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New York State Independent Living Council (NYSILC)November 9, 2018Troy Hilton Garden Inn, Sage Ballroom8:30 am to 3:00 pmAGENDA1. Call meeting to order - Doug Usiak, Chair. 9:10 amA. Roll call.B. Open forum.2. Review and approval of Full Council Meeting (FCM) minutes. 9:20 amA.Review and approval of draft minutes/September 14, 2018.3. Executive Director’s report – Brad Williams. 9:30 amA.Significant issues/major goals and deliverables (July-Sept 2018).Staff updates:Amy Wink, Program Coordinator and Jonathan Serrano, Administrative Assistant.B.SILC Congress 2019.C.Recognition of member terming off council:Carla Lewis-Irizarry.4. Treasurer’s Report – Roger Benn. 9:50 amA.NYSILC Quarterly Fiscal Report (July-Sept 2018).5. Executive Committee Report – Zach Garafalo, Vice Chair 10:00 amA.Executive Committee minutes (September 7, 2018, October 12, 2018).B.Other advocacy issues/updates.Update regarding Governor Cuomo action related to small business tax credit A.1369 (Cusick) and S.3688 (Addabbo).6. Discussion/Issue Forum 10:20 amA.Discussion/Action concerning the Independent Living Administration (ILA)/Administration for Community Living’s (ACL’s) 10/23/18 directive about optionsfor a FFY 2020 interim SPIL/plan.Refer to ACL/ILA Updates/Options for the FY 2020 SPIL.B.Discussion/Progress on SPIL Formulation/Development:Progress by SPIL Committee on Issue & Budget Priorities.Progress by M & E Committee on Measurable Indicators.Discussion of Next Steps: For committees regarding formulation/developmentof the next 3-year SPIL for 2021-2023.7. Break 10:50 am8. Committee & Subcommittee Reports 11:00 am(Minutes have been provided for review. Reports should focus on new activities. activities. Questions can be related to the reports or minutes. Updates will be provided by committees that haven’t been recently active.)A. ACCES-VR SRC report – Lindsay Miller (June 21-22, 2018).B.ACCES-VR report – Ray Pierce, ACCES-VR.C.NYSCB SRC report – Cliff Perez.D. SPIL Committee – Doug Usiak and Laurel Kelley, Co-Chairs(September 11, 2018, October 11, 2018).9. Lunch 12:00 pm10. Presentation, New York Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NYVOAD) 1:00 pm Richard Hajeris, Vice-Chair, NYVOAD.Refer to separately attached Power Point presentation. 11. Committee & Subcommittee Reports 2:15 pm(Minutes have been provided for review. Reports should focus on new activities. activities. Questions can be related to the reports or minutes. Updates will be provided by committees that haven’t been recently active.)E. Public Policy – Aaron Baier, ChairF. Youth Leadership – Lyndsi Wickert, Chair (non-council member).G. Emergency Preparedness – Daniel Fuster, Chair (Quarterly Update Notes).H. Development, Brad Williams - Lynn Drucker, Chair (September 25, 2018).I. Database Workgroup – Roger Benn, Chair.J. Recruitment – Lindsay Miller, Chair.K. Monitoring & Evaluation – Chad Eldred, Chair (September 12, 2018, October 9, 2018).12. Adjourn. 3:00 pm2. Review and approval of Full Council Meeting (FCM) minutesFull Council MeetingSeptember 14, 2018Troy Hilton Garden Inn, Sage Ballroom8:30 AM to 3:00 PMLynn Drucker, Chad Eldred, Daniel Fuster, Robin Jones, Carla Lewis-Irizarry, Aileen Martin, Edith Prentiss, Maria Samuels, Ann Scherff, Doug Usiak, John Zick, Aaron Baier, Robert Meek, Esq., Joe Bravo, Kathryn Carroll, Esq., Denise DiNoto, Zach Garafalo, Lindsay Miller, Cliff Perez, Ray Pierce and Rookmini Mangal, ACCES-VR. Henry Nixon participated via the phone.NYSILC Staff: Brad Williams, Amy Wink, Jon SerranoLindsay Lenihan, guest. Doug Usiak, NYSILC Chair, called the meeting to order.Roll call: all council members introduced themselves, along with the staff.Open Forum: Brad Williams mentioned he has travel reimbursement forms available and reminded everyone we were approaching the end of the fiscal year. Vernon said that Governor Cuomo signed legislation stating the term “hearing impaired” may no longer be used within any state language. The appropriate term is “deaf or hard of hearing.” Please spread the word in your communities. Edith mentioned seeing the old terminology in flyers and notices for museums. She suggests notifying the museum consortium.Review/Approval of Minutes: Doug asked the group to approve the updated April FCM minutes – Denise (m) Cliff (s). All approved. Approval of the June FCM minutes – Bob (m) Lindsay (s). All approved.Executive Director’s Report, Brad Williams: Brad stated we renewed our Key Bank Line Of Credit (LOC) for $125,000 for 2 years. Also, we have been keeping pace with the posting and distribution of the capacity building grant “how to” manuals. They are posted on the NYSILC Monitoring and Evaluation webpage: . Staff reports: Amy and Jon introduced themselves to the council and spoke about the work they have been doing. Amy recently returned from vacation and spoke about conducting public hearings across the state, compiling that information into reports, and beginning to work on the HOF. Jon mentioned updating the website, fixing issues with the transaction platform, staying up to date with Constant Contact emails, along with Pat Figueroa Scholarship notices, outreach and changes. He is also working on LDCEP podcasts with the goal of issuing the newest release next month. Edith mentioned that she thought the scholarship was being de-emphasized and she’s confused by the status of the scholarship. Brad spoke up to say we are trying different methods of outreach and we’re going to come up with another way to move forward with it. We’ve assisted about 65 individuals in 5 years and received feedback from about 40% of recipients, all of whom said positive things, but needed additional funding beyond the scholarship money ($250) in order to do what they wanted. Since we support 3-5 individuals a year, it makes more sense to take the $5000 available for the program and increase the scholarship “up to $1,000 a year per recipient” with a survey afterward to measure outcomes and our investment in leadership. Zach agreed, saying $250 is often not enough to fund attendance at a conference or to take advantage of another opportunity.Doug said it might be better as a grant or stipend rather than a reimbursement because people may not have the resources to attend up front. Zach mentioned this has come up in the past and should be changed. Ann is wondering what happens when someone wins the scholarship but does not attend; Zach said it would depend on the situation. Ann also is wondering how long a grant recipient must wait before applying again. Brad responded one year. Edith asked what the age range is for the opportunity. Brad explained it was 18-28 (younger with permission from a parent or guardian). Aaron mentioned it would be helpful to identify an agency sponsor as a fiscal intermediary for the recipient. Changes will take effect by the start of the new year – January 2019. Changes will need to be made to the webpage, application and survey. There are no outstanding applications.NYSILC Committees – Brad mentioned committee materials are on the NYSILC website with committee structures, descriptions, along with a member listing with emails. We still have two chair vacancies. One for the Development Committee and the other for the Consumer Satisfaction Survey Committee (which is dormant until January 2019). We also need vice chairs for eight of the committees. Also, each committee has a description, membership and purpose statements. Each group will need to update these materials to ensure they’re accurate and include possibly include goals. It was agreed that the committee materials can wait until the new year given SPIL formulation and development. Lynn Drucker accepted chair of Development Committee and Aaron Baier accepted chair of Consumer Satisfaction Survey Committee.Treasurer’s Report, Roger Benn: Roger mentioned what page numbers the information and reports can be found and asked for questions. Hearing none, Brad said we will be working with a consultant on a fund development plan in 2019 and explained the process, which will be directed by the Development Committee. Roger asked for a motion to approve the NYSILC 2019 fiscal year budget (October 2018-September 2019) – Aaron (m). Denise (s). All approved.Executive Committee Report – Zach Garafalo, Vice Chair recapped actions since June – discussion of council participation on committees, Pat Figueroa Scholarships, and the statewide needs assessment surveys (consumers and center directors). At the July meeting, Brad gave an update about the need to do a budget amendment and spend down, along with the plan for SPIL public hearings and attendance at CDR’s ADA Gala and meeting with the Japanese IL delegation. At the August meeting, it was reported that the final draft of the statewide needs assessment was completed and ready for review at the next council meeting, the email to ACL was sent regarding the Part B increase, an update was given on the spend down.Brad presented the Recruitment Committee’s recommendation, which was recently reviewed by the Executive Committee. The committee interviewed five amazing candidates, but we only had one vacancy. A recommendation was made to the executive committee to elect Barbara Devore to the council. In addition, four current council members will be accepting re-appointments: Denise DiNoto, Ann Scherff, Robert Meek, and Roger Benn. Approve Executive Committee/Recruitment Committee recommendation for appointment and reappointments: Zach (m) Joe (s). All approved. Lynn suggested we offer the other four applicants spots on committees. Other advocacy issues/updates: Brad said NYSILC sent a letter to Governor Cuomo requesting enactment of the small business tax credit A.1369 (Cusick) and S.3688 (Addabbo) for small businesses who hire individuals with disabilities. Brad came across information where he thought it was sent to the Governor and he signed it into law. Lindsay clarified that the small business tax credit has not yet been signed into law. She will keep us updated. Brad thanked her for the clarification. Brad also spoke about ballot marking devices. There was a letter sent out to the State Board of Elections regarding their willingness to certify a new (updated) BMD before it has received testing by our community. It led to discussions about how the process worked or didn’t work for the certification of machines and how county boards of elections then made their decisions about what machines to purchase from the certified list. The list often reflected partisan machine choices. Discussion/Issue Forum - Presentation of the NYSILC 2018 Statewide Needs Assessment Report:The report was prepared by Alan Krieger of Krieger Solutions, LLC with individual work efforts from Needs Assessment Committee (NAC) members. Brad Williams and Doug Usiak, Chair of NYSILC and the NAC presented the report. Brad reviewed the four key questions along with the some of the top results.