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HomeMy WebLinkAboutcouncil-mtg-minutes-feb2023Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Planning and Advisory Council Board Meeting Minutes February 8, 2023 This meeting was held virtually using Zoom. Directors Present: Stephen Beard, Erin Boyd, Wandra Boyd, Scott Brooks, David Cammarata, Sandra Coss, Melissa Crisp-Cooper, Angelique Goldberg, Ron Halog, Christine Hanson, Herb Hastings, Greg King, Rachel Longan, Darin Lounds, June McIntyre, Phu Nguyen, Larene Pare, David Pena, Dinah Shapiro, Laurel Sillins, Nina Spiegelman, Marvin Tate, Karen Toto, Leslie Visbal, Geneva Carlos-Valentino Directors Excused: Edda Banuelos, Bill Pelter, Michael Pereira, Esther Wong Guest: Pam Perls, CCC DDC, CCC Mental Health Commission, EBLC, COA Committee; Gabriela Solval, SCDD; Lisa Kleinbub, RCEB; Chris Hanson, RCEB; Marichelle Alcantara, HCEB; Jennifer Hernandez, Alegria Community Living Staff Present: Schantell Williams, TAP Associate Program Specialist President's Report: Angelique Goldberg wished all attendees a happy Lunar New Year. Angelique reminded attendees that February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements and recognize the vital role of Black Americans in our nation. Angelique also mentioned that February is National Heart Month, a time during which we are encouraged to consider our heart health and minimize risk factors that may lead to heart disease. Angelique also reminded attendees that the Council does not typically hold a board meeting in March due to preparation for the Alameda County Transition Fair. The next Council Board Meeting is on Wednesday, April 12th, at 9 AM via Zoom. Coordinator's Report: Schantell Williams reported for Ben Chen. According to the CDC tracker, Alameda County is back in the local community transmission level of COVID-19, and the National Emergency and public health emergencies remain in effect in California. The emergency declaration also remains in place until February 28. Alameda County intends to align with the state's timeframe as the local conditions allow. Folks are encouraged to vaccinate, and if you have a positive test result for COVID-19, contact a healthcare provider as soon as possible to see if you qualify for the COVID-19 treatments for uninsured or underinsured individuals. Schantell noted that there are a lot of events and resources in February. The Council’s newsletter features an employment spotlight highlighting self-advocates employment journeys. Please nominate individuals so that the Council can bring awareness to the importance of employment for folks with disabilities and their contributions to the workforce. Workers in Alameda Contra Costa in Mendocino counties who have been impacted by the severe storm weather, floods, wind, landslides, and mudslides that started out on December 27th are now all eligible to file for federal disaster unemployment assistance benefits in nine previously announced California counties. Applications for the DOA benefits must be filled out by applicants in Alameda County by March 9 unless the individual has an excellent reason to file late. There will be a community resource webinar to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families and caregivers that will identify community partners and resources. This presentation will be provided in Spanish, Cantonese, and ASL. The Alameda County transition fair will be on March 25 in person for the first time in three years. This conference is a resource fair for students with intellectual disabilities and their families, teachers, case managers, service providers, and others working in supporting youth with disabilities. There will be workshops on transitioning special education, employment, etc. DHTI still has its Fast Track respite training, a 10-hour online self-study course. The REACH housing opportunity waitlist is open. They have a variety of properties in the Tri-Valley area. To be eligible for residency, the applicant must be a client of the regional center, and either live in the Tri-Valley or have family who lives in the Tri-Valley area. The LGBTQ+ Thrive pride webinar series falls on the second Wednesday of each month from four to five o'clock. Aging with Pride: Building a Caring Community is also on February 10th. This program will be half a half-day conference focused on learning resources and supporting LGBTQIA+ care, caregivers, and community members. Project SEARCH’s one-year program provides education and onsite training to prepare individuals with disabilities for work. Interns participating in this project will learn employability skills in the classroom and job skills while participating in three paid internships during the year. The Family Resource Navigators will be hosting an Unpacking Oppression workshop. This is for families and providers in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Congreso Familiar hosts webinars most Saturdays of the month, and La Familia provides a monthly orientation for parents on the regional center and their services. The Alameda County Transition Fair will be at the College of Alameda on March 25th. The Council will provide links and contact information for resources and events in a follow-up email. Resources & Upcoming Events DHTI is still hosting its self-paced FastTrack Respite training about supporting individuals with IDD receiving respite services. This training is directed toward those who speak Asian languages and are interested