The Arc & Executive Forums Leadership Conference was the place to be last week for disability advocates.
Tony, Bridget Brown, Diana Braun & DHS Secretary Saddler. The Secretary was pleased to meet Bridget and Diana who have been in films, TV and documentaries.
The major presentation for the conference was “Rebalancing The Big Picture: A Real Turning Point for Illinois. Director Romano, Illinois Planing Council on Developmental Disabilities; Tony Records, Ligas Court Monitor; John Agosta, HSRI and author of the Blueprint for System Redesign in Illinois; and Kevin Casey, Director Division of Developmental Disabilities. The panel shared with us the efforts to coordinate system reform, rebalancing and the Ligas Consent Decree to make the Illinois system a person-centered model.
Mark Doyle, Governor’s Office, Tony & Director Casey
Mark and the Director shared with us next steps in rebalancing after the closing of the Jacksonville Developmental Center. The Governor’s Rebalancing Initiative will result in the movement of 600 individuals into community settings and the closing of four state institutions.
Executive Forum President Debora Sheppard, Dennis Harkins, Mark & Tony
Dennis shared with us his perspectives on managed care and person-centered services. Dennis was the Director of Developmental Disabilities in Wisconsin. His presentation, “The Possibilities Within Managed Long-Term Care,” gave all of us a different perspective on managed care. Phase Three of managed care is scheduled to begin in the late spring of 2014 for all developmental disability services in Illinois. The Arc is opposed to Phase Three and is now preparing a position paper on managed care.
Tony Records, Ligas Court Monitor & Tony.
Tony presented on the progress of the first year of implementation of the Ligas Consent Decree. We expect about 1,000 people to move off the PUNS Waiting List by June, about 900 individuals in ICFDD’s have made the choice to move into small community residents of their choice and many more are expected to choose community when outreach activities begin.
Tony, Joe, John Voit, CEO Seguin Services & Steve Brundage, CEO of Pathway Services in Jacksonville.
This session focused upon changes for the new transition process from a provider perspective. John and Steve’s organizations moved over 50 individuals into the community from the Jacksonville Developmental Center.
Tony, Jane Nesbit, Gary Hake & Barb Bell.
This session focused upon the role of the Individual Service Coordination Organizations regarding the new transition process which included person-centered plans, choice of where people wanted to live and much more. The ISC’s are becoming the single point of entry for the developmental disability system.
