|
|
|
|
Past CIC Meeting Minutes 1999 - 2000 Come here to read the past meeting minutes of the Community Involvement Council. If you would like copies of meeting minutes that pre-date those on CIC On-Line, contact: Tim Murphy, Chairperson Community Involvement Council www.comunityinvolvement.org Minutes of November 16,2000 1. Reviewed previous minutes. 2. Literacy: PIL (Partners in Leisure) have requested a letter of support from CIC for a grant request they are making through Ministry of Citizenship and HRDC. They are trying to develop a web site on recreation and leisure opportunities.There is a literacy conference in May – Tim Murphy has the details. 3. “Are We Doing What We Say We Are Doing?” There is nothing further to report on this evaluation tool at this time. There is a meeting scheduled and Blair Groves will have more to update at our next CIC meeting. 4. ODSP – ES There are new changes to ODSP employment supports, information packages have been mailed out. Of note there is now a “job maintenance” amount equivalent to 10% of the hours a person is working. The can be applied for after the initial job coaching is completed. There still remains inconsistency in how various regional areas process and approve (or don’t) ODSP-ES agreements, there seems to be some issues around accountability. 4. SEOP – Supported Employment Outcomes Project The surveys that were completed have been compiled. It was noted that there is a big change in that on average 30% more people have been hired. Peer Supported Evaluations Sarnia Association has started the process. Middlesex has committed to participating – John Lord is going to be involved with these. Still looking for two others agencies in that general area, Lambton is a possibility and one other. Two agencies in London are wanting to participate in the evaluations but are waiting until the new year. 5. Information (Emerging) Technologies Group – City of London, this software is currently being used by 10 agencies. Software to track people seeking supports in looking for employment. Potential to be a central point of access for employment supports – Shared intake files and notes. They are experiencing some struggles as it was originally designed, not suitable for all. 6. CIC direction Talked of moving the CIC web site to COIN – County of Oxford Integrated Network which is basically a high tech server. Discussion of possibility of hiring someone to be CIC co-ordinator, we would need to identify what we would want that person to do. We need to determine what our plan would be, bring input to focus 6. Other General Discussions: Staff turnover seems to be very high provincially. We need to be looking at things differently, valuing employees, creative alternatives based on people not services. CSCN getting going, everyone still in the adjustment phase. Actions: Get mailing list up to date – everyone look at it and makes changes as needed. Work on getting email addresses. Next Meeting: Thursday January 18th @ 9:30 in St.Marys (284-1400 for directions) COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCILwww.communityinvolvement.org Minutes of October 19, 20001. Review of minutes from Sept. 21, 2000 2. Literacy. Tim shared that PILL (Partners In Leisure) through their community awareness committee, isn’t addressing literacy issues currently although literacy is in the mandate. PILL released a position paper with literacy as an issue. Through contact with a MCSS representative, it was thought that it would be a good idea for CIC to endorse and support the position paper. Tim did not hear back from Muriel to see if she would be interested in representing representing CIC at an already established group addressing literacy concerns, such as at PIL. Tim will invite PIL representative Neil Watson to a CIC meeting in future. 3. “Are We Doing…? Update – nothing further to report from last meeting. 4. Supported Employment Outcomes Project update: There are two more peer reviews scheduled. They include Sarnia/Middlesex and Career Centre/Leads. The goal of SEOP is to have 6 reviews completed by the end of the fiscal year. Lampton has expressed interest. 5. Inclusion Committee update: The committee has stopped meeting and will reconvene as the need arises. A report is available on the inclusion conference. A few points and concerns were identified such as the need to have more lead time for the conference. There is a possibility for another conference. New Business 6. WEES – Job Links _ there has been a changeover and quite a bit of restructuring lately. Pat de Graaf has replaced Randy Ridd to attend CIC. A two-day training event, “Building Trust Relationships” is being presented by Gilmore and Associates by WDDS. 7. Speaker Series- Tim reported that there is a Speaker Series being organized for the area. More information will follow. 