Employment Committee The Employment Committee will be meeting on
the following dates in 2004
Planning and Grants Committee
The Planning and Grants Committee
will meet on the third Tuesday of each month in 2008
from 2:30 to 4:40 PM
in the Council's conference room
February 18, 2008
March 18, 2008
April 15, 2008
May 20, 2008
June 17, 2008
July 15, 2008
August 19, 2008
September 16, 2008
October 21, 2008
November 18, 2008
December 16, 2008
Meeting
Activities
Date: March 17, 2008
ISSUE:
- Presentation
by Access & Ability
DISCUSSION:
Presenters were Menda Warne, Victor Betancourt and Larry
McDermott.
The power point of the presentation
and the article from the Greeley Tribune about the Bagel Project are available
as a printed handout, and will be posted on the Council’s website.
The database being developed will
monitor, among other types of information, what the problems are that people
call about, what the outcomes of Access and Ability follow-up are.
The intent is to use the data collected to show that advocacy makes a
difference in people’s ability to access supports and services and in the
quality of life for people and their families.
One outcome from the first series
of Mobilizing Families sessions has been the creation of a Special Education
Advisory Committee for local school District 6.
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
The
Planning and Grants Committee will submit a voting item at the March 2008
Council meeting, with its recommendation that Access and Ability receive a
second year of funding for their Access for All Abilities Project.
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
- Next
meeting is April 15, 2008.
Those in attendance: Ben Sutton,
Victor Betancourt (guest), Todd Coffey, Katherine Carol, Mackenzie Helton
(staff), Bruce Cline (guest), Dan Dunlop (guest), Larry McDermott (guest), Marna
Ares (staff), Menda Warne (guest), Mary Russell (by phone)
Those absent: Thom Miller, Karl Valdez, Linda Dunn
Meeting
Activities
Date: February 19, 2007
ISSUES:
1.
Grants update
2. Proposal
for Year Two funding for Access & Ability
DISCUSSION:
1
Reviewed grant timeline and grant status for FFY2008.
2
Review of Access & Ability proposal:
What is being included in the database, how is the information being
collected, what questions are being asked?
One requirement could be a presentation to the committee, attempt to get
information out to the community (e.g. article in the local paper, article in Impact).
Mackenzie pointed out that if the committee wants a presentation to committee
from all three grantees for the Five-Year Plan, we need to include that
provision in the contract. We could post the presentations (PowerPoints) on the
Council’s website. Bring along a parent and a person with a disability to give
the presentation with Menda. Please put together a PowerPoint with pictures.
How to involve committee members in grants oversight? Mary suggested, based on past experience that site visits and
quarterly reports would be helpful, i.e. email quarterly reports to all
committee members.
Katherine is suggesting that grantees be required to present their projects to
statewide conferences, or national conferences. The Council could set standards
for best practices in Colorado.
3
RFP re employment NTAR Leadership Center, and it’s about
transition and employment, Rutgers University. The deadline is March 31 and two
transition teachers in Denver Public Schools are ready to take advantage of the
opportunity.
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
1
Mary will email results of strategic planning this committee
did a couple of years ago. Marna
will email it to all committee members.
2
Marna will email committee members a draft of a
grant-monitoring checklist.
3
Marna will ask Menda to give a presentation to the committee
and answer questions about her proposal for Year Two funding.
4
The committee members will receive quarterly reports from all
grants.
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
1
Next meeting is March 18, 2008.
2. The Council members of this committee
will be voting via email concerning the “Big 9.”
Those in attendance: Katherine Carol, Laura Thompson Perkins,
Jo Perkins, Todd Coffey, Mary Russell (by phone)
Staff Present: Marna Ares,
Mackenzie Helton
Those absent: Thom Miller, Karl
Valdez, Linda Dunn
Date: January 15, 2008
Planning
and Grants Committee Meeting
ISSUE:
- Introductions
- Project
SEARCH voting item for January 23, 2008 Council meeting
- Washington
State model for employment
- Update
on current grants
_______________________________________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
Project SEARCH:
2. The timeline for the grant was discussed.
The plan is for work to begin in January 2009, with the expectation that
students and project partners would be ready to implement the internship year
with the beginning of the school year in late August/early September 2009.