(1) What geographical areas/counties are most in need of additional IL services?Kings, Greene, Queens, Livingston, New York, Bronx, Suffolk, and Columbia Counties.(2) What unserved/underserved ethnic/minority disability communities are most in need of IL services?Hearing & Cognitive people with disabilities; Latino, Asian, Native American/Alaskan people with disabilities.(3) What are the most important unmet service needs for New Yorkers with disabilities? Advocacy, benefits advisement, medical & health services, transportation.(4) What do Center Directors think are the most important unmet need in the community? Adequate income, affordable & integrated housing.(5) What can we do to strengthen the network? What are the problems? Funding restrictions, demands exceeding capacity, recruiting/retaining qualified staff. Lack of adequate transportation for consumers, lack of awareness of people with disabilities ofIL services.Doug mentioned that we can and should ask ourselves: Is there something NYSILC can do in one or more of these areas? We should make a concerted effort to improve IL services throughout NYS. Aaron spoke about issues in his own community. He suggested collaboration and looking seriously at who we approach for funding and perhaps find new sources.Motion to approve the NYSILC 2018 Statewide Needs Assessment Report as presented by NAC members and consultant: Joe Bravo (m), Aaron (s). All approved.10 Minute Break DRNY Presentation - Protection and advocacy for beneficiaries with representative payee’s program.Ryan P. Williams, Esq. Staff Attorney and Forest Cotton, Analyst.Break for LunchCommittee & Subcommittee Reports ACCES-VR SRC report – Lindsay Miller reported on the ACCES-VR State Rehabilitation Council (SRC); one presentation at the meeting was consumer satisfaction, which she discussed. Several policies are in the process of being updated. ACCES-VR report – Rookmini said the NYSILC budget modification was approved. Ray Pierce said there has been overwhelming support for the Peer Integration Project by the SRC. It will expand to five locations across the state and reduce the number of trainings, with more individuals working one-on-one.NYSCB SRC report – Cliff Perez reported that he has recommended to the HIV committee that they get in touch with NYAIL and NYSILC to reach out to more young people re: disabilities and HIV.SPIL Committee – Doug Usiak and Laurel Kelley, Co-Chairs. Brad Williams spoke about the public input process and how this year we changed the public hearings to the summer months, giving us more time to report and summarize the information. It will allow us more time to draft the SPIL. We had five public hearings this year and have feedback and transcripts from each hearing. We also encouraged ILCs to do their own focus groups to get more feedback; seven centers did this. The council discussed the pros and cons of the timing.Public Policy – Aaron Baier, Chair, spoke about the two meetings they had:July 19, 2018: Discussed public policy topic issues on the agenda and what they might want to do with the podcasts in the future.August 23, 2018: They recorded a podcast on talking with elected officials, which will be live by October on the LDCEP website. Aaron asked for podcast ideas, especially related to voting. They are going to try to do one podcast a month.Youth Leadership – Zach Garafalo, Chair: Zach mentioned that Lyndsi is now the Chair of the committee. Brad said next meeting, we will give an update about the recommended changes to the scholarship. Edith asked if we could have a list of which ILCs that have youth programs available and who is running them. Brad said Lyndsi has the such a list.Emergency Preparedness – Daniel Fuster, Chair: Daniel reported on Westchester County and its progress with emergency plans. He did not get the committee minutes he requested. Also, high heat has necessitated cooling centers and it can be problematic if people with disabilities don’t know where they are. He contacted every county’s office of emergency management to talk about a plan. Vernon mentioned that emergency alerts on TV are not real-time accessible for all people with disabilities. The group discussed emergency preparedness and workplace violence.Development – Lynn Drucker, Chair: Brad reported for Lynn who had to leave early. Next committee meeting is at the end of the month and they will continue discussion about our next significant event, the 2nd Annual HOF, which takes place in mid-June 2019. We’re going to update the HOF website to accommodate online nominations. The group is also working on the solicitation of honorary committee members and will be discussing the fund development plan in early 2019.Database Workgroup – Roger Benn, Chair: Brad reported for Roger who had to leave early. We are near completion of Phase I of the Data Interface project. The Database Work group talked about the key elements of its design after setting up an online discussion board and reviewed the common data fields and known reports. The plan is to complete Phase II next year and the remaining phases in 2020. Monitoring & Evaluation – Chad Eldred: Chair – Chad discussed the need to reshape the report from TRI, making it clear and getting a better sense of what is being accomplished (perhaps a specific template). Brad will follow up. Motion to adjourn: Lindsay (m) Chad (s). All approved.3. Executive Director’s reportA.Significant issues/major goals and deliverables (July-September 2018)Attended CDR ADA Gala July 19th: Supported their event and met Japanese IL delegation. Discussed common issues. Reviewed film highlighting their international efforts.Facilitated SPIL Hearings at Identified Locations: Staff successfully set up hearings at sites (mostly centers) and facilitated sessions to obtain input on the next State Plan for 2020-2022. The hearings were held in Long Island, Brooklyn, Elmira, Batavia, and Queensbury. Notice was given via Constant Contact, emails lists, social media, along with the prominent web posting of the state plan public input process. Five centers held their own local focus groups sessions and submitted input.Successful Spend Down Implementation Leads to Program Gains: Council able to move forward with Phase I of the Data Interface Project and obtain a fundraising/event database to enhance efforts related to the Hall of Fame (HOF). Going forward in 2019:Council change of meeting venue in 2019: In response to ongoing issues, the council will hold its first two meetings of 2019 at the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, NY property. It is located within a mile of the Amtrak line. The new station opened in October 2018 and is accessible. The hotel has a larger number of accessible rooms, including roll in shower units. They honor the state rate, except during track season. A second hotel is located within the greater property (for overflow). The first council meeting will be Friday, March 29, 2019. The primary business will focus on the interim state plan for 2020.The second council meeting will be Friday, June 14, 2019.The evening of Thursday, June 13, 2019 will be the 2019 NYS Disability Rights Hall of Fame Ceremony.Major Goals/DeliverablesNYSILC 2019 Work Priorities: State Plan Development: Complete the plan for the interim SPIL for 2020. Obtain approvals and implement steps for interim year. Revise the plan for the SPIL 2021-2023 and activate committees to resume progress toward various stages of SPIL development: reach consensus on SPIL budget priorities, develop Measurable Indicators (MI’s) for SPIL objectives, work with DSE to secure SILC resource plan, draft SPIL 2021-2023.Statewide Data Interface Project: Verify funding via spend down, complete Phase II of the project by the end of the contract year with vendor ES11. Make sure funds are included in the SILC resource plan to address the remaining phases in 2020.Development: Seek the active involvement of committee and full council members to support the HOF event in various capacities to ensure its growth. Work with a vendor to create a fund development plan for the council by the end of the contract year. Council Meeting Format: Based on previous discussion (related to videoconferencing and efficiencies), restructure FCM plan for future. Meet face-to-face three time a year (late-March, Mid-June, late-September). Have a mid-January videoconference meeting to review council necessary business. Use Zoom platform.SILC Standards & Indicators (S & I): Identify a group that can work on the initial draft SILC S & I compliance manual and complete a working document. A final draft will be submitted for the council for review.4. Treasurer’s ReportA.Quarterly Fiscal Report (July-September 2018)NYSILC Statement of Revenue and ExpendituresSept 2018 FC Meeting????YTD2017-18ACCESJul-Sept 2018BudgetOct 17-Sept 2018$ Variance% VarianceBudgetBudgetREVENUEACCES VRFundraisingHOFTotalACCES Contract141,47200141,472433,942428,405-5,537433,942433,942Fee for Service00001,0000-1,0001,000Donations Unrestricted00003,7501,175-2,5753,750Fundraising Events00-75-755,00025,36920,3695,000Interest Income039039091910Misc. income00000550?Total Revenue141,47239-75141,436443,692455,04611,3543%443,692433,942EXPENSESSalaries and wages48,8190048,819174,900178,0723,172174,900174,900Employee benefits/taxes10,2350010,23548,97240,797-8,17548,97248,972Subtotal, Compensation Costs59,0540059,054223,872218,869-5,003-2%223,872223,872Rent6,772006,77232,00025,146-6,85432,00032,000Telephone1,360001,36013,0005,276-7,72413,00013,000Office supplies6,3533006,3835,20010,1994,9995,2005,200Contractual Services24,5881,090025,6783,77029,93626,1663,7703,770Printing & postage552305552,5005,3942,8942,5002,500Travel expenses2,782002,78211,00012,4371,43711,00011,000Transportation 1,520001,52011,0007,710-3,29011,00011,000Insurance1,520001,5206,6004,555-2,0456,6006,600Dues/Subscription/Sponsorships500005003,3003,7204203,3003,300Interest/bank