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WRC Meeting Minutes

January 19, 2006
Crowne Plaza, Madison

Present: Linda Vegoe, Charlene Dwyer, Cleo Eliason, Manuel Lugo, Gail Kolvenbach, Cindi Pichler, Ken Kluever, John Lui, Dan Sippl, Jennifer Boyle, Suzanne Van Beaver DPI Rep., Peter Lucas, Rob Buettner, Craig Wehner, Carol Schaufel, Karen Funkhouser, James Bond, Mike Greco, Vince Holmes

Absent: Dee Truhn, Tom Draghi, Steve Gilles, Janeal Quinnell

Interpreters: Mary Lin Rose, Jamie Garritson

Linda Vegoe called the meeting to order. Members were asked to review the minutes.

Motion to approve minutes.
Seconded.
Motion carried.

Linda asked for suggestions on agenda layout and the following suggestions were provided: Karen – fewer panels would allow more time for Council business. John – need to come up with a template to gather reports and determine speakers. Rob – need to provide more time for council work and discussion. Linda – move public comment to the end of the day or adjust agenda if needed to be done earlier.

Charlene – Workforce Development Area Management has 5 of 11 positions open. Charlene introduced James Bond and Mike Greco who were promoted from Workforce Development Area Management positions in DVR Central Office. James is the Director of the Bureau of Management Services. Mike is the Director of the Bureau of Consumer services. Their vacated positions will be filled. One field service supervisor is needed in Milwaukee. Job requirements are on the DWD website, and also posted in newspapers and statewide organizations.

Dan – Visited 2 correctional facilities that were very open to displaying the DVR informational poster developed by CAP. He also heard that they allowed SSI representatives to speak to the inmates.

Linda – Reviewed WRC responsibilities and spoke more in depth about hearing reviews and hearing committee training needs. It was noted that this training will need to be offered again for Rob and Gail.

DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman shared her appreciation for this council and the active role members have taken to improve employment services for Wisconsin citizens with disabilities.

Secretary Gassman said that every day, DWD hears concerns about: aging population and job skills training needs. Wisconsin can only stay competitive with a talented workforce. DVR helps our state stay competitive.

Regarding the Governor’s state of the state speech Secretary Gassman noted that the Governor has had to make some tough budget decisions without raising taxes since taking office. The Governor’s greatest concern is when he hears from constituents who feel insecure about their families’ future.

Secretary Gassman pointed out that Governor Doyle has developed an affordability plan with health care being the biggest issue of concern. Education K-12 and college, stem cell research and the increase in individuals with disabilities due to illness/disease were also priorities for the Governor’s agenda. The Governor has worked on and continues to work on: income tax credits, catastrophic insurance, Badger Care Plus and the lead poisoning of children throughout the state with the emphasis on the Milwaukee area.

The Secretary then complimented DVR again on what a great job they are doing in Wisconsin. The Governor proposed and was successful in achieving softer budget cuts for DVR because of the important work that DVR does. Secretary Gassman is pleased to see that the OOS waiting list is being reduced.

The Secretary updated the Council on DWD’s Katrina efforts. DWD sent employees to areas damaged by hurricane Katrina to have them assist Job Service agencies. Glenn Olsen was helpful in getting a Disability Navigator program established in the affected areas. Locally, DWD employees were on hand at the Tommy Thompson Center on the state fair grounds in Milwaukee to connect those in need of DWD services. DVR employees assisted in this local effort.

Secretary Gassman shared with the Council her awareness of the successful DVR Farm Program partnership with Easter Seals to meet the needs of farmers with disabilities.

Secretary Gassman pointed out that Charlene, on behalf of DWD/DVR, has been working with Bruce Borden to promote the “Making Work Pay” concept to remove work disincentives. Charlene will present the concept of Making Work Pay to representatives of SSA in Washington DC.

Linda – Mentioned that DWD should be complimented for their Disability Navigator Program in the Job Centers. DWD is a national leader in piloting Navigator programs for specific groups, such as W-2 and Tribal employment services.

General Session

A discussion was held on orientation ideas for new council members. Council members offered suggestions as follows:

Craig – Again requested the RCEP V DVD, if available, on the history of VR for members to view.

John – Recommended that the orientation training be provided to the full council every year.

Gail – Recommended the use of experienced council members to mentor new members. Ken – Asked that an acronyms list be developed and attached to WRC minutes.

Jennifer – Requested to be on the Reports Committee.

Carol – asked if she can vote on WRC issues since it may be a conflict of interest due to her position as a DVR counselor.

Linda – The narrative of the WRC Annual Report is complete. We are waiting on the data/charts portion. New DSU software issues are delaying the data/charts and discussion was held on whether to submit data/charts that we already have with the narrative or wait until software problems are worked out and send narrative now and data/charts to RSA later.

Majority voted in favor of having the reports committee decide this.

Review of WRC Target Issues: The following list of target issues identified by the WRC in the FFY ’06 State Plan were reviewed for status and follow-up action as necessary:

  1. Work Disincentives – follow up and monitor status of “Making Work Pay” demonstration proposal submission to SSA.
  2. Post Secondary Accommodations – the goal for this target issue has been achieved.
  3. Training for DVR Counselors – follow up and monitor – Manuel spoke of how quality assurance works. This issue was changed to: Improving Qualitative Outcomes/Quality Assurance which includes staff training.
  4. Access to Job Centers – follow up and monitor – Robin Jones, ADA Technical Assistance Center, compiled the comprehensive report on Wisconsin Job Center access. Report format issues delayed the process. Each Job Center received their individual reports. Equal Rights Division has the comprehensive report and is responsible for monitoring and enforcement. DWD received a federal grant and distributed the funds ($4,000 per center) to assist the Job Centers in making the improvements cited in the report. Programmatic improvements will be guided by a contract with Bobby Silverstein who helped write the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act.

