BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING Minutes September 7, 2021 Call Meeting to Order Vice President Hansen Clarke called the meeting to order at 10:07 am. Attendance Present via phone/virtual: Melody Arabo, Brian Calley, Hansen Clarke, Tom Landry, John McCulloch, Malkia Newman, Paul Palmer, Selena Schmidt, Jane Shank, Mark Wiedelman Absent: Jill Busha, Davin Hemmila, Mark Stephenson Staff present: Michelle Roberts, Michele Brand, Mark McWilliams, Kyle Williams, Elham Jahshan, Kris Keranen, Theresa Diebolt, Sara Koroniotis, Rebecca Kasen Approval of Agenda Tom Landry MOVED to approve the agenda and Mark Wiedelman seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Clarke, Landry, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank NAYS: none Motion carried. Approval of Minutes Mark Wiedelman MOVED to approve the minutes and Malkia Newman seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Clarke, Landry, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank NAYS: none Motion carried. Executive Director and Staff Reports Executive Director, Michelle Roberts, reminded everyone of the funds we received from the state to do vaccination advocacy work which includes all vaccinations for people with disabilities as well as their caregivers and family members. She also explained the ways in which the funds can be utilized to assist in getting people with disabilities vaccinated. Roberts was pleased to share that Mark McWilliams will be heading up the vaccination advocacy team. A few other staff will be transferring to the team, and we will be hiring a few new advocates in the near future. Roberts stated a director of communications position has been posted and she is looking at contracting with an outside firm to do our public policy work. Our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) contractors have been working with our organization on growth and training by having individual meetings, conducting surveys, and meeting with the DEI facilitators. They have also been working with HR on hiring and recruiting. We will be working with an attorney on creating a new policy manual and will incorporate DEI language and principles. Roberts and the directors are working on the annual Program Performance Reports (PPR) which are required by our federal funders. Roberts anticipates receiving increases from the federal grants and will know more by the end of the year. Please refer to the written report for further details regarding the organization. Sara Koroniotis reported on the Rep Payee Team and explained the different types of reviews they conduct. She gave an example of what a review looks like and explained the steps taken to completion. There was some discussion of what a representative payee is responsible for and how it relates to guardianship and power of attorneys. Elham Jahshan reported on the Employment Team stating a support staff was hired. She talked about 2 challenges the team has been facing which include cases where clients request assistance regarding small businesses and cases in which clients seek assistance regarding college. Michele Brand gave an update on IT/admin/HR/finance and said her team has been extremely busy hiring, researching salaries, upgrading firewalls, hired another IT consultant, interim audit that went very well, vaccine grant set up, etc. She also mentioned that our policy manual will be changing in accordance with our DEI training. Chris Davis gave an information and referral update stating they have hired a support staff and discussed the number of calls the department has been responding to. He expressed call volumes are increasing again since the pandemic began especially relating to employment and special education. Kris Keranen reported on the education team and mentioned how the teams at DRM are connected in so many ways with the work that is done. She talked about a particular case involving a 16-year-old child with disabilities who was removed from a detention center and placed in a child caring institution in Wayne County. The education team discovered they were not implementing his IEP nor was he receiving education services. They revealed several other children were not receiving education services and filed complaints with the department of education. The child caring institution ended up contracting with a different organization for education that would provide services. Kyle Williams gave an update on the lawsuits. The KB children’s class action settlement has been extended to December 1, 2021. Progress is being made and a program called MI Kids Now has been created by MDHHS as a result of the lawsuit. The NGRI lawsuit has been settled and completely resolved, and a considerable amount of work has already been put into revising the NGRI program. This is a large systemic impact, and they will continue to track that program. The Waskul lawsuit in Washtenaw County regarding the lack of community-based services is looking hopeful for us to get what we are asking for and we are preparing for further discovery. Williams gave a brief update on some of the other cases they are working on including a death at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility. President’s Report President McCulloch reminded board members to review and complete the required annual forms and send them to Theresa Diebolt by Friday, September 10, 2021. McCulloch talked about the self-evaluation process of the board and the results that came out of it. There was a special meeting held in July to discuss the results of the evaluation. This will be an annual process and discussion was held to improve the process. Public Comment There was no public comment. PAIMI Advisory Council Report PAIMI Advisory Council report was given by Chair, Malkia Newman, and the minutes from the PAIMI Advisory Council meeting held on April 20, 2021 were presented. Brian Calley MOVED to approve the April 20, 2021, meeting minutes and Mark Wiedelman seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Clarke, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Wiedelman NAYS: none Motion carried. Review of the proposed FY2022 agency focus areas Michelle Roberts presented the proposed focus areas for FY2022 explaining the changes which were approved by the PAIMI Advisory Council. A discussion was held, and a few minor changes were made to the focus area language. Malkia Newman MOVED to approve the proposed focus areas for FY2022, and Selena Schmidt seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Clarke, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Wiedelman NAYS: none Motion carried. Committee Reports 1. Board Development/Nominating Committee – Tom Landry Election of officers Jane Shank – President Mark Stephenson – 1st Vice President Paul Palmer – 2nd Vice President Brian Calley – Treasurer Mark Wiedelman – Secretary Tom Landry MOVED to approve the Board Development/Nominating Committee report and Selena Schmidt seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Clarke, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Wiedelman NAYS: none Motion carried. 2. Budget & Finance Committee – Tom Landry/ Michele Brand Landry stated the committee met and reviewed the financial statements presented along with the budget for FY2022 and recommended that the reports be accepted by the board. Brand gave a brief explanation regarding the financial materials and events that are coming up. Mark Wiedelman MOVED to approve the Budget & Finance Committee report and Paul Palmer seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Wiedelman Abstentions: Clarke, due to conflict of interest NAYS: none Motion carried. 3. Public Policy Committee – Mr. Brian Calley Brian Calley gave an update on some of the bills and proposals including restraint and seclusion and some of the other issues that are in the House and Senate. Malkia Newman MOVED to approve the Public Policy Committee report and Selena Schmidt seconded. AYES: Arabo, Calley, Clarke, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Wiedelman NAYS: none Motion carried. Old Business Old business – workgroups, mentorship, board retreat New Business New business – none Adjourn President McCulloch excused staff so board members can go into Executive Session at 12:30. Executive Session Executive Session adjourned at 12:46 pm. Minutes prepared by: Theresa Diebolt, Executive Assistant Minutes approved by: Paul Palmer, Secretary Meeting dates for 2022 (Please mark your calendars) Tuesday, February 15, 2022 Tuesday, May 10, 2022 Tuesday, September 6, 2022 Tuesday, December 13, 2022