charges34100341084384300Purchased services26,9040026,90481,70082,11141181,70081,700SILC/SPIL meeting expenses8,83501,50010,33535,00045,02610,02635,00035,000Project Costs250002505,000750-4,2505,0005,000Miscellaneous14150019102,2212,22100Subtotal, OTPS82,4171,1731,50085,090210,070235,32425,25412%210,070210,070Total Expenses141,4711,1731,500144,144433,942454,19320,2515%433,942433,942Net Revenue0-1,133-1,575-2,7089,750852-8,8989,7500Notes:For the quarter, net revenue $0 for contract. Loss for Fundraising mainly due to a realigning of expenses at the end of the contract year. LDCEP annual hosting/server fee paid for by Fundraising to accommodate unanticipated invoices received late for council travel. HOF loss, due to accommodation of deposit for new venue for HOF event in 2019.For the year, revenues exceeded expenditures with a net revenue of +852. Spend down plan was successful. Left monies in salaries and fringe lines that couldn’t be moved or expended.5. Executive Committee ReportA.Executive Committee minutesExecutive CommitteeSeptember 7, 201811:00 AMPresent: Brad Williams, Ann Scherff, Doug Usiak, Bob Meek, Zach GarafaloBob made a motion to accept the minutes to the August 8, 2018 meeting. Ann seconded. All approved. The next item of business was the appointment recommendation made by the Recruitment Committee, along with reappointments of current members. Brad reminded the group about the process and how it ends up with this recommendation to the Executive Committee. The committee then reviews and typically accepts the recommendation, then puts it on the agenda for the Full Council Meeting (FCM), which is next week. Brad reviewed the four individuals who participated in telephone interviews. All were excellent candidates with something to offer the council. However, there was only vacancy. In the end, the Recruitment Committee felt that Barbara Devore had the broadest skill set and the most to offer to the council. In addition, the council had four current members who were up for reappointment. They all confirmed that they were interested in a second three-year term. They members are Bob Meek, Ann Scherff, Denise DiNoto, and Roger Benn. There were no questions. The Executive Committee accepted the Recruitment Committee’s appointment and reappointment recommendations to the council. It will be presented to the full council next week.Brad gave an overview of the FCM scheduled next week. He noted that there will be two FCM minutes to approve: the updated minutes from the April meeting and the June minutes (from the last meeting). Under the Executive Director’s report, we will continue the review of our committees and vacancies for chairs and vice-chairs. It will include a discussion of how the committees will proceed with reviews of their descriptions (i.e., purpose, membership, duties and maybe even goals). We need to lay out a process for doing this, especially during SPIL formulation and development. Under the Executive Committee report, we will present the council appointment and reappointment recommendations. We will have to present the 2018 NYSILC Statewide Needs Assessment ourselves. Alan Krieger can’t make the meeting – even by conference call. He is overcommitted. I will do an overview. Doug and other NAC members will need to chime in. Disability Rights New York (DRNY) will join us before lunch to talk about a new program where they will be working with Social Security to monitor, support, and educate representative payees on behalf of recipients. We also need to have a discussion to figure out the status of the OPWDD transition issue related to young adults and the world of work. We finish with our committee reports.Brad gave an update about the NYSILC spend down plan. Progress is being made. Everything is in place with ES11 for phase I of the data interface. Rocco Semeraro is finalizing the communication board, which he’ll launch and provide invites to Database Work Group members. This will be the forum where we’ll discuss the key elements of the project, review the common data fields, and other relevant items. We’ve made similar progress with ADG and the fundraising and event database. After a couple of conference call meetings and online email trades, they have moved beyond discovery into the build phase of the project. Performance appraisals have been completed related to the enhancements we talked about for staff. I continue to monitor expenses with our bookkeeper each pay period per our projected spend down plan. We just have to final decisions when we get down near the end of the contract year related to our supplies. This includes the possibility of computers, which are now considered to be program supplies based on their unit costs. There were no questions.Brad gave an update on the SPIL formulation and development process. The staff will be pulling together a matrix that will pull together the SPIL priority issues and needs based on the collective feedback at various hearings, focus groups and comments. This cycle, we did not receive one to two hundred letters in an advocacy email campaign effort. However, we did expand the number of hearings to five and have the transcripts to these events due to remote captioning. We also had seven CIL focus groups facilitate their own group discussions and provide their feedback back to us. It represents grassroots, local control – its IL. In a couple of instances, systems advocates encouraged individuals to provide their own comments. We also received comments from advocates who have responded consistently to us over the years. Brad noted one comment that was also part complaint made about their local center. They voiced a concern about centers and their need for effective board training. They need to know their roles and responsibilities, by-laws, and other key documents. The board needs to recruit new members and not run their meetings in a closed manner. The group discussed how it applies to the network versus this individual situation. Ann noted that we should probably reach out to the center. Doug asked if we still had had a board staff training manual developed several years back. He will check to see if they still have the resource available. Brad believed it to be a technical assistance issue. We could respond with a DVD and or follow up. Bob mentioned a human services board training he attended in Ithaca that was shared with the FLIC board. He will inquire about it. All of these resources will be useful for our network. Brad acknowledged that he posted the community organizing resource on the LDCEP.For the 2018 work priorities, Brad mentioned that the 2018 Statewide Needs Assessment will be reviewed and hopefully accepted at the FCM next week. The Data interface was previously mentioned with progress moving forward on phase I of the project. Jon has two draft podcasts to complete for the LDCEP, along with messaging to keep the community engaged. Jon will get to the podcasts, we must complete work on our annual report (which is a contract deliverable) along with the SILC resource plan. It must be addressed with ACCES-VR as part of the overall negotiation. The Development Committee must focus on the online nomination webpage and then distribute the Constant Contact message announcing the 2019 Call for Nominations. It will go out in early October and end in mid-December. We also need to confirm our Honorary Committee chair and send out our letter to solicit 2019 Honorary Committee members. The Schenectady Casino Resort accepted our agreement for March and June 2019 meetings and the HOF event. Bob asked of the transportation issue was resolved. Brad said not yet. We will proceed as planned. It will be discussed. If not addressed, we’ll send them a bill for the cost or adjust them bill less the cost of transportation (with documentation). We spoke to council member Kathryn Carroll about this strategy. Brad added that he is working with Rookmini Mangal regarding the 2019 contract and advance and scheduling a meeting in October to discuss the appointment/reappointments and the SILC resource plan.Under other items, Brad brought up his telecommuting request. He asked if he should make a formal written proposal. Doug replied no. We had had a previous conversation about the issue. Brad will use his discretion each week and base it on work flow. It will be communicated to staff. The morning staff meeting will be held to discuss each day’s work duties in office or remotely. Brad’s timesheet will reflect the day’s he telecommutes.The next meeting is Friday, October 12, 2018 at 11 am. Meeting adjourned.Executive CommitteeOctober 12, 201811:00 AMPresent: Brad Williams, Doug Usiak, Ann Scherff, Zach Garafalo, Rookmini Mangal, Roger BennZach began the meeting by asking if there were any questions about the minutes to the last meeting. Hearing none, Zach called for a motion to approve the minutes for the 9/7/18 meeting. Ann (m) Doug (s). All approved.Brad provided an update about the SPIL development process, saying an update will be provided at the Full Council Meeting (FCM) in November. The Monitoring & Evaluation Committee has four scheduled meetings, one of which has already taken place, to look at draft Measurable Indicators (MI’s) for current SPIL objectives. Brad worked with Alan on the feedback and they started the process by creating a first set of MI’s for NYSILC.The State Plan Committee met yesterday and will meet three more times. The staff is working on a matrix for priority issues and needs, taking Doug’s direction to separate results by region as well as statewide. Brad also had a meeting with ACCES-VR on the SILC resource plan, which will have an impact on the SPIL budget. There were no questions.Zach asked Brad about SILC Congress 2019. Brad spoke about the structure of the SILC Congress and suggested that Cliff Perez go because he is still the Region II representative, as well as Jonathan Serrano, who is a new staff person. He thought it would also make sense to have Amy Wink and himself go since Amy is still relatively new and there are changes that the staff should be aware of related to SILCs. Overall, this would make four people attending. Doug would like to see someone go from the Executive Committee who hasn’t been yet. Brad said based on the projected cost per person to attend, it would raise the cost to $6,250. He felt it was still within budget. Doug suggested Ann, who said she was interested