January 9, 2023
Minutes
Minutes
Attendees via Zoom: Andrew Taranko, Debby, Jen Paquet, Jennifer Kinnelly, Kathy Rickards, Margaret Cardoza, Shelley Zielinski, Alina Smith, Cedric Mfuranzima, Chris Call, Julianna Zaharis, Liz Hansen, Carol Snyder, Samantha Hogan, Betsy Hopkins, Sammy-Ellie MacKinnon, Lane Simsarian, Kristin McPherson, Deborah Johnson, Staci Converse, J Richardson Collins, Teresa Barrows, Jamie Whitehouse, Christina Walker, Ryan Gallant, Darryl Wood, Debbie Dionne, Paul Saucier, Paula Bush, Titus O’Rourke, Ann-Marie Mayberry, Bonnie Robinson, Kim Humphrey, Mark Kemmerle, David Cowing, Scott McKeough, Darla Chafin, Stacy Lamontagne, Emily Kalafarski, Ashley Kneeland, Rachel Dyer, Sarah Robinson, Jodi Benvie, Allie Vercoe, Michaela York, Ray Nagel, Rob, Brenda Smith, Helen Hemminger, Vickey Merrill, Cullen Ryan, and a few people who didn’t identify themselves and/or left prior to the conclusion of the meeting.
Cullen Ryan introduced himself and welcomed the group. Minutes from the last meeting were accepted. For the sake of time, Cullen read the names of participants.
Featured Speakers: Paul Saucier, Director, DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS), and Betsy Hopkins, Associate Director, Developmental Disability and Brain Injury Services, DHHS-OADS. www.maine.gov/dhhs/oads
Topic: Overview of the ID/DD budgets over the past few years, as background for the upcoming Biennial Budget. And an overview of OADS’ plan to improve access to behavioral health supports.
Cullen: Today I am very pleased to welcome Paul Saucier, Director of DHHS-OADS, and Betsy Hopkins, Associate Director of Developmental Disability and Brain Injury Services, DHHS-OADS. Paul had originally planned to provide an overview of the Governor’s Biennial Budget as it pertains to OADS. However, the budget is now not expected to be released until later in January or early February. Paul and Betsy will keep us apprised of budget initiatives that pertain to OADS as information becomes available. Instead, Paul will be providing an overview of the ID/DD budgets over the past few years, as background for the upcoming Biennial Budget. And Betsy will provide an overview of OADS’ plan to improve access to behavioral health supports. Paul and Betsy have both put in a lot of work at OADS over the past few years to solicit stakeholder feedback, improve systems, and build trust through transparency. Thank you both very much for all your work and for being here today!
Paul Saucier: Thank you for having us. We will have lots of news for you on the Biennial Budget once it’s released and hope you’ll be as excited about our initiatives as we are. That being said I think today’s presentation will provide a good framework and background/historical information.
Begin presentation (Click here for the presentation):
Paul: The COLA increase that went into effect on 1/1/23 was applied across the board, and at 8.2% is higher than the 4%+ that had previously been anticipated.
OADS continues to make progress on quality and access, including 40 offers per month for Section 29, and priority 1 individuals continue to be enrolled in Section 21. We’ve found that due to staffing shortages some of those offers have been out there for quite some time. The number of people receiving residential support continues to grow. Though we did experience some group home closures and a reduction in the number of people in group homes as a result, there has been increased growth in shared living.
In terms of more stability and sustainability, particularly in response to the workforce, I would say we have slightly more stability now. I won’t take credit for it, as there are a lot of market changes out there including an in-migration growth. In terms of stability, we’ve gone from allowing group homes to staff at 50% levels, if necessary, provided they could maintain health and safety at the onset of the pandemic, to returning to 80% staffing. We want to get back to the pre-pandemic 92%+ staffing levels but we’re not quite there yet. Regarding equity, we’re implementing the A Path for ME initiative to work towards people getting the supports they need through a standardized, nationally recognized assessment process. In terms of the balance in the system, one of the real benefits of A Path for ME and getting everyone assessed in the same way is we’ll have a much better sense of what we should be aiming for regarding group homes, shared living, and other housing arrangements. Our system is far more balanced now in terms of residential options, but we have a long way to go still.
