Newsletter for June/July 2006 Volume 3 - Issue 6 - Page 1

General Operations
Ladeska (Decky) Makings, Chief Operations Officer
This has been an eventful summer with the usual flurry of warm weather activities. Seems everyone I talk to has either been somewhere exciting or will be going soon.

We are pleased to have a new SRS Quality Enhancement Coordinator in our area. Her name is Kasey Jantz and in the brief time since she assumed her new duties we’ve been very impressed with her. She is responsible for a very large area –agencies here and in SW Kansas – but is determined to truly know the people we serve and not just their names and case histories.

Most of you are familiar with the BASIS assessment used to determine the level of services (and funding levels) required to provide necessary supports to those we serve. The state recently changed the requirements for those completing the assessments and our CDDO has chosen to comply by having their own staff perform all of them. We’ve been adjusting our data tracking systems to ensure we are providing information in the most efficient manner possible and will be working with Brad Brack and Karen Garcia each month to complete the process. In our field we live every day by the old adage that the only thing that doesn’t change is that there will always be change!

We are pleased to announce several welcome additions to our agency.

* Cathy Estes has been hired as the new coordinator for our Early Education Center and will begin employment on June 29th. She has extensive experience working with families in the disability field and we believe she will be a valuable asset to our EEC operation and the agency.

* Cindi Wood joins us as the new receptionist at the Plant. She is rapidly mastering her assigned tasks and I’ve heard numerous comments about her pleasant phone voice and professional demeanor.

* Sue Bentley is now working in our fiscal department as an account specialist responsible for payroll. Considering the variety of positions, pay rates, locations, and hours our employees work she has a huge amount of information to coordinate but is rapidly learning and assuming her new responsibilities.

July 14th and our annual Appreciation Dinner at Vet’s Park is rapidly approaching. Watch for you invitations and remember to bring your swimsuits if you plan to go to the water park after dinner.

I believe I promised last edition to write about being “stuck at 17”.  About a dozen years ago I began teaching staff and the people we serve about the rights guaranteed to persons with developmental disabilities by the then new DD reform regulations. The idea that people with developmental disabilities could acquire the knowledge and skill to make informed decisions about their own lives and had the right to take some informed risks was not a familiar concept at that time. For some families and providers it was very difficult to recognize and accept. Previous models of service were very protection oriented and there was much fear that someone might ‘get hurt’. Frequent questions included concerns that feelings would be hurt, there would be failure, decisions would be made by the individual that were contrary to what they should do…. There were many who believed that the person’s family/guardian/staff knew what was best and anything the individual might want to the contrary was simply not acceptable.

Trainers in our field are always searching for ways to build a better understanding of concepts and rules. Even more important is developing methods for developing real empathy for the difficulties and barriers the people they support must overcome in order to live the best quality life possible. The idea for ‘stuck at 17’ came from my sons who were teenagers at the time. Not surprisingly the younger people in my classes are faster to grasp the concept than those who (like me) are a bit farther from that exciting, frightening, and frustrating age.

Do you all remember when you were 17 – especially the few weeks before you finally achieved the long-awaited age of emancipation? Turning 18 is the right of passage into adulthood that allows us to determine our own daily actions and the course of our own lives. Other’s rules and restrictions are applied only with our permission. If you can take yourself back to that time you will remember the frustration of knowing that in a very short time no one would be able to make you do anything unless you agreed. If you were a typical teenager you likely made statements to that effect during disagreements with parents and teachers and the frustration you experienced was a common topic of conversation with your friends. The word ‘freedom’ was probably used extensively during that period of your life.