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DD Subcommittee Meeting Minutes – February 2, 2016 DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE OF CORTLAND COUNTY Community Services Board February 2, 2016 1:00 P.M. Room 304 – County Office Building Members Present: Jeff Beal (Chair), Don Noble (Vice Chair), Ellen Wright, Jacquie Stegeland and Liesl Moheimani Members Excused: Maria DeRado Members Absent: Aaron Baier and Rebecca Costa Others Present: Mark Thayer (Director), Kathy Reynolds (Cortland School District), Marianne Odell (FRC), Julia Maslin, Beth Astramskas and Laurie Pendergraff (OPWDD Regional Office), Kimberly Corbett (JMM), Megan Crowe (MC ARC), Sandy Ehrlich (Racker Center) and Gail Spitzer (Secretary) Call to Order: 1:03 p.m. by Chair, Jeff Beal MINUTES Agenda Item: Approval of Meeting Minutes Jeff Beal asked for motion to approve Motion to approve minutes of November 3, 2015 made by Ellen Wright, seconded by Don Noble. With no further discussion minutes passed unanimously Introductions Chair, Jeff Beal passed around first of four articles to be published in the Cortland Standard newspaper, written by Katie Keyser, with the help of Kathy Reynolds, Sandra Ehrlich and Rebecca Costa – articles are intended to highlight options and services available to assist families of developmentally disabled people through various stages of life; this one beginning early childhood Agenda Item: ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING BUSINESS 1) Election of officers – Mark Thayer – with the agenda and meeting reminder, nominations for Chair and Vice Chair of the DD Subcommittee were solicited – there were no responses – Mark asked for a motion to appoint a Vice Chair of the DD Subcommittee Motion made by Jacquie Stegeland to re-appoint Don Noble, Vice Chair – seconded by Ellen Wright – unanimously approved Mark asked for a motion to appoint a Chair of the DD Subcommittee Motion made by Don Noble to re-appoint Jeff Beal, Chair – seconded by Jacquie Stegeland – unanimously approved 2) Verification of meeting day / time – Jeff Beal asked there were any suggestions for alternate meeting schedule – Subcommittee members agreed to maintain the current schedule: First Tuesday of the month at 1:00 p.m. Agenda Item: Membership Vacancy Discussion Liesl Moheimani mentioned a possible candidate – Kathy Reynolds asked if there was membership criteria – discussion about proper representation and criteria – Jeff suggested that anyone interested in joining this Subcommittee should be encouraged to attend – Don Noble mentioned vacancies on the Community Services Board / members of the Subcommittees may consider CSB membership / explained some of the differences between subcommittees and CSB (meeting on the fourth Tuesday of most months at 4:00 p.m.) Guest: Julia Maslin, OPWDD – The Senior Companion Program Julia is Volunteer Coordinator for OPWDD, based in Cortland County, working to develop this federally funded program in Cortland County – partnered with R.S.V.P./Office for the Aging – seeking (low income) senior citizens 55+ years of age, to partner with a developmentally disabled person – receive a per hour stipend, travel and meal expense reimbursement (does not impact retirement or other benefits) – having difficulty recruiting to implement program – senior citizen would receive training and work a minimum of 15 hours per week and a maximum of 40 hours – interested parties should contact Julia at [PHONE REDACTED], ext. 128 / Attendees made suggestions; Cortland Community Center, churches, etc. – Julia will help with application process Agenda Item: Director’s Report (copy provided) Mark Thayer → EDPRT training March 14 to 18 – Wednesday, March 16 from 3 to 5 p.m. opportunity for agencies/service providers to attend and present information about programs (Emotionally Disturbed Person Response Team training for law enforcement) → DSRIP – Community-based organizations encouraged to participate by oversight committee (Medicaid panel) – Mark recommended becoming familiar with the projects and participate – local event will be scheduled, Mark will notify / Don inquired as to the amount of benefit or involvement within the DD population – Mark; those charged with fulfilling the requirements of DSRIP encourage all perspectives of behavioral health participation and representation in discussion and decision making ---PAGE BREAK--- DD Subcommittee Meeting Minutes – February 2, 2016 - 2 - → Governor’s Proposed Executive Budget – portion relating to OPWDD and overall behavioral health related section included in director’s report; Transformational Panel formed to analyze and discuss challenges relative to community needs – formal recommendations will be released this year Agenda Item: School, Agency/State Updates Representatives → Laurie Pendergraff: OPWDD Acting Director, Mary Hall has been asked to provide data, by region relative to respite and to make recommendations based on the analysis of that data; Central Office also re-examining respite rates, previously thought to be reduced – Mark: can recommendations be made to the State? Agencies have been solicited for input, per Laurie – Marianne Odell: requests for respite numbers have been received from the State without explanation and with short return deadlines – Central offices are looking into the effect of the increase in minimum wage – transportation is another issue → Beth Astramskas – OPWDD certifying all waiver services, agencies have to submit “Certificate of Need”, will happen April 1 – staffing changes, retirement – still waiting for the appointment of a director → Kathy Reynolds – as a result of attending DD Subcommittee meetings, partner with Michele Gravel, JM Murray; will be holding a second “Transition Fair” April 19 4 to 6:00 p.m., location to be determined – other school districts have been invited to participate, all agencies welcome to participate / With Homer school district; beginning a program partnering developmentally delayed students with peers to include in events, i.e., prom planning, student council, etc. - OCM BOCES classroom open on SUNY campus → Jacquie Stegeland (Early Intervention) – most children being served, concern due to waiting list at Racker Center, exploring other options in the community → Kimberly Corbett – JM Murry close to the work center redesign / business model / Agenda Item: Rotary Club Presentation Liesl Moheimani Attended a Rotary breakfast, well attended – in preparation, spoke to Kim (Corbett) and Michele (Gravel) from JM Murray to estimate the number of children transitioning out of school in the next few years – from perspective of a mother, discussed; community, dignity of employment, well received with inquiries for more information as a follow-up Agenda Item: Committee Development – Agency Reporting Don Noble Convene work group to discuss what agencies are reporting to this Subcommittee on a basis – what information is being collected, what is missing – continuity or disconnect between what agencies report – Mark data collected from agencies is helpful, information relating to process time/success rate from State is important – Sandy Ehrlich: report quarterly as option – Don: can the State provide “Front Door” statistics? – Beth: numbers are not broken down by County but will keep asking – Laurie will check on what type of County specific data she may be able to gather / Agency representatives meet at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1 to discuss reporting Agenda Item: Adjourn Chair, Jeff Beal asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting → Motion made by Ellen Wright, seconded by Jacquie Stegeland – 2:25 p.m. meeting adjourned Next Regular Meeting: Tuesday, March 1, 2016 – 1:00 p.m. Agency representatives meet at 12:30 p.m. NOTE: All approved minutes are available upon request - Gail L. Spitzer [EMAIL REDACTED] [PHONE REDACTED] (Posting to website currently unavailable)