North Central Community Collaborative

North Central Community Collaborative “We are a network of resources and services as well as a forum for advocacy and education aimed towards empowering youth and families within our community” Monthly meetings held in partnership with Help Me Grow

Family Support Services Division

Monthly Meeting January 6th, 2016

In attendance: Gina Beebe, OEC/Family Support Services; Joanne Caissie, The Village/NFN; Cathy Calway, DDS; Chris Damato, DDS; Jenn DiMauro, CHR; Caitlyn Dion, CHR; Stephanie Ervin, CHR; Tramaine Frank, Enfield Youth Services; Ruby Gainen, CHR; Mary Gould, CHR; Penny Lemery, CHR; Janice Lepage, Wheeler Clinic; Manuel Maldonado, FAVOR; Pat Maneggia, Bloomfield Youth Services; Andrea Mashiak, EYS; Ann McAdams, WECC; Denetra McBride, FAVOR; Joann Moriarty, Rockville LIST; Leslie Offenbach, Suffield Youth Services; Lori O’Neil, Suffield Public Schools; Lisa Palazzo, Beacon Health Options; Lis Phillips, Advocates Lis; Dania Redding, Capital Community College – Child Development; Diane Reynolds, NCCC Admin/Parent; Joyce Rioux, CREC; Haydee Rivera, CSSD/Judicial; Malika Robledo, DCF; Suzanne Rocco-Foertsch, Capital Community College – Child Development; Tracy Roche, FRC; Ashley Rosa, Wheeler Clinic; Lauren Rosetta, CTBHP; Sara Senft, CT Behavioral Partnership; Doriana Vicedomini, NCCC Chair/Parent; Lynn Webber, The Village; Judy Weiss, DDS; Jennifer Wilder-Jackson, OEC; Ashley Wilson, CHR

1. Welcome and Introductions  Thank you to Chris Damato, Cathy Calway, DDS, for providing the refreshments.  Thank you to Manuel Maldonado, FAVOR, for providing the copies.

2. Approval of Prior Month Meeting Minutes  The December meeting minutes were reviewed and approved.

3. Care Giver / Provider Gaps, Concerns, Information, Trends, Successes  Sara Senft, CTBHP, has a family with children ages 6 and 10 with a language barrier (Spanish speaking) in the Hartford, West Hartford, East Hartford area, who is looking for extended day treatment program that has Spanish speaking staff.

Recommendation:Extended Day Treatment (EDT) at the Village–call the main number at 860-236-4511.

 Lori O-Neil, Suffield Public Schools, raised the discussion of schools enforcing Families with Service Needs (FWSN). Schools are taking a proactive role in addressing attendance. Case by case they are looking into whether comprehensive special education testing is warranted to help determine the cause of the attendance issue. It hopefully will be a positive partnership between the schools and home. Suffield is starting to focus on the high school and will be working down to the lower grades.

The FWSN policy (www.ct.gov/dcf/cwp/view.asp?a=2639&Q=395330) is: “A Families With Service Needs (FWSN) case provides a basis for responding to the needs of children exhibiting behavior considered unlawful only if committed by children younger than 17 years of age. Behaviors include running away, truancy and defiance of school rules, being beyond the control of the parent or guardian, engaging in immoral or indecent conduct and engaging in certain sexual activities.”

4. Care Coordination Needs / CHR Reporting  No Care Coordination Needs / CHR Reporting at this time.

5. CBHAC/CAAC Update  CBHAC, Children’s Behavioral Health Advisory Committee The next meeting will be Friday, January 15th at Beacon ValueOptions, 500 Enterprise Drive, Rocky Hill CT. It will be a subcommittee meeting. They will be discussing using the extra money available to create a mentoring program for parents who have gone through training programs and want to take the next step in working on a project. 1  CAAC, Connecticut Autism Action Coalition The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 26th at FAVOR, 185 Silas Deane Hwy, Wethersfield, CT. Pat Anderson, State Dept of Ed, will talk about Transition state mandates for those with Autism.

6. NCCC Business  NCCC meeting information, agendas and minutes are now updated on the www.wraptct.org website by Janice Lepage, Wheeler Clinic. Click on the Calendar tab and the date of the meeting and you will find the documents for that meeting.

 Exhibit 1 – The monthly Collaborative Speaker Topic listing was updated.

7. Speaker Presentations  Monthly Topic – OT (Occupational Therapy)  Children's Therapy - Joyce Rioux, Assistant Director Of OT/P

Exhibit 2 www.crec.org/cts/index.php - Children Therapy Specialist Website www.aota.org/ - American Occupational Therapy Association Website – provides tips sheets –ex. bedtime, routines, toiletry, elementary to high school transition tips sheets, etc.

Joyce oversees OTs and PTs for CREC and its schools. She was also part of the team who drafted a copy of OT Guidelines and Practices and recently presented it to the state. Joyce asked for input from the audience so her presentation was geared on what we wanted to learn about most.

When you think of OT think of the word “occupy” – how do you occupy your day? What meaningful activities do you need to do – get up, plan your day, shower, etc. In a school situation they look at how to help the child participate in learning, prep their bodies for learning and to be able to access school activities. Areas to look at are help in recess, transition, etc.

Children within an OT clinic setting work on every day activities within the family, home and community. Children’s Therapy Specialists is located on the Riverstreet School campus in Windsor. They provide evaluations, interventions, consultations, workshops and training. Within their sensory gym they can work with children up to elementary age to work on integrating the 5 senses, movement, awareness of their position in space, etc.

Joyce recommends the book “No Longer A SECRET; Unique Common Sense Strategies for Children with Sensory or Motor Challenges” by Doriet Bialer - www.specialneedsbookreview.com/2014/11/11/longer-secret- unique-common-sense-strategies-children-sensory-motor-challenges/ . A – attention S – sensory E – emotional regulation C – culture R – relationships E – environment T – task (task demands)

Another book recommended was “Living Sensationally” by Winnie Dunn - livingsensationally.blogspot.com/ . We should embrace our own sensory patterns.

2 Joyce also recommends the Canadian website ZONE’IN - zonein.ca/ . It provides technology guidelines.

Care coordinators are seeing more 3 and 4 year olds with sensory processing issues. Early intervention is what is needed for these young children. Another book recommendation a member made was “The Out of Sync Child” by Carol Stock Kranowitz - out-of-sync-child.com/ . Make sure you look at the child without just 1 lens – sensory, behavior, etc.

If a family is concerned about their child they can officially request an OT evaluation through the school’s special education department.

Getting OT in a clinical setting can be hard for some families and their insurance companies.

8. General Announcements  No General Announcements at this time.

9. Adjournment Next Meeting Topic: Local Legislative, Probate Courts, ABLE Act, Special Needs Trusts February 3rd, 2016 9:00am-12:00pm Saint Francis Care Medical Office Building 7 Elm Street, Enfield, CT Community Room Suite 301 – 3rd Floor

The following minutes respectively submitted by Diane Reynolds, Collaborative Admin.

3 Exhibit 1

4 Exhibit 2