Like a Tree

Dear Imagine friends and family,

Imagine in the Season of Treason: As a society, we have a reached a moment when principles, values, law and the other social sources of consistency in communities are being suddenly and dramatically devalued while interruption, strife, challenge and suddenness have peaked. We will be changed. And frightened.

I want to start a conversation about how we intend to stay the same and how we'll change willingly because I know that our community is vulnerable and uncertain at the best of times. We should be honest now and we need to be ready.

From the start of my non=profit, government funded career until January, the vision of the future has been based on the values and purposes of those in policy-making positions. Today the people in those positions in our federal government have removed values and purpose from consideration and we are left with few clues as to how our environment might change.

Standing by the water: When the environment changes, and it has dramatically, all of creation needs to adapt and we will. We will change to survive, but life for a non-profit organization is our mission and our established values. Our mission will remain to empower people with developmental disabilities through service and advocacy. Our core values will continue to be:

• Outstanding service (person centered and avoiding complacency;)
• Safety and Security (for the people we serve, our staff, our families and neighbors;)
• Fabric of the community (participation throughout the County and Country by everyone in our family, welcoming our neighbors from near and far into what we do;)
• Employer of Choice (Imagine's employees are diverse and we acknowledge and pursue their well deserved inclusion and equity as we do for for the people we serve;)
• Lifelong learning (Continuing to innovate, adjust and adapt through every chapter of history, and;)
• Empowerment (We are here so that diverse individuals can make choices and advocate and implement, however the core constitutions and scriptures may be edited and accepted- these are ours.)

Who we are and what we are here for are not subject to the electoral process or judicial review or the consensus of our political class. You can have confidence in the above. We'll fight as needed to preserve what is written above. We're up to the challenge and fired up for it.

All that you touch, you change; Whatever you change changes you*:

Having chosen what to hold constant, the price of our faithfulness is that everything else has to adapt. While the environment has grown less certain, our planning will be shorter term. While our funding is threatened, we will be more conservative in our budgeting than I recall our ever being before and also more open to non-government resources.

Our interactions with the public might be less enthusiastic and noisy and more grim and determined. Personally, those of you have known me a long time know I'm a cantankerous old cuss and a troublemaker, but I'm appreciating that what I owe you know is dry powder and a ready arsenal. I'll keep it in mind. Change isn't easy for me either.

But change is here. And we will adapt, faithful to everything we refuse to give up. I'm grateful that our clients, caregivers and stakeholders are on our side and glad to be on theirs.

*This is quote from Octavia Butler's novel Parable of the Sower. The title and "Standing by the water" are from the hymn I Shall Not be Moved. That's where we are, fam.

Also, see below for details on our next party, March 7. Getting together is something we will keep doing.

We are producing a report covering the half-decade since COVID. Our story is an aggregate of all of your stories and we'd love to hear from you your memories of life together with Imagine since lock-down began. Whether you are an individual we serve, a caregiver, a parent, conservator, family member or friend, we'd love to include a memory of your experience in the last five years with Imagine. If you wanted to send a photo all the better.

This half-decade report will replace the annual reports we would have sent out if we could have kept auditors and they kept up to date. Guys, I'm going to keep these paragraphs here until some of y'all send something up. You think you're stubborner than me? Please email me with your memories.

In The Year of Person-Centered Practices, how the changes in our infrastructure are targeted towards person-centered practices.

In the HR Corner, All about our internal reforms.

Our new column, titled for today without approval of the author, Supported Living Servings, continues with Jessica feeling slightly apologetic, very enthusiastic and as thorough and wordy as me. The first part is the newest.

The Person-Centered Evolution column this month is about person-centered practices and organizational efficiency.

The Community Connections column this month, Raul made some big plans for us.

Our usual stuff in the column around self-determination.

The Advocacy Corner is terse and grumpy.

Our monthly Transparency at Imagine column invites you to our Board meeting which has moved to on February 26.

This month we have our client spotlight on Tiffany. The Staff Spotlight this month is on Perla M. The Spotlight on Change is about Resilience.

As ever, I am at your service. If you have any questions, feedback or want to try and outword me, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here. I look forward to hearing from you. My planning is different now, but I ain't going nowhere.

Gratefully yours,

Doug

The Year of Person-Centered Practices

Almost everything is in place for the new structure to bear fruit and while we wait for the first harvest of new client experiences, I'll fill a little space with what we expect and refer you below to Jessica's article to see how she's thinking about it.

Self-determination defaults to a person-cemtered approach and Family Home Agency uses a family-centered approach that includes the individual. Supported Living is where the destination is person-centered and complacency is the troll under the bridge.

We will learn together how to support SLS Facilitators and hold them accountable in order to improve our service system. We are starting bureaucratic, asking Jessica to first help the Facilitators improve record-keeping system and insuring that monthly house-meetings occur and use the person-centered tools our Facilitators are trained in and diligent readers of this newsletter have read about.

The next step will be to promote consistent, regular use of tools to insure that our system learns over time how communication, instruction and support can better be applied to each individual we serve. People learn differently, pursue new goals and change their preferences over time. A person-centered service system gets better at understanding and supporting while they are aging.

Human Resources Corner

Hello all, 

Restructuring the Imagine management team has been a long-term project. A huge part of that is ensuring we offer the right amount of support to everyone in the Imagine family. 

We are happy to have found a great SLS Program Manager in Jessica Ortiz (a previous Facilitator) and to have hired a former Lead Staff for one of our open Facilitator positions last month. 