and would get back to Amy by the following week to confirm.Roger joined the meeting.Upcoming issues - Brad said he will know soon if anything has changed significantly regarding our 2019 health/dental/vision insurance coverage rates. Brad has a meeting with our insurance representative in late October and will inform us about where we stand to budget at the November meeting. It is also the annual 704 Report time and we must get our information pulled together. Brad will communicate with ACCES-VR and NYSCB to make sure that all the information is assembled in time by the end of December, the report is signed/dated, and entered into ACL’s 704 online portal by December 31st. Brad has also been in contact with Ken Claflin, CPA to follow through on our responsibilities related to the yearend’s fiscal audit. Work Priorities – Brad noted that before the end of the year, he will need to create new work priorities for 2019. In terms of the work priorities for 2018, the Statewide Needs Assessment is completed. Phase I of the Data Interface Project is also completed. Phase II is slated for the end of 2019 with the remaining phases set for 2020. For Development, ADG has completed the installation of our fundraising/event database. We need to connect with them for some training. In terms of next steps, we’ll be sending out a letter to seek Honorary Committee members for the Hall of Fame (HOF) and are actively seeking 2019 nominations for the HOF through mid-December. The SILC Standards and Indicators procedure manual will need to wait until we find a time to fit it in around our state plan work.Zack said he recently presented at the APRIL (Association of Providers for Rural Independent Living) Conference about engaging young people about how they can get involved in SILCs and the SPIL formulation process. It was well received. Bob Williams wants a follow-up conversation about it. More than 400 people attended the conference. About 40-50 people attended Zach’s workshop. Brad noted that the next Executive Committee meeting needed to be moved a week ahead to Friday, November 2nd because of the FCM. Doug motioned to adjourn, Roger seconded, and all were in favor. Meeting adjourned.6. Discussion/Issue ForumRefer to ACL/ILA Updates/Options for the FY 2020 SPILACL/ILA logosUpdates and Options for the FY2020 SPIL October 2018 Status ACL/ILA is in the process of revising the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) instrument and instructions. The ILA has engaged in extensive activities during the SPIL revision process that included engagement at SILC Congress and an external ILRU led workgroup comprised of SILC, CIL, NCIL, APRIL, DSE, ILRU, and ILA staff.Sec. 704(a) of The Rehabilitation Act, as amended requires the review and revision of the SPIL, not less than once every 3 years, to ensure the existence of appropriate planning, financial support and coordination, and other assistance to appropriately address, on a statewide and comprehensive basis, needs in the State for—(A) the provision of independent living services in the State;(B) the development and support of a statewide network of centers for independent living; and(C) working relationships and collaboration between—(i) centers for independent living; and(ii)(I) entities carrying out programs that provide independent living services, including those serving older individuals;(II) other community-based organizations that provide or coordinate the provision of housing, transportation, employment, information and referral assistance, services, and supports for individuals with significant disabilities; and (III) entities carrying out other programs providing services for individuals with disabilities.The FY2021-FY2023 SPIL InstrumentThe current timeline anticipates the new SPIL instrument and instructions will begin the PRA process no later than December 2018. Once cleared, the SPIL will be posted in the Federal Register and open for a 60-day public comment period. At the end of the public comment period, ILA will process the public comments, make appropriate changes to the SPIL reflecting public comments, and then repost the SPIL in the Federal Register for an additional 30 days. After the 30 days have concluded, ILA will release the SPIL to the network as a final product, which we anticipate will be no later than November 2019.Once an approved FY2021-FY2023 instrument is approved, guidance will be provided to assist state networks in the SPIL development process. Approvable FY2021-FY2023 SPILs would be due to ILA no later than July 31, 2020 with an effective date of October 1, 2020. Because the new SPIL instrument will not be implemented prior to the expiration of the current SPILs, ILA is providing state networks guidance on the process to draft and submit for approval an FY2020 SPIL. State networks will have the option to make either (a) substantial and material changes or (b) technical amendments to the FY2017-FY2019 SPIL in order to develop an FY2020 SPIL. FY 2020 SPIL Options Sec. 704(a) of The Rehabilitation Act, as amended, requires states review and revise SPILs not less than once every three years (Rehab Act Sec. 704 (a)). As such, ILA is providing guidance to state networks for the development and approval of SPILs for FY2020 (the period between the current SPIL expiration and the new SPIL instrument being implemented). ILA is providing two options for the FY2020 SPIL year:(a) Make substantial and material changes to the FY2017-FY2019 SPIL; or (b) Make technical amendments to extend the FY2017-FY2019 SPIL through FY 2020. To assist in deciding between these options states should consider the following:Are substantial and material changes to the SPIL necessary to meet the requirements and activities as described in Sec. 704 and Sec. 713(b)?Are technical amendments to the SPIL sufficient to meet the requirements and activities as described in Sec. 704 and Sec. 713(b)? Substantial and material changes are significant changes to a SPIL. These may include but are not limited to:Changes in the SPIL goals and objectives that impact the scope of services to individuals with significant disabilities; Changes in the designation of unserved or underserved areas and the priorities for serving them; Changes in the state’s priorities for funding new or existing centers; Changes in the distribution method (e.g., formula for distributing excess funds to centers); or Changes of the DSE to an entity NOT currently identified in the SPIL.Technical amendments are technical changes to the SPIL that do not constitute a substantial and material change in information in, or operation of, the SPIL. These may include but are not limited to:Changing the entity responsible for achieving a SPIL objective (without changing the objective itself); Changing the DSE director or SILC chairperson (without changing the DSE); or Changing the implementation dates.If you are unsure about what changes in your SPIL would be considered significant and material, ask the ILA Project Officer (PO) assigned to SPILs Regina Blye at regina.blye@acl..Required steps for a substantial and material change to a SPIL are (in the following order):SILC holds public hearings to solicit input from individuals with disabilities and other stakeholders in the state. When scheduling public hearings, allow adequate time to avoid delays in the SPIL amendment and approval process. Submit an approvable SPIL amendment request that includes the specific section(s) of the SPIL to be amended, the exact language to be used, and all required signatures to your PO no later than July 31, 2019 (to allow adequate time for the PO to complete the SPIL amendment process before expiration of the current SPIL in effect on September 30, 2019).Amendments must be signed by three parties: the chair of the SILC, acting on behalf of and at the direction of the SILC; not less than 51 percent of the directors of the Centers in the state; and the director of the DSE.Required steps for a technical amendment to a SPIL are (in the following order):A written statement to ILA, via the state project officer, requesting a technical amendment to the FY2017–2019 SPIL.Submit an approvable SPIL amendment request that includes all required signatures to your project officer no later than July 31, 2019 (to allow adequate time for the PO to complete the SPIL amendment process before expiration of the current SPIL in effect on September 30, 2019).Amendments must be signed by three parties: the chair of the SILC, acting on behalf of and at the direction of the SILC; not less than 51 percent of the directors of the Centers in the state; and the director of the DSE.*A public hearing is allowed though not required.If you are unsure about what steps to take to complete either a substantial and material change OR a technical amendment to your SPIL, ask the ILA Project Officer (PO) assigned to SPILs Regina Blye at regina.blye@acl..Important information about these optionsACL strongly recommends you communicate the state’s intention to your state project officer by May 1, 2019. All requests and attachments for the SPIL amendment process should be submitted in accessible PDF formats or as Word documents.? The assigned state project officer will make amendments to the SPIL on behalf of each state.? A revised SPIL will be provided back to the state upon completion, no later than September 29, 2019.? Once ILA receives notice of the state’s intention, the project officer will work one-on-one with each state and provide appropriate follow-up information.? If additional guidance is needed immediately, please reach out to ILA Project Officer Regina Blye at regina.blye@acl. or the training and technical assistance center, which can be accessed at . Committee & Subcommittee ReportsA. ACCES-VR SRC MinutesACCES-VR State Rehabilitation CouncilJune 21, 2017 Quarterly MeetingDay One Attendees:Tonya Robinson Erica Molina, Roger Purdy, Helene Fallon, Mike Irwin, Shain Anderson, Mike Godino, Megan Brown, Paul Czech, Alan Gallagher, Jennifer Machucki, Lindsey Miller, Fredda Rosen, Melissa Schindler, Layne Myer, Julie Hovey, Kevin Smith, Debra Brown-Johnson, Bryan Baszczuk, Robert Linton, Alesia Simco, Laura Hartmann, Michelle Barlow, Joan Parker and Martha Jackson, Lourdes Rosa-Carrasquillo (via telephone)Topic/PurposeCall to Order and WelcomeMember IntroductionsReview and Approve March MinutesReview Action ItemsPublic CommentTonya Robinson opened the