in providing direct support. REACH Housing has several housing opportunities in the Tri-Valley area. To qualify, you must be a regional center participant and live in or have relatives who live in the Tri-Valley area. LGBTQI+ Thrive with Pride webinar series: Learn about brain health, Alzheimer's, and living the best life possible. Monthly educational series held the second Wednesday of every month, beginning January 11th, 2023, from 4 PM to 5 PM. LGBTQI+ Thrive with Pride is hosting Aging with Pride, Building a Caring Community on Thursday, February 9th, from 9 AM to 12 PM. It's a half-day conference focused on learning, resources, and supporting LGBTQI+ caregivers and community members. DHTI is hosting its second Bridge to Cultural Understanding Workshop on Thursday, January 12th, from 10:30 AM to 12 PM, with an option to attend in person or virtually. The workshop is designed to help IDD service providers find ways to connect and build trust with families from the Asian community when accessing mainstream services. Upcoming DDC Meetings Wednesday, April 12th, 2023, at 9:30 AM Approval of January 11, 2023, Council Meeting Minutes: Motion carried with no abstentions. Council Business: The Brown Act Angelique Goldberg reminded attendees that the Council committees and Board of Directors meetings are subject to Brown Act requirements, meaning that all meetings shall be open and subject to the provisions of the Ralph M. Brown Act. Closed meetings may be held to deal with membership matters and other sensitive topics in which the discussion may violate an individual’s right to confidentiality. During the recent pandemic and subsequent state of emergency, many aspects of the Brown Act regulations were relaxed regarding teleconferencing versus meeting in person. The Council was allowed to host meetings virtually, post meeting information, take attendance, and vote, all virtually. The state of emergency is set to end on February 28th, so the Brown Act’s temporary relaxation will also end. This means that the Council is expected to host in-person meetings starting in March. On the other hand, we have recently discovered that the Council is not a governing body of Alameda County and therefore is only required to follow the Brown Act according to our own bylaws. The Board of Directors can decide to amend our bylaws to allow more effective flexibility around holding virtual meetings. The Council must submit its decision at least 15 days before the next Board meeting on April 12th. Angelique motioned for the Board of Directors to approve amending the bylaws to include maximum flexibility in holding meetings, a hybrid option of both in-person and virtual options. The Board members took a vote with unanimous support for a hybrid option. Schantell agreed to discuss with Ben how to bring this decision to the County’s legal team for guidance. Presentation: Managing Stress and Burnout Jennifer Hernandez and Karen Toto, Alegria Community Living Jennifer and Karen walked the Council attendees through making space for self-care and wellness, exploring different techniques and resources, and centering mindfulness practices to help manage the everyday stressors that can lead to symptoms of burnout. EBLC REPORT Schantell Williams reported for Mike Pereira. Governor Newsom released the initial budget proposal for the 2023-2024 upcoming fiscal year. The past few weeks after the release has been centered on response to Governor’s proposal and legislative organizing the upcoming hearing schedules and committee chairs and members, tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, February 22. Assembly Budget Committee #1 Health and human services continues to be chaired by Dr. Arambula. Senate Budget Committee #3 is now chaired by Senator Caroline Jabar, District 20. The final date for formally submitting Bill ideas for legislative sponsorship is February 17. Based on the Department of Finance and Administration positions, a projected budget revenue shortfall is anticipated to be $22.6 billion. This upcoming budget year is unlikely to have opportunities to increase or introduce new spending. It is important to note that the governor's budget proposal does not project a recession, nor does it touch any of the existing well-qualified reserves that the state has been saving over the past few years. Our projected revenue shortfalls are expected to be met through deferrals of past committees or funding delays, reductions in funds, and some limited borrowing. But there is no proposal to utilize reserves like the rainy-day fund. The May revision will result from the legislators passing a budget with some guidance or input from the governor's proposal. Any differences will be negotiated with the administration and the legislative leadership. The EBLC held its annual legislative breakfast via zoom on January 27. There were over 100 attendees, with eight active breakout rooms with representatives from two federal offices and six state offices. EBLC will be hosting, along with RCEB, two in-person events in March, one in Alameda County at the San Leandro office, the other will be at Contra Costa County in Concord. Details are to come. The next EBLC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, from 10 am to 12 pm. RCEB Report Lisa Kleinbub reported that DDS has been very active in sending out new directives and changes in terms of programs that we anticipate rolling out over the next six months. One of those is the family- coordinated