Recommendations concerned when to issue the RFP, how long to leave it posted,
and when the chosen grantee would begin work. The students would still begin
their year of internships in September 2009, though it might be possible for the
internships to start in January 2009. The RFP will stipulate that the planning
and partnership-building phase of the project will start in the fall of 2008.
The committee discussed putting in a clause that preference will be given to a
grantee that hires or have on staff a person with a disability, and that that
person would be compensated at a competitive rate. There also needs to be a
clause concerning the active and meaningful participation of people with
disabilities on the advisory committee.
The proposal evaluation committee would have time to review the proposals and
also be able to have in-person interviews with each offeror. The committee would
be responsible for drafting the questions that would be asked each offeror at
the interview.
1)
Word-smithing:
a) Include as one of the
requirements that offerors will be asked to appear in person in front of the
proposal evaluation committee.
b) Todd
suggested a low-risk contract process (that would be an arrangement with
Procurement, not as part of the RFP.
c) Include phrase potential start date January 1, 2009 and no later than
September 2009.
d) Page 3 delete “Planning”
e) Add as one of requirements in #1 success in getting employment with
benefits for people with disabilities
f) Include clause about employment of people with disabilities in lead
coordinating agency and as part of the advisory committee
g) Include new area of emphasis on page 5.
h) Replace “you” or “your” with offeror, where it makes sense.
For Interview Questions:
Define “natural proportions”
PASS plans and benefits management
How to ensure meaningful participation
What kind of follow-up career development experience do you have? (i.e.
not just placement)
How to get the word out:
Transition coordinators in state school districts, providers, Voc.
Rehab., Independent Living Centers, people and organizations who attended the
session with Erin Reihle, Deanna Sands at UCD, other universities
3. Washington State has state agency leaders supporting the
policy to have every person has a vocational goal, and related expected outcomes
4. Marcia gave an update on the Enhanced Person-Centered grant
and the first session held last weekend on the Taking Charge part of the grant.
5. Katherine encourages the Council to use the expertise of
Griffin and Hammis concerning employment of people with disabilities.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
- Linda
moved to accept the voting item with the addition of indicating that the
money would be encumbered prior to Sept. 30, 2008. Todd seconded. All
committee members voted in favor.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
- Next
meeting: February 19, 2008 from 2:30 to 4:30 PM. One item on the agenda will
be the discussion of VISTA volunteers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Those in attendance: Todd Coffey, Mary Russell (by phone),
Linda Dunn, Katherine Carol, Ben Sutton, Betty Henderson (left at 3:30, before
the vote was taken)
Staff Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton, Marcia Tewell
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Those absent: Thom Miller, Karl Valdez, Laura Thompson
Perkins
Date: November 9, 2007
Planning
and Grants Committee Meeting
(Winter Park, following Council retreat)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE:
- Review
of Project SEARCH
- Update
on current grants
- Decisions
on funding the Big 9 conferences
_______________________________________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
- Review
of Project SEARCH. Marna and Mackenzie reviewed the summary of components
that lead to success in implementing Project SEARCH they had prepared and
sent out to committee members prior to the November meeting (see attached
document). They also reported
that the Office of Procurement had communicated their okay of naming
Employment Link as the sole source contractor to replicate Project SEARCH in
Colorado with CDDC grant funds. Both Todd and Linda objected to moving
forward. Linda offered to talk
with the DVR central office concerning Bob Lawhead, Employment Link’s
executive director, and Todd voiced his preference for issuing an RFP. Ben
suggested that any partner organizations (DVR, Department of Education and
local school districts, business partners) would do best to overcome
political disagreements in favor of trying a program with proven success.
- Mackenzie
reviewed current Big 9 grantees and budget expenditures. The Committee will
ask the Council at its January meeting for suggestions of groups to fund
with scholarship monies.
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
- Linda
will email committee members with her findings after talking with DVR. The
Committee will also communicate via email and surface mail concerning the
decision whether to issue an RFP on Project SEARCH.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
- Next
meeting is on December 12 from 2 PM to 4 PM.. Next meeting after that is Jan 15 and then the Council
meets on January 23, 2008.
