Members Present:
Allison Bunge | Tom Lawrey | Agnes Saenz |
Darrell Butler | David L’Heureux | Eric Wang |
Bill Goodwin | Ann Reiss | Charlotte Zuckman |
Deborah Hopson | | |
Members Absent: William Meeker
Staff Present: Sarah Gicale Mary Lou Jacobs
Guests:
Betsy Leucking, Program Manager,
Cindy Buddington, Chairperson, Montgomery County Commission on People with Disabilities
Re: Call Meeting to Order /Introductions
Bill Goodwin called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and introduced the guests. He explained that the Human Services Advisory Commission was interested in learning more about the needs of Rockville residents with disabilities.
Re: Presentation on Disability Needs and Issues
Cindy Buddington said that she has served for thirteen years on the Commission on People with Disabilities during which time the Commission has worked on issues related to all types of disabilities. The Commission includes thirteen people with disabilities. Three members are parents of children with disabilities and nine members are agency representatives. The Commission advocates for issues that affect its members personally. Members feel their ultimate purpose is to educate and inform the public and also to let people know what works and what does not work. Cindy herself has a disability and therefore has knowledge of situations that make her life difficult. If the Commission can make others understand what these situations are, then something can be done about them. Accessibility is an issue that affects everyone—people with strollers, deliverymen—not just those with a disability.
Betsy Luecking said that the Commission considers a developmental disability to be anything that impedes a person’s developmental progress before the age of twenty-one. Included are conditions such as head injuries and autism. The definition is broader than people think. According to data provided by Betsy, the percentage of people with disabilities nationally is 19.8%. In Montgomery County there are 110,000 residents with disabilities, which is less than 11%. She attributes this difference to the fact that this number is based on self-report and many people with disabilities do not want to admit that they have a disability, e.g., people with mental and emotional disabilities. Betsy said that if Human Services Advisory Commission members are interested in looking at numbers relating to the City of Rockville, additional data by school area is available on the Montgomery County Public Schools website. Generally, Montgomery County has a larger than average number of people who are deaf and/or hearing impaired because of the proximity of Gallaudet University.
The most pressing area for the Commission on People With Disabilities is related to funding. Currently there is a need to provide supplementary funding to support additional clients who need developmental disability services. The average cost per person is $3,500 per year. Currently there is a waiting list of approximately 1,000 people in Montgomery County who need these services. The Commission is also requesting full funding in the County budget for approximately $624 million in grants to providers of developmental disability services. Betsy said that there is talk that $2.1 million may be cut from the budget. The discussion now is where should these cuts be made.
On the state level the Commission on People With Disabilities advocates with other commissions around the state to increase state funding for seniors, younger adults with disabilities and children with autism who do not meet the Medicaid Waiver level or who are on the waiting list. Betsy explained that, with a waiver, money is given directly to an individual, not to a residence.
Betsy said that the County maintains an access line, which provides information and assistance on disability services and serves as a single point of entry for people needing assistance. Further, the Montgomery County website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov has a directory of disability services on-line. The easiest way to get to it is to click first on “residents”, then “disability services”, and then different subject areas. Maintaining this part of the County website is one of her responsibilities.
Bill asked about the history of funding in the County budget to support providers that serve people with disabilities. Betsy said historically there have been slight increases in funding but they are never automatically put into the budget by the County Executive. They must be added each year.
Asked concerning issues affecting Rockville residents, Betsy said that her commission is discussing moving the Special Needs Library, currently in Bethesda, to the new library being planned for Rockville. This will include accessible computers and large print books. With respect to the new Rockville library, the Commission on People with Disabilities may recommend greater accessibility. Parking for the new library is also an issue; currently the plan is for metered parking across the street from the library. The Commission feels there is a difference between the “letter of the law” and the “spirit of the law” where accessibility is concerned. A similar issue for Rockville is the sidewalks and curb cuts at the Rockville Metro station, which need to be redone. Also most of the shopping centers on Rockville Pike do not have correct van accessible isles or correct parking spaces for disabled drivers. When it snows business owners frequently pile snow into the access isles, which should be prohibited.
David L’Heureux pointed out that the Commission on People with Disabilities flyer mentions that people with disabilities are frequently kept out of the political process because of the lack of access to buildings and homes where meeting are held. He thought it would be useful to have Betsy speak at a meeting of ARNA (the Association of Rockville Neighborhood Associations) so that more civic leaders could be made aware of this issue.
Bill thanked Betsy for her presentation and said it would be most helpful to members of this Commission.
Re: Approve October 14 Meeting Minutes
Bill requested that the phrase “…as a result of the worksession with the Mayor and Council” be added to the first sentence, second paragraph from the bottom, page 5. Ann Reiss moved that the minutes be approved with this change. Tom Lawrey seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.
Re: Committee Reports
Gatherers Committee: Allison Bunge said that the Human Rights Commission had asked if it would be possible to obtain data on where group homes or ALU’s (alternate living units) are located in Rockville. They were trying to assess the need in Rockville for these services. Allison said she has had little success in obtaining the data. Also on the subject of gathering, Bill wanted members to know that the Mayor has made his personal objective less walking town meetings and more town hall meetings. Bill though this would provide members a chance to listen. Walking Town Meetings are less good for dialogue.