meeting and continued with the introduction of all members present and on the phone. Tonya covered the materials in the handout folders. Tonya Robinson reviewed the March minutes. Michael Irwin moved for the vote which was seconded by Shain Anderson and approved by all voting members. Tonya Robinson reviewed the agenda items. She then spoke about the Memorial Donation fund for Michael Peluso. Tonya discussed the recommendations to donate to both Camp WaWa Segowa of the YMCA in Massachusetts or the Y Knot Sailing program of the YMCA Camp Chingachgook. Both of which Michael Peluso has close ties and involvement. Tonya stated that she would send out an email to all members regarding the organizations. Tonya then spoke about attending the National SRC Coalition and Council of State Administrators for VR (CSAVR) Spring Conference in April 2017. She stated that a great deal of information was shared at this conference which included items such as the Microsoft Autism Hiring Initiative, the and the talent acquisition portal, The Federal Regulations part 361 and Vision 20-20 Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation Website contained a lot of useful information. RSA updates and the Return on Investment project out of George Washington Research. Tonya reminded the committees that they needed to have their submissions for the Annual Report. These Submissions had to be in by September and the Annual Report had to go to the RSA by December 2017. There were no public comments.Executive Committee Report WIOA – Combined State Plan ACCES-VR & SRC Common Priorities Strategic Planning SRC Recommendations Follow Up Committees MeetKevin Smith opened by thanking the SRC for their participation and hard work on behalf of ACCES-VR. Kevin spoke about the Department of Labor’s business engagement system, as it is one of the best in the nation. Kevin noted that he would like for ACCES-VR to have access to the system. This is the plan. Kevin spoke on the ability for individuals to be able to identify their own job needs. However, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. He discussed the President’s proposed skinny budget, which is an estimation of the legislative may provide on the full budget. Vocational Rehabilitation did not receive any significant cuts. Adult Education did get a 16% cut in their budget. Debora Brown-Johnson spoke on the national Convening hosted by WINTAC in Washington D.C. to which Hellen Fallon followed up with a question, on how well the collaboration was working. Debora Brown-Johnson noted that it was challenging and that the focus of the convening was reinforcing the need for the partners to collaborate, work outside of their silos and be willing to be innovative in their approaches to service delivery. Erica Molina spoke about her attendance at these meetings, as well, and her assessment of the convening and the workshops. Strategic Planning SRC Recommendations Follow Up: Michael Irwin requested information on performance indicators and how they would be reported on in data collection. Debora Brown-Johnson responded that this information was not discussed during the convening. Debora Brown-Johnson suggested that at the September meeting, to include Strategic Design on the agenda, as Kevin, Frank and herself were visiting all the DO’s to provide an update. Kevin Smith indicated that 26’s will decrease over time. Debra Brown-Johnson stated that 56% of counselor’s caseloads were comprised of Transition youth. Hellen Fallon discussed the need for collaboration between agencies. Fredda Rosen talked about empowering young people and involving their parent’s knowledge of available services. Kevin Smith then went on to talk about developing a system on how to support people in our system. Debora Brown Johnson discussed the Pre-ETS services that are going to be available. Shain Anderson related the types of individuals that he was seeing, coming into his agency at CID-NY. Kevin Smith noted that there are over 700 school districts in NY. There needed to be a way to keep them all on the same page. Debora Brown Johnson noted that ACCES-VR had received approval to hire 25 new positions. Kevin noted that staffing levels would not return to their previous levels. We need to adapt and use the resources that we currently have. Tonya Robinson informed the committee members that they needed to develop their annual report. This was due by the end of December to RSA. She also noted that Amazon had reached out seeking to hire individuals with Disabilities. Should this be under Debora’s comments? Tonya remined the Executive Committee members of the scheduled joint meeting with Commission for the Blind SRC Executive Committee from 4-5pm. Committees Meet Tonya adjourned the meeting for committee’s meetings. All committees broke out into session for remainder of the day.ACCES-VR State Rehabilitation CouncilJune 22, 2017 Quarterly MeetingDay Two Attendees:Tonya Robinson Erica Molina, Roger Purdy, Helene Fallon, Mike Irwin, Shain Anderson, Mike Godino, Megan Brown, Paul Czech, Alan Gallagher, Jennifer Machucki, Lindsey Miller, Fredda Rosen, Melissa Schindler, Layne Myer, Julie Hovey, Frank Coco, Debora Brown-Johnson, Bryan Baszczuk, Robert Linton Alesia Simco, Laura Hartmann, Michelle Barlow, Joan Parker and Martha Jackson, Lourdes Rosa-Carrasquillo (via telephone)Topic/PurposeCall to Order & WelcomeMember IntroductionsNo Public CommentPartner System ChangeTonya Robinson opened the meeting and continued with the introduction of all the members present and on the phone. Everyone was reminded to introduce themselves before speaking, to speak into the microphone and not to use acronyms as everyone does not know what they mean. There was no public comment.Kaitlyn Richardson MPP, Director, Employment Programs, Director, Employment Programs, Strong Center for Development Disabilities at University of Rochester Medical Center, presented a 5-year overview of work that was done through a NYS Partners in Employment Systems (PIE) Grant out of the University of Rochester. Amy Steiner, Manager Statewide and Transition and Youth Services (TAYS) was a member of the steering committee for the development of My and Elizabeth Skender was a subject matter expert in the development of this site. Video shown: “The City of Rochester, a Leader in Inclusive Hiring”. Noted many benefits to hiring people with disabilities. This is one of ten videos developed in the series. Question asked if the videos are available in accessible formats such as transcripts, visual description. The presenter indicated that she didn’t think so but noted that she will look in to making this happen. Evaluating OPWDDs “Pathways to Employment” program. “Partnerships in Employment” was a statewide Federal grant funded in 2011 focused on systems change at the State level, awarded to several states (10?). National statistics show a big gap for 18-21 youth in employment for employment of people with and without disabilities. The unemployment gap for 22-30 old’s almost doubles for unemployment. Data shows “all disabilities” and for people with cognitive/intellectual disabilities compared to people without disabilities. NYS was mandated to work with: ACCES-VR, OPWDD, NYSED P-12 Office of Special Education, NYS Developmental Disabilities Planning Council and Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities. Big lesson learned was how to best partner and collaborate. NYS PIE Project Goals: Job Readiness, Transition, Competitive Employment for young adults, Sustainable Cross-Agency Collaboration, Improved Resources, Encouraging Additional Partnerships, Create Demonstration Projects. We learned that OMH should have been a partner and contact was instituted with them. Core funding supported several different projects within this. Competitive Integrated Employment: “People with disabilities working a minimum of 20 hours/week at minimum wage or better and receiving commensurate employer benefits”. website connects ages18-21. Peter noted that this was run through the NYSCB using JAWS and another system. The video shows how the website works and how to maximize benefit of it. The website was developed to be able to be used independently, but they’ve found that teachers and families often review this with individuals. There’s a section about benefits advisement that calculates changes to benefits with different new pay rates. The grant is over, but The Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities will continue to update content of the website to remain current and useful. They do advise people to work with a Benefits Advisor. The website covers how to navigate the website and the various content sections (e.g. financial literacy, SSI/Medicaid benefits). They asked for feedback from the SRC, they’re able to make updates to the website as needed. They asked for an extension beyond the 5-year project. Project Search (international transition model: HS to employment) is asking agencies to enter information in to NYESS. This is an employability skills training program. They have a work skills unpaid internship work program at Wegmans for HS students, which hires many people who have completed this. This is not considered a volunteer program. Project SEARCH is in 20 businesses now. This is a project to replicate as a system change model. Over the course of PIE 396 students completed, with 247 (62%) transitioning to competitive employment in the community working 20 hrs. or more at minimum wage or better. Workshop to Work (transitioning from a workshop employment): 10 started, 8 completed, 5 transitioned to competitive employment (62%). With Project SEARCH groups, the fear of losing established friendships was lessened and allowed people to greater success. Fredda asked about work retention after 1 and 2 years. They will try to get that data for us. Project SEARCH doesn’t ask to collect long-term retention rates, but they are working to get this nonetheless. Self-Advocacy Curriculum 5-Year Impact Survey: uncertain the direct/sole role that this has made because of many other factors and programs happening, but findings show that attitudes are shifting towards inclusive hiring, families want more support for transition services, more marketing to businesses, greater collaborative partnerships, greater awareness of the Partnerships in Employment project. The grant was funded focusing on intellectual disabilities. There was a