Community Living Committee Minutes
May 7, 2020

Members Present: Ryan Rotundo, Rhonda Cox, Allison Dodson, Joshua Gettinger, Deb Goda, Brendon Hildreth, Aldea LaParr, Virginia Knowlton Marcus, Mya Lewis, James Stephenson, Peggy Terhune, Kerri Eaker
Members Absent: Katherine Boeck, Senator Mujtaba Mohammed, Sandra Terrell, Andrea Misenheimer
Staff Present: Philip Woodward, Yadira Vasquez, JoAnn Toomey, Talley Wells
Guests Present: Michelle Merritt, Janet Price-Ferrell, Lisa Wooten

Introduction:Ryan Rotundo welcomed the committee and did an icebreaker focused on the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” where he displayed photos of a project he is doing at home with his family and asked the members, “What are you doing to sharpen your saw?”  The members each checked in and discussed what they have done during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MOTION: Aldea LaParr made a motion to approve the February Community Living Committee minutes, and Rhonda Cox seconded them.  The motion was approved by unanimous vote.

Fiscal Update:Yadira Vasquez provided the fiscal update.  She mentioned the financial guidance on grant flexibility that the Administration for Community Living (ACL) provided and the opportunity for NCCDD to establish a COVID-19 relief fund of $75,000 to provide small grants to organizations across North Carolina.

Initiative Updates:

Supported Living: Making the Difference
Ryan Rotundo and Philip Woodward provided a brief update, saying that the Supported Living Guidebook/Resource Manual is now available on NCCDD’s website, and it includes the nine success story videos that Vaya Health created.  Philip also pointed out that FIRST assumed responsibility for the Supported Living Learning Community listserv. 

Natural Support Network Development
Janet Price-Ferrell of FIRST provided an update.  Janet said she and Rebecca Pauls of PLAN created a transition plan to students with I/DD leaving high school, and she arranged a training for transition staff at Haywood County Schools, but the pandemic put this training on hold.  She said the initiative is developing a toolkit where the videos, tools, and trainings will be available.  Janet said an opportunity went out for families participating in this initiative to join a Zoom group to help families realize people with I/DD can lead the typical lives that people without disabilities live.  She pointed out that the initiative did not expect to have to go back and teach the value of natural supports, but understanding the value is a barrier to some families who rely only on paid support.

Other Updates:

Registry of Unmet Needs Discussion
Ryan Rotundo stated that there is an action group in Winston-Salem named the NC Waiver Action Team made up of parents and other advocates.  Talley Wells stated that there will be a court order soon that Disability Rights North Carolina has been involved in, and he said there has been a growing interest among members of the community in the Registry of Unmet Needs and a parallel discussion about Direct Support Professionals and increasing their pay.  Talley mentioned the availability of funds to conduct a small project to bring more attention to the Registry of Unmet Needs, how it works, and creating plain language materials to educate people about it.  He said that 12,000 to 14,000 people with I/DD are on the list but asked how the number is counted and how a spot becomes available for someone.  Talley suggested that anyone interested in being a part of this project should reach out to Philip Woodward, Ryan, or him.  Joshua Gettinger made a comment about realistically turning the Council’s attention to getting improved services for people unable to get off of the Registry of Unmet Needs since movement in this area has been minimal for years.

Philip Woodward mentioned that he reviewed a draft of the Summary Report for the From Planning to Action: Integrated, Collaborative Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities initiative that ended on December 31^st, 2019.  He will send out the final Summary Report when it is ready.

James Stephenson made a motion to adjourn.  Virginia Knowlton Marcus seconded the motion. 

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 2:00 p.m., but Philip Woodward left the Webex line open in case anybody wanted to discuss anything else related to COVID-19 check-ins.  Lisa Wooten from Tri-County Industries said her organization received a small grant from NCCDD to continue to serve clients in their adult developmental vocational program (ADVP) who are unable to physically come to their facility right now.  She said they used these funds to deliver bagged lunches and care packages to clients.