Betsy Hopkins: We’ve discussed more integration into the community for quite some time. We want to really focus on the individual and what they need and look at opportunities for more community integration. We know that the workforce issues do provide challenges to individualized access to community. We hope to continue to see this grow through the Lifetime Waiver Project and A Path for ME. We’ve talked a lot over the last three (3) years about coming into compliance with the Federal HCBS Settings Rule. Now that we have a lot of agencies in compliance, we’re looking at the future, an emphasis on quality, and how we can support agencies moving forward.
We have talked openly about the fact that we’ve been challenged with providing some good behavioral health supports for folks in our system. Now that the START assessment process has been completed, we have a plan moving forward. (Betsy reviewed the Behavioral Health Review and Action Plan and related slides in detail, which begins on slide 10 of the presentation.) The high-level review completed during the assessment, which included stakeholder groups, individual surveys, and a review of Medicaid data, led to our Implementation Plan. (Betsy reviewed the Implementation Plan slides in detail, which begins on slide 16 of the presentation.)
Paul: The Intensive Outreach Program (IOP) rules have been adopted and it’s in place now. We welcome agencies who want to try the service to reach out, as we know there will likely be bugs to work out in the beginning. This IOP was specifically targeted to folks with ID/DD with behavioral health needs and we’re hoping to use it to great success.
Betsy: We’ve brought on Jane Gallivan to help us oversee the year-long stakeholder engagement work to update the process for the development, implementation, and monitoring of behavior plans – including the Rule that pertains to this. I wanted to take a moment to introduce Deb Johnson, who has been brought on board at OADS and you’ll see her in a lot of our work moving forward. She will help us keep track of all of these exciting initiatives.
Cullen: Thank you both for walking us through all this information! It’s very helpful to have that high-level overview and background information.
Discussion:
-It was asked if there will be a second round of innovation grants.
Betsy: Yes, there will! You can look for the notice over the next couple of weeks. We had 13 awards this round and we’d like to open it up again for additional applicants. It will be a shorter turnaround time for the second round because we really want to get these programs up and running.
-A parent asked how case managers have been brought into the process. They are such a lynchpin for everything in the system and there’s so much going on, it would seem that case managers ought to be targeted to bring them up to speed so they can be as effective as possible in their work. Other parents in the group echoed the importance of case managers.
Paul: I’ll let Betsy address this, but you reminded me that when I discussed rate increases, I neglected to mention that Section 13, which funds case management, has gone through a rate study and rate increases were also announced on 1/1/2023.
Betsy: You’re absolutely right, case managers are at the heart of everything we do, especially as we think about the needs assessment work we’re doing. We’re holding one meeting tomorrow with community case managers to outline what that rule will look like. I had a meeting with community case management agencies a few weeks ago and we received a lot of important feedback, which acted as a reminder about how important it is to engage with case management agencies as all this work moves forward. We’re paying close attention to the role of case managers and keeping them as up to date as we can about these new initiatives.
Paul: We’ve already added some new services and new service options, and hopefully we’ll be adding more over the next few years. However, whether families and individuals hear about all of these options depends upon the case manager, so we know how critical it is to have well-informed case managers.
- A self-advocate expressed her thanks for the extreme amount of progress that’s been made over the past few years. She stated that she’s aware of improvements in transportation recently, but that it remains an issue.
Paul: This is an issue that continues to be a challenge for every population that OADS serves. I wish I could say there was a better update. We do have some funds to pilot a self-directed transportation benefit. This hasn’t gotten off the ground yet. There are similar issues with community connections, which is emerging as a major theme for the Cabinet on Aging. One of the things we’re looking into is how the state could better coordinate and leverage all the local initiatives we know are out there, and transportation is one of them. There are a lot of initiatives out there that could be used if there was better coordination. We’re looking at what we can do to help the more informal transportation system, which can be more flexible and allow for those community connections.
-A self-advocate stated that she’s thrilled to hear of a more self-directed transportation benefit. She stated that the broker system has taken away an individual’s power to determine their preferred mode of transportation. She stated that the more rural areas in Maine are far more challenging in terms of transportation.
Paul: Exactly. A flexible transportation benefit that would pay for Uber or Lyft, for example, as a transportation option would work in areas like Portland but not in the very rural areas of Maine. We are aware of the specific challenges rural areas face, including transportation.
-She stated that based on slides four (4) and five (5) of the presentation it appears more money is being spent on fewer services.