Questions and comments raised:

Q. – Is DVR present in each center? A. – Yes

Q. – Is utilization a problem due to accessibility? A. – Highest number of people who access job centers are VR clients.

Comment: The surveys included large and small centers, as well as urban and rural.

  1. Improving services for TANF (W-2) – this target issue was identified for follow up and monitoring. There is still an issue on how to improve communications between VR and W-2. There also needs to be more focus on skill deficits and not medical terms for determining disability related needs among TANF participants. More emphasis is needed on perfecting the referral process. Both DVR and the TANF need to bring knowledge together and share common customer information.

Charlene – There is a W-2 task force for individuals with disabilities working on this with DVR representation. DVR will not usually be the only funding source for these individuals. There are individuals with significant disabilities who do not receive SSI or SSDI but could be eligible for VR services. Charlene complimented the efforts of Linda Vegoe who has been a driving force on the W-2 task force for individuals with disabilities. Linda - noted a study in Minnesota found that 30% of domestic violence survivors have a traumatic brain injury (TBI). W-2 and DVR staff need to be aware of symptoms of TBI that can be misinterpreted as lack of motivation.

  1. Monitoring services to individual disability groups – It was noted that DVR takes into consideration the council’s suggestions to improve outreach. The Council will continue to monitor.

Services for people with most significant disabilities – Supported employment: The council will continue to play a role in the SE Summit recommendations. This will be a follow-along item for the WRC.

Transition Options:

Sub-minimum wage: Linda was appointed to the DWD task force to examine wage and employment issues for individuals working at work centers. This is a follow-along item.

Dan – Spoke of his desire to see more individuals move from subsidized public sector to unsubsidized private sector jobs.

Linda – Noted that we cannot fix just one piece of this issue. We can't take away sub-minimum wage jobs if other employment options aren't funded or have decade long waiting lists.

  1. Vendor/Community Partner – This issue was postponed to a later date for discussion.

Updates

ILC-W – Jennifer – This Council is still working on their strategic plan. Advocacy is the primary focus of the strategic plan. The ILC-W is working on issues that they can respond to legislatively which are: health care, accessibility and employment.

DPI – Suzanne and Gail – Shared “Opening Doors” (transition help booklets) drafts for WRC to review and comment on. Comments: Cleo – A revision needs to be done on the Opening Doors to Postsecondary Education and Training on the area that refers to when DVR should get involved.

NRA – John – He will be attending the Government Affairs Summit and encouraged others to attend. You may visit the website at: www.nationalrehab.org.

CAP – Linda – Linda will share the Client Assistance Program report narrative via an e-mail to Council members. The data portion of the CAP report was shared previously via handout.

Training Report

Cleo told the Council that DVR’s Training Officer is still in Iraq. DVR has had a major presence in all of the trainings offered by the Department (DWS) on Labor Market Information. DWS is undertaking efforts to develop 6 month follow ups to past training participants. The Labor Market Information trainings are open to all staff in the job centers.

DVR continues to offer comprehensive training once or twice per year to staff including counselors, case coordinators, supervisors and WDA Directors. This comprehensive training will be offered the first and third weeks of February and will include topics such as: ADA overview, placement, DVR projects, Native American Vocational Rehabilitation Services, IPE development and Order of Selection. RCEP did two ethics training sessions in Wisconsin this past fall and will be doing at least four more this year. Our goal is to try to provide consistent service delivery across a state system, and although we may not be perfect but we will continue to strive for excellence.

Administrator’s Report

Manuel – Reviewed the wait list and training grant numbers information via handout. Manuel mentioned that RSA is doing a national study which involves a follow up of VR consumers 3-5 years after they leave the VR system.

Charlene – “Making Work Pay”: The thought behind “Making Work Pay” (MWP) began more than a decade ago. The MWP demonstration took 4 years of planning within DVR. DVR is not primarily a systems change agency. DVR’s primary mission is to implement the Rehabilitation Act. The Social Security Administration (SSA) has tried to reduce the disincentives to work, but many of the SSA work incentive initiatives have not been utilized by beneficiaries to leave the benefit they receive from SSA. The current SSA work incentives are complex and confusing to many who use them. “Making Work Pay” is based on the principle of cost sharing. One pays a certain percentage of his/her earned income for the ability to retain access to their public benefits. The cost share approach was the idea of Bruce Borden, a past WRC member. Governor Thompson often referred to Bruce as a visionary. Bruce Borden also initiated a statewide homeownership initiative and the Wisconsin Equipment Recycling Program. Both initiatives are sustained through the Wisconsin Independent Living Center Network, DVR will partner with UW-Stout, UW-Madison and Cornell University for the Making Work Pay Demonstration.

Charlene pointed out that dealing with work disincentives is a priority for DVR because SSA disability beneficiaries are DVR eligible and represent 25% to 35% of the DVR caseload. Also, ninety-five percent of Ticket to Work assignments are held by DVR. Less than 1/2 of 1% get off SSDI or SSI.

Public Comment

One individual commented on the $1500 standard award amount under the new DVR Training Grant. A copy of the comment will be provided to the State Plan committee.

Motion to adjourn.
Motion carried.
Meeting adjourned.