Full Council Meeting Minutes

Date: June 23, 2022

Meeting Called to Order: 11:05 AM

 

Members in Attendance: Michael Bullis, Lorna-Mae Silcott, Rose Carey, Janice Jackson, Melissa Blubaugh, Megan Glaze-Keller

 

Guests: Hindley Williams, Pamela Ford, Lidiya Belyovska, Dave Drezner, Katie Collins-Ihrke

 

Introductions were held. Today’s meeting agenda was approved. Minutes from the March 2022 Full Council Meeting were approved.

 

Treasury Report: We are not aware of our exact balance as of this moment as we have recently spent money sending SILC members to the SILC Congress and also paid for the diversity training. The closeout reports for LIFE, Inc. have been sent out to the SILC members.

 

Chairperson’s Remarks: Keri Grey has done two excellent presentations and her final one will take place on June 29, 2022. The website is pretty much up to date as well as the Facebook page. The Maryland SILC has a new logo and a new Zoom account to host meetings. Several Maryland SILC members went to the SILC Congress. The Council is hoping to find three additional members from relevant agencies which will bring the SILC into compliance. The SILC hopes to get new members involved in a transportation or housing agency since those are two primary needs that people with disabilities face. David Hancock will be giving a presentation on differences between the CIL, the SILC, the DSE, and the roles of various leaders within these entities. Dates for the training are to be determined. The Council is proud to have gotten a Proclamation from the governor‘s office regarding Independent Living Day back in May.

 

Future Goals:

• Formulate bylaws and procedures
• Increase visibility in the state
• Increase membership
• Create and send out brochures in English and Spanish
• Hire an executive director
• Establish recruitment policies, data dictionary, and conflict of interest policy
• Resurrect statewide I AM program

 

Committee Reports

• Infrastructure: Working on updating the operations manual including the conflict of interest policy, and creating appendices which detail various topics that are mentioned in the main body of the document. The committee is developing policies and procedures with assistance from Karen Anderson-Scott and SILCs from other states.
• Public Engagement: Primary focus currently is to ensure that the information on the website and social media is up to date. The committee wants to highlight CIL events.
• Legislative: The committee will start in the fall preparing the platform in advance of the state legislative session. The committee is in need of new leadership.
• Membership: All CIL directors have been encouraged to look around organizations and ask staff to suggest members for the SILC. Elections are coming up in September and some members will be leaving. The Council will also hold elections for the chair and treasurer at that time. The chair must be elected yearly.
• Outcomes: Delegate Forbes is helping the SILC with the 501©(3). The Council will then have six months to get a bill together for creating the corporation in time for the legislative session to review it. As of now, DORS is acting as the fiscal agent. The SILC held a diversity and intersectionality training to address Goal 1 Objective 1 of the SPIL. The CIL and SILC training will cost $2,300. Year three of the current SPIL begins October 1, 2023. They are looking for folks to join the SPIL writing group.

 

CIL Updates

• ARI: The closing date for executive director applications is July 15. Their autism hiring program is finishing up with their third cohort. They expect to get an additional 15 veterans in the next year.
• Freedom Center: They are going to be moving their office location by next spring. The adaptive fitness program is expanding to three classes. They look forward to a cookout with consumers event.
• IMAGE Center: They are finalizing a grant for $900,000 for home modifications for seniors. They expect 20 more veterans through VDC. The annual Solutions Celebration took place in April and it was a successful hybrid event.
• SMCIL: They are now part of the VDC program, and they await their first veterans. They are working on translating their service materials into Spanish. SMCIL is unveiling their rebranding soon. They are looking to hire someone for supports planning for the Charles County area. They are currently open fulltime to the public. They have a candidate that would like to join the SILC. They are conducting a home safety training.

 

Meeting Adjourned: 11:52 AM