Explorers Committee—Immigrant Needs: Agnes Saenz handed out a summary of the last Explorers meeting on November 18, 2003, which is attached to these minutes. She said the Committee’s definition of an immigrant is without regard to immigration status. Mary Lou Jacobs pointed out that the program at Montgomery College to teach English on cable TV mentioned in the handout is being researched; it does not yet exist.
Agnes said that the committee’s intention in making the recommendations in the handout was just to bring these ideas back to the Human Services Advisory Commission for consideration. Maybe the Commission could implement some of them. Others might be included in the Commission’s Annual Report to the Mayor and Council. Bill asked if any of the recommendations should be considered outside the scope of the Commission. Ann Reiss said she thought the second group of recommendations was outside the scope of the Commission. Bill asked if the committee wants to continue and provide leadership in carrying out these recommendations. Eric responded that those recommendations that involved teaching English to immigrants were very important; because of the language barrier, immigrants especially need help passing exams. Many immigrants were professionals in their native countries but must pass exams to be licensed in the United States. Mary Lou said she thought the strength of the recommendations is that they reach out to groups that already exist. Tom Lawrey said that understanding each other linguistically is a major problem. Agnes said that maybe the committee could look at the recommendations and divide them into short, medium, and long-term groupings. Ann said she doesn’t see the Commission as an activist group. She wondered how other groups could be involved to carry out some of the recommendations. Deborah Hopson agreed. Bill said he thought there was a natural break in the way the items on the handout had been grouped. He suggested that the Commission adopt the last five bullets as something they could accomplish. The others might be included as part of the Commission’s recommendations to the Mayor and Council.
Darrell Butler said he thought the role of the Commission was advisory. Agnes said she agreed but where the immigrant community is concerned, it is necessary to be activist. Eric said it is not enough to depend on the County. If the Commission doesn’t push, there will be no result. If someone provides guidance to the immigrant community, they can do things themselves. It is necessary to provide an opportunity; otherwise there is no chance. He feels this issue speaks to improving the lives of the entire community, not just immigrants.
David said that one way to resolve the issue was to acknowledge that the Commission is mandated to be advisory, to collect information. However, if we find there is significant work that we can accomplish, we can present issues and recommendations to the Mayor and Council and request authorization from them. Bill said that, speaking as the chairperson, he would endorse David’s comments. He felt they were consistent with the Commission’s work plan. He thought the Commission could propose ways members want to be involved to the Mayor and Council in the context of the Annual Report.
Re: Commission Reappointments
Bill said that the terms of appointment for Ann and Tom would expire January 1, 2004. Ann had expressed a willingness to be reappointed. Tom said he would be interested in being reappointed but understood that his reappointment would need to be discussed by the Caregiver agencies at their next meeting in January. Deborah moved to recommend to the Mayor and Council that Ann Reiss be reappointed to the Commission. David seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. David recommended that the Mayor and Council reappoint Tom Lawrey pending nomination by the Caregivers. Ann seconded the motion, which also passed unanimously.
Re: Annual Report: Work Plan and Timeline
Bill said that the Annual Report was the Commission’s chance to fulfill their purpose of advice and guidance to the Mayor and Council. This would be the first time it was being produced at the end of the calendar year. It should lay out the Commission’s finding and recommendations on the substance of the Commission’s work since the last report. It was not an activity report—the Commission was not trying to document everything they had done or to justify their existence. The Mayor and Council wanted the Commission to highlight changes since the prior year’s report.
Bill asked what the ideal time for the report would be, keeping the budget process in mind. Mary Lou said that the City Manager presents the proposed budget in mid April. Until they receive the City Manager’s budget, the Mayor and Council are not looking specifically at budget issues relating to human services. She said the Commission might consider presenting its report at one of the budget hearings. The first budget hearing was scheduled for April 19, 2004; the second budget hearing, May 3, 2003. One problem with this plan is the three-minute limit on testimony. The Commission might ask permission to speak longer. And if a copy of the report was given earlier to the City Manager, it might have more impact.
Bill then inquired as to whom, beside himself, would want to be involved in preparing the report. Allison volunteered to help with word processing. Agnes said she could review the minutes of previous meetings. Tom volunteered to helped edit. Bill said he would get his thoughts together in outline form for the next meeting. Deborah suggested he follow the outline of the last annual report.
Re: Plan Agenda for Next Meeting
Bill asked that an annual schedule for meeting dates and locations be prepared for the next meeting. He also thought it might be helpful to invite the City’s new Community Services Officer. David asked about inviting a representative from ARNA, e.g., Chris Bartlett, to speak to the group. Other topics for the next meeting included a draft outline of the Annual Report and items on the agenda but not discussed at tonight’s meeting.
Re: Adjourn
Tom Lawrey moved to adjourn the meeting. Deborah seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 PM.
The next regular meeting of the Human Services Advisory Commission will be held Tuesday, January 13, 2003, from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m., at 32 Courthouse Square.
