John's usual--
Most of you will remember Andy Wilcox, who passed away in the spring of 2020 during the height of the state-wide shut down. Because of COVID, the family was unable to hold a memorial that would include Andy's many, many friends-- or even his whole extended family. Thankfully, this year is a little different and the family is holding an outdoor celebration of Andy's life at Sofios Park in Norwalk on what would have been 46th birthday on Sunday, September 12th. I know how important Andy was to so many of us-- and how much we miss him. The family encourages any staff and/or friends to join them at 2pm at Sofios Park on Sunday, September 12th.
For people that have been worried that CLI's shift to community integrated STEP-funded services means that less frequent services than traditional facility-based workshop services-- I was advised by the Ohio Department of DD that if you want community-based STEP services, your annual budget allocation increases to flex up to cover those services so that people don't have to sacrifice total hours of service just because they want to community-integrated outcomes. This is a big deal because we know that the total number of hours per week matters to a lot of clients & their families-- and that some people weren't able to choose CLI because their budget would not allow enough hours per week. This new interpretation means that people don't have to choose a segregated service if they need traditional 9-3 service hours.
BUT-- and this is important-- STEP services must be focused on meaningful, community-integrated outcomes. STEP services will be renamed in 2022, but the concept is here to stay. These services pay more per hour than traditional day services. This is a lifeline for providers like CLI that need to increase staff pay to keep up with inflation, and to make helping people a career worth having. But the reason why this pays more per hour is that there are increased requirements for meaningful community participation AND real, consistent focus on clear ISP-directed objectives around community employment, independent living, and/or self-sustaining community integration. CLI & other providers need to make sure that we're worthy of the higher pay rate for these services.
CLI will still continue some traditional services. One of these is what Swick & I refer to as "old-school recreation"-- that is a largish group that engages in some community activity simply because it's fun & life's too short to be productive all of the time. CLI will also-- through Firelands Local LLC-- continue to help people earn money. Side-note: did you know that this is one of the best opportunities for people with disabilities to get a community job? Employers are more willing than ever. Firelands Local has had a work crew at MTD for a year now-- and MTD wants even more workers. Every single employer, including us, is struggling to find qualified workers. It is terrible. CLI is truly fortunate to have the dedicated staff that we do. I just wish I could clone them.
One final update, CLI has replaced our 2008 Ford with a brand new 2021 Toyota Sienna. While we really didn't want to pick up another payment right now, the 2008 really wasn't ok to drive anymore. We're spending so much time in the community that not replacing it wasn't an option either. On the positive side, those big vans we have get way under 15 MPG & the new Sienna is a hybrid that should get more than 30MPG. This should off-set the payment at least a bit. We bought it using the COSTCO buying program. This is a good tool right now and it allowed us to pay under MSRP without haggling at a time when dealers are typically selling above MSRP.
That's all I have for this week. Enjoy the outdoors & keep your hands clean.
John