Paul: Yes, the rates have gone up for services, so each person receiving services will cost more. We’re trying to thread that needle in Maine. There’s a big demand for services, and a service system that’s constrained. We need adequate rates to have the service delivery system we need, while we also need to have the capacity to serve more people. But yes, over the past few years our spending has increased more than the number of people we have served.
Paul: OADS released a newsletter in December 2022. The next OADS newsletter will feature information on the Biennial Budget, and we’ll use that in lieu of being able to present that to you all. If you’re not signed up for OADS emails, please do so! You can sign up on our website.
Cullen: Thank you both for being here and for providing all of this information. I look forward to seeing what’s in the Biennial Budget and how it will affect the continuum of care for people with ID/DD in Maine. Also, thank you for your transparency and willingness to incorporate stakeholder feedback into all of your work – we are all better for having an open, inclusive dialogue as we work to improve the system. Thank you again, and well done!
End Presentation (round of applause would have occurred were it not for everyone being muted and on Zoom)
DHHS – Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) - www.maine.gov/dhhs/oads
Betsy Hopkins: We’re very pleased that we’ve hired a Coordinator for our transition project. We’re very excited to proceed with this work and get that project underway!
DHHS – Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) - www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs
Teresa Barrows: I want to reiterate what Betsy said – we’ve very excited and the person we hired is amazing! We’re still in the process of hiring for the Transition Liaison positions.
Cullen: Thank you for continuing to focus on the importance of improving transition!
DOL – Division of Vocational Rehabilitation - www.maine.gov/rehab/dvr - No update
Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education (OSSIE) - www.maine.gov/doe/learning/specialed - No update
SMACT (Southern Maine Advisory Council on Transition):
This year’s SMACT meetings will be held quarterly. The most recent meeting was on January 6th and featured Debra Bare-Rogers/Advocate, Telecommunications Relay Services with Disability Rights Maine speaking about Maine Relay Services, 711, IP Relay, Relay Conference Captioning and the Telecommunications Equipment Program serving Deaf and HOH individuals in Maine. The meeting also featured Michelle Bailey Cumberland County Youth Career Advisor with Workforce Solutions, Goodwill Northern New England speaking about the Workforce Solutions program which helps youth ages 16-24 realize their potential, plan for education, find and keep employment and make successful transitions to self-sufficiency. The rest of the year’s meetings will be the first Friday of March and May. The SMACT website and the Coalition website are cross-linked for convenience and information-sharing. As a reminder, if you want to be on the email list feel free to email Nancy ([email protected]).
Disability Rights Maine (DRM) Update:
Staci Converse: I wanted to wish everyone a happy New Year before I turn it over to Sammy-Ellie.
Sammie-Ellie MacKinnon: I’ve been at DRM for about three (3) months now but I’m DRM’s newest Advocate. I’m really excited to be part of DRM and part of the broader advocacy community in the state!
-A self-advocate stated that she and Sammy-Ellie are working on a project to create a training around Title IX, specifically around people with disabilities in the education system and increasing awareness and preventing sexual violence/assault.
Lane Simsarian: The health care survey we discussed at last month’s meeting has concluded. However, we are holding a virtual focus group on 1/18, to discuss/share experiences accessing any form of health care. (Click here for more information on the focus group. Click here to register for the focus group.)
Cullen: Thank you all for being here with us, and for all your advocacy!
LD 924 Task Force Update: The group continues to meet and will be submitting recommendations to the Legislature.
Federal & Housing Updates:
Cullen:
State Legislature Update
Cullen: As this group knows, the First regular Session of the 131st Legislature convened on Wednesday, 12/7/22. Cloture (when bill titles must be submitted for consideration) occurred on 12/30/22. Committee assignments have been made. There’s a new Housing Committee, which is significant as in previous years all housing-related bills went to the Labor and Housing Committee which had its hands very full. Bills are now making their way through the Revisor’s Office and will soon be posted on the Legislature’s website (click here for the new Bill Tracking site). This being the First Session of the Legislature, any bill could be submitted for consideration.
Unfortunately, Laura Cordes, Executive Director of MACSP (Maine Association for Community Service Providers), could not attend today’s meeting as planned, but she passed along information to share and include as part of the minutes.
Laura sent the following information via email to share with the group: I created a Google doc using the format of the previous sessions to support the MCHQS' interest in monitoring and engaging in bills of interest in the 131st Legislature. The doc contains updated lists of key committees and their members [Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA), Health and Human Services (HHS), and a table for Coalition members to track bills (click here for more information). It is open to all members to edit and update. I am happy to continue to add to the bill list and update members as we move forward throughout the session.
