May/June 2006                                                                                        Volume 3, Issue 3
 

 Editors
Tom Nerney                                       Pat Carver                             Deborah Crowley
Community Drive

Conley heads Center Research

Economist Ronald Conley has been appointed Director of Research at the Center for Self-Determination.  "Ron Conley had a distinguished career as a policy expert with many divisions of the federal Department of Health and Human Services. As an economist (PhD from Johns Hopkins) Ron brings an important degree of fiscal knowledge to augment the research objectives of the Center" says Executive Director Tom Nerney. "We are delighted Ron has come aboard."

Prior to serving as Special Assistant to the Commissioner at the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD) in the 1990's, Dr. Conley directed the Division of Program Analysis and Monitoring at the Rehabilitation Service Division (RSA) and was the Program Analyst in the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human services.

Conley states "I believe in rigorous research. No matter what the findings the research has to be rigorous" and he refers to self-determination " as part of a continuum of a long tradition of disability services that upholds the central role of consumers."

Ron Conley has published hundreds of articles in an assortment of journals, written several books about economics and policy research, and issued Rehabilitation Services Administration Evaluation Reports to the U.S. Department of Education.

System of the Future

On May 15 ^th some of the most progressive self-determination project sites across the country came to Detroit and strategically addressed potential cost effectiveness in comparison to the traditional Medicaid delivery system. Also discussed was the forced impoverishment of people with disabilities, the current disincentives to meaningful income generation in the Supplement Security Income provisions of the Social Security Act and how to simultaneously contain costs within the Medicaid program.

Those attending were Jim Dehem , President and CEO of Community Living Services in Wayne Michigan; Beth Durkee , Director of Services for People with Developmental Disabilities, Allegan (MI) County Community Mental Health; Jack Hillyard , Director Employment Policy Group, University of Iowa Health Care, Center for Disabilities and Development; Bob Morgan, Superintendent of the Delaware (Ohio) County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Pat Seybold , Executive Director at the Kentucky Developmental Disabilities Council and Mike Clark and Russ Rankin of the Kern Regional Center in California.

Guardianship is Not Self-Determination

The imposition of guardianship as the antithesis of self-determination principles is explained in a series of articles now accessible at www.self-determination.com . 

Eliminating the Pervasiveness of Guardianship by Dohn Hoyle, Executive Director of the ARC of Michigan and Treasurer of the Center for Self-Determination reviews the dichotomy between guardianship and self-determination.

Diane Coleman, J.D. , President of Not Dead Yet and Executive Director of Progress at the Center for Independent Living in Forest Park, Illinois joins Center Executive Director Tom Nerney in writing Guardianship and the Disability Rights Movement

Attorney Joel Welber reviews three reasons this commonly accepted estate-planning device offers a better option for families in The Trust as an Alternative to Guardianship

The article Guardianship is Not Self-Determination is written by Center for Self-Determination Board President Kathleen Harris , a social worker and attorney who consults with non-profit organizations about alternatives to guardianship.

  Each article was originally published in a special guardianship issue of TASH Connections .

NConSD in DC

At the National Coalition on Self-Determinatio n ( NConSD ) 6 ^th Annual Washington, DC Initiative on Monday, June 11, members met with policy makers, Senators and Representatives to promote equal citizenship and participation for all people with disabilities.  NConSD organized five years ago to move federal policy away from its institutional bias and toward supporting the freedom and participation of people with disabilities in the mainstream of life.  As parents and individuals with disabilities NConSD challenged the "Voice of the Retarded" (sic) during this specific week on Capital Hill by spreading the message that all people regardless of the severity of disability are entitled to full and equal citizenship and within the community.  For more information, please contact Donna Szamatowicz or Ray Gerke

  I nternational N etwork C onference o n M icro E nterprises

This spring 25 individuals set sail aboard the Carnival Cruise ship to learn about very small business development with IncomeLinks . Owned by Doreen Rosimos and Darcy Wilson and based in New Hampshire, INCOMELINKS is a micro-enterprise training and consulting service firm.

"We learned so much from the cruise line. We saw how they treated everyone equally and how they anticipated customer's needs" says Doreen Rosimos . The inaugural voyage worked so well that another is scheduled February 24 thru March 1, 2007.
E-mail Darcy Wilson or call 603-209-1198 or visit IncomeLinks . Doreen and Darcy helped to found the Center for Self-Determination.

Self-Determination State News

California

During a trip to the far West in May, Center Director Tom Nerney drove with Kern regional Center Director Mike Clark and self-determination coordinator Russ Rankin, from Bakersfield, CA to Bishop, CA to meet and discuss this innovative self-determination project in rural California. Discussions were also held on a research project to be developed that would document both quality of life changes for the participants as well as cost differences.

Minnesota

The Minnesota Team of the Alliance for Full Participation and the statewide Steering Committee on System Redesign for people with Developmental Disabilities Good Life conference brochure reads:

When we consider the path to Freedom in life, decision making and financial freedom are crucial pieces of the puzzle. While "self-determination" has taken many meanings over the last few years, this conference examines what support different people need to live a self-determined life. A good life.

On Thursday July 27 in St. Paul, Minnesotans will gather to discuss what makes a good life: where and with whom we live, what kind of jobs we have, and what we do for fun. Conference speakers include Dennis Harkins, Tom Nerney and Shirley York. On July 28, Pat Carver will facilitate a train-the trainer session based on information shared at "A Good Life Conference."  For more information call Kari at 877-917-2404.

Wisconsin

In May at the Aging Summit VI, Center Resource Guide Dennis Harkins presented " You're Never Too Old for Self-Determination " as the keynote luncheon message. The summit Person Directed Care across the Continuum: Making Choices Available to Seniors and Families Center Resource sponsored by University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire continuing education and highlighted Wisconsin initiatives toward person directed care in home, retirement and long-term care communities.

News from Self-Determination.com

The website has recently been re-designed and we are in the process of having a screen reader imbedded in the pages so that individuals who have visual impairments will be able to access the information more easily. We are always looking for ways to make our site more user friendly while assuring that the information provided is timely and useful. Please take time to visit the site and leave us a note in the guestbook.

Kathy Homan developed the Center's original website and volunteered monthly by translating the html language that's behind this newsletter and made sure it got out to readers promptly for many years. The March/April issue was her last, and we'd like to thank Kathy for her diligence and wish her well with Team Michigan this month at the US transplant Games in Louisville, Kentucky.

Thanks also go to Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (MDRC) for sponsoring the website and its continuing subscription services of Alliance for Freedom listserv. MDRC, a statewide network that advances the issues of Michigan's disability community through grassroots activism, public education and advocacy, sells " Feisty and Non-compliant" pins and shirts to raise money. Visit the Nth Degree for more information.

If you have questions about joining the Alliance for Freedom listserv, send an e-mail message to Deborah Crowley .

Closing Quote

" We want only that which is given naturally to all people's of the world - to be masters of our own fate, in cooperation and friendship with others."

- Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of Israel and Milwaukee school teacher as quoted in We Are Never too Old for Self-Determination: Integrating the Gifts of Elders, Families, Communities, and Human Services