PAIMI Council Meeting Minutes Via zoom August 22, 2023 Call to Order The meeting was called to order by Vice Chair Lois Shulman at 11:03 am. Attendance Present: Christina Agle, Joelle Gurnoe-Adams, Veronica Ibrahim, Christopher Land, Lois Shulman, Mora Wilkevicz Absent: Davin Hemmila, Fiona Hert, Renee Kimball-Rouse, James Rye, Charles Scott, Trina Tocco Staff: Michelle Roberts, Michele Brand, Theresa Diebolt, Kris Keranen, Kyle Williams Guests: Emily Henderson (McCall Hamilton), Amanda Bouwman, Teddy Dorsette III, Sue Franklin Approval of the Agenda The agenda was presented for approval. There was a request to move the legislative update to be given after approval of the minutes. Vice Chair Shulman asked for approval of the revised Agenda and took a vote. AYES: all NAYS: none Motion carried. Approval of the minutes The minutes from April 18, 2023, were presented for approval. Vice Chair Shulman asked for approval of the minutes and took a vote. AYES: all NAYS: none Motion carried. Legislative update Emily Henderson discussed items that could potentially change the future of our legislative agenda for the remainder of this session that concludes in December 2024. Henderson discussed a bill Democrats initiated that would move up the presidential primary election from March to February 27. It was approved by the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and they were looking to adopt it to move Michigan up in a more competitive place for that election. Further discussion was held surrounding that bill. The Governor is hosting a State of the State Address on the 30th, and she will be talking about what her priorities are for the remainder of the session. A question was asked if there were any updates on restraint & seclusion in schools and the reporting requirements. Emily and Michelle have been following a bill that would redefine restraints, chemical restraints specifically, and they have not seen any movement yet. There were conversations regarding the two Democrats running for mayor and the scenarios if they win or lose as Democrats currently hold a two-seat majority in the state House. Guardianship packages were discussed, and it is expected to see some movement on the House side. Additionally, the Corrections budget was signed in July which will include body worn camaras to start in October as well as additional training. There is going to be an audit on the Hawthorn Center and Emily will be setting up meetings with the Senator and the Auditor General’s office along with Simon Zagata to discuss the concerns and collaborations moving forward. Elections of Chair and Vice Chair Vice Chair Lois Shulman announced Marie Jackson’s term is up in September, and even though she was unable to attend this meeting, Lois wanted to thank Marie for her wonderful service on the council. Michelle Roberts also recognized Marie Jackson for her four years of service on the council and for serving as Chair the last two years. Michelle also thanked Lois for stepping in as Vice Chair. Michelle Roberts explained the terms and responsibilities of Chair and Vice Chair and named members who are eligible to run or to be nominated for those roles. Chris Land was nominated for Chair and Veronica Ibrahim was nominated for Vice Chair. Vice Chair Shulman asked for approval for the nominees and took a vote. Since there was not a quorum at the time of nominations, additional email votes were accepted. AYES: Shulman, Land, Gurnoe-Adams, Ibrahim, Wilkevicz Email: Scott, Tocco NAYS: none Motion carried. PAIMI financial update Michelle Roberts referred to the financial documents stating the Council’s report remains consistent with minimal expenses since we started having virtual meetings. The overall PAIMI budget is at 66% and we are targeted to come in a little under budget. Grievance update Theresa Diebolt reported three grievance forms were requested and sent out since the last council meeting and no grievances were filed. The grants associated with the three requests were Assistive Technology (AT), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and PAIMI. Public Comment A written public comment was submitted and emailed to council members. Guest Speaker Euphemia 'Sue' Franklin introduced herself and was married to the late Chris Franklin, who was a PAIMI Advisory Council member. Sue is the Executive Director of South Eastern Michigan Indians, Inc. (SEMII), a non-profit urban Indian center, providing human services for American Indians and others eligible for services. She shared how her and Chris met and how they became co-directors of the organization. Sue went on to share some of the great things Chris did and how passionate he was in helping others. Litigation update Kyle Williams gave an update on the children’s class action lawsuit and gave a brief explanation of the case for new members. They are negotiating a final settlement agreement that must be approved by the named representatives before being approved by a judge. Broad-based notices will be going out to make people aware of the final settlement agreement so individuals who are class members as well as other entities will have an opportunity to either support or object to the settlement agreement. When that settlement gets issued, we will most likely have a website and a phone line dedicated for class members and providers which will result in a tremendous amount of work that will ultimately be utilized by the judge on the assessment of the final settlement agreement. There have already been impactful results from this lawsuit with the changes in the Department of Health and Human Services and the implementation of MI Kids Now Program. Kyle looks forward to being able to share all the details of the settlement agreement with everyone. Education update Kris Keranen gave an overview of how the P&A system works with the Michigan Department of Education in ensuring every student in the state, who is entitled to special education, gets a free and appropriate education. In addition, we have attorneys and can sue the state. Kris shared a case involving a child who did not receive entitled services from a school district which resulted in the Department of Education changing their practices and providing guidance for the future. There has been a lot of non-compliance over the years that resulted in kids not being identified as needing special education and therefore not getting the educational services and supports they needed to progress in school. The Education Team continues to get a lot of calls from parents for various issues. The lack of appropriate supports and the shortage of qualified teachers continue to be major concerns as well as safety in schools. Proposed Focus Areas and Objectives for FY2024 Michelle Roberts reminded members that DRM is required to identify focus areas and objectives for how we are going to spend our agency resources. PAIMI is one of the three programs that requires an application every year even though the formula and the federal regulations say we will be funded for PAIMI. Michelle went through the document and highlighted a few changes proposed for fiscal year 2024. Once the document is approved by the council, it will be presented to the board for final review and approval. Vice Chair Shulman asked for approval of the proposed focus areas and objectives and took a vote. Since there was not a quorum at the time of this motion, additional email votes were accepted. AYES: Shulman, Land, Gurnoe-Adams, Ibrahim, Wilkevicz Email: Hemmila, Agle NAYS: none Motion carried. Old Business 1. Council membership – we have all required seats filled and have 13 members until next month when one member is terming out. 2. Conferences/trainings/initiatives – members were reminded to let Theresa know when they attended any these. 3. Contact information – members can check the PAIMI portal to ensure their information is correct and let Theresa know of any changes. New Business 1. Annual forms – please complete forms and return to Theresa as soon as possible. 2. Conferences/trainings/initiatives – none discussed. 3. Topics/interests to be discussed at future meetings – some discussion was held about having someone from the Governor’s office speak at one of the future meetings. Michelle will reach out to see if someone from MDHHS can speak at a future meeting regarding children’s services. Adjourn Vice Chair adjourned the meeting at 1:17 pm. The next scheduled meeting is November 21, 2023. 2 2