Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Harrisburg, PA
Mr. Micki Greenstein called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m. and read the mission statement. Mr. Micki Greenstein reviewed the importance of the standards of expectations with Council members. Mr. Greenstein stated that Ms. Jill Kovalcik-Weaver would be taking pictures during the meeting for the annual report. He also noted that the restroom outside our meeting room is closed for repairs and to use the restrooms at the other end of the meeting rooms. Mr. Greenstein then asked members present, and all guests to introduce themselves.
There were no additions or changes to the agenda.
Ms. Leslie Kelly reported that the Customer Satisfaction Committee had a conference call on February 6th. Ms. Kelly explained how the Council will be attending the OVR public hearings across the state. She also explained the survey that will be available for people to fill out at the hearings. There will be information on the Council and the Client Assistance Program (CAP) for members to hand out. All Council members were encouraged to sign up to attend the hearing in their area and give a brief explanation on the role of the Council and the PaRC relationship with OVR and the CAC's. The public hearings will be held in March and April. The next Customer Satisfaction conference call is scheduled for March 14th at 10:00 a.m.
Ms. Jill Kovalcik-Weaver stated that Ms. Lucinda Crissman could not be present today. No conference call is scheduled at this time.
Mr. Michael Adamus stated that the last committee conference call was on January 8th. The state plan attachment was discussed and several changes were made. One addition was to add a section on outreach. The state plan attachment will be approved today on the consent agenda. No conference call is scheduled at this time.
The last State Plan/Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) conference call was held on January 23rd with 10 CAC chairpersons and two PaRC members present. The next State Plan/CAC conference call is scheduled for April 17th at 10:00 a.m.
Ms. Passle Helminski stated that the position papers for the federal visits will be approved at today's meeting. Ms. Helminski reported that five Council members will be attending the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA) conference on March 11th and 12th. Then on March 13th, members will travel to Capitol Hill to visit the Pennsylvania legislators and deliver the Council's position papers. The next conference call is scheduled for February 26th at 10:00 a.m.
Mr. Micki Greenstein stated that on the last executive call, there was discussion about developing a mentor program for new members. At the next Council meeting on May 9th, there will be a formal orientation for new members. The Recruitment Committee is still looking for two people to volunteer to make up the Recruitment Committee, along with the Executive Committee. Today on the consent agenda, members will be approving the state plan attachment and the position papers for the visits to the state legislators in Washington. On the last Executive Committee call it was decided to have all members who are liaisons and representatives from other stake holder groups, provide a brief update during the update portion of the Council meetings.
Mr. Matthew Seeley reported that in the month of December, the Council spent a total of $5,079.13. The year to date spent is $8,923.47, leaving a year to date balance of $103,573.53. In 2006, the Council spent a total of $78,081.56 leaving a balance of $46,948.44. These are the final 2006 figures.
Ms. Carolyn Vidt stated she is the liaison to the Governor's Committee on Employment for People with Disabilities (GCEPD), but does not have a report because she was unable to attend the last meeting. The next GCEPD meeting is scheduled for March 6th and 7th. The last CareerLink conference call was held on January 24th. The committee received a response from Mr. John Vogel, of Workforce Development on the recommendations that the Council had made regarding the chartering guidelines. Ms. Pam Shaw stated that the Council's comments will be taken into consideration and that workforce development intends to have an ongoing relationship with the PaRC. The right to know request that the committee asked for was denied. The committee had requested copies of the compliance reviews that CareerLinks use to evaluate themselves. The reasons given for the denial were that the department does not possess any compliance reviews conducted under this guideline. They also stated that the records requested are not a public record, available for release under the right to know law.