Those in attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey, Ben Sutton,
Chris Luby
Staff Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton
Guest: Andrea Eurick (CDHS)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Those absent: Thom Miller, Karl
Valdez
Meeting
Activities
Date: October 16, 2007
Planning
and Grants
Committee Meeting
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE:
- Review
of Project SEARCH
- Update
on current grants
- Decisions
on funding the Big 9 conferences
_______________________________________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
1.
Review of Project SEARCH. Contributions from local school
district and DVR. DVR pays for work
adjustment, not work experience. Job coaching is about $33/hour. If it were
monthly work adjustment it would be $1200/month/individual. Question to ask
Susie/Erin is how job coaches are paid, i.e. by student or by project or site,
e.g. hospital. Discussion concerned
whether to try to find a person to be the coordinator or to send out an RFP for
an organization to take on the role of coordinator. Mary was wondering about
AHEC (Area Health Education Centers) as the organization that could take role of
coordinator statewide. They already receive grants to do various projects.
Google AHEC to find the sites around the state – looks like there are 5
sites. They are tied to the University of Colorado at Denver and Health
Sciences. Committee thought that it would be best to have AHEC and another
organization with another area of expertise to work together in the coordinator
capacity. Could extension service be a partner organization?
Consensus is that the coordinator
responsibilities need to be taken on by an organization with statewide reach,
not one person.
Identify the possible
businesses/hospitals that might be partners/sites. It might be best to start
with hospitals for the first year or two.
2.
El Grupo and P2P purchase orders are in process for payment
for year two. Cursory review of the
three RFP projects (PEAK, CAPRA and Access & Ability).
Todd, Mackenzie and Marna reviewed their impressions of the morning’s
site visit at Imagine! with Michael Smull and Bob Sattler reviewing progress to
date with Wheat Ridge and Imagine! project implementers.
3.
Big 9 funding: How
are we able to track outcomes? There
aren’t that many resources for families and people with disabilities to attend
conferences. Recipients of grants who are attending conference would be asked to
complete a form regarding their conference participation.
Who should be on the Big 9 list?
How about getting ideas at the January Council meeting of the groups that
need to receive the Big 9 funding? Need
to set some criteria for granting groups the money (alignment with Five Year
Plan goals and objectives). Another
criterion is whether the group or the individuals have access to other
scholarship monies. We want the Council to suggest and let this committee to
decide which groups end up getting funded.
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
- Have
some more information ready for the committee to discuss at the committee
meeting on November 9 at the retreat.
- Todd
moved and Linda seconded Committee voted to continue funding educational
opportunities and local efforts for people with disabilities and their
family members in keeping with what has been Big 9, but will ask Council in
January for ideas of groups to fund. This
committee will retain the decision-making on which groups to fund. The
maximum amount to be granted to each group is $4500, for a total of $36,000
for 8 groups. The motion carried.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
- Next
meeting is at the retreat on November 9.
Next meeting after that is Jan 15 and then the Council meets on
January 23, 2008.
- Mary
needs information on how and when she can attend the meeting at the retreat
by phone.
Those in attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey, Mary Russell
(by phone)
Staff Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Those absent: Thom Miller, Karl
Valdez
Meeting
Activities
Date: September 18, 2007
Planning
and Grants
Committee Meeting
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE:
- Review
of current grants
- Site
visits
- Consumer
satisfaction surveys
- Minutes
approval
- RFP
development
_______________________________________________________________________________________
-
DISCUSSION:
-
Review
of current grants:
Discussed DD Suite software for keeping track of grants and grant
outcomes.
-
Site
visit calendars were discussed and when committee members can visit various
project sites.
-
Committee
members read through surveys received to date.
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
Next
meeting is at the Council retreat in Winter Park, October 24, 2007 in the
afternoon
The
November meeting was moved to the 27th, at 2:30 to 4:30 PM.
Those in attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey
Staff Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Those absent: Thom Miller, Karl
Valdez
July
17, 2007
Five-Year
Plan Committee Meeting
___________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE:
- Review
of proposal for continued funding for Parent to Parent grant
- Grants
oversight
- Consumer
satisfaction process
- Minutes
approval
- RFP
development
___________________________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
- Parent
to Parent’s proposal for renewed funding was reviewed.