8. Future of CIC – we had a discussion about we could do to revitalize CIC – spending time defining our purpose, our interaction with other organizations – we talked about not including the “attendance list” on our minutes, but listing organizations that are involved with CIC – for next meeting we would contact 5 people/ organizations and bring back contact information of leaders/champions in areas of employment, leisure and education – we talked about marketing information and resources we already have – we thought of items and themes that we could present at future meetings that would interest members – ODSP was an area that we wanted to explore and possibly present. Action: At our next meeting we will begin discussion to draft a plan for future development At our next meeting we will consider organizing a meeting that will focus on ODSP NEXT MEETING: Thursday NOVEMBER 16, 2000 9:30 a.m. St. Marys District A.C.L. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCIL www.communityinvolvement.org MINUTES Of Sept. 21, 2000 In Attendance: Annie Robert Elgin A.C.L. Alan Allerston Hutton House Blair Groves St. Mary’s District A.C.L. Tim Murphy Alliance Greg Bruckler T.D.A.C.L Mary-Jane Mac Kenzie The Life Skills Centre Inc. Sandy Dixon CLL-SES 1. Discussion of minutes from last meeting. 2. Bill Gow is no longer involved with The CIC as project coordinator, taking on new ventures. Suggestion to replace Bill, in that position as there are needs in this area. Position would involve such duties as ; coordinating projects, inventory of CIC materials, SEOP roll-up etc. Last meeting minutes approved 3. Literacy. There were concerns regarding the LBS program (Literacy Basic Skills). Program needs to recognize the holistic benefits of continued learning and not just the importance of learning as only job related. LBS is employment focused, therefore people who are interested in literacy for other reasons are being excluded. Tim Murphy contacted P.I.L. (Partners In Leisure) to merge CIC literacy concerns with their report recommendations. In Tillsonburg, there is a month long program which focuses on “word recognition”, not skill building/developing, this system has been beneficial for the individual who is pursuing employment, and has an employment goal. 4. Action. To appoint a person (possibly Muriel) to gather information, choose the issues and research ministry guidelines, criteria etc. It was suggested that a CIC representative join an already established committee, researching literacy issues, such as P.I.L. and Tim has done this. There is a new Community Services Directory 2000 published by Information London, that contains contacts for this cause. Does anyone know of the program run by volunteer students at UWO? 5. “Are We Doing …” Update There was an two day training session in September at Tillsonburg’s Livingston Centre, attended by 40 people. Very positively attended by all attendees. Hopefully it will encourage people to take the tool and utilize it by helping to develop relationships motivated by peer approaches. It is thought to be a more rounded, holistic, qualitative accountability tool as opposed to the more formalized checklist approach. For more information contact Blair Groves at St. Mary’s ACL or see CIC web-site link. 6. Supported Employment Outcomes Project Update More peer reviews being arranged, plans underway for hopefully another 6 reviews to be completed by the end of the fiscal year. In total, so far, there have been 8 peer reviews completed. Certain issues are large factors in agency participation in the peer review system and these are being considered by the SEOP committee. Concerns have been expressed around the issues of who pays staff travel, transportation, accommodations (if needed) etc. Another training session has been held in order to prepare more staff to undertake the role of peer reviewer. Customer satisfaction survey roll-up taking place as responses coming in from various agencies. 7. Inclusion Committee Update The theme of the last CIC conference was INCLUSION. It focused on urban and rural areas to discuss themes of leisure and recreation. The conference was not as successful as the committee had hoped, as per the evaluations. As earlier discussed a CIC representative has joined the P.I.L. council to collaborate in an effort to determine areas of need and possibly join efforts to facilitate another conference with this same focus. Tim Murphy has joined the P.I.L. steering committee as the CIC representative. FYI Foundations dollars. To focus on transitions to employment and after graduation experiences for students. Proposals for a portion of the first million dollars to be in by the end of August and proposals for the rest of the five million to be in by the end of November. Clarification made that the money has to be channeled through a transfer payment agency. 8. Next Meeting: 9:30am Thursday, October 19 ,2000 St. Mary” ACL COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCILMINUTES May 18 th , 20001. Present : Tim Murphy, Blair Groves, Gail Miller, Bob Vansickle, Sandy Dixon, Bill Gow, Muriel Boyd, Barb Leavitt 2. The Minutes of the previous meeting (April 27 th ) were declared accepted. 3. Business Arising. There was none, not already covered by the agenda. 