question asking about efforts to assist people with other disabilities with employment, especially in higher paying jobs. Concern noted to help higher functioning people who aren’t functioning at a level for ACCES-VR assistance. Mike Irwin: referenced ACCES-VR/COB State Rehabilitation Councils handout. Working together with Commission for the Blind (CB) on all areas is critical as is collaboration regarding ASSISTIVE Technology.Debora Brown-Johnson gave a brief overview of ACCES-VR mentioned 15 ACCES-VR district offices across New York State and 10 Satellite offices bringing total to 25 ACCES-VR sites across the state. ACCES-VR has about 650 staff and about 300 of that staff are Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors. staff, work with people with all disabilities including deaf blind except for those legally blind. Heavily invested with WIOA and Strategic Planning. Brian from NYSCB shared: 7 DOs. 130 staffing positions (e.g. mobility instructors, rehabilitation teachers/ rehabilitation specialists. The Business Enterprise Program is unique. Operate newsstands in public buildings successfully. WIOA is promoting collaboration with ACCES-VR and SRCs which is going well. Excited to work more collaboratively with ACCES-VRs SRC, excited to learn from each other for our betterment, to create one VR System in NYS. Looking forward to clarifying to the public about utilization of the agencies (which services can be used together and when). Challenges: Early outreach is important (once diagnosis happens) to begin services, better collaboration with early intervention, school, transition, etc. instead of waiting until children are leaving HS. Informing which services are available when, and together. Stereotypes are barriers, need to break them down. Disabilities can be a positive. How a diverse workforce can improve a business’ perception by the public. Reasonable accommodation training to understand what is supported by law, costs, benefits, etc. Inclusion: supporting children to be present at their meetings, speaking their voices, advocating for themselves and their strengths. Welcoming family input is critical as they know the entire story and are the best resource/voice for planning and implementation. Acceptance: Getting to understand/acceptance of a person’s strengths and needs. Speaking the language, overuse of acronyms. Order of Selection based on range of disabilit(ies) can delay or limit services needed to achieve. Obstacles (not specifically disability-related) interfere with success. Successes: High Expectations are key! Access to try, as well. Supports are key to building confidence and promoting success. Peer mentoring helps with learning to navigate services/develop self-confidence. Joint Presentation with Commission for the Blind Technology and ACCES SRCAssistive Technology (AT) services for students: New RFP will be issued to continue services (should get summary from Tracy).Erika: AT services connected to people receiving services from the NYSCB. A Task Force is active, comprised of reps from various agencies). Goals: First, to focus on the new RFP (that has been released) to provide AT services at Assistive Technology Centers (ATC) across NYS. To positively-affect ACCES-VRs efforts supporting the AT process. Also, will submit recommendations to the NYSCB for new/edited language to make more efficient and effective. Also hope to develop satisfaction surveys towards for clientele at the NYSCB. Focus to ensure that AT resources are effective and appropriate for NYSCB clientele. TRAID Project (Technology-Related Access to individuals with Disabilities.Theresa Drum and Layne Myer: How to be more productive in life, AT can be help in countless ways to teach people concepts, assist with routine actions and activities. They talked about the use of AT and offered some examples (e.g. clock). They challenged everyone to raise our awareness to what types of AT we’re all using to be successful (e.g. iPhone, programmed coffee pot, car navigation system) … because AT is not just for people with disabilities. Descriptive audio technology is available for many but not yet all forms of films/tv. Chris: Talked about access to services, the importance of accessibility. There are many office machines, educational devices, online communications, etc. that are not able to be utilized by people with visual disabilities. People need adequate training on how to utilize technology. Remote Visual Assistance” or “Visual Interpretation” can help blind people to gain access to hand-held devices (e.g. Androids), often free to use. “E-Specular” is another free app that allows someone to ask questions and get answers from 5-6 people to make your own informed decision (could be for what clothes look good together). Another AT device is “AIRA” which can help people navigate many aspects of life. Mike Godino asked if for both SRCs to coordinate to provide more joint meeting times together.SRC Old Business Old Business Committee Reports/New Recommendations Other BusinessTonya Robinson-Mayer, SRC Chair and Full Council4.2 Recommendations: Frank Coco noted that ACCES-VR will look to get proper training for ACCES-VR staff to ensure that they’re knowledgeable about various formats, needs and how to create. Contact NYSCB to learn about their forms of accessibility. Contacting meeting locations to ensure accessibility. NYSCB has the potential for training and high-tech providers to assist ACCES-VR with meeting this need. NYSCB sends out all information in PDF and Word to help meet needs. Shain recommended the use of people-use language in all communications, defining what accessibility is and to whom. Tonya: She set timelines for when communications need to be sent to Melissa at ACCESVR for distribution. This will be sent out soon. Accessibility guidelines information will be sent out, as well to all presenters. Mike G.: the 402 relates to font, standards look to use Ariel or other sans serif fonts. Mike offered to work on a subcommittee to identify fonts, point size and other formatting guidelines. Shain, Julie and Jennifer indicated that they’d like to participate in this venture, as well.Mike also indicated that Section 508 of the Rehab Act will be refreshed to reflect the ongoing pace of technology. Julie: NYSCB recently learned that “WebEx” is not accessible for people with limited vision. They are recommending that presenters read what’s on the screen. Archives of meeting power points usually offer options to display in accessible formats. Committee Reports: WDC: Paul developed a letter to the Governor that will be reviewed before submission. Uncertain yet of change of meeting dates (need feedback from Martha and Howard). Sub-minimum wage discussion: Concern of people possibly losing jobs due to higher wages and businesses not being able to afford this. 14-C presentations … only about 1-2% have resulted in applications so far but more may be sent. Some businesses are working to be able to pay higher wages to not need 14-C certificates. Data discussion. The WDC will make a recommendation to the full SRC for data to be gathered and shared re: employment in NYS. This data was provided in 2014. And the committee wants this for 2015 and 2016 (or the most recent data available). Mike I. made the motion for the SRC approve the request by the WDC for necessary employment data provided. Mike, I made the motion. Shane seconded the motion. For clarification, right now we are asking for the exact same report as provided in 2014. Tonya made a call to vote: All in favor of the motion: 15. Those not in favor: 0. Abstentions: 1. The WDC met before with the IES team. The WDC is asking to meet again to learn more from them re: current business engagement. Policy/Planning Committee (PPC): Only Shane and Lindsay were present. Reviewed goals and policies related to WIOA, Youth employment policies. Excited to see more information on Employment First. Want to see the Adult Middle Skills White Paper, Peer Mentoring. Frank: wondered if the SRC would want to explore, through the SRC’s connections, ideas for peer-mentoring and self-advocacy. Jennifer: was involved for a short while with Buffalo’s Center for Self-Advocacy. Talked about teamwork, self-advocacy, employment options/transition, etc. Simply allowing people to get together to talk about common issues and ideas for addressing them is great. Tonya asked how subcommittees would want to address this. Shain suggested individual subcommittees discuss this new service from their area of focus and submit ideas as a full SRC piece. Frank noted that a memo was issued in January 2017 describing self-advocacy, and that the SRC can work from that. Each chair should add this to the subcommittee topic lists. Transition Committee (Roger Purdy): Talked about WIOA, the forthcoming RFP that will address Pre-ETS. Section 511 addressing QAI Presentation (Joanie): Potsdam survey will have some questions reworded. Talked about Order of Selection and that presentation will happen in September. Frank asked from some input on this by the committee.Interagency Updates Higher Ed Advisory Council DRNY/CAP TRAID/AH OPWDD NYSCB OMH DOL NYSILCInteragency Updates: Julie: NYSCB has several RFPs coming up in 2018. Pre-College RFP (Le Moyne and Manhattan colleges), individuals will have the chance to experience college, living there for 4 weeks. Also, Children’s Recreation services will be an RFP. NSYCBs Pre-ETS will be a residential program at Visions (NYC) (Vacation Camp for the Blind) for kids who are blind and siblings. A 4-wk and 12-wk programs for career exploration. Targeting 18- 24-year old’s. Target is this August. Shain asked about a pre-vocational program re: training on rights and self-advocacy. Looking at Statewide referrals though this will happen in Rockland County. Julie wasn’t sure about the full curriculum but will look in to this. Roger: Advisory Council for Post-Secondary Education met with Commissioner Elia. Roger will submit the recommendations to all on this. Recommendation to re-align the Readers Aid Program to expand access to this, expect to get action next year. Lindsay (NYSILC): Statewide consumer satisfaction survey is in process. All ILCs have responded and will be tallied. Youth Transition and the role that ILCs play is being discussed. Kevin Smith noted proposal in Congress to consolidate ILCS and Developmental Disability Planning Councils, reducing budgets, eliminating