The Council needs to determine if they want to fund grantees at lower
levels, such as the $24,999 amount granted to Parent to Parent and to
Families & Allies/El Grupo Vida. They have approximately $10,000 left
until September 30, 2007. Mackenzie
explained the contracting process and how purchase orders allow payment to
grantees. The Council will be using contracts with all grantees in the
future. It would be important change the portion on technical assistance and
replace the reference to the Multicultural Committee with a reference to the
Five-Year Plan Committee. The Council needs to be told that one of the
grantees is also a member of the MCC (Yvette Plummer). Include in voting
item that offering continued funding is in keeping with how the Five-Year
Plan committee decided to offer the same opportunity to other grants that
were in place under the former Five-Year Plan.
- How
will committee be kept advised of grant project outcomes? The attempt to
assign each committee member certain grants was not successful.
With these two grants the committee may want monthly reporting, as
opposed to quarterly, until we can be sure they are well under way. After
the smaller projects end on September 30, it will be easier to summarize
grant project activities, both in terms of money spent and outcomes
achieved.
- Consumer
satisfaction survey results will need to be in by December 31, 2007.
Shall we pay for website posting and mailing. The committee would
like a summary presentation to be made to the Council. Change Committee
meeting to November 27, 2007 at 2:30 to 4:30 PM.
- Minutes
from July were reviewed. Change the wording re Irene “her participation on
the commission as a Council member.” Todd will bring that up with
Executive Committee tomorrow to determine if her representation of the
Council needs to be ratified by the Council.
- RFP
development reviewed. The money
must be encumbered by September 2008, i.e. contract needs to be signed. Mary
suggested we use same RFP as used before, and make it specific to the
employment area of emphasis. The RFP should ask offerors to request
multi-year (three years) funding. Will need to include a timeline to alert
the chosen grantees that they will need to submit a revised proposal and
budget for year two and year three funding.
The
committee discussed how to do a better job of getting the word out about the
existence of the RFP.
Linda
suggested letting people at the September 13 APSE conference know about the
upcoming issuance of the RFP. The
tiered sheet of added objectives to the Quality Assurance can be accompanied
with an announcement of the upcoming RFP specific to the Employment area of
emphasis. The Committee could also
take advantage of the national employment of people with disabilities day in
October.
ACTION /
MOTION / CONSENSUS
- Todd
moved that the committee recommend funding for the P2P project, Linda
seconded.
- Linda
motioned that the survey be posted on the web and mailed out to Colorado
citizens on the Council’s mailing list, and Todd seconded.
- Todd
moved to approve the June minutes with noted change, and Linda seconded.
- Marna
will send out a draft RFP to the committee in September in time for the
committee’s September meeting.
- Marna
will draft an announcement of the RFP and get draft to committee so it can
be used at the APSE conference.
- The
meeting adjourned at 3:54 PM.
___________________________________________________________________________
BY WHOM/ BY
WHEN:
- Next
meeting is August 21, 2007 at 2:30 PM. (third Tuesday)
- The
November meeting was moved to the 27th, at 2:30 to 4:30 PM.
___________________________________________________________________________
Those in
attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey, Mary Russell (by phone), Penny Gonnella
Staff
Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton
___________________________________________________________________________
Those
absent: Karl Valdez, Sharisa Kochmeister
June 14, 2007
Five-Year
Plan Committee Meeting
___________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE:
- Amendments
to the Five-Year Plan
- Grants
update
- Site
visit calendar
___________________________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
- Marna
reviewed the amendment process and the more internal process of establishing
a strategic plan to achieve goals and objectives already in the Plan. The
L&PP committee members reviewed the tabulation of survey results by
topic and think that health care issues were reflected significantly in the
surveys. In the development of the Plan last year the Five-Year Plan
committee may not have gotten input from the Council’s other committees.
A year later, it seems to some members of the L&PP Committee that
health care is an area that may need to receive the Council’s attention in
the form of a Plan goal and objectives. Health care is a hot topic
nationally, and statewide. Mary Russell reflected on the results of the
survey, highlighting the emphasis in people’s narratives on the importance
of transition and employment for people with disabilities. Mary noted that
the 5YP committee hadn’t met with the existing committees to discuss how
the Council and its committees might address the goals and objectives in the
Plan.
Previous
Plan had 9 Areas of Emphasis. Discussion
concerned whether to consider anything paid for by Medicaid is a health care
issue. Todd read from the Five-Year Plan text (page 23) explaining how the
Council will address health care issues and performance target outcomes through
its funding of projects and legislative and public policy activities.
