February 9, 2011
Hilton Towers, Harrisburg, PA
Mr. Joseph Kraher convened the meeting at 9:30 a.m. and read the mission statement. Mr. Kraher asked all guests present to introduce themselves.
There were no additions or changes to the Agenda.
Ms. Emily Scott stated the last conference call was on January 13th. Ms. Edie Schramm and Khan Mitchell from workforce development were also on the call. Ms. Schramm sent statistics from last quarter of all the people with disabilities served at the CareerLink centers. Ms. Scott encouraged everyone to attend their local Workforce Investment Board meetings. The next conference call will be on April 7th at 10:00 a.m.
Ms. Leslie Kelly reported that the quarterly customer satisfaction survey report for October through December only had three responses. The committee will again pass out the flier with tear offs at the bottom in hopes of getting more responses to the survey. Ms. Linda Williams stated the fliers should also be handed out to providers and the Centers for Independent Living (CIL). The next conference call will be on March 16th at 10:00 a.m.
Mr. William Murphy stated the last conference call was on December 1st. The annual report was completed and moved forward. Mr. Murphy stated it will be a challenge with Mr. Gannon leaving OVR and getting his replacement up to par on what the Council is working on. There need to be better communication between people exiting the educational system and entering the adult services.
Mr. Lee Lippi reported that the committee established dates for visits to the state and federal legislators. The federal visit will be on April 13th. Several members visited the state legislators on February 8th and stated they were quite successful. The next conference call will be on February 22nd at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Kraher stated he and Mr. Kauffman targeted new legislators, introducing them to the Council and explaining what OVR does for people with disabilities. About 30 returning legislators and 16 new legislators were seen.
Mr. Larry Kauffman stated that on the last conference call, Ms. Marji Beyer, OVR was present and helped in making revisions to the state plan attachment. The attachment will be approved today in the consent agenda.
Mr. Kraher formally thanked Mr. Gannon, past Director of OVR, for all his work with the Council. As of this date, there has not been a replacement named for the Director position. Also the Director of Labor and Industry is still open. The Executive Committee thanked all the committees for all the hard work they did last year. The OVR needs assessment is in the process of development. Ms. Scott, Mr. Kauffman and Mr. Kraher will be working with Ms. Lori Jenkins on the development of the questions to be used. The needs assessment will be done in 2012. The Council is involved with the National Coalition of State Rehabilitation Councils and Technical Assistance and Continuing Education Center (TACE) regional trainings. Mr. Kraher reported that a past member of the Council and OVR Board, Mr. Thomas Walsh, passed away recently. The Council extended their condolences.
Mr. Don Zeigler reported that the Council spent $31.35 in October, $2,272.00 in November and $3,887.06 in December. Total expenses for the first quarter of 2010-2011 were $6,190.41 leaving a balance of $87,309.59 as of December 31, 2010.
No member attended their local Workforce Investment Board meetings.
No comments were given.
Dr. Maureen McGuire-Kuletz, Ed.D, CRC, Director of the George Washington Technical Assistance and Continuing Education Center (TACE), stated the center is one of ten across the country and are served by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration. Pennsylvania is in region three. TACE provides technical assistance and continuing education to state vocational rehabilitation agencies and their partners, in different regions throughout the country. TACE does everything from orientation to strategic planning. Chair persons from many State Rehabilitation Councils (SRC's) wanted to be able to communicate with other chairs within the region. There will be a meeting prior to the Council of State Administrators in Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) in April. It will be in Bethesda Maryland. There will also be a meeting in the fall on November 9th in Richmond Virginia. Ms. Williams stated that at the meeting she attended last November in Arlington, Virginia, most of the chairpersons present all had similar problems. Dr. McGuire-Kuletz stated there is financial support to have at least one Council member attend. The meetings.
Mr. Lee Lippi made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Mr. Chuck Giambrone seconded the motion. All were in favor.
Mr. Thomas Washic, OVR, stated there still is no Executive Director of OVR or Secretary of Labor and Industry. Mr. Barry Brandt and Mr. John Brown retired from their district offices. Wilkes-Barre does not have a permanent district administrator. The counselors, as far as the CSPD, that is the masters program within OVR, is doing well. There are 449 vocational rehabilitation counselors and of that number, 400 meet the CSPD standards. Of that remaining number, 49 are eligible to retire. At OVR, Mr. Dave Baum is a specialist who does a great job recruiting nationally. The Erie Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS) office is scheduled to move on March 17th. The new governor will present his budget to the legislature on March 8th. The state budget hearings for the Senate have been scheduled for March 16 and the House hearing will be on March 30th. The federal budget is still on a continuing resolution until March 4th. On April 6th , OVR is having a placement conference with Commissioner Lynnae Ruttledge from the RSA speaking to the counselors. This will be held in State College. RSA will be performing an audit of Pennsylvania OVR this year. As far as national news, Commissioner Ruttledge met with White House staff to discuss employment of people with disabilities in the federal government. Commissioner Ruttledge also mentioned that the rehabilitation act is unlikely to be a priority due to other issues in the national scene. RSA is going to hold a fiscal conference in Washington this year. There will also be a national transition conference this year, more information will follow on that conference.
