The 225th meeting of the CT Council on Developmental Disabilities was held on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 from 10:00a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Microsoft Teams

 

Presiding:  James Hexter, Chair

 

Recorder of Minutes:  Donna Devin, Program Assistant

 

Members Present:  Charles Bergamo, Mary Beth Bruder (represented by Molly Cole), April Burke, Kevin Daly, Ann Gionet, James Hexter, Chair; Bryan Klimkiewicz, Joyce Lewis, Ellyn Little, Patricia Richardson,

 

Members Absent:   Antonia Edwards, Vice Chair; James Rosen, Lauren Traceski, Brenda Stenglein, Louis St. Felix,

 

Staff:  Walter Glomb, Director; Michael Lucas, Council Intern from the UCONN Department of Public Policy

 

Members of the Public:  Doris Maldonado, Richard Rothstein, Kenneth Cabral,
Robert Joondeph

 

1. Call to Order:  With a quorum present, James Hexter, Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

 

2. Public Comment:  There was no public comment.

 

3. Approval of Agenda:  Joyce Lewis motioned to approve the agenda. Charles Bergamo seconded the motion. The agenda was approved.
 
1. Approval of January 14, 2020 Minutes:  April Burke motioned to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Ellyn Little. The minutes were approved. Chuck Bergamo and Kevin Daly abstained.

 

2. Approval of March 14, 2020 Minutes:  Charles Bergamo motioned to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded by Joyce Lewis. The minutes were approved. April Burke, Ann Gionet, Ellyn Little, and Patty Richardson abstained.

 

3. Remarks from the Council Chair:  James Hexter, Chair,

 

4. Report from the Council Director:  Walter Glomb, Council Director, gave the Director’s report. He is continuing his outreach to Underserved Communities and is working with a number of groups from these communities to find out their needs.

The Parent Leadership & Encouragement Group had just begun holding regular meetings, when Covid-19 struck. Their meetings are held online now, but participation has shrunk due to parents not having internet access and/or training in the technology used for the online meetings.

People First of Connecticut has reorganized and selected a new advisor. They are holding meetings online on Zoom. They have begun looking at different financial support options.

The Council will be working with its grantees to identify Livable Communities and develop more promotional materials on them.

Due to the Council’s efforts this past year, Goodwin University became the first comprehensive Post-Secondary Education Program to be approved the U.S. Department of Education in Connecticut. The program was to accept its first cohort of students in September of this year. Covid-19 has thrown some obstacles in the way of the program’s start date that are being sorted out.

Tragically, Covid-19 was the cause of the passing of Craig Drezek, the Dean of Early College Programs and Education Partnerships at Goodwin University. It is a great loss to the Post-Secondary Education project.

It was fortunate that the CT Legislature’s Transportation for a Vulnerable Population Task Force completed its study of On Demand Transportation before the onset of Covid-19. Walt is continuing his discussions with Richard Andreski, Bureau Chief of Public Transportation at the CT Department of Transportation, and his staff. They share a common goal of a sustainable transportation program.

CT-KASA has moved their meetings online.

Walt has been reaching out to and working with people promoting affordable Housing in Connecticut. They are trying to identify ways for people to live in their own homes or apartments with supports.

The Building a Great Life Conference (BAGL) was one of the projects that was canceled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. At this time, it’s not clear when Connecticut will allow large indoor events to be held again. In the interim, the Council and the UCONN UCEDD are looking into ways the Building a Great Conference might be offered online.

The 2020 Class of Partners in Policymaking was canceled due to Covid-19 restrictions. Since the trainees only had one class, they were offered automatic re-enrollment for February 2021, when the program starts up again. In the future, a cloud-based component of the leadership program may be developed.

 

5. Budget Report:   The Council’s Disability Policy Specialist is on medical leave. The budget is on track and staff continues to look for opportunities to save money and cut back on costs whenever possible.

 

6. Discussion of Council’s Housing Position White Paper:  Following a lively and informative discussion, James Hexter, Council Chair, asked for a motion to move the housing paper back to the Legislative and Policy Planning Committee for revision. Joyce made the motion. Ellyn Little seconded it. There was no comments or concerns voiced. The motion passed unanimously.

 

7. Discussion of Budget for Fiscal Year 2021:  Walt, the Council’s Director led a discussion on the Council’s upcoming budget that will be voted on at the annual meeting.

 

8. Discussion of State Plan Development:  The Council talked about their continuing and new objectives and goals for their future Five-Year Plan.

 

9. Announcements and Adjournment:  The meeting concluded at 1:00 p.m. The next Council meeting will be the Annual Meeting, to be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at a time and location to be determined. It is likely it will take place on Microsoft Teams again.