“While
the Five-Year Plan includes three areas of emphasis that reflect the areas that
Colorado citizens want the Council to focus on, Council activities and funding
produce outcomes in all of the areas of emphasis required by the Administration
on Developmental Disabilities… The Council anticipates addressing some of the
performance target measures in the Health area through its legislative and
public policy activities, especially as Colorado responds to the CMS audit
requiring the unbundling of services under current Medicaid waivers and
reporting expenditures accordingly.”
Todd
also expressed concern that the legislative activities around health care focus
on people with developmental disabilities. Irene referred to the language of the
proposed amendment as it reflects a focus on people with developmental
disabilities. The committee discussed how the Council addresses issues of
children and families, as well as issues of adults. Eileen observed that early
childhood efforts are often the impetus for system change in other areas of the
system. Linda pointed out that elimination of the wait list would have an impact
on making supports available for employment. Discussion concerned whether to add
health care as part of existing goals and objectives, include it as a new area
of emphasis, or focus on developing a strategic plan for addressing the waiting
list issue through public policy advocacy.
208
Commission is looking at health issues statewide, with broad involvement of the
many constituencies. There is also
a committee formed as a result of the resolution to end the waiting lists.
Irene
has informally been appointed to the 208 commission to represent vulnerable
populations. The council needs to support her participation on the commission.
The
reference to wait list needs to be specific as to which waiting lists, and
children and families need to be part of the reference.
Mary
suggested sending email to Council members summarizing the committee’s
discussion, attaching page 23 text, and prepare members for the discussion of
amending the Plan.
Irene
wants acknowledgement that it is in keeping with the Five-Year Plan for staff
and members to participate in the Waiting List Resolution meetings.
- $161,000
(from Mackenzie: is the balance of the money put aside for the last RFP, and
needs to be encumbered by September 2008.
The RFP will be on the agenda for July’s meeting.
The Council is tracking the Division for Developmental Disabilities
ad hoc committee on employment. Another avenue to effect change could be on
the policy end addressing issues around transition from school to work.
Discussion concerned how to balance Council members’ volunteer status and
the need for their active involvement in Council work.
- During
the discussion that Mackenzie and Marcia had with Mary Beth Greene, of ADD,
during the TA Institute in Washington DC, Mary Beth Greene advised that the
entire Council should be appointing committee chairpersons, rather than the
Council Chairperson or the Executive Committee. Another point of information
from NACDD TA Institute is that Council projects carried out by staff are
part of the 70% of program activities, and do not require match.
ACTION /
MOTION / CONSENSUS
- Marna
will draft an email that can go to all Council members, and send the draft
to those present today. Attachments
will include page 23 of the Plan, all pages of the Plan, with references to
relevant sections. Include need to ratify Irene’s participation and note
that the Council sanctions staff and members to be present at waiting list
resolution meetings.
- Todd
motioned, Mike seconded that Five-Year Plan recommend to the Council
ratification of Irene’s appointment to the 208 Commission. Motioned
carried.
- Mail
Mary and Karl the handouts from today.
- The
meeting adjourned at 4:19 PM.
_________________________________________________________________________
BY WHOM/ BY
WHEN:
- Next
meeting is July 17, 2007 at 2:30 PM. (third Tuesday)
___________________________________________________________________________
Those in
attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey, Mary Russell (by phone), Eileen Forlenza
(by phone), Mike McCarty (by phone), Irene Aguilar (by phone), Penny Gonnella
Staff
Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton, Beverly Hirsekorn
___________________________________________________________________________
Those
absent: Karl Valdez, Bruce Cline
Date:
May 15, 2007
Five-Year
Plan Committee Meeting
___________________________________________________________________________
ISSUE:
- Presentation
to the committee by Bob Lawhead
- Discussion
of status on all grants
- Site
visit calendar
___________________________________________________________________________
DISCUSSION:
- Part
one: July 2005 was beginning of
the Best Practices in Supported
Employment grant to Employment Link from the Council.
Bob reviewed the work of the project, including the bringing of Mike
Callahan and Norciva Shumpert in from Marc Gold and Associates to train on
customized employment. Phases:
Discovery, profile development (visual resume), job development training,
systematic instruction training, job analysis and preparing for training on
the job site. Four participants
were identified and the components of customized employment were afforded
each participant. Two people received on-the-job services for a short period
of time.