A few items to note:
Cullen: This is going to be a very busy Legislative Session. We will keep this group apprised as bills make their way through the Legislature, so please be on the lookout for action alerts. The Legislature isn’t in full swing quite yet, so this is a great time to reach out and introduce yourself to your State Representatives and your State Senator. Tell your story, let them know the importance of resources and services for you and your family, and educate them about your needs. Our collective voice is very powerful.
Kim Humphrey: Community Connect continues its Digital Stories work, which uses visual storytelling as an advocacy tool.
Cullen: That’s fantastic, Kim. Thank you for all your work!
Other Business:
Cullen: On a personal note, I lost a parent a week and a half ago. I know many people in this group have lost a parent as well. This caused me to reflect on the effects of losing a parent. For many of us, our biggest concern is what will happen to our children when we pass away. For people with disabilities, the effects of losing a parent include far more and bigger challenges. I’m thankful that we’re a collective group of people that connects regularly, advocates together, participates in open dialogues, and continues to work to improve the system for people with ID/DD in Maine. I’m thankful for all of that and for all of you. I want to thank each and every one of you individually and collectively for working to make the world better a better place. We have a lot of ground to cover, but I’m optimistic that 2023 will bring many great things. Thank you all.
The next meeting will be on Monday, February 13, 2023, 12-2pm, via Zoom*.
Featured Speaker: Stephanie Barrett, Manager of Quality and Training, DHHS-OADS. Topic: Quality Assurance.
Unless changed, Coalition meetings are on the 2nd Monday of the month from 12-2pm.
(In 2023 the October meeting will be the 3rd Monday due to the holiday)
The Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services provides equal opportunity for meeting participation. If you wish to attend but require an interpreter or other accommodation, please forward your request two weeks prior to the monthly meeting to [email protected].
Cullen Ryan introduced himself and welcomed the group. Minutes from the last meeting were accepted. For the sake of time, Cullen read the names of participants.
Featured Speakers: Paul Saucier, Director, DHHS Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS), and Betsy Hopkins, Associate Director, Developmental Disability and Brain Injury Services, DHHS-OADS. www.maine.gov/dhhs/oads
Topic: Overview of the ID/DD budgets over the past few years, as background for the upcoming Biennial Budget. And an overview of OADS’ plan to improve access to behavioral health supports.
Cullen: Today I am very pleased to welcome Paul Saucier, Director of DHHS-OADS, and Betsy Hopkins, Associate Director of Developmental Disability and Brain Injury Services, DHHS-OADS. Paul had originally planned to provide an overview of the Governor’s Biennial Budget as it pertains to OADS. However, the budget is now not expected to be released until later in January or early February. Paul and Betsy will keep us apprised of budget initiatives that pertain to OADS as information becomes available. Instead, Paul will be providing an overview of the ID/DD budgets over the past few years, as background for the upcoming Biennial Budget. And Betsy will provide an overview of OADS’ plan to improve access to behavioral health supports. Paul and Betsy have both put in a lot of work at OADS over the past few years to solicit stakeholder feedback, improve systems, and build trust through transparency. Thank you both very much for all your work and for being here today!
Paul Saucier: Thank you for having us. We will have lots of news for you on the Biennial Budget once it’s released and hope you’ll be as excited about our initiatives as we are. That being said I think today’s presentation will provide a good framework and background/historical information.
Begin presentation (Click here for the presentation):
Paul: The COLA increase that went into effect on 1/1/23 was applied across the board, and at 8.2% is higher than the 4%+ that had previously been anticipated.
OADS continues to make progress on quality and access, including 40 offers per month for Section 29, and priority 1 individuals continue to be enrolled in Section 21. We’ve found that due to staffing shortages some of those offers have been out there for quite some time. The number of people receiving residential support continues to grow. Though we did experience some group home closures and a reduction in the number of people in group homes as a result, there has been increased growth in shared living.
