SILC NEWSLETTER – JULY 2015Sharing Information Loud and Clear

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

July is a momentous month for the California State Independent Living Council (SILC) and the 28 Independent Living Centers (ILCs) across the state. While commemorating the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, the SILC and ILCs continue to further the impact of the ADA on the lives of Californians with disabilities. #ADA25!

This edition of Sharing Information Loud and Clear highlights how the SILC and ILCs are celebrating ADA25 as well as the services and programs ILCs provide to help Californians with disabilities live and work independently. The articles include:

California Independent Living Centers Salute the ADA’s 25th Anniversary A2I Transitions 500 Individuals with Disabilities from Institutions to Independence SILC Awards Grants for New Aging and Disability Resource Centers Planning the Next SPIL and More at SILC’s Quarterly Meeting SILC’s “Friend-Raiser Friday” Exceeds Expectations Digital Access Project Connects Individuals with Disabilities to the World

We welcome your suggestions for future articles in Sharing Information Loud and Clear. Please be sure to share this edition with your friends and invite them to “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Sincerely,

Ben JaureguiChair, SILC                                                 

CALIFORNIA INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS SALUTE THE ADA’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Photo: 25 Years ADA Disability.gov

California’s Independent Living Centers (ILCs) have been gearing up for months to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA25). To mark the ground-breaking decision, the ILCs are hosting ADA25 events ranging from festivals to conferences and exhibits to educational forums and more. Celebrations started in March and will continue beyond the anniversary of the ADA’s enactment on July 26. For a quarter of a century, ILCs have employed the ADA to remove barriers, shift inaccurate perceptions and provide programs and services to make full participation in community life a reality. The salute to the ADA25 demonstrates the ILCs’ commitment to advancing equality and inclusion and achieving full compliance throughout the state.

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On July 1, the Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco (ILRCSF) launched festivities with a "2015 ADA Month Kickoff,” which included arts and crafts, music, vendors and a resource fair, and Communities Actively Living Independent and Free held an ADA25 Disability Fest. The Marin Center for Independent Living (Marin CIL) plans to salute the anniversary with an “ADA: Past, Present and Future” celebration on July 23, and this year’s Disability Unity Festival and Parade will be sponsored by the Center for Independence of Individuals with Disabilities, Community Resources for Independent Living, Independent Living Resources of Solano and Contra Costa Counties, ILRCSF, Marin CIL and Silicon Valley Independent Living Center (SVILC).

Photo: SILC Council Member Michael Agyin attended the ADA25 Celebration at the Los Angeles City Hall on July 11: "It's a beautiful day in L.A.! 25 years in the making...Americans

with Disabilities Act...Now and Forever!"

Advocacy and education are a major focus for ILCs, and ADA25 represents a perfect opportunity to expand those efforts. FREED Center for Independent Living (FREED), SVILC and Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled are organizing forums with Youth Organizing Disabled and Proud to educate young people with disabilities and the public about the ADA. Additionally, FREED will host the "Our Community: Aging & Disability Conference,” and Rolling Start, Inc. will co-sponsor the conference and exposition “Because of the ADA Celebration.” Tri-County Independent Living, Inc. is reaching out to the public and celebrating ADA25 with a community picnic. In the East Bay, the "Patient No More" interactive, multimedia exhibit will run from July 26 to December 18 at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley with a traveling exhibit at various Bay Area venues. And the ADA Legacy Tour exhibit, which originated in Sacramento on July 25, 2014, will conclude its nationwide bus tour by joining disability community leaders in Washington, D.C. on July 26.

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Photo: ADA Legacy Tour Bus in Sacramento Christened by Youth Organizing (YO)! Disabled and Proud, Christina Mills, Deputy Director, California Foundation for Independent Living

Centers, and Sarah Triano, Executive Officer, California Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities.

Finally, several ILCs worked with their public officials to shine a spotlight on ADA25. For example, Independent Living Resource Center, Inc. invited local dignitaries to their July event, “Celebrate the 25th on the 25th,” and procured proclamations from local city councils and boards of supervisors. And some ILCs joined with disability advocates to include their logos on the California Department of Rehabilitation’s ADA25 website, while Disabled Resources Center commemorated ADA25 during their 39th Annual Awards Dinner in June.

“Looking beyond ADA25, California’s 28 ILCs and the California State Independent Living Council (SILC) remain committed to fully implementing the ADA,” said SILC Executive Director Liz Pazdral. “We will champion the ADA in all areas of life to empower Californians with disabilities to live and work independently where they choose.”