Part
two – Handouts: Survey of current developments in Colorado concerning
supported employment for people with developmental disabilities. PowerPoint
presentations have been provided to DPS (Denver Public Schools). Discussion
centered on the Oklahoma model of outcomes-based funding based on milestones.
The model has been used in OK for 10 years, and they are at the top of
state ratings for the percentage of people in community supported employment
(71%). Colorado DVR approach is a combination of hourly rate and milestone or
performance-based pay schedule. Colorado advocates are, based on data from
Colorado, seeking to have DVR pay more per individual for the up-front costs
(increase rates), relying on Medicaid for later long-term follow-along funding.
Nationwide, CO rantks in the lowest three to four states in amount of
money spent by DVR per individual for employment for people with developmental
disabilities. That is largely
because CO was using Medicaid waiver dollars to supplement DVR expenditures.
To
wrap up the grant: potentially will bring in Grant Revell and Norciva Shumpert
for training in Denver and GJ to do one intor to customized employment, second
day on technical aspects. Second
would be Mike Callahan providing a training on September 13 (CO-APSE conference)
for families and people with disabilities to do some of the work on customized
employment (various phases) on their own, using a family empowerment model
focusing on school-to-work transition.
Discussion
of where the Council can go in trying to address the employment goals and
objectives in the Five-Year Plan: What are the limiting factors affecting
employment for people in Colorado? One
obvious factor is funding (models and mechanisms). Another factor is who is
involved in the discussion. The
usual players are agencies, people with disabilities, and the more infrequent
members of the discussion are people in the business community and citizens.
Sources
of information on successful strategies: Virginia
Commonwealth University, Developmental Disabilities Council listserv, DDD ad hoc
committee on Employment.
In
the RFP, we could include a section on Employment works when…
- Mackenzie
left updated dollar figures for the Grant Summary handout.
___________________________________________________________________________
ACTION /
MOTION / CONSENSUS
- The
committee requested a proposal from Bob Lawhead for amendments to the plan
of work for his grant, which ends on September 30, 2007.
The amended work plan will be on the agenda for the Five-Year Plan
committee at its June meeting
________________________________________________________________________
BY WHOM/ BY
WHEN:
___________________________________________________________________________
Those in
attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey, Mary Russell (by phone)
Staff
Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton
Guest: Bob
Lawhead
___________________________________________________________________________
Those
absent: Karl Valdez, Georgeanna Chapman, Bruce Cline, Penny Gonnella, George
deCurnou
Date: April 18, 2007
Five-Year Plan Committee Meeting
ISSUE:
- Status
of new projects
- There
remains $161,000 to be granted through an RFP process.
DISCUSSION:
- Two
of the three contracts are ready for signing. PEAK prefers to have their project start sometime after
June 1, because of other activities at PEAK.
- Next
RFP should probably have public informational meetings after the RFP has
been released. It would be important to get the information out to
interested people and organizations, in CO and outside the state.
The idea of following along to ensure that people who get jobs are
able to retain them might be a good element to emphasize in the RFP. In SWAP
program people get follow-up for a year. Maybe fund research on gaps in
services and supports for one year, with the idea of funding a project that
would fill the gaps. If the money doesn’t have to be encumbered by
September 2007, that would give the Committee members time to gather the
research that has been done on supported employment, where the gaps are,
what supports and how long they’re provided result in job retention, etc. There has been research over the last few decades that
can be accessed rather than funding another research project.
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
- Committee
members to gather research information on supported employment and share it
at the May meeting. Marna will
send out information that she finds, and be sure to signify it as pertinent
to this task for the Five-Year Plan Committee.
At the March Council meeting Linda Dunn handed out summaries of the
Roundtable Discussions concerning DVR and CCB supported employment services.
(Click here to read the summaries.)
- Linda
will see if Bob Lawhead can attend an upcoming committee meeting to provide
some background information and lessons learned from his experience in the
field, as well as what he has learned from his most recent Council-funded
project.
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
- Committee
members and staff to share information supported employment research at its
May meeting.
- Next
meeting is May 15, 2007 at 2:30 PM.
