Developmental Disabilities Council

Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Margaret M. O’Neill Building, Dover, DE

Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Pencader Corporate Center, Newark, DE

9:30 a.m.

Members Present: Barbara Monaghan (Chairperson), Carol Barnett, Alvin Emory, Jr., Terri Hancharick, Brian Hartman, Esq., Larry Henderson, Emmanuel Jenkins, Rick Kosmalski, HarrietAnn Litwin, Katie Macklin, Karen McGloughlin, Gary Mears, Sue Ellen Powell, Shawn Rohe, Steve Slotkin

Members Absent: Mary Anderson, Mark DeVore, Angela Ehst, Tina Fields, Diann Jones, Debra McCann, Robert Mebane, Joseph Merritt, Jr., Beth Mineo, Tracy Neugebauer, Steve Tull, Steve Yeatman

Guests: Victoria Counighan, Deputy Attorney General; Jim Kelly, Vice-President of Operations, YMCA of Delaware; Jack Jadach, Endless Possibilities In the Community (EPIC); Bill Monaghan; Jamie Wolfe (Public Policy Manager and Junior Partners in Policymaking contractor)

Staff: Pat Maichle, Kristin Cosden, Stefanie Lancaster

I.  Call to Order – Barbara Monaghan called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m.

II.  Approval of Minutes – Brian Hartman, Esq., made the motion for approval and Karen McGloughlin seconded. The minutes were approved as submitted.

III.  Approval of Agenda – Terri Hancharick asked that the discussion of the Self-Advocacy RFP be added to the Self-Advocacy Update item listed under Current Business. The agenda was approved as submitted noting this change.

IV.  5 Minute Public Comment Period – Shawn Rohe stated she was approached by the mom of a 16-year-old son who has a disability. This mother has trained with her son (using a mobility jogger) for a marathon on March 22nd in Virginia. The mother was recently notified that she would not be able to run in the 5K while pushing the mobility jogger as it would be a liability. The race team told her she would be able to participate if she were to use a stroller and walk the race. This is in direct violation of the ADA. Shawn asked the Council if anyone had any advice that she could pass along to this mother. Brian Hartman stated she could give the mom the Disability Law Program’s information and they would look into it further for her.

Carol Barnett spoke about an upcoming Fearless Caregiver Conference that will be held at the Embassy Suites in Newark on May 7th. Carol will share the flyer for the event with Pat to distribute to Council.

V.  Chair’s Report – Barbara Monaghan stated that she belongs to the Family Caregivers Task Force representing the DDC. This Task Force has been discussing how to keep family members with disabilities out of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. As this Committee has more information to share, Barbara will update the Council. Barbara also stated that she, her husband Bill, and along with Tina and Tom Fields recently testified at the Transportation JFC hearing and did very well.

VI.  Staff Report – Pat reports:

·  Pat received a “Good Blood, Bad Blood” book in the mail. This discusses the Science, Nature and the Myth of Kallikaks. This book focuses on the life of a woman institutionalized as a child at the turn of the Century for allegedly being “feeble minded”. This story tells of the impact one woman had on the Nazi regime by providing them with strategies and information to take the eugenics horror to its ultimate and even more horrifying conclusion. Pat has not read the book yet but if any member of Council is interested in reading, they are welcome to borrow it.

·  March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. We will be having our Disability Day Event at Legislative Hall on March 25th from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In addition to this, Pat has shared information she has received from our National Council on events happening throughout the country.

·  The 3-2-1 Foundation is having an event on March 21st for World Down Syndrome Day. This event will be held at the BCP in Smyrna. Please check their website or Facebook page for more information.

·  Cindi Wood has taken a position with another state agency, the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE). The DDC posted her position on the State’s website. Over 100 applications were received for this posting. Our Human Resources Department is going through and rating the applications. Once we receive the list of qualified applicants from Human Resources, we will begin interviewing for this position. The interview panel will consist of Pat Maichle, Stefanie Lancaster, and Barbara Monaghan. By our next meeting, we should have the new person hired.

·  The Public Policy Seminar will be held April 12-15th in Washington DC. There are seven members and two DDC staff attending this Seminar. While there, they will try to arrange meetings with the congressional members to share information regarding issues that concern people with disabilities that we would like to see addressed.

·  The Delaware Oral Health Coalition will be hosting a forum on May 8th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Dover Downs.

·  The Community First Choice Option through DMMA is currently be worked on by several agencies in Delaware to see how this will work in Delaware. More information will be shared with Council as it becomes available. We will use data from this report for consideration of our next 5-year State Plan.

·  The Center for Disabilities Studies has provided us with a copy of the Health Status Statistics from the Public Health Assessment summary that they have gathered. If you would like to see a copy of this, please see Pat.

·  Matthew Baxter is the new Social Security Administrator. If you have questions or need educational materials, please let Pat know and she can provide Matthew’s contact information.

·  There is currently an investigation being conducted through the United States Department of Justice concerning the “unwritten rule” that you cannot have two group homes in close vicinity to each other. As more information becomes available, Pat will share with the Council.

VII.  Financial Report

Financial Advisory Committee Report – Pat reported for Diann. A copy of the financial report was distributed to each member. The DDC recently received our grant award amount for our 2015 grant. This year’s total grant award is $472,622, which is $20,000 higher than the 2014 grant. This is great news! There remains $111,470 to obligate by September 30, 2016.