4. Inclusion Conference – Community 2000. Bill reported that the mail out of flyers has been done, first to ACL’s (about 100), then to other agencies and groups of service providers, like the YMCA, and funders, like United Way (about 70). Now the task is to follow up with phone calls to boost participation. There will be two streams on the second day. One will focus on an urban setting - London - the other will focus on a county setting – Oxford. The format is to consider the "landscape" (services and gaps), the obstacles to greater inclusion, the strategies necessary to overcome obstacles and the issue of sustainability over time. The question was raised as to whether or not participants from Oxford and London will benefit more than those from St. Thomas or Perth county, for instance. Perhaps, but there is something to contribute and be gained by everyone since the "issues" are not much different from one county to another. The format of the conference was developed by the steering committee (8 members) over a very short timeframe, with as much input as we could get from others. If it works well there is a possibility of repeating it in other areas - or sharing the results at the very least. Bill is hoping for a good turn out but its too early to get a picture of the registration pattern. 5. Literacy. Funding for literacy is now channeled through the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Muriel informed us that literacy and basic skills training is now focused on employability. The message seems to be that unless a person is actively seeking employment then literacy opportunities are not supported. This means that literacy opportunities for personal interest, enhancement, self-esteem, community living, quality of life, etc., are not eligible for funding. Quite a number of people, therefore are now going to be left out in the cold. The CACL has produced a booklet that promotes opportunities on the basis of human rights. The provincial government has a manual which spells out entry requirements (tight), time limits (short – one year), and purpose (employment). There is a possibility that other regions may interpret the regulations differently, or that cultivating a good relationship with the literacy contact person may make a difference to determining eligibility, but no guarantees. The restrictions may ultimately prevent the volunteer matches that often grow into relationships beyond the literacy training. Could the CIC develop a strategy in this regard? Possibilities include writing letters of concern or a position paper, finding out what actions other groups are taking, eg., CACL, OACL, other ACL’s, advocacy and self-advocacy groups, etc. What would writers and poets say about this? Could they be enlisted to add their voices? The CIC membership should be aware of this changing scenario for literacy. Perhaps we could bring someone in to speak about this. We will continue the discussion at the next meeting. 6. "Are We Doing…" Blair indicated that the development phase for which he was seconded has ended. Although their had been an intention to hire someone to do follow up work, now its seems, the committee will do it collectively. The Evaluation conference created interest in a follow up training event. An open discussion session has been planned for May 30th in London. The training session will take place in September. 7. Supported Employment Outcomes Project. Agencies have received survey forms for the 1999/2000 data roll up exercise. A service satisfaction component is being added through a separate survey request. It is expected that the second survey will add a valuable dimension to the final roll up report. A Peer review training session will also take place shortly. Another committee has been formed called the Info Tech – Merging Technologies committee. Participants include the funders (MCSS, HRDC), the Employment and Training Network, PIE – London/Middlesex, Leads, etc., and various members of the SEOP steering committee. The intention is to develop a common data collection "platform" and protocol to expand and coordinate and simplify access to services, enhance the quality of employment statistics, track outcomes and increase efficiencies. 8. Ontario Disability Support Program (ODS P). The focus group continues to gather feedback and consider strategies that might impact the ODSP regulations favourably. 9. Other Business. 9.1 Bob wondered about the fate of a group, perhaps in the London area, that he believed had developed or explored employer sensitivity training . Was this an extension of the Corporate Marketing Project? He would like to do something similar in the Sarnia area. If anyone knows anything about this, please let him know. 9.2 Ester Rose of The Employment Alliance (TEA) would like to come to the next meeting to speak about a Job Development Training Seminar that will take place September 26th and 27th. The featured presenter will be Denise Bissonette. 9.3 Also, Joe Condeluci will be presenting on June 20th in Stratford. Next Meeting: When: Thursday, June 22, 2000 at 9:30 a.m. Where: James Perdue Centre, St. Mary's Ontario Agenda: 1. Minutes of last meeting (May 18th). 2. Business Arising, additions to agenda 3. Literacy - Follow Up Discussion 4. "Are we Doing…" Update 5. SEOP Update 6. Job Development Seminar 7. COMMUNITY 2000 - Conference Report 8. Other Business 9. Next Meeting Community Involvement Council Minutes April 27, 2000 Present: Linda Howgego, Gail Miller Tim Murphy, Greg Bruckler Bill Gow, Norma Hills 1. The Minutes of the previous meeting (March 23rd ) were declared accepted. 