- Mackenzie
and Marna will provide the committee with a schedule for site visits.
- Mackenzie
and Marna will contact all grantees in the next month and provide th
committee at its next meeting with an update on grantees’ expenditures.
Those in attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey
Staff Present: Marna Ares, Mackenzie Helton,
Those absent: Karl Valdez, Bruce
Cline, Mary Russell, Penny Gonnella
Date:
March 20, 2007
Five-Year Plan Committee Meeting
ISSUE:
- Status
of policy to transition students to sheltered work vs. community-supported
work.
- Approval
of minutes
- Update
on RFP responses.
- Consumer
satisfaction surveys
- Committee
oversight
DISCUSSION:
- Linda
Dunn reviewed the current state of affairs: The alternative is to do
situational assessments for students in transition. On
occasion, DVR has utilized local sheltered workshops for assessment purposes
and work adjustment for students transitioning out of high school.
However, DVR is supposed to use the most integrated situation possible, so
other forms of assessment would more than likely be used. In the
Denver area, the local workshops (e.g. Shalom, Bayaud) have either closed
down or have a long waiting list, so students are less often utilizing the
sheltered workshops for assessment and work adjustment services. Linda
has met with Goodwill, which does not have a staff person specifically
employed to do placement, as does Laradon. Bayaud is pulling out of the NISH site at Lowry, but
that site will continue under another organization’s oversight. Bayaud had
been paying prevailing wage, with benefits, and not using the Fair Labor
Standards Act clause that allows companies to pay people with disabilities
less than minimum wage. Linda will be polling local Voc Rehab offices to see
how many students in transition are going into sheltered workshops around
the state.
- Todd
motioned to approve the minutes for February 2007, Linda seconded. The
minutes were approved.
- The proposal evaluation committee recommended
three organizations for funding under the RFP to implement the Council’s
Five-Year Plan. Initial contract
negotiation meetings have taken place with two of the three organizations,
with the last one scheduled for March 21. The three organizations are:
Access and Ability, PEAK Parent Center and CAPRA (Colorado Association of
Private Resource Agencies). Access
and Ability will undertake the Full Access for All Abilities project
to provide training, advocacy and database development for people with
developmental disabilities and their family members in Weld County and
northern Adams County, Colorado. PEAK Parent Center will undertake the Enhanced
Colorado Person-Centered Planning Initiative Project to build upon and
expand existing person-centered planning efforts in Colorado.
The project will accomplish this by making the person-centered
planning process available to young adults with developmental disabilities
ages 18 – 26 who represent the broad range of ethnic, cultural and
geographic diversity in Colorado. In addition, the project will make
available training in leadership and advocacy.
CAPRA will undertake the Good to Great: Building Capacity to
Provide Person Centered Supports in Colorado Project to establish models
of best practice to meet the needs of people with developmental
disabilities. Implementation of
these models through a collaborative effort among CAPRA, Alliance (an
association of community centered boards), Wheat Ridge Regional Center and
Peer Trainers will create change in organizational and systemic policies and
practices with the incorporation of person-centered planning processes.
- Consumer Satisfaction Survey: The purpose of the surveys is to collect
information from people with developmental disabilities, family members and
other stakeholders specific to satisfaction with Council-funded projects
they have been involved in or affected by. Surveys can be done for current grantees, and
offer participants and stakeholders the option of filling out the survey
online, by phone or in writing. One guideline provided by ADD is that
grantees may not administer the surveys themselves, so that task will fall
to 5YP committee members and/or staff liaisons to the committee.
- Oversight
of grants is going to be done by the committee at monthly meetings rather
than have individual committee members be responsible for certain grants.
The new grantees (responders to the RFP on the Five-Year Plan) have
contracts that specify that narrative reports will be required quarterly
rather than monthly. Mackenzie and Marna will develop a calendar for site
visits and let committee members know of the opportunities to go on the site
visits.
ACTION / MOTION / CONSENSUS
- The
survey questions supplied by ADD will be formatted to use on site visits.
BY WHOM/ BY WHEN:
Those in attendance: Linda Dunn, Todd Coffey,
Staff Present: Marcia Tewell, Mackenzie Helton, Marna Ares
Those absent: Karl Valdez, Mary
Russell, George deCurnou, Bruce Cline
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