Photo: SILC Members Michael Agyin and Rebeca Aguirre Commemorating ADA25 at Disability Capitol Action Day in Sacramento

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Photo: Sporting an ADA25 t-shirt, Christina Mills, Deputy Director, California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, and spouse of SILC Member Eli Gelardin, with Assembly Member

Kansen Chu at Disability Capitol Action Day in Sacramento

Photo: Joseph Cody, SILC Member and Resources for Independence Central Valley (RICV) Director of Technology and Resources, with keynote speaker Joe Xavier, Director, California

Department of Rehabilitation, and RICV Executive Director Robert Hand at RICV's ADA celebration event.

A2I TRANSITIONS 500 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES FROM INSTITUTIONS TO INDEPENDENCE

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Transitioning approximately 500 people with disabilities from institutions to their own homes makes Access to Independence’s (A2I) 10-year effort a powerful testament to independent living. As one of 28 Independent Living Centers (ILCs) in California, A2I’s work champions the 1999 Supreme Court Olmstead Decision, which prohibits the segregation of people with disabilities in institutions as discriminatory and in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“A2I has been deeply involved in nursing home transition work since 2006 when we received a large grant from The California Endowment,” said A2I Executive Director Louis Frick. “This is exactly what the Olmstead Decision is about, and by focusing our efforts on community integration, we advance Olmstead with every person we serve.”

One example of A2I’s efforts can be seen in their work to assist a gentleman in his late 40s, who has a spinal cord injury, move out of a skilled nursing facility in which he had been living for 10 years. Although initially reluctant to leave what he considered “his home,” after seeing A2I staff with similar disabilities using power wheelchairs like his, he decided to make the move. Nearly three years later, he is still living in the community.

The Affordable Care Act also has advanced the Olmstead Decision by spotlighting the need for home and community-based services and getting healthcare organizations to "play along." A significant aspect of A2I’s work centers on building partnerships with healthcare entities to help them understand the value of collaborating with ILCs and using the long-term services and supports that can make Olmstead work.

“We continually seek various avenues to engage the healthcare industry,” explained Frick. “Our most innovative effort is through the local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) with whom we’ve partnered since 2006. We’re currently collaborating with Aging and Independent Services, San Diego County’s Area Agency on Aging, to develop a model through the ADRC to broker virtually all long-term services and supports available through more than 90 providers around the county.”

“There are many agencies, services and resources available to Californians living with disabilities who are interested in moving out of institutions or remaining in their homes,” said California State Independent Living Council Executive Director Liz Pazdral. “ILCs like A2I ensure that the intent of Olmstead continues to be realized.”

SILC AWARDS GRANTS FOR NEW AGING AND DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTERS

The California State Independent Living Council (SILC) recently awarded $50,000 grants to the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging (VCAAA) and the Monterey County Area Agency on Aging (MCAAA) to develop and implement new Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) in their counties. The funding was provided from two grants the SILC had previously procured from the Administration on Community Living.

ADRCs rely on partnerships among Area Agencies on Aging (AAA), Independent Living Centers (ILCs) and other organizations, which are joined by a network of extended partners. As trusted sources of objective information, counseling and assistance, ADRCs encourage consumers to consider all available options and make informed decisions about long-term services and supports (LTSS) to help them live and work independently.

Of the five grant applicants, VCAAA and MCAAA were selected based on specific scoring criteria, which included identifying core partners and explaining their shared vision for LTSS system improvements and veterans’ services, planning activities and collaboration. The applicants also committed to working with technical experts, securing other funding for ADRC

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and LTSS services and providing four ADRC core services. Those services include Enhanced Information and Referral and Awareness, Options Counseling, Short-Term Service Coordination and Transition Services. Both AAAs also submitted three-month work plans with goal statements, major activities/tasks to be completed, timeframes and outputs as well as detailed budgets and letters of commitment from all ADRC core partners.

PLANNING THE NEXT SPIL AND MORE AT SILC’S QUARTERLY MEETING

The California State Independent Living Council’s (SILC) quarterly meeting took place in San Diego on July 2-3. A number of significant topics were addressed, including two panel discussions on the 2017-2019 State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) and the corresponding needs assessment. During the introductions, Executive Director Liz Pazdral welcomed Robert McCarthy who started as SILC’s Legislative Specialist on July 20.

The first order of the day was the election of Linda Schaedle as SILC’s Vice Chairperson followed by committee meetings and reports. It was decided the SILC would continue supporting SB 547 (Liu), which establishes the Department of Community Living within the Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) to serve as the single state-level contact on issues of independent living, aging, and long-term care.