2. Business Arising. Tim requested that his name be added to the mailing list as a part Alice Saddy. The Agenda was adopted. Bill Gow assumed the role of Chairperson. 3. Inclusion Conference. The dates are now set: Wednesday, June 7th and Thursday, June 8th. A one-page advanced notice has gone out to by fax to 177 agencies. You should have received it by now. The first day will be lead by Joe Schaeffer – some of you have heard him in connection with the "Rekindle The Excitement" project. Joe is a PhD. anthropologist who speaks regularly across North America. He will address the underlying key characteristics of community, and the communication skills necessary to resolve community challenges. He keeps everyone active and uses a lot of group exercises. Day 2 will be divided into two streams: Urban and County. Participants will be engage in a concrete task – with a focus on leisure and recreation - requiring problem solving, strategy identification and planning for sustainability relative to the different circumstances of the two settings. These streams will have an assigned facilitator with Joe floating back and forth. The conference will end with a plenary to share the results of each group. The expected result of the conference is a different understanding (better) of community inclusion and a "doable" plan tailored to an urban and county setting relative to leisure and recreation. 4. "Are We Doing…" Tabled for discussion next time. 5. Supported Employment Outcomes Project. Greg is arranging a Peer Review training day which will take place soon. There is a minimum number required to make it feasible. The next on site review will take place after this event. The data Roll Up exercise is underway. Joe Dale will assemble the information and create a report like last year. Bill is completing the forms for a Satisfaction Survey roll up. The cover letter inviting agencies to participate is ready to go. 6. Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) Employment Supports Follow Up. Bill has received the report prepared by Partners in Employment – London/Middlesex. That provides a critique of ODSP in its current version. He has begun a draft of a letter on behalf of CIC which supports the recommendations and point of view of the PIE document and reflects the principles of CIC. The notion is to add more "voices" to the debate on the regulations. 7. Chairperson. A discussion took place about the role and duties of the chairperson, the format of the meetings (reports alternating with presentation and debate) and a consideration of who might be a candidate. Eventually, Tim Murphy agreed to take it on – if only on an interim basis. Way to go Tim! (Interim means forever – doesn’t it? Don’t tell Tim…) 8. Other business. Linda announced that Dr. Al Condelucci (spelling?) will be presenting in Stratford on June 20th. Title of the presentation is "Beyond Difference". COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCILMINUTESWhen: March 23, 2000 Present: Linda Howgego, Frank Moore, Blair Groves, Tim Murphy, Bob Vansickle, Kathryn Foster, Bob Pusey, Bill Gow, Randy McTaggart 1. The agenda was adopted. Linda Howgego assumed the role of Chairperson. 2. The minutes of the previous meeting (Feb. 17th ) were declared accepted. 3. ODSP Follow Up. Previous guidelines for Supported Employment tried to define parameters (minimum wage, etc.), and discussions about alternatives to Sheltered Workshops tried to figure out how to move forward, but nothing is really completed. VRS has been ended, after much debate about it’s mandate. Something better had to happen. Now, accountability and a focus on outcomes is paramount; and, under ODSP, we have Employment Support Services (ESS) which tries to address Supported Employment issues. To date, the "uptake" has not been significant due to a lack of capability to serve candidates within the developmental services stream. This has to be solved. Sharing our knowledge will help. We have a "window of opportunity" to influence the shape of ESS There are some provisos to this, eg., one-to-one support, forever, probably won’t fly due to anticipated costs and the unwillingness of the funders. We can/should develop a consensus on the following: Supports beyond a year. Most of those who do need it require it only10% of the time. We should continue to push for this within ODSP. Minimum wage (or more) must be a feature, unless time-limited andgoal-directed. Critics find it easy to attack"less-than-minimum-wage". Without it you are creating a secondclass image for people. There is a risk of vicarious liability to theemployer (employees suing for back wages) which we shouldn’t besetting them up for. A training situation is different, eg., Co-Op, under the educational stream. Fund "less than minimum wage" elsewhere. There are good reasons to work, regardless of wages, but employment means "wages". Volunteerism has to be in the traditional sense, and should also fall under a different program or funding envelope. There is a fear that streaming volunteerism out to another program might result in a deadend. The door to "real employment" has to remain