according to nationaldaycalendar.com it might be:

Past newsletters with pictures are on our website at: www.CLIsupports.com

Happy National Football Hangover Day. For Bengals fans among you, that was quite a game last night. I was just starting to really hope as it got halfway through the 4th quarter. It was a good game and I think Cincinnati represented Ohio well.

CLI is expanding our day services starting next week. Over the past year we've had many requests from people who want to add activities and services. All CLI clients have an allocation of funds (local, state & federal) that they can use to buy services from providers like CLI. It's called an Individual Budget.

For the past 2 years, CLI has offered mostly small group, community-integrated services that are customized toward very specific outcomes. Because they are small group (no more than 4 clients per staff, often far less), these services cost more than the old-school, 12 client workgroups we used to have at the workshop. Consequently, as people added more services, they began to exceed the individual budget limits that were based on the much cheaper, large groups that we can't do anymore. Individuals budget limits are going to have to increase to fit the modern cost of services. But, CLI understands that HCBDD is tasked with efficient control of local tax money. So, at HCBDD's request, CLI has created curriculum that blends large-group fun activities around more targeted small-group activities. This will help HCBDD control their costs AND allow CLI clients to access more services within their budgets.

We've been ready to roll now for weeks, but between the post-holiday COVID spike and the Ohio weather, we've been stuck waiting for launch. We're planning to start rolling with these next week. This should also allow CLI to serve a few more people from our waiting list. If you want to expand or start CLI services-- talk to your SSA ASAP. CLI has very limited staffing right now, so I'm sure that we'll reach our expanded capacity soon.

Just a reminder, that both large group and small group services must demonstrate that we are helping people work toward specific outcomes. These outcomes are supposed to be included in each person's ISP (Individual Service Plan). SSA's must include outcomes in your ISP. Please help CLI provide the best services to you by making sure that the desired outcomes listed in your ISP are the goals that are most important to you.

I apologize that my bit this week is so similar to the FAQ section, but this is very front & center for all of us at CLI. There are going to be bumps and questions as we fumble our way forward with this. If I've learned nothing from my parenting experience (which is possible), I think I've learned the value of repetition. Anway, enjoy the sub-20 degree weather today and the 50+ degree weather later this week. Spring is just around the corner. I can't wait!

A: C.L.I.M.B. in an acronym that stands for "Community Life Independence Meaningfulness & Belonging". CLIMB programs are billed as Medicaid "vocational habilitation services, but we wanted to remake them as something completely new & different from traditional "voc-hab" services-- which were basically facility-based workshop services. To comply with Ohio law, CLI builtt CLIMB curriculum to be non-facility based and more person-centered-- with small groups (4 people max) built from frequent client interest surveys.

James Johnson james@firelandslocal.com 419-921-6400