Ms. Vidt stated that the Council has been hearing from individuals concerned about the confidentiality of the Comprehensive Workforce Development System (CWDS). Mr. William Gannon, OVR stated the system is designed to provide universal access to the partners that use the system for the purpose of tracking joint clients and their relationship with the Commonwealth. Confidentiality is maintained and is built into the system on a need to know basis. Ms. Vidt stated that Mr. Kenn Tuckey, from the State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) volunteered to work on getting members and stakeholders to attend their local WIB meetings. WIB meeting times and locations can be found on the PaRC website, however the 2007 meeting schedule is not posted yet. Any program accessibility needs must be requested ahead of time, if you wish to attend the WIB meetings. The next CareerLink Committee conference call is scheduled for March 21st at 10:00 a.m.
Ms. Arlene Solomon stated that there is an accessibility advisory committee in the Philadelphia area. They have been meeting periodically and there's a training event scheduled in September. Representatives from different disability groups are going to be doing trainings with the CareerLinks.
Ms. Linda Williams stated that since Ms. Barb Orstein, stepped down as the committee chair for the recruitment committee, the committee is looking for other members that might be willing to work with the Executive Committee on recruitment issues. Right now, there are 19 members on the Council and there is a cap of 23 members. There are 2 new members here today; they are Ms. Margaret Buckley, representing IDEA and Mr. Joseph Kraher, representing the Community Rehabilitation Provider category. Ms. Carol Ward-Colasante is in USQ and we will need a person to replace her in the mental health category. The Council is still looking for someone to represent the young adult category as well.
Mr. Kenn Tuckey stated that at the last committee meeting, it was discussed about the possibility of giving an overview of the workforce system. Mr. Tuckey stated he would check into making sure the dates on the web page are updated.
Ms. Passle Helminski stated she received a letter from Representative Don Evan's office. He is going to re-introduce House Bill 747 which states that if a service animal is attacked and injured or killed by another dog, the injured party will get reimbursed for medical expenses, lost wages, veterinary bills and if necessary, replacement costs of the animal.
Ms. Passle Helminski made a motion to accept the consent agenda. Mr. Michael Adamus seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion carried.
Mr. William Gannon, OVR Executive Director, reported that the proposed VR budget at the national level is absolutely flat in the coming year, and what is proposed for next year appears to be an almost 20% reduction across the board. The State budget that the legislature is about to deliberate on, is also flat. The Independent Living Centers budget was reduced from $2.250 million to $1.8 million. If there is advocacy by the Independent Living Centers this year, the legislature may restore those funds. The other area of direct reduction was in assistive technology. Advocacy is needed so that members of the State legislature know that we are deficit spending in OVR. There will be a price to pay down the line if we don't start restoring money back to a year for year facilitation.
Mr. Matthew Seeley stated that the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) would like to work with the PaRC to improve funding for VR in the state, through the Legislative Committee meetings. Mr. Gannon stated that the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) restructured last year and Mr. Terry Martin is the RSA official liaison responsible for coordinating the state of Pennsylvania. Mr. Martin is from Pennsylvania and will have a better understanding in Washington of where Pennsylvania is at with its activities. Nationwide solicitation of candidates for the position of Director of the Blind and Visual Services is being done. Hopefully, that will be completed and a director will be on board and in transition by the end of May.
We are still looking for Rehabilitation Counselors for the Deaf in the district offices. OVR also recognizes that within VR, there is a significant ongoing need for services for veterans returning from active conflict, especially the reservists. Medical rehabilitation is provided directly through the military, but once the person is through with medical rehabilitation they must go back to their home communities, where there's a lack of social communication. There is a new program in the Johnstown area that will deal with that issue and hopefully be a model for the establishment of that kind of a program elsewhere. OVR will be supportive and supplemental to that program. Mr. Adamus suggested the Executive Committee draft a letter from the Council, to the Department of Defense, urging that reservists and guards be covered as their full time active counterparts are.