open. Assessment is done better in the work environment, on a range of dimensions. This is consistent with the "place and train" model. Job matching is crucial for success. Non-success may really only mean that this is the wrong job. Supports must be available for a second job and career moves (next job) CIC should support the position paper being prepared by PIE, London Middlesex. A cover letter could provide a reminder of key principles and focus on what’s not fitting under ODSP, or what’s not there that should be. Randy has prepared the paper for PIE. Bill will follow up with a draft letter for CIC. 4. Evaluation Conference. Feedback on the conference was, for the most part, quite positive. There were some comments relative to the site, but the presentations were well received. See the conference report. 5. "Are We Doing…" Blair indicated that the "Are We Doing…" stream at the conference brought in a diverse range of people who were exposed to Level 1 training. People liked the variety in the presentations and there was a high participation level. Although feedback was very positive, those connected to the project are wondering if this was the right format for training and whether there was sufficient opportunity to go deep enough into the principles and process. There are many questions about how to go forward from here. A Project Coordinator is slated to be hired shortly. The link to CIC should also be clarified. There is a great opportunity for cross fertilization and merging with involvement issues. 6. Supported Employment Outcomes Project Update. The Outcomes Project is in the process of getting another roll up survey out to agencies. A "year over year" picture should be valuable. Along with the Step I data elements there is an intention to gather information from Step II – the Satisfaction Survey. This might be a sampling of 10% of people receiving supports. 7. Inclusion Conference. This next conference of CIC is targeted for late May or early June. The committee is working on the concept and the format, with many questions receiving attention, eg., expected outcomes, content, streams, targeted participants, geographic focus, etc. At this point there is an expectation that we need to address the principles and values of inclusion within a community perspective, the need for partnerships and collaboration to bridge the gaps and a strategic plan, with follow up, to ensure that something happens. We will be considering other initiatives like the various "It Takes A Village…" projects flowing from OACL to guide our planning. 8. CIC Chairperson. Discussion was tabled for the next meeting. 9. "simple safety" Safety Training. Bob Pusey has been working on a project in the Sarnia area sponsored by the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (Toronto) to develop a resource that can address the safety training needs of people with disabilities. The intention is to end up with a document that provides the necessary information in a way that is readable and understandable, especially for those with limited literacy skills. The range of safety topics will include WHMIS. The manual has been developed in three parts, one for teachers, one for students, and a section with the overheads. Information about the course and the manual is available on the CIC website at: www.communityinvolvement.org/safety.htm COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCIL MINUTES When: February 17, 2000 Present: Colin Edwards , Linda Howgego, Tim Murphy, Bob Vansickle, Muriel Boyd, Bill Gow, Frank Moore, Sandy Dixon, Randy McTaggart 1. The agenda was adopted. 2. The Minutes of the previous meeting (Jan. 19th ) were declared accepted. 3. Conference Update. The flyer is out. The format has reverted to the primary keynote being on the first day, followed by an overview session on the participating evaluation groups. We will be giving some prominence to the National Quality Institute, since we have not heard from them before. The streams for "Are We Doing…" and SEOP will begin after lunch and continue on the next day. John Lord will lead off day two. All of the arrangements have been made with the hotel, although some information that they need is dependent on registration numbers (number of lunches, amount of coffee, etc.). There will be a need for volunteers for the registration desk and some other duties. Bill will be contacting you about this. 4. "Are We Doing…" Update. Tabled for the next meeting. 