MDDC Meeting MinutesFebruary 12, 2013

MDDC, 1150 Hancock Street, Suite 300Quincy, MA 02169

Present: Lois Aldrich, Lora Brugnaro, Debbie Pierce, Bethany Brown, Francis Seeley, Dianne Glennon, Naomi Goldberg, Veronica Kane, Robert Smith, Kate Ryan, Marie Narvaez, Cyndi Miller, Donald Washington, Kate Bartlett, Lisa Ching, Crystal Hebert-Carden, Erik Nordahl, Hannah Scott Hoffman

Excused: Gail Grossman, William Conley, Suzanne Gottlieb, Jim Gleason, Julie Fitzpatrick, William Kiernan, Sabrina Cazeau-Class, Tim Kunzier, Sandra Osborne, Nancy Amatucci, Irving Sacks

Absent: Daniel Sandberg, Henry Miloran, Caroline vanBruinswaardt

Guests: Jan Tobin

Staff: Faith Behum, Craig Hall, Sandy Houghton, Cathy Jackson, Harold Lieberman, Dan Shannon, Kristin Britton, Liz Fancher, Geovanny Diaz

1. Acceptance of the Agenda: Motion passed unanimously.Motion to accept: First: Debbie Pierce; Second: Donald Washington

2. Recognition of Lois Aldrich: Lora Brugnaro, Vice-Chair, acknowledged Lois’ many years of service and wished her well upon her retirement from the Council from state government. Lois thanked the Council for the opportunity to serve and will miss us all.

3. Approval of November Meeting Minutes: Passed unanimously.

Motion to accept: First: Donald Washington; Second: Kate Ryan

4. Council Updates: (Lora Brugnaro, Vice-Chair)The Annual meeting will be held in June on a date to be determined and may be an all-day meeting. Items in the packets for tonight’s meeting include the Public Policy Committee report (action item), information from the Department of Transportation on The Ride, and a copy of the A&F Agency Website Review. Cathy Jackson gave an update on the web site review report. There were only a few items to fix on the Council’s website, including adding hours of operations, developing a frequently asked questions section, fixing one broken link and keeping the “What’s New” section up to date. Kate Ryan asked why it was so difficult to get items onto the web page when it was so easy to post items to the Facebook page. Dan Shannon replied that the website is maintained by the Information Technology Department (ITD), whereas the MDDC’s Facebook page is maintained by us.

Concerning the Council budget, at the last meeting members were advised that $682,000 in funding was awarded until March 2013. We have not received word of additional funding and likely won’t before March. If Congress does not pass an FY 13 budget, our budget will likely be cut 5 - 10% from the previous year.

5. Membership Committee Report: (Lora Brugnaro, Vice-Chair)

All three recommended new members were appointed by the Governor. The Council welcomed new members Erik Nordahl, Crystal Hebert Carden and William Conley. In the spring, the membership committee will review applications for upcoming vacancies. There will be three vacancies, one for a self-advocate, one for a family member and one for either. Dianne Glennon asked if we kept past applications on file. Dan Shannon informed her that we did, and we contact those applicants to see if they are still interested.

6. Public Policy Report: (Kristen Britton, Faith Behum)The Legislative Reception will be held on March 6th and is open to the public. All members are encouraged to spread the word.

The Autism Commission Report will be available to the public at the end of March. It will be 162 pages long. Dianne Glennon asked if this report would spawn any new bills. Faith replied that the committee had divided tasks up among the Commission to draft possible bills resulting from the report. The report will be released at the State House in Gardner Auditorium on March 26th. The report will be large, so the Commission is looking into emailing as many copies as possible. The report will be accessible to screen readers.

In the past, the Council had one priority bill and the rest were sponsored bills. Because the State Plan and Annual Report have changed the Council will no longer be designating legislation by Area of Emphasis. Going forward, any bill that supports a Council priority will be eligible to be treated as a Priority Bill. Kate Ryan asked how the issue of not being allowed to lobby was dealt with. Dan Shannon replied that while the MDDC cannot lobby, it can advise legislators about the effects of legislation. Kate Ryan asked if training could be provided on this and was told by Kristen Britton that this was absolutely possible. Dan Shannon asked how many of the seven goals in the State Plan were covered by at least one of the potential bills. Kristen said that all but the second goal (the SALS training) were addressed. Kate Ryan asked if one could bring cue cards in when giving testimony to the legislature. Dan Shannon replied that any form of notes, including reading a prepared statement, is allowed.

Motion to adopt the list of Legislative Priorities for the next two years: Motion passed unanimously

First: Kate Ryan; Second: Francis Seeley

7. SALS Update: (Sandy Houghton)As of January, there have been four trainings going in Cambridge and Holyoke. A series in Bridgewater will be starting in March. Currently we have two training teams, but one of our trainers has stepped down due to other employment opportunities. A replacement will be hired soon. In addition, Sandy’s movie has had several premieres, including at the Mass Advocates Standing Strong Annual Conference.

8. Annual Report: (Craig Hall)Craig presented and reviewed the Citizen Centric Report.

9. Gopen Fellowship Report: (Liz Fancher)Tim Kunzier was unable to attend the meeting due to the weather, so he sent a statement for Liz Fancher to read on his project. Tim will be back on the Council after taking his leave of absence to do the Fellowship. At present, the Gopen Fellowship runs from January to December, but going forward it will run from July to June. Also the Fellowship was formerly open to self-advocates and family members. Going forward, the new Crocker Fellowship will be available for family members, and the Gopen Fellowship will be available exclusively for self-advocates.

10. Departing Members: Nancy Rose Amatucci and Francis Seeley

11. Other Business:Please fill out the Communication Guideline Questionnaire before leaving.

12. Adjournment: Motion to Adjourn: First: Donald Washington; Second: Debbie Pierce

Meeting adjourned at 9:00 pm

Review/Approved DateDianne Glennon, Secretary

Daniel M. Shannon, Executive Director Date