After the Executive Committee report, a motion was made and carried to oppose Senate Bill 128 (Wolk and Monning), an assisted suicide bill, which lacks sufficient safeguards and has the potential to undermine the safety of people with disabilities.

The Governance Committee encouraged all Council members to attend ADA 25th anniversary celebrations and take photographs for SILC to post on social media.

The SPIL Committee reported that 51 percent of the Independent Living Centers (ILCs) must sign off on the 2017–2019 SPIL. The committee will consider strategies for developing a communication plan to include ILC directors in the SPIL process. The SILC contracted with Ellis Planning Associates (EPA) and Mission Analytics Group to help prepare the needs assessment.

After lunch, EPA President Galen Ellis facilitated a discussion on writing a SPIL, which resulted in the several significant recommendations:

Ensure the right people are involved and willing to assume the role of ambassador. Garner community input from diverse stakeholders, including people with disabilities and

their support networks. Involve the entire Independent Living Network, not just the ILCs. Conduct a joint meeting with the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers to

gain stakeholder input and ownership of the plan. Work with the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR), particularly to share data. Ensure everyone involved has a deep understanding of disability issues across the

state. Condense the goals and objectives to a digestible and achievable number. Include a glossary of relevant terms as well as the role of funding formulas for the SILC

and ILCs. During the process, create a SPIL-writing guide, including a timeline and checklist, that

allows for flexibility rather than proscribing exactly how everything needs to be done. Use the SPIL as a marketing tool to create new connections.

After the facilitated SPIL discussion, SILC members heard a presentation titled, “Community Integration: From Nursing Home to Your Home,” focused on Access to Independence’s program, which has transitioned more than 500 individuals from nursing homes to their homes

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since 2007. Resulting in significant savings, the program is funded by the Gary and Mary West Foundation and supports consumers at various levels, including assistive technology, housing, peer counseling and independent living skills. Jay Harris, DOR Chief, Independent Living and Assistive Technology, mentioned there is some transition funding still available from the DOR.

Yvonne Walden, the SILC’s Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) Grant Manager, provided an update on the SILC’s ADRC project. Of the $314,339.00 available to be spent from July 1, 2015, through September 29, 2015, the majority will be granted to emerging ADRCs (covered in the above article titled, “SILC Awards Grants for New Aging and Disability Resource Centers”) and to existing ADRCs.

Carol Castillon, Manager of the San Diego County Community-based Care Transitions Project spoke next about the county’s ADRC's launch of “San Diego Veterans Independence Services at any Age” (SD-VISA), the first veterans-directed home and community-based services program in California. SD-VISA gives veterans of any age at risk of nursing home placement the opportunity to manage a budget and purchase the supportive services they need to live safely and independently in their communities. The program is administered by Aging and Independence Services (AIS) in partnership with the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS).

On average, veterans receive approximately $2,800 a month in services through SD-VISA compared to the monthly average cost of $7,500 at institutions. Statistics indicate 90 percent of the participants interviewed are satisfied with all aspects of the program and 100 percent are satisfied with the quality of care indicating they have an improved quality of life that allows them to live safely in their homes.

Castillon shared the program’s keys to success, including committed staff who are right for their jobs, good communication, flexibility and transparency. Some challenges include the limited duration of funding through the two-year grant and getting veterans to think outside the box. SILC Member Eli Gelardin recommended SILC’s Communication and Collaboration Committee explore avenues for SILC to advocate for SD-VISA’s continuance in San Diego and, potentially, to be rolled out across the state.

Friday’s session started with a mentor/mentee breakfast and continued with a presentation by San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts. Roberts talked about the experience of adopting his children and caring for a cousin with a disability, which has informed his work on Independent Living policies. He is partnering with Supervisor Cox to improve foster care and adoption as well as other social services. He previously partnered with Supervisor Jacobs on an Alzheimer’s initiative centered on education, caregivers and finding a cure. He gave an overview of 211 San Diego, a resource and information hub that connects people with community, health and disaster services through a free, 24/7 stigma-free confidential phone service and searchable online database. The service also includes the Courage to Call for veterans to connect them with the resources they need and to speak with other veterans. Emphasizing the importance of transportation to maintain independence, Roberts highlighted San Diego’s Facilitating Access to Coordinated Transportation program, a resource for residents seeking transportation options.