5. ODSP Issues. At previous meetings, CIC has had discussions on the challenges posed by the regulations and a draft was prepared with content similar to the PIE London/Middlesex report. Randy informed us that PIE decided that merely listing concerns was not as useful as providing recommendations to address the issues. PIE has asked for support from other groups (like CIC) in the belief that repeated feedback to MCSS will reinforce the messages about ODSP. Most groups have identified the same or similar issues. MCSS may not have heard much at this point since most reports are in the draft stage. The slant of the PIE Lon/Midx document is "Here’s how we can work together to make changes to ODSP that will be useful, valuable and necessary". The forty or so issues will be condensed to the "Top Ten". Perhaps CIC could discuss the report at its next meeting. Long term supports – or lack of them – is especially problematic. Frank has made three presentations at Queen’s Park, with some impact. They are now more aware of the fact that people we support want to work, are working, and are earning money. This has altered the prevailing perception that they aren’t employable, don’t want to be employed and would be better served elsewhere. The presumed definition of Supported Employment and the presumed difference to Competitive Employment has caused problems. We have to be clear that situations of less-than-minimum wage are not what we are about. In spite of the value of volunteering or time-limited work experiences, this is not employment. In any case, we should not be in the position of encouraging employers to take on undue risk. The survey on long-term supports revealed that about half of the people in Supported Employment (longer than a year) get only casual support – Customer Service". Only about 10% of the remainder get high levels of support. This is a relatively easy sell – although "high supports forever" is not. We can and should continue to provide input on ODSP issues because we’re making a difference. We also need to get "messages" out to the Developmental services branch who will fund all other programs, including (what they believe is) Supported Employment. We can’t have two systems. We need to tell them that Supported Employment workers aim for minimum wage with supports that are expected fade over time. Suggestion: Invite ODSP/ESS staff to a CIC meeting and engage them in a discussion about the key elements and requirements of Supported Employment. 6. Other Business. Muriel told us that literacy eligibility is being linked to employment in the Stratford area (it may be different in other areas), with program content focussed on "functionality". This will be a problem for those who become ineligible for employment services due to the time-limited support requirement. What happened to the concept of life long learning? 7. Colin Edwards announced that he is resigning at MCL to live in the Gravenhurst area and work for Christian Horizons. Although he regrets leaving behind the "discussions and the passion" of CIC activities the new opportunity allows him to be closer to his family. Thanks, Colin and Good Luck with the new job! By the way, we need a new Chairperson. Muriel will chair the next meeting on a "one shot" basis. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCIL Meeting MinutesWhen: January 19,2000 Location: James Perdue Centre, St. Mary's, Ontario Present: Colin Edwards Tim Murphy Bob Vansickle Greg Bruckler Bill Gow Frank Moore Blair Groves Bruce Rankin Joe Dale 1. The Minutes of the previous meeting were declared accepted. 2. Presentation: Supported Employment Outcomes Data Roll-up Joe/Bruce Its now over seven years since the Supported Employment Outcomes Project began. The project adopted a definition of employment consistent with the Employment Standards Act (at or above minimum wage, etc.). It promotes individual planning as the basis for services with ongoing supports as a fundamental feature. A primary intention of the project was to gather information useful in promoting quality services. The "role-up" of the data elements was meant to help achieve this intention – and is perhaps the first study of this kind, (at least in Canada). Analysis of the data is useful, not only to evaluate current services and highlight agency issues, but also to shape the planning process from a regional perspective, e.g., by identifying gaps in service, or total demand. Year over year comparisons will provide indicators of service improvement. Eventually, the process of "rolling up" the data will allow the development of benchmarks. A key feature of Supported Employment is the provision of long-term supports. This is not quite in agreement with Ontario Disability Support Program Employment Supports, which limits supports to a maximum of one year. We need to gather information about the nature and extent of long-term supports to be able to present a case for changing the rules. Joe will prepare a quick survey that will go out to the agencies that were originally part of the "role-up". This will have to be turned around quickly – so that the results can be incorporated into his presentation next week. Joe will prepare the summary and Bill will do the follow-up telephone calls to make sure that as many agencies as possible respond. 3. "Are We Doing What We Say We're Doing" Project At the last meeting Blair talked about an evolving Governance Model. This is still being refined. Blair is now the Project Developer, on a secondment basis, and can be reached at (519) 485-4592, or 842-9000/590 (Tillsonburg and District Association for Community Living), or by e-mail at arewedoing@ocl.net. A Coordinator will be hired shortly. John Lord has been approached to help with training relative to qualitative methods. The project may explore links to the Ontario Federation of Cerebral Palsy which is developing a similar tool. "Are We Doing…" will participate in CIC’s Evaluation Conference in March. 