Members Not Present: Ellen Berman, Sherrie Ewing and Judith Givens

The Yolo County In-Home Supportive Services Advisory Committee met on the 4th day of January, 2012, in the Clarksburg Room of the Department of Employment and Social Services, at 25 North Cottonwood Street, Woodland, CA.

Members present: Winnie deAnda, Sheila Allen, Frances Gracechild, Deliliah Jordan, Johanne Lewis, Nunie Matta

Members not present: Ellen Berman, Sherrie Ewing and Judith Givens

Staff present: Frances Smith, PA Director and Evan Wyatt, PA Secretary

Guests present: Laura Wayman, Mary Helen Uribe and Sandra Rodriguez

Agenda Item No. 1

Call to Order/Welcome and Introductions

Frances Gracechild called the meeting to order and welcomed all of the Advisory Committee members and guests.

Agenda Item No. 2

Roll Call

Fran took roll. She announced that a quorum was present. Fran added that both Sherrie and Judith called to give the reasons they were not able to attend.

Agenda Item No. 3

Public Comment

There was no public comment.

Agenda Item No. 4

Member Reports

There were no member reports.

Agenda Item No. 5

Minutes of December

Deliliah read the minutes of the December 14th meeting. Johanne pointed out that the minutes had an incorrect date for the meeting. Johanne moved, seconded by Winnie, to approve the minutes as corrected. The motion carried.

Agenda Item No. 6

New Business

A Loving Approach to Dementia Care

Fran introduced Laura Wayman and explained that Laura had presented “A Loving Approach to Dementia Care” to IHSS providers in November 2011. The providers gave her very high scores on the evaluation forms.

Laura described her personal reasons for developing the training and consulting that she has been doing for the last 12 years as the Dementia Whisperer. She emphasized the need for anyone who cares for someone with dementia to build their own village of support for themselves as they perform such demanding work. Laura also explained that the early symptoms of dementia are subtle and are usually ignored. She gave descriptions of what happens to the brain of a person with Alzheimer’s and the reasons why they can’t always respond as they had in the past. She said family members often regard forgetfulness as just the natural aging process and don’t look for Alzheimer’s.

Frances G. purchased several copies of Laura’s book, “A Loving Approach to Dementia Care” for the lending library at Resources for Independent Living. Deliliah also purchased one of the books.

Fran stated she wanted to bring Laura back again for provider training because her message is so important. Deliliah said she would attend. AC members thanked Laura for her presentation. They praised her for her unique style of telling stories to give important information.

CICA Dues

The California In-Home Supportive Services Alliance (CICA) reduced their membership dues from $2,000 to $500 following the reduction in funding for Advisory Committees. The primary focus of CICA is to promote the consumer voice.

With a reduced budget CICA continues to offer monthly conference calls featuring experts and advocates to help consumers understand activities in Sacramento and discussions to develop strategies to address changes and cuts in IHSS. CICA will offer a Legislative Training Day with legislators and staff and practical hands-on coaching in being effective and educated advocates in the spring. There will also be regional training sessions throughout the year. CICA will participate in Disability Capitol Action Day in Sacramento in May. Updates on issues are posted on the website, CICAIHSS.org.

Winnie moved, seconded by Nunie, to pay CICA dues. Motion carried. Frances G suggested that a few people meet and participate in the monthly conference calls. Johanne offered the Margaret McDowell Manor as a place. Deliliah added that consumers are more powerful with a collective voice.

Agenda Item No. 7

Old Business

AB 889, Domestic Workers Bill of Rights

Fran distributed a one page fact sheet on AB 889, the Domestic Worker’s Bill of Rights, listing a few arguments for and against the proposed legislation. Frances G advised everyone the issue needs more study. She added that at this point it is not clear about what testimony could be given at the eventual hearing on the issue. There was consensus that asking question might be an effective approach, for example; How are other countries able to provide support to care providers? What could the banks do differently to help the economy to grow? How did America pay off its World War II debt?

20% Trigger Cuts

January 19th is the date scheduled for the California Department of Social Services (DSS) to present their arguments for making the trigger cuts to Judge Claudia Wilkins in the Federal District Court in San Francisco. She noted that the deposition from the state included a detailed explanation of how the DSS would implement the cuts and might not be powerful enough to persuade the judge that the balance of equity should tip to the state and not the IHSS consumers.

Fran reported that Paul Calderon, SEIU representative, invited IHSS providers to a training session to tell them about how consumers need to submit an application for supplemental care if the 20% Trigger Cuts are implemented. She said that more that 50 providers attended the sessions in West Sacramento and Woodland.

Agenda Item No. 8

Announcements

Governor Brown has scheduled a press conference for January 10 in the Capitol to present his budget for 2012-13.

Sandra announced that Jim Provenza would be elected chair of the Board of Supervisors at the January 10th meeting.

Agenda Item 9

Adjournment

Johanne moved, seconded by Deliliah, to adjourn the meeting. Motion Carried.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, February 1, 2012

1:30 - 3:30

Davis Room

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