Mr. Rob Schramm, OVR, talked about the proposed amendment to the subrogation policy. The proposal is to change the subrogation awards that are made due to medical malpractice.
Mr. Sam Cost, OVR, gave an update on the needs assessment. The day after New Year's, three members of the Council met with OVR staff to develop five questionnaires for constituent groups . Now, Mr. Jim Kreider from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) will develop these questions in a format that is understandable and comprehensive enough to get the results needed.
Ms. Lori Jenkins, OVR stated they had a wonderful brain storming session with Council members. The executive staff at OVR has also given their input to the questionnaires. In about three weeks, the OSS will have all the questions in understandable language and the needs assessment will be sent out. From the information received, questions and topics will be built for the focus groups which should be up and running by April. The needs assessment will be done in time for the 2012 attachment to the state plan.
Mr. Dave Baum, Supervisor for the Employer Services, Staff Development Division , OVR, stated his division has three responsibilities. They are employer services, training and recruitment. Ms. Lakesha McCluren is doing a great job recruiting qualified VR counselors. Our division is meeting with employers and letting them know what OVR does. The counselors are being trained on being more comfortable with the employer part. Mr. Baum thanked the executive team at OVR for being supportive of the employment mission.
Ms. Dana Picante, Supervisor of the Special Programs Division, OVR, gave an update on what her division does. Ms. Picante's division provides support staff to program areas such as supported employment, assistive technology, transition, the development of training content, policy and technical assistance. This division is the primary liaison with counterparts at a national level in terms of any special programs that are taking place. They are also the primary liaison in state government, education, public welfare, health and other partners with Labor and Industry.
Mr. Kraher introduced Representative Mark Cohen, who stopped in to the Council meeting. Representative Cohen just recently became the Democratic Minority Chair of the Human Services Committee. Representative Cohen stated he is looking at how he can improve human services. He is very much interested in peoples ideas and would like to work with the Council members.
Mr. Lee Lippi reported that CAP participated in a veterans employment program at the YMCA in Harrisburg. There were about sixty homeless veterans present and it is sad to see what is happening as far as veterans benefits are concerned. CAP participated in the Beaver Valley IU Transition event on January 28th. On February 8th CAP was at the Horizon House in Philadelphia. Horizon House offers a tremendous amount of benefits for people with disabilities at their facility. Later in the day, Ms. Jamie Ray did a presentation for the Bucks County Parents Group on Transition. On February 10th , Mr. Steve Pennington and myself will be doing a PA Cares meeting at the armory in Harrisburg. Mr. Lippi also reported he will be at the Lebanon VA Medical Center for the semi-monthly meeting next week. CAP will be participating in the Students of America Conference on February 28th at Shippensburg University. CAP has been invited to join the veterans council at the Coatesville VA Medical Center and also at the Van Zandt Medical Center in Altoona. CAP will be going to the Hiram G. Andrews Center in Johnstown to meet with the director of the veterans leadership program.
Mr. Charles Giambrone stated the next meeting of the GCACPD will be on February 18th. Twenty seven individuals were sworn in prior to Governor Corbett taking office. The committee has been working on surveys in targeted areas and targeted programs. Mr. Ed Butler would like to come to the May Council meeting and give a presentation. Some of the things the committee is asked to look at is transition, education and working with those that are unemployed and persons with significant disabilities.
No report given. Mr. William Murphy stated that Mr. Ron Tomalis is the new Secretary of Education. He was previously under Governor Ridge. Also Ms. Amy Morton and Ms. Carolyn Dumaresq will be coming on board in the Department of Education. Finances will be a big issue with a 4 or 5 million dollar deficit.
TNo report given.
Ms. Edie Schramm was not present at the meeting, but had discussed quarterly statistics on a CareerLink Accessibility call in January.
Ms. Zainab Jama was not present but did send a report to the office. Unfortunately, the document would not open. Staff will check on this and send the report as soon as received.
Mr. Tuckey was not present to give a report.
Mr. William Krisner stated that Representative Jake Wheatley will be introducing legislation to replace mental retardation with intellectual disabilities. The Disability Budget Coalition along with other groups asked state representatives and senators to sign onto a letter that Senator Pat Vance is sending to the Governor to encourage him to invest and support the home and community based programs that help people stay out of institutions. Mr. Larry Kauffman stated that on one of the conference calls he was on that Ms. Marji Beyer thought it would be a good idea to schedule an appointment with Governor Corbett. This will be further looked into with OVR.
Mr. Kraher reminded members to fill out the notice of financial interest form and send them in by May 1st. This may be done online as well.
The next Full Council meeting will be on Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at the Hilton & Towers in Harrisburg, PA.
The meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council
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