support services for people living in their family homes. And we got guidance on this from DDS and some presentations about the program. RCEB will be asking for vendors who might provide the support. Still, it would help families coordinate different services in the home while they include personal assistants on medical stuff. This new service will resemble having SLS in the family home with some emergency backup. There will be no pilot program, all regional centers will be rolling it out and are requesting proposals from interested providers. RCEB has been doing well with getting providers to meet HCBS compliance, which is about ensuring everyone has an inclusive life in the community. Particularly when they're living in licensed residential homes and can make their own choices and in daily activities. Only one provider required a moratorium. Lisa expects that RCEB will be fully paper compliant in March, which is the requirement. Next year, RCEB will include additional work to support people in best practices, which maps where people want to get services in the community and additional details. DDS and the Department of Health Care Services are auditing RCEB on the Medicaid waiver program. That is a three-week process of looking at files and doing a lot of visits with individuals and providers. RCEB also debuted its new brochure and will be posting them to the website. RCEB plans to use these brochures when case managers meet with individuals to talk about the range of services available by age group and condition. HCEB REPORT Angelique Goldberg reported for Darin Lounds. Darin thanked RCEB for collaborating with HCEB to identify homeless and at-risk homeless consumers eligible for mainstream vouchers. So far, approximately 25 individuals have been identified. Unfortunately, the vouchers will be released to another population if we don't have enough eligible applicants. Please contact your regional center of the East Bay case manager and Krystal Warren to state your interest in this opportunity. SCDD REPORT Gabriela Solval reported several items for the calendar: The State Council has a new virtual training calendar web page on its site. There are various trainings available to take. The State Council on Developmental Disabilities LA office is hosting a training on Regional Center Fair Hearings and Complaints process on Monday, February 13 at 10 am and on Monday, February 27th at 10 am. They will also have training on Regional Center services in Spanish. The same link meeting ID and password is used for all trainings year-round. The next Bay Area Regional Advisory Committee Meeting will be on Wednesday, February 22, from 6:15 pm to 6:30 pm for networking, with the actual meeting from 6:30 pm to 9 pm. The SCDD RAC meeting will address 2023 policy priorities and policy work updates. Gabriela also reminded attendees that anyone could share their policy and legislative bill ideas with the State Council year-round on their website. Those and other committee calendars can be found on the SCDD website on the meetings calendar under the News and Events tab. PVAC REPORT Geneva Carlos-Valentino reported that a group of service providers from PVAC met several times to develop a charter for the proposed Service Provider Equity ad hoc subcommittee. The proposed subcommittee is meant to tackle various issues affecting provider equity, including the organization's racial, cultural, and linguistic memberships, geographic size, and organizational structure. PVAC will review the draft charter with the rest of the members at the next meeting for approval. The co-chairs hope to take the approved charter to the regional center board members for additional approvals. PVAC will also host a presentation at its regularly scheduled meeting on Friday, February 10th, from Jamie Marquis of Mains’l on a virtual person-centered planning platform called Center On Me. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am via zoom. Geneva reminded attendees that if anyone would like to share resources and events, please contact rcebpvac@gmail.com. To be included in PVAC announcements and updates, use the Google Form to provide your contact information: https://forms.gle/4CpUmpPsAfZdPu9JA HireAble Schantell reported for Donna Feingold. The last HireAble meeting was on January 23. There was a well- received presentation on neurodiversity from a speech and language pathologist and an occupational therapist. The next HireAble meeting will be on February 27th at 3 pm. The meeting will feature a presentation on Credibility Concepts, a builder of enabling technology for individuals with IDD. There will also be a demonstration of user-friendly apps that will help job seekers in Career Discovery and then match their interests and skills to the careers of interests for successful placement. HireAble’s DDS employment grant will offer training for students, parents, and teachers focusing on employment to motivate and encourage young adults to find jobs when they transition from school. The three- presentation series will be offered in the spring of 2023, the Fall of 2023, and the spring of 2024. Both Alameda and Contra Costa County counties are eligible to participate. Information about the dates for the first series will be available soon. Please contact Donna Feingold for more information. Public Comments No public comment. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 11:39 AM. Respectively submitted by Geneva Carlos-Valentino, Board Secretary.