LIFE Conference report – Kristin reported that the contract for the 2015 LIFE conference consists of $8,000 in DDC funds and $5,000 in DOE funds for a total of $13,000 in federal funds for the contractor. The total budget that All Clear submitted to the DDC was for a total of $100,881. The difference of $87,881 was to be generated by the contractor through sponsorships, exhibitor fees and registration fees. The contractor did not generate enough revenue to cover the expenses and therefore is $16,486 over budget. This has been discussed with the LIFE Conference Planning Committee and the Contractor from which they have requested that DD Council provide an additional $8,243.16 to help cover half of the amount remaining unpaid on the contract. Pat asked Council for any discussion so we can proceed and finalize this contract. Brian moved that we adopt this approach that we provide the requested additional funds, and the contractor absorb the $8,243.16 difference. Terri Hancharick seconded the motion. HarrietAnn asked how we might be able prevent this from occurring next year. Pat stated this conference is dependent on several things that we cannot guarantee such as the number of exhibitors, sponsors and registrations each year. This has only happened one other time and that was due to economy issues. The DD Council is the only agency on the Committee that has enough available funds to help cover these costs. The DDC Staff will monitor this contract closely again for the coming years to ensure we do not run into this again. After some discussion, the additional funds were approved by Council.

VIII.  Current Business

1.  Legislative Event/Update – Pat reported previously in the staff report. At the event, the DDC will be handing out folders that will include a list of topics that have been gathered by the Legislative Planning Committee. There is a national issue that Pat asks Council members to think about – “Death with Dignity” or “Assisted Suicide” and how it relates to people with disabilities. Pat would like to get a feel for how our Council stands on this issue. Several agencies, such as the ARC of the US, the “Not Dead Yet” Organization and TASH have all provided their position statements.

The State Council for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) is working on an Accessible Parking Bill with Representative Hudson.

2.  JFC Report – Several Council members have given testimony at various hearings such as the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA), and the Division of Services for Children, Youth and their Families (DSCYF). The Delaware Developmental Disabilities Services (DDDS) JFC hearing will be held on March 26th at 11 a.m. There are several people already signed up to give testimony so if you intend to come to this, please plan to be there for most of the day.

3.  LIFE Conference Report – Some of this was previously discussed in the financial report. With regard to the 2016 contract, Kristin and Stefanie are working with the contractor to finalize the budget for the 2016 LIFE Conference. This should be finalized and the contract will be signed soon.

4.  Self-Advocacy Update – Bill Monaghan discussed the grant that Delaware People First (DPF) received from DDDS in the amount of $15,000. This will help the organization tremendously. Bill stated that Tommy Fields is doing a great job as President of Delaware People First. Within the next six to eight months, they anticipate that memberships will continue to grow. Delaware is working to gather training materials for organizations to help them become 501(c)(3) organizations.

Bill and Barbara Monaghan recused themselves for the conversation regarding the Self-Advocacy Request for Proposals (RFP). Pat stated that the Council is required each year to help a Self-Advocacy Organization. The Councils do not dictate what these funds are to be used for. We allow for the organization to grow in whatever way they feel is necessary for their organization. The DDC will be putting out a RFP for $5,000. HarrietAnn made a motion to approve. The motion was seconded by Terri Hancharick. This RFP was approved as submitted.

IX.  Committee Reports

1.  Adult Issues – Larry Henderson reported that the Committee is planning and preparing for the Prepare Yourself Delaware Conference that will be held at the Modern Maturity Center on May 5th. Planning is moving along very well for this. Chris Oakes from the Division of Services for Aging Adults and Persons with Disabilities (DSAPPD) came and spoke at a recent meeting to discuss what DSAPPD is doing regarding this initiative. The DD Council would like to help with their efforts rather than copy what they are already doing. Once the Committee has received more information it will be shared with Council.

2.  Children & Families

a)  Report on Access to Medical Facilities Contract – Rick Kosmalski updated the Council on the committee’s recent activities, and provided an update on the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act.

Rick shared that he, his wife Amy and his daughter Kayla traveled to Washington, DC for a celebration of the passage of the ABLE Act. Pat Maichle reminded Council about the links to various newspaper articles and videos which were shared with Council. Rick stated Kayla, age 8, was especially happy to meet US Vice President Joe Biden.

Now that the ABLE Act is a national law, Rick said that states still need to draft legislation and regulations surrounding Delaware ABLE accounts. Rick has been participating in a series of teleconference calls with Rep. Melanie George-Smith, State Treasurer Ken Simpler, and other interested parties. Plans are in the works to introduce a bill governing Delaware ABLE Act accounts by March of 2015.

Rick provided an update on the newly-awarded Access to Medical Facilities Contract. Nancy Ranalli of Easter Seals, contractor for this project, attended the March 4, 2015 Children & Families Committee meeting. Rick stated that during the meeting, Nancy and the committee held a planning discussion regarding the curriculum, expected project outcomes and logistics of time/venue. Rick said the committee would like the curriculum to include content focused on disability rights, enabling legislation such as the ADA, a pre-visit checklist, an “example book” with photos of accessible medical facilities/equipment, and a role-playing exercise.

3.  Policy & Law – Terri stated there will be a Policy & Law Committee meeting this coming Friday at Arner’s Restaurant. The guest speaker for this meeting will be Andrea Guest of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). She will be speaking to the Committee about Employment First.

4.  Membership – Karen McGloughlin reports no changes in membership at this time.

5.  Partners Oversight – Diann Jones was not present at the meeting, therefore Jamie Wolfe (contractor for the Junior Partners in Policymaking Contract) reported on her behalf. Jamie Wolfe stated that the contract with the Hilton Garden Inn has been signed for July 12-17, 2015. Applications for this year’s program have been distributed throughout the state. Jamie will be meeting with The Community School for Kent County later this week to discuss the program with them. It was noted that Mariann Vessels from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center has volunteered to talk to the Junior Partners class as part of the Youth Leadership Process on Wednesday or Thursday that week about the ADA and host a Jeopardy-style game. Applications are being accepted through April 15th, 2015.