Developmental Disabilities Council
Policy & Law Committee Minutes
September 17, 2014
Arner’s, New Castle, De.
3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Members Present: Vince Boehm, Terri Hancharick, Deb McCann, Liz McLaughlin, Brigitte Hancharick,
Staff: Pat Maichle
Guests:
I. Position Statements
1. Direct Support Professionals PR – Sean was not able to attend the meeting so this topic was delayed until the next meeting.
2. Sub-Minimum Wage – Position Statement – We are still waiting for an opinion from our DAG on whether or not the Governor has the ability to require all state contracts to pay employees at least minimum wage. This was done through an Executive Order by the President. Initial feedback is that this probably is within the Governor’s prevue but an official response is still pending.
We need to get a first draft of a position statement on paper soon as our Legislative work begins soon. Pat will contact Sean to begin a first draft. We have the research that we need completed and one of the Partners grads will be presenting a draft federal bill for all to consider.
II. Legislative Day at Leg Hall – 2015 – Our Legislative Agenda and Event Planning Committee begins work this month. Pat will be contacting Legislative Hall to request a date for our event for 2015. We will need to work to share our Collaborative Agenda when it is completed.
III. Future Meeting Place/Date/Time – Our next meeting will be on October 13 at 9:00 at Arner’s. The Committee decided this site works best for everyone considering where they live and their schedules.
IV. Other Business From the Group
1. The CRPD was recently discussed by the Foreign Relations Committee in Congress on CSPAN. Senator Harkin was asking for a vote on a consent agreement for this Treaty. The vote was not unanimous so it will need to wait for a full vote in the Senate.
2. LIFE Conference Save the Date cards were distributed to all. The conference will be on January 15, 2015.
3. Liz discussed “bullying” and some online resources that are available. She feels that Teachers need a good training on this topic so that they are prepared in schools to recognize and stop this behavior. She also has a training booklet for parents and she will try to get additional copies. There is a lot of information on the Pacer Center web site.
4. Liz also discussed responses that she has gotten from the Ombudsman’s office regarding a complaint that she had made on behalf of her brother. She will be setting another appointment to meet with DHSS to continue this conversation. Pat is invited to attend
5. The Committee discussed the continuing problem of poverty amongst people with disabilities and this includes those who live in institutional care. If people live in institutional settings,i.e., group homes, ICF/I/DD, they only get a stipend each month to spend on their personal items, recreation, etc. We may need to discuss this with our Congressional folks to see what can be done to alleviate this problem.
V. Next Meeting Date – October 13, 2014 at 9:00 at Arners.
VI. Adjournment – The meeting adjourned by5:00 p.m.