Mr. Thomas Washic, OVR stated that CWDS changed its name from the Comprehensive Workforce Development System to the Commonwealth Workforce Development System in November this year. OVR plans to communicate directly to the PaRC and the OVR board about what is going on with CWDS. A report will come to the PaRC office for distribution to members. CWDS will upgrade and modernize the existing system that was developed some 30 years ago to make it accessible. The website to CWDS is www.paworkforce.state.pa.us/CWDS .
Ms. Pam Shaw, of Workforce Development, reported they continue to do testing on the TTY systems on a regular basis. At the recent CareerLink administrators meeting in State College, Mr. Gannon made a presentation to the administrators, making it clear that OVR is a part of the process that should be occurring at PA CareerLink sites. Accompanying Mr. Gannon to the meeting was Mr. Bruce McClintock, of the OVR central office staff.
JAWS have been updated to the CareerLink computer system that is the version 7.0. Ms. Shaw stated that the disability program navigator initiative is the result of an agreement between the social security administration and the U.S. Department of Labor. They are basically change agents, who exist to help customers navigate many types of systems. Navigators work on the overarching system. The phases that social security has used to get this out to states were connected to the ticket to work program. Pennsylvania was one of the states that started later in the ticket program and therefore is in one of the later stages of the navigator program. The idea is that these disability program navigators will be available in every state. Part of the proposal calls for the establishment of a steering committee to develop this program and see that it functions properly.
In Pennsylvania, we're proposing that the steering committee would be the same group that would make up our Bureau of Workforce Development Advisory Group and the Council would definitely be a part of that. The Bureau of Workforce Development is required to submit a state plan and we are in the process of developing that state plan. There will be a period of public comment and I will be coordinating with staff to make sure that we have your input.
There are 3 sites that were not certified as part of the current credentialing process. One was not certified because they were moving and the new site had some accessibility problems. The second site problems have been addressed. The third site has to have renovations done to restroom facilities. Several years ago, there was a Federal grant that existed to make PA CareerLink locations accessible, it was called Raise Up.
The Raise Up web site is still in existence. It provides information on accessibility and we have a group that's working on how we will maintain that site. One of the features of this site is the ability for a person to go in and put in all of the needs that they had relative to employment, like transportation and housing, and then get back a list of service providers in their area. Some of what is done by this system is going to be done by the CWDS system. We don't want duplication, but we do want to make sure the resource stays available to people who would need it. Ms. Shaw stated she would like to respond to the issue about the workgroup, relative to the certification and credentialing process. This is our first time using this particular process and it gives certification for the next couple of years. We don't know what the review process is going to look like. There may be a physical work group developed to review everything or it may just be done by a series of communications. Input from the council will be taken into consideration.
Ms. Judy Jobes stated that at the last board meeting they talked about the priorities for the next couple of years, with the emphasis on transportation and health care. They also talked about the possibility of receiving money from gaming. During the Hiram G. Andrews Center (HGAC) report they talked about starting a program on cleaning and detailing of cars. HGAC is continuing to look at new ways and new programs that are going to help people with disabilities get jobs.
Ms. Jamie Ray reported that she is providing CAP book marks with contact information on to be handed out at the public hearings. CAP feels that this is a great opportunity to be part of this partnership and to be able to work with VR and the PaRC.
No report given.
Ms. Margaret Buckley reported that she talks to parents each month about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) regulations. We also talk to them about being team members of their own Individualized Education Program (IEP) and developing an appropriate plan for transition for their student.
Mr. Matthew Seeley reported the shared ride program only has 16 more counties to add. The SILC is pleased that the shared ride is continually getting support from both the legislature and the governor.
No report given.
Ms. Arlene Solomon stated the annual conference sponsored by Pennsylvania Association of Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (PAPSRS) will be at the Penn Stater Conference Center on April 10-12, 2007. The theme of the conference is Cultivating Recovery through Psychiatric Rehabilitation. This year there will be a health fair with representatives from the health community.
The next Full Council meeting will be May 9, 2007, at the Hilton Towers in Harrisburg, PA.
The meeting adjourned at 12:21 p.m.
Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council
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