4. Evaluation 2000 Conference. The date for this now very firm: March 8th and 9th at a hotel in London. Keynote speakers will be Brian Rush and John Lord who will address the larger issues of evaluation. Along with "Are We Doing…" will be a stream for the Supported Employment Outcomes Project. Both will focus on the practical aspects of how to use the evaluation tools as well as highlight what we can or have learned through the process of evaluation. Involvement in the conference is being sought from Accreditation Ontario as well as the National Quality Institute. See the CIC website for an overview: www.communityinvolvement.org 5. Other Business Community Living London will be bringing in David Hinsburger on January 21st, Judith Snow on February 11th, and will host a session on Augmentative Communication later in February. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCILMEETING: Dec 16th 1999 9:30am to Noon. Location: St.Mary's Purdue Centre. Present : Greg Bruckler, Tillsonburg DACL Tim Murphy, Alice Saddy Dave Redfern, St.Marys DACL Bill Gow, C.I.C. Colin Edwards, Middlesex CL (Chair) Muriel Boyd, Stratford ACL Trevor McCregor, CL South Huron Blair Groves, Ingersoll Support Services Linda Howgego, St Marys DACL 1. Tim volunteered to be recorder. 2. Minutes of previous meeting Nov 25th ‘99. Accepted. 3. Business arising: 3.1. "Are we doing what we are saying we are doing" The Governance model draft that was handed out at the last meeting is still under revision. General discussion centred around the use of this tool by agencies, their particular needs and the costs associated with the different types of application ( internal use vs. Engaging outside help). Also how the C.I.C. and the current advisory committee can work together to further promote the use of this evaluation tool. Should the Co-ordinator’s role include marketing/promotion ? 3.2. Spring Conference Bill has given this concept some thought since the last meeting , and suggested the following :- Evaluation ( 2 days in March) : Practical tools are available e.g. "Are we doing...", Outcomes measures, and National Quality Check. The theme of accountability by evaluation, and how this process can have positive impacts on Agencies and the people they support. What do we at C.I.C. think an evaluation can do for people ? Inclusion ( 2 days in May ? ) Could include creative ways agencies are currently successful in supporting people in employment ; P.I.E. model with March of Dimes assessment ? Bill will research the following, and report back at the next meeting: Themes- expand upon l Format of days l Guest speakers l Topics l Training sessions l Locations l Costs l Food l Follow the link to see the draft outline that Bill prepared recently for the "CIC Evaluation Conference 2000" 4. Other business. Discussed location of meetings. Agreed to meet in St.Marys at the Purdue Centre. COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COUNCILMEETING Nov 25th 1999 9:30am to Noon @ Tillsonburg Livingston Centre. Present: Greg Bruckler, Tillsonburg DACL Tim Murphy, Alice Saddy Dave Redfern, St.Marys DACL Lydia Laine, St.Marys DACL Bill Gow Nancy Powers, Salvation Army London Nancy Dunbar, Listowel DACL Cathy Hudson, Tillsonburg DACL Marty Graf, Tillsonburg DACL Colin Edwards, Middlesex CL (Chair) 1. Colin volunteered to be recorder. 2.Minutes of previous meeting Oct 21st,99. Accepted. 3.Business arising: Marty related to the council his discussions with the Program Supervisors at MCSS regarding future direction and focus of the council. (A) the council should become the active advisory of the "Are we doing what we are saying we are doing?" Project, as the council was the initial forum for this. The council unanimously agreed to this. (B) they were supportive of the spring conference idea that had stemmed from the previous meeting. They felt a 2 day conference presenting current successful supports that are achieving inclusion in both employment and alternatives would be the answer. They were prepared to fund a co-ordinator 2 days a week on a 4 month assignment to assist the council to pull it together. Bill Gow was suggested as he has been part of C.I.C. since its inception, his expertise on conference management, and current availability. The proposal is for Bill to work 2 days a week on the council's behalf, reporting back at the monthly meetings. The council accepted this proposal, and were unanimous in welcoming Bill to this role. 4. C.I.C.: last year in review. Colin Edwards reviewed the council's attendance at meetings by representatives from at least 15 agencies and MCSS, achievements and focus over the previous year, highlighting the following areas: * web site in place : www.communityinvolvment.org * directions for the future * meetings via internet ; demonstration at Tillsonberg * focus on just employment issues vs. General involvement issues * ODSP Employment Support Plan issues * sharing of agency experiences * C.I.C. budget * re-focus on and re-connecting with C.I.C. initiated projects: (A) Outcomes (B) East coast conference (C) Evaluation journals (D) Are we doing what..... * co-ordinator for C.I.C. * spring conference 5. C.I.C."s History Bill Gow gave a detailed review of C.I.C. history, why it was set up, its purpose and direction, its driving force, and achievements. 