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HomeMy WebLinkAbout201109_DDAB MinutesJEFFERSON COUNTY PUBLIC HEALTH 615 Sheridan Street  Port Townsend  Washington  98368 www.jeffersoncountypublichealth.org Developmental Disability Advisory Board - Minutes 09/27/11 Page 1 of 6 Developmental Disabilities Advisory Board (DDAB) M I N U T E S September 27, 2011 Board Attendees: Carl Hanson (Co-Chair), Lesly Sheinbaum (Co-chair), Phil Johnson, Patty Perry, Catharine Robinson, Kathryne Kent, Kim Rafferty Board Absentees: none Guests: Ludwig Becker, Janie Nelson-Clark, Amber Kent, Lisa Falcone, Christopher Millar Staff: Julia Danskin, Anna McEnery, Donna Marvin (recorder) Call to Order Co-Chair Carl Hanson called the meeting to order at 3:18 pm. Approval of Agenda Anna McEnery proposed an update to the agenda: addition to Section VI: “Community Connectors” project. There was no discussion on the proposed update. Phil Johnson asked for clarification as whether he is an ex-officio or a voting member. He is a voting member. Member Sheinbaum moved to approve the agenda as amended. Motion seconded by Member Rafferty. Motion carried unanimously. Approval of Minutes from May 31, 2011 No amendments or corrections were noted. Member Sheinbaum moved to approve the minutes as presented. Motion seconded by Member Kent. Motion carried unanimously. Introductions Those in attendance were introduced and a sign-in sheet was circulated. Public Comments No comments at this time. New Business and Presentations: Update – Concerned Citizens Janie Nelson-Clark gave a brief update on all the programs that are currently used in Jefferson County. People First: Goal for this year is to be more active in keeping the Charter going, including having elections, fund raising (enough to take members to the convention) and to do at least one service project. Lesly Sheinbaum, Program Coordinator, encourages everyone to keep an eye open for events or fund raisers sponsored by People First – these are great community events and a great way to support People First. The Jefferson County Chapter wants to thank the Board for their continued support. They were able to send 3 people to the convention this year. Individual Supported Employment and Person-to-Person: The employment programs are all going well. The goals and objectives that are created through the annual planning process are being met and exceeded. Janie shared a few examples of successes of different individuals. Person Centered Planning: This is a great starting point for anybody that is going to be on an Developmental Disability Advisory Board - Minutes 09/27/11 Page 2 of 6 employment path by looking at what their skills, challenges and interests are. They welcome the opportunity to do this for their community members. Birth-3: There are a few changes including a new data management system. This should make the process much easier and more efficient for everyone on the team to report and communicate. (Anna noted that they no longer have a contract with the County because the Chimacum School District has taken on Birth-3.) Concerned Citizens will still do the coordination and some consultation to make sure that it is a smooth transition. They still contract with Quilcene and Brinnon to provide services. Port Townsend has its’ own Birth-3 program. Project Search: Remains at the hospital – it is positive and running smoothly. Project Transition: Up and running, Susan Prince is leading a team and the students and has made it a positive experience in spite of challenges. Update from Skookum Employment Programs Lisa Falcone reported that they have been extremely busy over the past few months serving around 20 people through the County funding. Four individuals are in group supported employment at the Recycle Center and it is going smoothly there. They have hired a new Job Coach at the Recycle Center to replace the former Job Coach (who is now working at the Transition Academy). They are working with 7 people to help them do work assessments and job searches. They have been able to develop relationships with other local employers. There are currently about 10 people who are employed with a range of hours worked per week (from 2 hours to 20-30 hours). Lisa related a success story of one individual who has been looking for work on his own and they started working with him recently. He got an interview with Goodwill and received a job offer for a 20 hour/week position. This is especially good news because they have been trying to build a working relationship with Goodwill for quite some time. They have also been able to work with the Swan Hotel and they are willing to carve out a position for an individual to work 6 hours/week in their laundry department. This is going very well. The school program has expanded, they have the Transition Academy and some of her staff is full time there. Lisa is doing a Job Club for the students weekly and working one-on-one with another student. Currently working with 3 