Our Self-Advocate Group has put together the Spring/Summer issue of its newsletter, Speak Up! Please take a look at what this group has been up to.
Contact | 913-826-2626
Mark D. Elmore Center
10501 Lackman Road, Lenexa, KS 66219
Our Self-Advocate Group has put together the Spring/Summer issue of its newsletter, Speak Up! Please take a look at what this group has been up to.
After a lot of collaborative work among many people, our 2017 annual report is complete!
/sites/default/files/documents/JCDS/JCDS%20Annual%20Report%202017%20finalred.pdf
Dozens of JCDS day/employment services clients belong to the Self-Advocate Group. The group's mission is to educate, support and speak up for themselves and others with disabilities. They closely monitor and discuss issues happening close to home, in Topeka and in Washington D.C.
The group has created a newsletter called Speak Up! You can view the first issue at this link.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has released some documents that pertain to the next version of KanCare, which is Kansas' privatized system of the Medicaid program. Below are links to the documents with an explanation of what they are.
Below is a link to the state's draft of a renewal application it will use to request the federal government approve the next KanCare waiver, also known as "KanCare 2.0". The current KanCare waiver expires at the end of 2018. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is the federal agency responsible for oversight of state Medicaid programs.
http://www.kancare.ks.gov/about-kancare/kancare-renewal
The state has also released the Request for Proposal that the Managed Care Organizations (insurance companies) will use to bid on the contract for KanCare 2.0, That's at the link below and is currently at the bottom of the page.
https://admin.ks.gov/offices/procurement-and-contracts/bid-solicitations/
The public is invited to provide comments on this draft until November 26, 2017. There are several public meetings and conference calls and the details of those events are available here.
Here are links to a few media articles that give an analysis on the changes between the current and next version of KanCare.
KCUR
Wichita Eagle
Topeka Capital-Journal
How did Drew, Ryan, Cory and Tyler reach their goal of getting their driver’s license? Angela Walsh-Fisher, a JCDS community employment specialist, recalls how the idea got off the ground.
“At one of our self-advocacy meetings, when we asked our group what they would like to advocate for in their own lives, a majority said they wanted to learn to drive,” said Walsh. “Before we left I promised them that I would make some calls to see what I could find out.”
Those calls led Walsh to Josh Smith, program director for Transportation at Johnson County Community College and Vanessa Fernandez, a JCCC Driver’s Education instructor. Fernandez was able to take the JCCC one-day, 8-hour course, and split it into four separate sessions. The result was a program that contained shorter class times with the curriculum delivered at a slower pace that includes testing accommodations. The amount of behind-the-wheel training is determined by Fernandez for each student.
Once Walsh and Fernandez finalized the class structure, they held an informational meeting in March 2017 to explain the program. More than 50 people attended the meeting and the two offered classes quickly filled up.
Fernandez is pleased with how the class has turned out and is glad she can help people get a driver’s license who may not have been able to before this program.
“I’m very happy with who I put on the road,” said Fernandez. “They deserve to drive and they do a good job.”
This course will be offered in September and information is available online on page 84 for the Fall 2017 Continuing Education Catalog.
Our Project SEARCH 2016-2017 class of interns has graduated! Before they left they put together their final newsletter. Take a look to see which class members are already out in the local workforce.
The 2016-2017 Project SEARCH class continues to achieve success...including two interns starting permanent jobs before even finishing their internships. Read all about it in this newsletter, put together by the interns themselves.
Forrest Austin, a Direct Support Professional with Johnson County Developmental Supports, received the 2017 National Direct Support Professional of the Year award from The American Network of Community Options and Resources. ANCOR gives this award annually for exemplary work in furthering community inclusion for people living with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities. Judges look at nominees’ success in helping people with disabilities build social networks, participate in the community and advocate for themselves.
Austin has worked as a Direct Support Professional for nine years, four of them with JCDS. Part of his work involves serving as a Project SEARCH employment coach, and he has supported more than a dozen individuals with intellectual disabilities in their efforts to secure and maintain employment.
"When we have people get full-time jobs for $15 an hour who have an intellectual disability, we feel like we are breaking ground," said Austin. "I want that to become the rule and not the exception for the people we serve."
"We rely on DSPs and our staff to create solutions and figure out ways to provide opportunities for our people to be part of the community,” said Chad VonAhnen, executive director, Johnson County Developmental Supports. “Forrest does that every day. He keeps his focus on our clients’ abilities, providing them with choice-driven supports and advocating alongside of them to live and work in the community."
Since 2007, ANCOR has honored exceptional DSPs with the Direct Support Professional of the Year award. The association chose Austin from 245 nominees. ANCOR also named state recipients of the DSP Recognition Award in 41 states, the District of Columbia and Moldova.
"It is a great honor to be recognized in the midst of all this, and I see it as recognition not only for my personal contributions, but to the quality services provided here in the state of Kansas and in Johnson County," said Austin.
The 2017 Kansas legislative session officially begins at 2 p.m. on Monday, January 9. There are a variety of ways to monitor what's happening in Topeka. The information below pertains specifically to following issues involving the intellectual and developmental disability system.
The Kansas Legislature web site has a host of information including calendars, legislator contact information and committee assignments, and links to live audio broadcasts. You can also track bills online.
The Senate standing committees you may want to watch are Ways and Means, and Public Health and Welfare. On the House side, Appropriations, Social Services Budget and Health & Human Services are ones to monitor.
An important joint committee to watch is the Robert G. (Bob) Bethell Joint Committee on Home and Community Based Services and KanCare Oversight.
The Kansas State Library has a toll-free legislative hotline with reference librarians available to answer legislative questions. The phone number is 1-800-432-3924 or you can text questions to 785-256-0733 (charges may apply.)
News outlets are another information resource and below are direct links to statehouse or politics sections for news outlets we monitor.
Kansas City Star
Kansas News Service (formerly KHI News Service, now a part of KCUR)
Topeka Capital-Journal
Wichita Eagle
Finally, if you are a Twitter user, many tweets about happenings at the statehouse include the hashtag #ksleg so that's a good one to search. You can also follow legislators, as well as journalists who cover the statehouse.
JCDS sends out regular e-mails with legislative and policy updates. To join this email list, please send an email to jody.hanson@jocogov.org.
Our Project SEARCH program has grown this year! The 2016-2017 interns have finished their first rotation and their first newsletter. We invite you to click here and take a look!
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