In terms of more stability and sustainability, particularly in response to the workforce, I would say we have slightly more stability now. I won’t take credit for it, as there are a lot of market changes out there including an in-migration growth. In terms of stability, we’ve gone from allowing group homes to staff at 50% levels, if necessary, provided they could maintain health and safety at the onset of the pandemic, to returning to 80% staffing. We want to get back to the pre-pandemic 92%+ staffing levels but we’re not quite there yet. Regarding equity, we’re implementing the A Path for ME initiative to work towards people getting the supports they need through a standardized, nationally recognized assessment process. In terms of the balance in the system, one of the real benefits of A Path for ME and getting everyone assessed in the same way is we’ll have a much better sense of what we should be aiming for regarding group homes, shared living, and other housing arrangements. Our system is far more balanced now in terms of residential options, but we have a long way to go still.
Betsy Hopkins: We’ve discussed more integration into the community for quite some time. We want to really focus on the individual and what they need and look at opportunities for more community integration. We know that the workforce issues do provide challenges to individualized access to community. We hope to continue to see this grow through the Lifetime Waiver Project and A Path for ME. We’ve talked a lot over the last three (3) years about coming into compliance with the Federal HCBS Settings Rule. Now that we have a lot of agencies in compliance, we’re looking at the future, an emphasis on quality, and how we can support agencies moving forward.
We have talked openly about the fact that we’ve been challenged with providing some good behavioral health supports for folks in our system. Now that the START assessment process has been completed, we have a plan moving forward. (Betsy reviewed the Behavioral Health Review and Action Plan and related slides in detail, which begins on slide 10 of the presentation.) The high-level review completed during the assessment, which included stakeholder groups, individual surveys, and a review of Medicaid data, led to our Implementation Plan. (Betsy reviewed the Implementation Plan slides in detail, which begins on slide 16 of the presentation.)
Paul: The Intensive Outreach Program (IOP) rules have been adopted and it’s in place now. We welcome agencies who want to try the service to reach out, as we know there will likely be bugs to work out in the beginning. This IOP was specifically targeted to folks with ID/DD with behavioral health needs and we’re hoping to use it to great success.
Betsy: We’ve brought on Jane Gallivan to help us oversee the year-long stakeholder engagement work to update the process for the development, implementation, and monitoring of behavior plans – including the Rule that pertains to this. I wanted to take a moment to introduce Deb Johnson, who has been brought on board at OADS and you’ll see her in a lot of our work moving forward. She will help us keep track of all of these exciting initiatives.
Cullen: Thank you both for walking us through all this information! It’s very helpful to have that high-level overview and background information.
Discussion:
-It was asked if there will be a second round of innovation grants.
Betsy: Yes, there will! You can look for the notice over the next couple of weeks. We had 13 awards this round and we’d like to open it up again for additional applicants. It will be a shorter turnaround time for the second round because we really want to get these programs up and running.
-A parent asked how case managers have been brought into the process. They are such a lynchpin for everything in the system and there’s so much going on, it would seem that case managers ought to be targeted to bring them up to speed so they can be as effective as possible in their work. Other parents in the group echoed the importance of case managers.
Paul: I’ll let Betsy address this, but you reminded me that when I discussed rate increases, I neglected to mention that Section 13, which funds case management, has gone through a rate study and rate increases were also announced on 1/1/2023.
Betsy: You’re absolutely right, case managers are at the heart of everything we do, especially as we think about the needs assessment work we’re doing. We’re holding one meeting tomorrow with community case managers to outline what that rule will look like. I had a meeting with community case management agencies a few weeks ago and we received a lot of important feedback, which acted as a reminder about how important it is to engage with case management agencies as all this work moves forward. We’re paying close attention to the role of case managers and keeping them as up to date as we can about these new initiatives.
Paul: We’ve already added some new services and new service options, and hopefully we’ll be adding more over the next few years. However, whether families and individuals hear about all of these options depends upon the case manager, so we know how critical it is to have well-informed case managers.
- A self-advocate expressed her thanks for the extreme amount of progress that’s been made over the past few years. She stated that she’s aware of improvements in transportation recently, but that it remains an issue.
Paul: This is an issue that continues to be a challenge for every population that OADS serves. I wish I could say there was a better update. We do have some funds to pilot a self-directed transportation benefit. This hasn’t gotten off the ground yet. There are similar issues with community connections, which is emerging as a major theme for the Cabinet on Aging. One of the things we’re looking into is how the state could better coordinate and leverage all the local initiatives we know are out there, and transportation is one of them. There are a lot of initiatives out there that could be used if there was better coordination. We’re looking at what we can do to help the more informal transportation system, which can be more flexible and allow for those community connections.