students under Project Transition - not in the Transition Academy but they still receive transition services. They may add 1 or 2 more students. Anna noted that at the last meeting the Board discussed sending a letter to the manager of Goodwill, and there was a draft prepared; but because the Goodwill management has now changed (and seems to be more open) it might be a good idea to hold off. Catharine Robinson suggested that a letter be sent to the Tacoma Goodwill management after some time has passed, and the success of the new employee could be highlighted to encourage additional cooperation. Update on People First Convention Amber Kent and Chris Millar, members of People First, talked about their experiences at the People First Convention that they attended in Spokane. They shared about some of the classes they attended, what they learned and found helpful. Overall it was a very positive experience for both of them. In all, 4 people attended. They were also able to interact with other Chapter members to share ideas. Next year it will be held in Olympia. (Note: Amber is applying to be on the Board and needs to be interviewed.) Janie shared that $4,486.88 was raised by People First members throughout the different counties. They do a fund raiser every year for whatever needs People First has. This year they plan on using it to pay for their insurance for the year. In addition, Amber reported that they have $678 in the bank. Update on Field Trip to visit local Transition Programs & Transition Academy Kathryne Kent, Special Ed Director at Port Townsend High School, gave a report on her visit to South Kitsap and Bainbridge School Districts to observe their Transition Academies. She went with Sam Markow from Jefferson Mental Health, and Susan Prince from Concerned Citizens. They were very different from what is being done here, but it was interesting to see what they were doing. This was a good opportunity to exchange ideas. Kathryne thanked Anna for organizing this event. Kathryne talked about some of the specifics of the programs in S. Kitsap and Bainbridge, and how they Developmental Disability Advisory Board - Minutes 09/27/11 Page 3 of 6 differed from what we are doing. It was very helpful in terms of envisioning what the possibilities were and hearing about the challenges and the pathways that they have built. This experience also confirmed that we can create our own unique program and that a Transition Academy looks different in every community. She related that our Transition Academy is underway with 7 full time students located at 1433 9th Street in Port Townsend. They are all part of East Jefferson Special Education Consortium. At this time there is no one from Quilcene, 3 students from Chimacum School District and 4 students from Port Townsend School District. They go 4 days, Monday through Thursday. At 8:30 they stage the day, prepare breakfast and lunches. Mondays are filled with life skills and daily living activities. Tuesdays through Thursdays they go out to work sites at a variety of locations (everyone is working). On Fridays they convene at the High School and go to the gatheringplace to help with the dog biscuits and then they go on a field trip somewhere in the community in the afternoon. She noted that they have great partnerships with Concerned Citizens and Skookum and their neighbors/ landlords, Dick and Eleanor Stickney. Anna expressed that Kathryne really deserves a lot of accolades for pulling this together. Kathryne gave credit to “the magic of the partnerships” and the power of shared ideas to open doors. DD Program Events to Celebrate October National Disability Employment Month Anna outlined the events planned to celebrate National Disability Employment Month: Board of County Commissioners proclamation and certificate presentation to 3 businesses who have provided employment (Bishop Victorian & Swan Hotel, Bon Appetite, and Security Services NW) City Council proclamation New posters featuring people with developmental disabilities working in Jefferson County Disability Employment Panel presentation at the Port Townsend Chamber meeting, including Skookum, Concerned Citizens, the County and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Jefferson Mental Health (their confirmation is pending). They will talk about services that are provided and will answer any questions from business owners. Last year’s presentation was well received and was an opportunity for great education. (Unfortunately we were unable to schedule for October.) Jefferson County Community Network’s Project MENTOR Anna gave details about her work with Jefferson County Community Network on Project Mentor. The State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) has teamed up with the State Family Policy Council (FPC) to focus on creating supports for current or potential DVR clients (such as students with learning disabilities who have had a 504 Plan ages 19-24) in order to distribute the federal ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds that DVR had, but were unable to spend all of. The objective of our Project is to develop vocational skills through mentoring and networking with business communities. Mentors will be recruited from the Olympic Community Action (OLYCAP) Retired Senior Volunteer program. The Mentors will share their experience and skills with the young adult they are matched with who could use more job experience. The goal is to build vocational skills and relationships. The initial focus is finding unemployed young adults with learning disabilities (or other issues) who have graduated, who have “fallen through the cracks” with no safety net and to try to keep them from ending up in the law and justice system, using drugs and alcohol or early pregnancy. Hopefully some mentoring and job skills will help them. There are a couple of Mentorees in the program that has developmental disabilities and others who are a little more at risk. She explained that it has been wonderful to work with OLYCAP and Bob Logue who oversees the Retired Senior Volunteer program, (RSVP). The plan is to start with 8 mentors and 8 youth. She went with Bob to visit some of the job sites, (OLYCAP Thrift, Chimacum Valley Animal Rescue, Tri-Area Community Center/Food Bank, and the Quilcene Forest Ranger Station) where there are seniors who are participate in the RSVP Program. Anne Dean (Community Network), Kim Hammers (Building Futures Mentoring Program), Bob Logue (OLYCAP), Iris Wehrle (Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor) and Anna will be conducting an Developmental Disability Advisory Board - Minutes 09/27/11 Page 4 of 6 orientation/luncheon for the mentors on Monday. On Tuesday there will be an orientation/luncheon for the Mentorees with similar topics that focus on understanding vocational rehabilitation, disability and the benefits of mentoring. World Café on Employment in Jefferson County The World Café is part of the DVR ARRA funding. Anna will be working with Anne Dean on getting a World Café date here on employment. We must first have a planning meeting and she hopes that Board members would be interested in participating. Business owners and other people who may not be part of the social services network will participate. The hope is that it will occur at the end of October, but possibly in November, and the location may be at Mountain View. Anna will send an email with possible dates for the planning meeting. Anna asked Catharine Robinson, who is part of the Community Network, and has participated with the World Cafés, to speak on this. Catharine shared some of her experiences (one was local and one was not). She explained that participants were seated at small tables in groups of 4-5 and were given specific questions that everyone considered at the same time. This is a way for people to have the opportunity to engage with each other with the possibility of going deeply, pretty quickly, if they choose. This can break down barriers, get to the heart of things, and find a common thread which builds community – the ultimate goal. Her local experience was when Community Network was doing Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) presentations in the community and they would have a World Café over lunch. The questions were generated through the presentation information. Jefferson County DD Program Budget 2012, Future Changes, and DD Performance Measures for 2012 Anna reviewed 2009, 2010 and the projected budget for 2011. The proposed budget for 2012 can be looked at in November after it has been approved. She clarified that everything she does is on the fiscal year (July 1 – June 30), but the County budget is on the calendar year, so this needs to be factored in. She reviewed and explained the revenue and expense items line-by-line. She explained in the next year DD is going to be losing about $96,000 from the budget, the majority of it being under community information activities. This means that her position will need to go to half-time (she is now full-time). She is grateful that there is still funding for this fiscal year and that “we have eked out” enough that will carry her through 2012. The majority of her position is funded by the State and they are reallocating the way that they have done some funding. This has resulted in cuts, consequently it affects our sub-contractors (the ARC, job clubs, and People First activities) and it also effects her position as well. Discussion: Carl – doesn’t understand how we can keep things going and all the connections that Anna is doing if she is half-time, because she is busy at full-time. He doesn’t see how that is going to work for Jefferson County. Julia – agreed, but thankfully we have a year to look at this. We will hopefully have a plan half- way through 2012 so that by 2013 we will be ready. We will have to be looking at how to sustain her position or have her do other things. Carl – commented on the fact that the work is being done by an “individual” vs. a “department” – this should be considered when there is only one individual that is responsible for keeping these connections and the program going. It doesn’t make sense to him for the potential impact in the county. A 50% cut is a big deal – especially when you look at what’s going on in this county and that we are doing some great things and our accomplishments have gained us recognition for what has been done here. Julia – she will be consulting with the Board about what this will look like in the future. Anna has many skills and we hope that possibly DVR will come up with more funding and she can integrate some of what she is doing with the DD population with the DVR population too. So we will be looking for all sorts of options. Julia emphasized that Anna has her total support and is committed to making sure that she continues to work, and she is hoping to continue her in the position that she can afford to stay in, and I can afford to pay her in. Developmental Disability Advisory Board - Minutes 09/27/11 Page 5 of 6 Catharine – asked about the time-frame. Anna explained that we had enough carry-over to see her through all of 2012. She would have to go to half-time at the beginning of 2013 unless something else is worked out - we don’t have a lot of time. Anna – she and Julia have been thinking and working on this for the last 3-4 months, so some of the shock has worn off. They will continue to brainstorm. Anna expressed that she has felt really blessed to be full-time and be able to work in this field…we’ll have to see what’s next. Anna offered extra copies of the Performance Measures that were emailed to everyone. She explained and made comments. For their information she also provided the pre-edited version as a supplement that explains in detail the full-extent of the work. Old Business & Informational Items a. Updates: RFQ for Jefferson County Employment & Day Programs: We are required to do an RFQ every 4 years. She did it, with some help doing the assessment. If anyone wants to look at completed RFQs (the information they received from Concerned Citizens and Skookum) we have that on file. She circulated a copy. Provider Evaluations: Evaluations have been completed for all of our Providers (Skookum Group Employment, Skookum Individual Employment/Person to Person, Concerned Citizens-Community Access, Concerned Citizens-Individual Employment/Person to Person, ARC of Jefferson & Kitsap County, Beth Hendricks & Kathy Goldenberger) with the exception of Port Townsend Birth-3 which will be completed before the end of the year. Evaluations are done every 2 years. She would be happy to email the finished evaluations to anyone who would like to see them. Community Connectors Project: Anna explained that this is a federally funded project (Building Careers & Community) and the WA Initiative for Supported Employment (WISE) is also involved. She had seen a report on it and thought it would be interesting for us to do here in our community. The project focuses on engaging local Counties to welcome people with developmental disabilities to get desired jobs and be more involved in their communities. They identify people in the community who are natural “community connectors” to work toward finding jobs for people by building relationships throughout the circles in the community. Anna will email “Stories & Strategies” from the federal grant. Jim Corey, from WISE, will be here in Port Townsend on Tuesday, November 15th, 12 – 2:30 at Public Health and Anna has invited the Providers to join that meeting to discuss and learn more. He will then attend the Board meeting and give a presentation. The project also highlights individuals’ in short video productions that feature people with developmental disabilities in their work environments. This is something we also want to focus on here in Jefferson County. While we still have funding under Community information/education, this seems like a good project to go out with, in hopes that it will have lasting effects. Life Safety Trailer: Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue got a grant to provide the Life Safety Trailer that simulates various disasters. The trailer will be parked in the Public Health parking lot and featured during the Emergency Prep Step-up class. The Red Cross has been invited also, but there is still time for others to visit and experience the trailer, as well. The trailer is scheduled to be here October 21st from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. DD Resource Guides: Copies of the Guide are available. Anna will drop off 20 copies requested by Kathryne. Public Comment There were no comments at this time. Agenda Planning Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm. Developmental Disability Advisory Board - Minutes 09/27/11 Page 6 of 6 Next Meeting: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 3:30 – 5:00 pm Please note that this is 1 week earlier than usual, as it is scheduled around Thanksgiving week.