SILCs, etc. Active work to educate Congress members as to the importance of SILCs. Alan (DOL): Disability Employment Initiative – Round 4 will end later this year. Trying to extend, working with EEOC coordinators to sustain. Promising practices to share, how successful the project has been. Round 6 project goes to 3/19. Project Council’s goal to evaluate success/progress of work plan. Current goal to work more closely with people living with HIV/AIDS. Working with several coalitions, Damien Center, etc. to assist people living with HIV/AIDS. Studies show how employment can help with this. Overall goal to improve capacity to … Encourages all share with networks and to visit funding opportunities page on DOL. Apprenticeship expansion grant is open through 3/18 (sponsoring entities asked to respond, to create new apprenticeship programs). Unemployed worker training funding is available. Fredda asked for SILCs to send out information to help others advocate for continued funding. Meghan Special Ed: Updating exit summary … transition planning policy brief to remind CSEs responsibilities for transition planning for students, policy brief on AT (webinar is up to provide assistance). Tonya motioned to adjourn…. Seconded. September 13-14th next Quarterly Meeting.8. Committee & Subcommittee ReportsD. SPIL Committee MinutesSPIL CommitteeSeptember 11, 20182:00 PMPresent: Brad Williams, Amy Wink, Jon Serrano, Ann Scherff, Zach Garafalo, Rookmini Mangal, Joe Bravo, Laurel Kelley, Doug UsiakBrad called the meeting to order. The meeting was an update to provide a summary about the two-month public feedback process ending at the end of August.The transcripts from the five public hearings, using a facilitation outline, will give great feedback to reference. This cycle, we received around twenty written comments and no letter campaigns. However, we were encouraged by the increased number of centers who held their own local focus groups – seven in total – and sent us their feedback. When combined with the five public hearings, that’s great input. We’ll be summarizing this collective input.Brad described the process of tallying and presenting the information garnered from this public feedback. It includes the top ten priority issues and needs. We will be presenting the statewide needs assessment results to the council this Friday. Doug suggested that we look beyond the statewide trends for regional trends on a population basis. Brad said that at some point in October, we are going to want to meet and talk about our state plan priorities. He will submit a doodle to identify several meeting dates. Alan Krieger will be meeting with the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee to work on Measurable Indicators (MI’s) for the current SPIL objectives. Meeting adjourned. SPIL CommitteeOctober 11, 20181:00 PMPresent: Brad Williams, Ann Scherff, Rookmini Mangal, Denise Figueroa, Bruce Darling, Lindsay Miller.Brad started the meeting by saying we are focusing this call on the feedback received to hone in on identifying our priority issues and needs.We have a slightly different matrix this time, beginning with the top ten issues and needs both by state and by region (population designation). Top ten issues statewide1. SSAN2. Transportation (affordable/accessible/available)3. Increase Center Funding4. Housing (affordable/accessible/integrated/clean/safe)5. Employment6. Expanded Benefits Advisement7. Public Education Campaign8. Societal Protocols9. Statewide Hourly Rate Increase for PCA10. Campaign for Disability AwarenessTop ten needs statewide1. Services to rural areas for people with disabilities2. Minorities with disabilities3. Increase need to serve mental health service recipients4. Young Adults with disabilities5. Homeless people with disabilities6. People with mobility Issues7. Aging population with disabilities8. LGBTQ community with disabilities9. Increased need to serve people with Autism/Cognitive disabilities10. Incarcerated people with disabilitiesLindsay asked if there were suggested solutions for some of the issues. No, this was just a process to identify the issues and needs. Brad answered that we’ll need to reach a consensus today about what we want to prioritize. Do we want to address the top 5 if possible? Lindsay said it probably depends on how we want to address the issues. Denise noted that many of these issues and needs are addressed in the objectives and projects funded, such as the SSAN, the IL statewide conference, or demonstration projects. The group agreed that we should support as many of both lists as possible.Brad said during the next meeting, we will determine what to do to address these priorities – the budget priorities. He also mentioned that since Doug was not on this call, he wasn’t sure what we would do with the additional information about the regional differences with the lists. Bruce noted some of the variances, but that overall, it wasn’t enough to change the greater priorities.The next meeting is Friday October 19th at 1pm.Meeting adjourned.11. Committee & Subcommittee ReportsG. Emergency Preparedness Quarterly UpdateNew York State Independent Living CouncilEmergency Preparedness Subcommittee Quarterly UpdateInternal UpdatesEvents Outline1. New ChairDaniel Fuster has been appointed by the council to chair the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee Please email Daniel if you have any questions or concerns.2. Vice ChairDaniel Fuster appointed Ms. Kathryn Carroll, Esq. to co-chair the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee. Please email Kathryn if you have any questions or concerns.3. RecordsTwo (2) new formats of maintaining records of the minutes have been drafted. The first format, created by Ms. Carroll, is "Screen-reader Friendly". The second format is in the form of a spreadsheet. Both formats shall be in use after transition is finally set. To see or receive a copy of these formats, please contact Daniel or Kathryn with any questions or concerns. 4. Confusion over accessible scheduling. I am trying to set up a system that is convenient for members to select a day for monthly meetings. Issues of accessibility have arisen several times. I am unfamiliar with accessible software. Please contact Kathryn for more details.External Issues1. Communication Issues in Westchester CountyEvery month, the office of emergency management holds an emergency Preparedness meeting consisting of representatives from various, different counties. Over the last few months, no minutes from these meetings have been distributed. When the office was contacted, no response was given. This occurred two times.2. Arc of Westchester is attempting to create a comprehensive emergency management plan. The means of doing so was by creating a committee of staff members with little to no experience in the field of emergency management or preparedness. The agency claims to be understaffed and therefore cannot obtain an individual or individuals (i.e. Chief Continuity Officer, or Preparedness Analyst; whose sole responsibility is to work with a CEMP or other departments to ensure that agency readiness is at its best capabilities. 3. Some form of discuss is recommended that the government or some sort of grant be made solely to assist NPOs with these issues, especially considering the populations that these NPO’s are working with.4. During the several days we had intense heat. There was no notification via email of any locations of these centers, especially no discuss shelters that were accessible. Cayuga county1. Am attempting to contact Cayuga county. They failed as well as most of the other counties throughout the state. I introduced myself as the new chair of NYSILC Emergency Preparedness committee and how I would like to receive updates from the county, aka registrars, newsletters, etc.Albany County1. Kathryn brought up some issues regarding Albany county and high-rise issues. Apparently, there is discrepancy over elected officials supporting some kind of bill to solve this issue. To prevent extensive length of document, please contact me “on the side” for more updates.11. Committee & Subcommittee ReportsH. Development MinutesDevelopment CommitteeSeptember 25, 20182:00 PMPresent: Brad Williams, Amy Wink, Jon Serrano, Denise DiNoto, Doug UsiakBrad called the meeting to order. Jon gave an update of the 2019 Hall of Fame webpage and online nomination process. He worked with ADG to get an online form prepared for inductee nominations. The form has been revised from last year by adding more specific questions to help make comparisons between nominees. The nomination form will go public on October 5, 2018 and remain open for a 10-week period.Denise asked if everyone would submit their nomination through the form. Brad confirmed the use of the new online process and explained that once nominations close, we’ll proceed like we did last year. Staff will load all the applications into a shared Google doc.Brad noted that the online process should help with the consistency of the applications. Last year, there was some variance, with some being quite detailed and others not so much. This year, it should be a lot easier for us to compare and have complete information for the inductees. Doug asked if it was going to be a qualitative or quantitative process. He wasn’t involved last year because he was a nominee and ultimately one of the 2018 HOF award recipients. The group discussed last year’s scoring process for nominations. Doug is hoping the greater disability community can get involved, particularly, those who are not currently a part of the IL network.Brad said we can create reminders to go out automatically, to encourage nominations. The group agreed that we will have fewer inductees this year – between 3 to 5. Amy asked Doug if he would like to be the Honorary Committee Chair for 2019, and he accepted. Doug asked for last year’s nomination letter, so he can revise and send back to us. In terms of a time frame for the honorary committee solicitation, Denise said we should get as many honorary committee members as possible before the printing deadline. Brad mentioned that we have $5,000 available to work on a fund development plan in 2019. Lynn Drucker is the new chair of the Development Committee (though she could not make this meeting). She would like us to give feedback about this process. Brad and the finance committee have shared feedback on the scope of services