-A self-advocate stated that she’s thrilled to hear of a more self-directed transportation benefit. She stated that the broker system has taken away an individual’s power to determine their preferred mode of transportation. She stated that the more rural areas in Maine are far more challenging in terms of transportation.
Paul: Exactly. A flexible transportation benefit that would pay for Uber or Lyft, for example, as a transportation option would work in areas like Portland but not in the very rural areas of Maine. We are aware of the specific challenges rural areas face, including transportation.
-She stated that based on slides four (4) and five (5) of the presentation it appears more money is being spent on fewer services.
Paul: Yes, the rates have gone up for services, so each person receiving services will cost more. We’re trying to thread that needle in Maine. There’s a big demand for services, and a service system that’s constrained. We need adequate rates to have the service delivery system we need, while we also need to have the capacity to serve more people. But yes, over the past few years our spending has increased more than the number of people we have served.
Paul: OADS released a newsletter in December 2022. The next OADS newsletter will feature information on the Biennial Budget, and we’ll use that in lieu of being able to present that to you all. If you’re not signed up for OADS emails, please do so! You can sign up on our website.
Cullen: Thank you both for being here and for providing all of this information. I look forward to seeing what’s in the Biennial Budget and how it will affect the continuum of care for people with ID/DD in Maine. Also, thank you for your transparency and willingness to incorporate stakeholder feedback into all of your work – we are all better for having an open, inclusive dialogue as we work to improve the system. Thank you again, and well done!
End Presentation (round of applause would have occurred were it not for everyone being muted and on Zoom)
DHHS – Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) - www.maine.gov/dhhs/oads
Betsy Hopkins: We’re very pleased that we’ve hired a Coordinator for our transition project. We’re very excited to proceed with this work and get that project underway!
DHHS – Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) - www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs
Teresa Barrows: I want to reiterate what Betsy said – we’ve very excited and the person we hired is amazing! We’re still in the process of hiring for the Transition Liaison positions.
Cullen: Thank you for continuing to focus on the importance of improving transition!
DOL – Division of Vocational Rehabilitation - www.maine.gov/rehab/dvr - No update
Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education (OSSIE) - www.maine.gov/doe/learning/specialed - No update
SMACT (Southern Maine Advisory Council on Transition):
This year’s SMACT meetings will be held quarterly. The most recent meeting was on January 6th and featured Debra Bare-Rogers/Advocate, Telecommunications Relay Services with Disability Rights Maine speaking about Maine Relay Services, 711, IP Relay, Relay Conference Captioning and the Telecommunications Equipment Program serving Deaf and HOH individuals in Maine. The meeting also featured Michelle Bailey Cumberland County Youth Career Advisor with Workforce Solutions, Goodwill Northern New England speaking about the Workforce Solutions program which helps youth ages 16-24 realize their potential, plan for education, find and keep employment and make successful transitions to self-sufficiency. The rest of the year’s meetings will be the first Friday of March and May. The SMACT website and the Coalition website are cross-linked for convenience and information-sharing. As a reminder, if you want to be on the email list feel free to email Nancy ([email protected]).
Disability Rights Maine (DRM) Update:
Staci Converse: I wanted to wish everyone a happy New Year before I turn it over to Sammy-Ellie.
Sammie-Ellie MacKinnon: I’ve been at DRM for about three (3) months now but I’m DRM’s newest Advocate. I’m really excited to be part of DRM and part of the broader advocacy community in the state!
-A self-advocate stated that she and Sammy-Ellie are working on a project to create a training around Title IX, specifically around people with disabilities in the education system and increasing awareness and preventing sexual violence/assault.
Lane Simsarian: The health care survey we discussed at last month’s meeting has concluded. However, we are holding a virtual focus group on 1/18, to discuss/share experiences accessing any form of health care. (Click here for more information on the focus group. Click here to register for the focus group.)
Cullen: Thank you all for being here with us, and for all your advocacy!
LD 924 Task Force Update: The group continues to meet and will be submitting recommendations to the Legislature.