Next up was a discussion of the Independent Living needs assessment. Galen Ellis and Ed Kako of Mission Analytics explained the process, which will start with data collection. Three types of primary data will be collected, including interviews with ILC directors and other community stakeholders, focus groups in various communities and up to three regional stakeholder meetings.

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SILC members shared several ideas on data collection such as including youth transition, autism and developmental disability organizations as well as mental health, aging and other stakeholders interested in transitioning individuals out of facilities. Another key informant group would be foster youth and youth in the juvenile justice system. For the interviews, they suggested targeting representatives from the business community, policymakers and funders. They also encouraged employing best practices to ensure people with diverse disabilities and ethnicities, such as Native Americans and Latinos, and underserved groups are included.

Suggested sources for data collection included existing administrative data, Child Protective Services, health plans, California Youth Connection and the youth transition survey, which will be available in August. Once the secondary data is collected, the SILC will define the primary data to be collected during the focus groups and stakeholder meetings. The intent is to reframe the needs assessment to be aspirational rather than merely pointing to needs and problems.

Ted Jackson, Statewide Community Organizer, California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, provided an update on the Disability Organizing Network’s (DOnetwork) activities and accomplishments. He shared the organization’s SPIL outcomes of increasing membership by 95 percent and achieving two policy wins related to online voter registration and Bay Area Rapid Transit car designs and oversight. Jackson gave an overview of the DOnetwork’s grant deliverables for training and technical assistance, webinars, summits and conferences, statewide campaign briefings and coalitions and collaborations. He also highlighted DOnetwork’s involvement with the California #ADA25 Conference in September.

The afternoon session included reports by representatives from the following state agencies on program and regulatory changes and budget implications for the disability community:

Deirdre Wheeler, Policy Analyst, California Department of Social Services. Jay Harris, Chief, Independent Living and Assistive Technology, and Irene Walela,

Assistant Deputy Director, DOR.

Following the agency updates, SILC Members and staff shared their experiences at various meetings and conferences attended since the last quarterly meeting. The day concluded with SILC’s executive director’s report and comments from SILC Members and staff. The next quarterly meeting will take place on September 15 and 16, 2015, at the Crowne Plaza Concord, 45 John Glenn Drive, Concord, CA 94520, phone: (925) 825-7700. Check the Meeting Notices section of SILC’s website at www.calsilc.org for updates and information.

SILC’S “FRIEND-RAISER FRIDAY” EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

On October 13, 2014, the California State Independent Living Council (SILC) joined the social media world of Facebook and Twitter. The following timeline highlights our accomplishments on Facebook.

2014October 13: SILC’s Facebook page launchedDecember 31: 90 Facebook “likes”

2015June 7: 218 Facebook “likes”June 8: Initiated a “Take a Selfie” campaign and created three Facebook adsJune 15: Boosted the “Take a Selfie” Facebook post and reached 533 people in a 24-hour period

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June 24: Launched the "Friend-Raiser Friday" campaign to increase “likes” from 1,023June 26: “Friend-Raiser Friday”June 30 and July 6: Posts to encourage friends to invite their friends to “like” SILCJuly 24: 1,307 “likes” – increased by 284 in one month!

Thanks to all of you who made SILC’s “Friend-Raiser Friday” such a great success! And a big thank-you to our 85 Twitter followers, too.

If you’ve not already done so, be sure to “like” California SILC on Facebook, comment on and share our posts and invite your friends to “like” us. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and retweet our tweets! #calSILC

DIGITAL ACCESS PROJECT CONNECTS INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO THE WORLD

Do you or your Independent Living Center’s consumers need cost-effective basic Internet access? The California Foundation for Independent Living Centers’ (CFILC) Digital Access Project (DAP) may be the answer. DAP connects individuals with disabilities to family, friends, school and medical professionals on the Internet for just $10.90 per month for basic Internet service. Whether it’s finding a job, helping children complete schoolwork or accessing e-commerce, electronic medical records and connecting with family, the options are limitless.

Just ask the FREED Center for Independent Living and Services Center for Independent Living about the success of their DAPs.

Take the DAP survey to discover the low-cost Internet options available to you. For more information, visit www.digitalaccessproject.org or contact Kim Hogan, CFILC Digital Access Project Coordinator at (916) 737-5351 or toll free at (800) 390-2699 or TTY at (800) 900-0706. A debit, credit or prepaid card is required for the recurring monthly charge.

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The California State Independent Living Council (SILC) is an independent state agency which, in cooperation with the California Department of Rehabilitation, prepares and monitors the State

Plan for Independent Living.

The SILC Mission: To Create Policy and System Change for Independent Living

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