Hilton San Antonio Airport

Texas State Independent Living Council Meeting Minutes Hilton San Antonio Airport 4415 S IH 35 Frontage Road Austin, TX 78744 Meeting Room: Seguin/Lone Star Saturday April 2, 2016

Opening: The meeting was brought to order by Jim Batchelor, Chair. Present: Members in Attendance – Jim Brocato, Jim Batchelor, Lynne Richardson, Colton Read, Mack Marsh, Karen Swearingen, Terri Richard, Martha Bagley, Wesley Yeagar, Jonas Schwartz

Members Not in Attendance – Paul Luther, Ralph Jones, and Shannon Alexander.

Others in Attendance - Regina Blye, Staff; Craig Davis, Staff; Brian White, Staff; Sandra Breitengross Bitter, Staff; Jay Davis, Volunteer

APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND MINUTES o Motion to approve the Minutes from the January meeting in Austin, TX was made by Marsh with the caveat that the note of him not being present through the entire meeting be redacted since he was present for all voting items. Motion was seconded by Brocato. Motion passed. o Motion to approve the Agenda was made by Marsh and seconded by Brocato. Motion passed.

OLD BUSINESS

 POLICY AND PROCEDURE MANUAL o Davis emailed the Policy and Procedure Manual that reflected the changes approved at the October meeting two weeks prior to the meeting. o A copy of the Policy and Procedure manual was signed by Alexander, Secretary. By-Laws o Brocato made a motion to form a committee that would review and recommend changes to the current by-laws. Marsh seconded. Motion passed. o The committee was then formed on a volunteer basis: Committee Chair: Read. Members: Luther, Richardson, Brocato, Jones, Marsh

NEW BUSINESS

 BOARD MEMBERSHIP o Blye stated that Richard Couder sent an email to Blye and the governor’s office to rescind his resignation letter. o Governor’s office did not know if it would be possible due to federal laws. o It was discussed whether the council had input on the decision. The consensus was that it would be up to the Governor’s office. o Marsh made a motion to accept Blye’s report on Couder. Luther seconded and motion passed.

 ORGANIZATIONAL FLOWCHART o Blye went over the organizational flowchart that showed current SILC employees. o There was discussion on the role of having a volunteer in the financial role. Marsh, Brocato, and Luther stated that a full-time financial person was needed. o Blye agreed and stated that they were trying to language into the SPIL that would fund the Financial Officer.

STATE PLAN FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING

 Breitengross Bitter gave an update of the FY14-16 State Plan. She referred to the Executive Summary handout that outlined the FY15 progress of the SPIL Objectives. o FY17-19 Drafting Discussion – Breitengross Bitter with through the current drafting workgroups for the new members. The SILC will be hosting two webinars to get stakeholder buy in on what should be included in the next SPIL. The SILC will also be hosting two SPIL hearings with one being during Conference in San Antonio and one TBD. o WIOA Update – SILC provided public comment on the proposed changes on 1/15/2016. Blye then went over the SILC indicators that were presented at SILC Congress. o Advocacy Update – Brietengross Bitter went over the

PUBLIC COMMENT  Public comment was given by Jackie Pacha, Executive Director of the Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living.

INVITED SPEAKERS  Keisha Rowe, DARS and Coy Jones, Public Consulting Group were invited to present to the council on the transition of services from DARS to the CILs. o PCG is currently evaluating each CIL to access their ability to take on these services. o PCG will be holding three public hearings to get feedback from stakeholders. o Services are set to transition by September 1, 2016

FINANCIAL REPORT  Blye presented the SILC financial report o Brocato made the point that the SILC has used $160,996.32 in Part B SSVAR money. He wanted a document sent to the council members that shows how much and is left in each grant or life of grant report. Blye agreed to provide that information. o Blye then reported that the SILC had recently been gathering bids from CPA’s to complete the SILC’s FY15 audit. The best bid received was Montemayor Hill & Company at $14,000.00. o Brocato asked for quotes outside of Austin. o Colton made a motion to accept the bid. Marsh seconded. Motion passed with two dissents Brocato and Luther.

MEETING ADJOURNED

Texas State Independent Living Council Meeting Minutes Austin Marriott South 4415 S IH 35 Frontage Road Austin, TX 78744 Meeting Room: Salon C/D Tuesday January 26, 2016 Opening: The joint quarterly meeting of the Texas State Independent Living Council and the Rehabilitation Council was brought to order by the RCT Vice Chair, Joyce Taylor and SILC Chair, Jim Batchelor at 9:05 am.

Present: SILC Members in Attendance – Jim Brocato, Jim Batchelor , Paul Luther, Colton Read, Mack Marsh, Dr. Ralph Jones, Shannon Alexander Terri Richard, Martha Bagley, Wesley Yeagar , Jonas Schwartz

RCT Members in Attendance – Joyce Taylor, Karen Stanfill, Ron Ayer, Davis Nornan, Paul Hunt, Dr. Renen Gonzalez, Crystal Stark, JoAnne Fluke, Mark Schroeder, Joe Tims, Bruce Hooper, Casey Hertel, Matt Berend, Neva Fairchild, Troy Myree, Susan May

Members Not in Attendance – Paul Luther, Lynne Richardson

Others in Attendance - Regina Blye, SILC Staff; Craig Davis, SILC Staff; Don Roy, DARS; Shiloh Gonzalez; Peggy Lyons, TWC; Karen Latta, TWC; Kirk Land, TWC; Steve Alamon, Disability Rights Texas; Lisa Godwin, RCT Coordinator;

RCT/SILC RELATIONHIP MOVING FORWARD o Breitengross Bitter stated that even though SILC will be moving to HHSC and RCT to TWC, the SILC would like to continue the great relationship and yearly joint meeting. o SILC would like to continue its participation in the needs assessment. o We will still have a SILC representative on the RCT board.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT UPDATE o RCT is mandated to complete a needs assessment every three years. SILC works with RCT to complete the needs assessment. o This cycle they are drafting an assessment the first year and will drill down to more specifics for the remaining two years. o This year’s focus will be on youth and students with disabilities. o 2015 draft report has been shared to the RCT Council. Once edited, it will be released widely.

SPIL/COMBINED STATE PLAN o Breitengross Bitter stated that the FY17-19 SPIL is in the drafting stage. o CILs are divided into seven workgroups so it can be drafted in sections. o SILC will be hosting webinars and public hearings to get stakeholder buy-in. o The first public hearing will be held during the SILC Conference in April.

EX-OFFICIO, LIAISON, AND CHAIR REPORTS  Ex-Officio, liaison, and chair reports were given by members of RCT and the SILC. o Client Assistance Program - Karen Stanfill o Texas Education Agency - Susie May o Texas Workforce Investment Council - Joyce Taylor o Division for Blind Services – Martha Bagley o Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services – Stakeholder Relations Liaison – Shiloh Gonzalez o Division for Rehabilitation Services – Jonas Schwartz o Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs – Terri Richard o Department of Aging and Disability Services – Wesley Yeager o Centers for Independent Living/SILC Liaison- Jim Brocato

MEETING ADJOURED

Minutes drafted by: Craig Davis

Signed by: X Date: Karen Swearingen, Secretary or Executive board member

Next Meeting April 2, 2016 in San Antonio, Texas