6. "Are we doing what we are saying we are doing?" Cathy Hudson gave an update on this project, giving an outline of the previous 22 years and explaining the value of it as an evaluation tool. This tool is for evaluation of general support services and not just limited to residential services as perceived by some. There have been "train the trainer" sessions on how to use this approach. Cathy presented a proposed governance model (copy attached) for this project to continue, and announced an available budget of 35K. This would allow C.I.C.'s direct involvement and the posting of a co-ordinator assistant. The council unanimously accepted this proposal in principle. Cathy also announced the commitment to hold 2 "train the trainer" workshops by April 1st, 2000. 7.Conference Some ideas for topics from around the table are: * how to develop volunteers * connecting with natural supports * employment strategies and processes * other types of inclusion * evaluation tools e.g "are we doing....@ ; Accreditation model ; Children's Services-National Quality Institute report. * C.I.C. projects * agencies sharing their successful supports Agencies : please give us your ideas for this conference at the next meeting. 8.Other business. Discussed location of meetings. Agreed to meet in St. Mary's at the Purdue Centre. 9.Next meeting. 3rd Thursday of the month: December 16th 9:30am at St.Marys, Purdue Centre. Community Involvement Council MeetingTime: Oct 21st 1999 9:30am to Noon. Location: The Livingston Centre, Tillsonburg, Ontario Present : Linda Howgego, St Marys DACL Greg Bruckler, TDACL Tim Murphy, Alice Saddy Muriel Boyd, Stratford ACL Jim Boniferro, MCSS Colin Edwards, MCL (Chair); recorder 1. Minutes of previous meeting Sept 30th’99. The word Conestoga in paragraph 3 should have read : LEADS or Fanshawe College. The minutes were accepted as amended. 2.Business arising : Internet meeting demonstration. Greg had two computers set up at different locations in the building with cameras and connected via the Microsoft Server. This enabled the meeting to split into two groups to experience operating an Internet meeting. We had trouble with the volume, but in general, people gained the basics of operating a meeting under these circumstances. Discussion afterward included the drawbacks of using a common server such as Microsoft, and the possible benefits of using the COIN Network or having our own server. It was also noted that participating Agencies would need appropriate computer equipment including the camera and software. People agreed there would be quite a learning curve for such meetings, especially as currently the style of our meetings was one of informal debate, and it was felt the Internet meeting format would have to be more formal and controlled for everyone to have their say in an orderly manner. It was agreed that meetings will proceed as usual as most Agencies did not have the equipment to go on-line. As Agencies are able to do this, they could have one to one communication to learn the procedures and at a later date perhaps they would be available to participate in Council meetings over the Internet. 3. Conference It was the consensus of the meeting that a one day conference on involvement issues should take place in the spring. The main issues seem to be around employment, and it would be useful to have Agencies present on what they are doing that they experience as successful. In addition it would be a good opportunity for the Ministry to present on the employment support plan and how income maintenance rules come into play for the individual. 4.Updates of projects A.) Outcomes : at the last steering committee meeting Joe Dale of cmcs indicated that the employment data survey was ready and packages were going out to the 30 participating Agencies, and that presentations would be made to S.W.E.D. and the Ministry in Nov. B.) The annual East Coast Conference on Supported Employment is coming up and presenters will include: Joe Dale, Sandra Burke, Bruce Rankin, and Bob Vansickle. C.) John Laird and Brian Rush are working on writing evaluation journals. D.) A Peer evaluation has recently taken place at Tillsonburg, and one will take place in St Thomas in Nov. P.I.E. of Huron/Perth has also request one. 5. Other business. It was agreed that for better and more timely posting of upcoming meetings, and meeting minutes, the following procedure would be adopted. *the next meeting time, place and date would be posted on the web site asap after a meeting takes place. www.communityinvolvement.org *the minutes would go from the recorder to Greg at Tillsonburg asap after a meeting, and faxed by him to meeting participants. Any changes would have to come from them within two days. He will then fax minutes to other Agencies, and e-mail to Bob for the web site posting. *a specific agenda for the next meeting will be included. 6.Next meeting. Date & Time ? 3rd Thursday of the month : November 25th 9:30am at Tillsonburg, Livingston Centre. December 16th 9:30am ( location to be decided ).
|
Copyright © 2007 by the Community Involvement Council. All rights reserved.
|