Federal & Housing Updates:
Cullen:
- FY 23 Budget: On 12/23 Congress passed and the President signed a final FY 23 Omnibus spending package, which included increased HUD funding. The final spending bill provides HUD programs with $61.8 billion, or $8.1 billion more than FY22-enacted levels. The FY 23 budget provides approximately $745 million more than the amount provided in the Senate proposal, and nearly $1 billion less than the amount provided in the House proposal. The final spending bill does not include a tax extenders package. Advocates had urged Congress to include a tax extenders package with an extension of the Child Tax Credit and provisions related to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The final FY 23 T-HUD bill provides increases to some HUD programs:
- $30.253 billion for Housing Choice Vouchers including $26.4 billion to renew existing contracts
- $14.9 billion for Project-based Section 8 – enough to renew all existing contracts
- $1.08 billion for Section 202 Housing for the Elderly
- $360 million for Section 811 Housing for People with Disabilities
- $86 million for fair housing programs
- FY 23 Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) Requests: Congressionally Directed Spending (aka Earmarks) for each state were approved as part of the FY 23 omnibus budget. CDS funding is included in annual federal appropriations legislation and provides a specific amount of discretionary funding to a state, locality, or nonprofit organization for projects with demonstrated civic and community value. Senator King’s CDS approved requests include funding for programs for people with ID/DD in Maine.
State Legislature Update
Cullen: As this group knows, the First regular Session of the 131st Legislature convened on Wednesday, 12/7/22. Cloture (when bill titles must be submitted for consideration) occurred on 12/30/22. Committee assignments have been made. There’s a new Housing Committee, which is significant as in previous years all housing-related bills went to the Labor and Housing Committee which had its hands very full. Bills are now making their way through the Revisor’s Office and will soon be posted on the Legislature’s website (click here for the new Bill Tracking site). This being the First Session of the Legislature, any bill could be submitted for consideration.
Unfortunately, Laura Cordes, Executive Director of MACSP (Maine Association for Community Service Providers), could not attend today’s meeting as planned, but she passed along information to share and include as part of the minutes.
Laura sent the following information via email to share with the group: I created a Google doc using the format of the previous sessions to support the MCHQS' interest in monitoring and engaging in bills of interest in the 131st Legislature. The doc contains updated lists of key committees and their members [Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA), Health and Human Services (HHS), and a table for Coalition members to track bills (click here for more information). It is open to all members to edit and update. I am happy to continue to add to the bill list and update members as we move forward throughout the session.
A few items to note:
- Over 3000 bills are expected to be heard this session. Over 300 in the HHS Committee alone.
- The first hundred forty or so have been released.
- The Governor is expected to release her budget later this month or in early February.
- There are new members/changes on each of the committees, most notably on AFA.
- The google doc includes links for members to find their newly elected Representatives and Senators.
- Find your State Representative: https://legislature.maine.gov/house/house/MemberProfiles
- Find your State Senator: https://legislature.maine.gov/senate-home-page/find-your-state-senator
Cullen: This is going to be a very busy Legislative Session. We will keep this group apprised as bills make their way through the Legislature, so please be on the lookout for action alerts. The Legislature isn’t in full swing quite yet, so this is a great time to reach out and introduce yourself to your State Representatives and your State Senator. Tell your story, let them know the importance of resources and services for you and your family, and educate them about your needs. Our collective voice is very powerful.
Kim Humphrey: Community Connect continues its Digital Stories work, which uses visual storytelling as an advocacy tool.
Cullen: That’s fantastic, Kim. Thank you for all your work!
Other Business:
Cullen: On a personal note, I lost a parent a week and a half ago. I know many people in this group have lost a parent as well. This caused me to reflect on the effects of losing a parent. For many of us, our biggest concern is what will happen to our children when we pass away. For people with disabilities, the effects of losing a parent include far more and bigger challenges. I’m thankful that we’re a collective group of people that connects regularly, advocates together, participates in open dialogues, and continues to work to improve the system for people with ID/DD in Maine. I’m thankful for all of that and for all of you. I want to thank each and every one of you individually and collectively for working to make the world better a better place. We have a lot of ground to cover, but I’m optimistic that 2023 will bring many great things. Thank you all.
The next meeting will be on Monday, February 13, 2023, 12-2pm, via Zoom*.
Featured Speaker: Stephanie Barrett, Manager of Quality and Training, DHHS-OADS. Topic: Quality Assurance.
Unless changed, Coalition meetings are on the 2nd Monday of the month from 12-2pm.
(In 2023 the October meeting will be the 3rd Monday due to the holiday)
The Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services provides equal opportunity for meeting participation. If you wish to attend but require an interpreter or other accommodation, please forward your request two weeks prior to the monthly meeting to [email protected].