with our CPA services every five years. The scope of services for the CPA services was shared as an example. The group discussed the overall purpose of the plan. Doug thinks the first thing we need to determine is what, exactly, we want to achieve in terms of dollars (or other “currency”). Can we reach some communities we haven’t reached before? Brad says this is good input and we can decide on a clear objective for our plan. He will look into pulling together a draft of the scope of work next month.Denise offered to help test the nomination form once it’s up.Brad said Lynn cannot join us during our regular meeting times (fourth Tuesday each month) because of a standing meeting she has at her work. However, she can do the fourth Thursday of the month at 10:30 am. This will make our next meeting Thursday, October 25th at 10:30am. We will need to determine meeting dates/times for November and December after that.Meeting Adjourned.11. Committee & Subcommittee ReportsK. Monitoring & Evaluation MinutesMonitoring & Evaluation CommitteeSeptember 12, 201810:00 AMPresent: Amy Wink, Jonathan Serrano, Maria Samuels, Chad Eldred, Lynn Drucker, Kathryn CarrollAmy called the meeting to order and explained the purpose today is to review and discuss the SILC monitoring document in advance of the full council meeting. The first item was the review the NYSILC quarterly report. She asked for questions, and Kathryn asked if the committee reports include just the standing committees or all committees. Amy asked about the definition of “standing committee” – it was explained that a standing committee has to be included in the by-laws. The committee discussed which committees have reports and which don’t. Jon mentioned that Brad has been in communication with Daniel Fuster to head up the Emergency Planning committee, which is why it was not included in the report.NOTE: In response to this question, to clarify, the NYSILC FCM Packet contains all the NYSILC committee’s materials and minutes. The SILC Monitoring document is what the Monitoring & Evaluation (M & E) Committee reviews. They review the quarterly reports of the SILC and projects in the SPIL.Amy then went on to ask if anyone had questions about the SSAN Statewide Systems Advocacy Network quarterly report, including current centers and summary of activities. Kathryn commented that the NYAIL report was great, and it was exciting to have an additional lobby day. For the future, it would be cool to see a list of who & how many centers/systems advocates were able to participate in the events.Amy mentioned that Alan Krieger is setting up four more meetings about specific topics, so the M & E Committee can work on drafting the Measurable Indicators (MI’s) for the current SPIL objectives in advance of the upcoming SPIL.She mentioned that Taconic Resources is working on a project for veterans with disabilities. Chad mentioned that this report needs some work to get results that contain qualitative data and outline meaningful action steps and results. For instance, under program reporting, it simply says “ongoing” which doesn’t really tell us much. Jon mentioned that Alan is working on better ways to phrase and measure our objectives. Chad mentioned that we need them to provide more meat to their reports.Lynn Drucker spoke up to ask about being new to the committee – most people on the call are also new. Maria asked about the Veterans with Disabilities head, and Amy mentioned it’s Patrick Muller from Taconic Resources. The group moved on to a review of some preliminary ideas about NYSILC’s Measurable Indicators (MI’s) for the upcoming SPIL.Jon mentioned taking some of the deliverables and moving them out of the annual report because they are necessary items which are assumed, to make room for better measurable indicators. Amy went over some of Brad’s ideas for indicators and outcomes, as well as activities and duties that are “a given” and therefore not necessary to report. For instance, “NYSILC will maintain an active committee structure” is obvious. We really need to understand how to measure impacts. The group discussed the need for these measurable impacts and what can be measured; we need fewer objectives but more requirements within the objectives. Katy commented that we’re kind of blurring the functions of this committee with those of the SPIL committee, and she’s wondering if we can share our findings with the SPIL committee to create more effective objectives and goals. Alan provided Brad with a logic model – program inputs, outputs, and the outcome. Amy said she would scan it and send it to everyone.Amy said it looks like we have a good framework for how we want the reports to be presented. Doug Usiak’s idea was to talk about the potential of NYSILC programs and long-term impacts – how goals set up now will impact and change the future. Doug suggested that goals and objectives could be set up so they can be traced from the beginning and will show the meaningful impact - measuring over a longer period of time to show the arc of progress. Chad mentioned he is not yet the chair of this committee, though that idea has been suggested.The meeting schedule for the M & E Committee has been set up with consultant Alan Krieger to review the MI’s for the following SPIL objectives: Tuesday October 9th at 10 am (NYSILC).Wednesday October 17th 10 am (NYSILC/SSAN)Wednesday October 31st 10am (SSAN/IL Conference and Veterans w/disabilities demo. Project)Wednesday November 7th 10am (Wrap up)Amy told the group she would send this information by email along with the promised flow chart. Meeting adjourned.Monitoring & Evaluation CommitteeOctober 9, 201810:00 AM Present: Alan Krieger, Chad Eldred, Brad Williams, Doug Usiak, Kathryn Carroll, Ann ScherffChad welcomed everyone and explained the purpose of the meeting was to review the SPIL objectives and Measurable Indicator’s (MI’s) draft. He welcomed Alan and asked him to take us through the draft document.Alan mentioned he is very happy that this dialogue is happening now. It usually happens after the SPIL is done, when there is no time available to realistically change the language for each objective, or their MI’s. So, we’re making progress.For NYSILC, the goal/ultimate objective is a broad statement that’s impossible to really measure. NYSILC seeks to promote Independent Living by addressing priority needs through our SPIL projects and programs. Measurable objectives include having committees to contribute and to engage in programs (i.e., Pat Figueroa Scholarships, Hall of Fame, and LDCEP, and Data Interface Project). Also, we have resource development to remain viable and increase our scope. In terms of other current SPIL objectives, there is the SSAN and the IL statewide conference, along with the veterans with disabilities demonstration project.The group engaged into a detailed discussion about the SPIL and committee measurable objectives and indicators related to the M & E, Needs Assessment, Consumer Satisfaction, and SPIL Committees. Alan suggested that we write purpose statements for each committee to stay focused. He’ll draft them for this section. Katie wondered if we should make a timeline part of the process – deadlines or timeframes in which different things should take place. The group discussed ways to incorporate a timeframe into the process. Brad mentioned that on the logic model, the sub-bullets are products we are creating, based on recommendations from these reports. The group discussed the process of utilizing input received and creating a matrix to identify top issues and needs. Are we looking for the top five priorities? Alan suggested we need to say the SPIL committee will not reflect, but rather address at least specific umber of the top ten priorities. The group discussed what would be appropriate, and why, and spoke about ways to address priority issues into existing projects and how they may relate to one another. Alan said we want to use language that will be concrete, tangible and substantive, so we’re addressing issues with specific measurable impact. The group discussed whether or not this is a process that can be changed, and Brad explained how it has worked in the past, saying that decisions have come down to the resources available. Doug agreed that we are resource constrained and wants us to identify things we can have impact on.Measurable Objective B is related to NYSILC programs. Alan started with comments about the Pat Figueroa Scholarship, and what we consider to be an acceptable measurable outcome? Brad noted that in 2019, we’re going to refocus the opportunity and give up to $1,000 for each individual. Goal is to have at least 5 people receive a scholarship. Ann mentioned it would be great to check in, encourage, and support individuals who receive scholarships on an annual basis. Doug mentioned a concern that people already involved may have an advantage over those who aren’t emerging as leaders. Perhaps distribute the scholarships by levels: a certain percentage could go toward individuals who have leadership potential/skills versus those just starting out. Katy expressed concern that we not micromanage how scholarship funds are distributed. Alan said whatever we draft should get run by the Scholarship Committee, so they can look at some of these thoughts. We should be setting a framework, not the targets. Each committee should weigh in on the targets. Disability Rights Hall of Fame – Alan said our purpose is to honor recipients and also raise awareness. We induct a certain number, create a video, engage the community, publicize, and attract attendees. The group discussed determining how many attendees should be our goal, and how many people we induct. LDCEP – Alan stated outcomes of participants gaining skills, becoming more engaged, growing into leadership positions, and that a certain percentage of them respond to surveys. There is a recruitment goal of 50 new members each year. Doug would like to see more networking and making more people aware of the program. Data Interface – Alan said we create a site where we can input data and analyze trends statewide. Setting 2020 as goal of fully implemented. NYSILC Resource Development – Alan said we want to raise at least 4% (above the contract amount) in 2020, then go up to 5% the next two years. Next call Wednesday, October 17th at 10am.Meeting adjourned. ................
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