by the BAGL Conference Committee, and is scheduled for the spring of 2018. More details are forthcoming.
Partners in Policymaking is gearing up for 2018, and a new Partners' training program is being offered to service providers. Applications are being accepted until November 30th.
The Council is supporting the Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance again through SILC. Costs of the Alliance's meeting space and refreshments are also covered by the Council. The Alliance just held their first meeting of the new fiscal year on November 2nd.
The Council's Director is a member of the Parents with Cognitive Limitations Workgroup, headed by the Dept. of Children and Families, and comprised of administrators from state agencies. The objective is to explore ways of supporting the parents, enabling them to become more involved with their children, school, and their community.
The RFA (Request for Applications) for 2018 Customized Employment Training was sent out to providers. An information conference call for providers has been scheduled for Monday, November 20th, and the team expects to have many participants. Arrangements are in place for training in Discovery, Job Development and Systematic Instruction for January 17th – 19th, June 20th – 22nd, and December 5th – 7th.
Council funding will continue for PATH's Community of Practice LifeCourse Framework training, the Governor's Prevention Partnership's All Abilities Alliance Handbook project, and PATH CT KASA youth group.
Jon Slifka and the Council's Director met to discuss information pertaining to the Council's On Demand Transportation objective.
The Council's website has been plagued by problems caused by a new fire wall for state websites. It has made it impossible for the Council to post agendas, minutes or update any of its web pages.
Carly Bobenski, the administrator for the Council's Facebook page, is starting a Partners' "Where Are They Now" feature. Posting on Facebook will feature only content produced by the Council. Because, the Council is linked to other disability organizations through social media, it is an invaluable advertising and marketing tool.
8. Budget Report: The budget is on track and the staff continues to look for opportunities to save money and cut back on costs whenever and where-ever possible.
9. Committee Assignments: Council members selected the committee they wished to serve on. The Advocacy, Public Information and Education (APIE) Committee members are: Ann Gionet, Co-Chair; Joyce Lewis, Co-Chair; and Shelagh McClure, Council Chair. The Legislation Policy & Planning (LPP) Committee members are: Chris Blake, Council Vice Chair; April Burke, Chair; Kevin Daly, Co-Chair; Gretchen Knauff, Ellyn Little, and Robin Wood. The Proposal Review Committee (PRC) members are: James Hexter, Alicia Kucharczyk, Chair; Megan O'Neill, Co-Chair; Patricia Richardson, and James Rosen.
10. Mini-Grants: Recommended language was considered for review protocol of unsolicited mini-grants of $15K per year, maximum. The grants would be reviewed during October and April. Shelagh asked for a motion to accept the Proposal Review Protocol for Mini-Grants with the following changes: Eliminate #5 of the protocol and replace it with: "Mini-grants will only be used for direct costs. No administrative (indirect) costs will be allowed." Also, the "o" in "capitol" in #4 will be replaced with an "a". April Burke made the motion to accept the Proposal Review Protocol for Mini-Grants. All approved.
11. Discussion of April Retreat: The Council discussed various dates and topics for the spring retreat. Several members stated they would like a presentation done on Connecticut's new ABLE program.
12. Discussion of 2018 Legislative Priorities: Shelagh McClure, Chair, talked about holding a legislative breakfast or another type of event with the Council's DD Act partners, to increase the Council's profile. She envisions Council members reaching out to and inviting their own legislators and other leadership to the event. Joyce Lewis mentioned the legislative session is shorter this year.
13. Announcements and Adjourn: Shelagh McClure asked for a motion for adjournment. April Burke made a motion for adjournment. Alicia Kucharczyk seconded the motion. The meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m. The next Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 in West Hartford. The snow date for the meeting is Tuesday, January 16th.