One of our goals is and has been to be the employer of choice. We hope to continue to do that by offering appropriate training and striving to hire internally whenever there is an open position in the management team. To prepare our direct care staff for this, we offer the opportunity for anyone interested in training or course work to reach out to us. We may be able to offer a scholarship that would help with the cost of continuing education. 

Additionally, we encourage anyone interested in understanding the particulars of a specific role at Imagine, to reach out and set up a meeting with the person in that role. We love to hear from employees whose goal is to eventually become a part of managing the inner workings of our agency. 

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions. 

Best Regards, 

Patty Lopez

Assistant Director of Human Resources

Imagine Supported Living Services

Cell: (831) 325-7760

Fax: (831) 612-6384

Supported Living Servings

My First Month as Program Manager at Imagine SLS

Stepping into the role of Program Manager at Imagine Supported Living Services has been an exciting and rewarding experience. Over the past month, I have had the privilege of hiring and training two incredible new facilitators, Wendy and Perla, who are already making meaningful connections with their clients and teams.

Perla has been focusing primarily on two clients who share a home, taking the time to learn details of their programs, meeting with their conservators and staff, and engaging with them in ways that help build trust. One of her first assignments was as simple as doing puzzles with a client, but that small act created an opportunity for meaningful engagement and relationship-building.

Wendy, who was previously a lead at Imagine, has hit the ground running with her new caseload. She already knew a few of her clients but has quickly won over the two new individuals she has gotten to know in the past week. She has gone on a Target run with one client, playfully taking selfies with bunny ears on, and spent time marching around the house with another when the client picked out a puffer jacket that happened to match Wendy’s vest! She’s also been instrumental in helping another client transition back home after a long hospital stay, keeping him laughing and comfortable with her well-timed jokes during their conversations.

All Facilitators at Imagine either had a client added to their caseload or had some clients reassigned to a new facilitator. This is in part due to my transition to Program Manager, Jessica R’s transition to Staffing, and Joel’s transition to SDP Facilitator. The new caseload assignments were carefully thought out with intent and purpose, ensuring a balanced workload while meeting each client's unique needs. In addition to training new facilitators, I have been meeting with our current facilitators to discuss their workload, identifying where they may feel out of balance and what aspects of their work bring them the most joy. My goal is to provide support and insight that enhances every program at Imagine.

One area of particular interest for me is refreshing and revitalizing the programs of our longest-standing clients. By meeting with clients, team members, and parents/conservators, I hope to find new ways to bring excitement and enrichment to their programs. Whether that means reassessing needs, introducing new activities, or simply adding a little extra sparkle, I want every client to feel supported, engaged, and fulfilled.

This first month has been filled with learning, growth, and moments of pride as I see our new facilitators thrive and our programs evolve. I am excited for what’s ahead and eager to continue building a strong, vibrant future for our Imagine SLS community!

I hope to meet with all parents and conservators over the next year. However, if you would like to connect with me sooner, please feel free to reach out.

Thank you for your patience and support as I navigate my new role. I look forward to all that lies ahead!

Thank you,

Jessica Ortiz

SLS Program Manager

Imagine Supported Living Services

Person-Centered Evolution

As we go into a period where the organization will need maximum flexibility, it feels worth considering how person-centered practices look in the mirror. An organization that wants to maximize the person-centeredness of the support it provides individuals needs a structure and core values that permit that flexibility.

It also gets advantages to its infrastructure. A person-centered program of care is influenced more by the individual, their care team and the circle of support than it is by some portly, verbose old Executive Director and his court. It has cells (like a terrorist network or a wine cork.) It can do more with less management.

We are, in many ways, early into our growth as a person-centered agency, closer to where we started (proudly, already flexible and highly individualized) than we are from the destiny we're chasing.

In the last ten years, our budget has grown nearly fivefold. The number of people we serve has about doubled and the number of employees we have has doubled. But the number of permanent administrative positions has grown from three to three and a half. The number of Facilitators, our case managers, has only grown 50%. But we serve more people with intensive needs more flexibly and we can do that because of how the organization benefits from the self-determination of our clients and care-teams.

Self-Determination is now available for any regional center client who chooses it. It also seems to be running better at SARC.

This month, the regularly scheduled Independent Facilitator Roundtable will be this Wednesday, March 5, at 11AM. The Zoom link is here. If you want to attend and the link doesn't open into a zoom, text me.

An important note for people in self-determination related to rate reform (see Advocacy Corner below.) There is no clear requirement that regional centers adjust budgets, especially mid-year, when the cost-neutral budget changes. However, they are permitted to do so and regional centers including SARC are often willing partners in those adjustments. If you receive or are considering self-determination, you may want to reach out to your service coordinator about a new budget based on "Phase 3 of Rate Reform."

The Independent Facilitator Network, a confederation of professionals working in. self-determination (which started at Imagine!) has a Slack Channel you can join by clicking here. Individuals receiving services and family members are welcome and it's a great place to have your SDP questions answered by sad, wise experts.

If I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me.

-Submitted by Doug

Community Connections

Community Connections held our first meeting of 2025 way back on February 20th to discusss the changes in Imagine's infrastructure. Community Connections is dedicated to supporting family members and conservators of the individuals Imagine supports.

Our next meeting will be on March 20 at 1PM and this time we'll meet without staff. One of the gifts of our late and beloved Leslie Plumlee was the development of a trifold brochure helping parents of people with special needs prepare for their child's life after them. We'll review those lessons.

Other topics may include Sedation Dentistry and whatever is on someone's mind.

Thank you,

Raul

The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23 (note that this is a change.) At he February meeting, we went over the proposed 2025-2026 Budget in preparation for passing it in April. For those who are interested, the proposed budget is here and budget narrative here. The proposal was a bunch less controversial than is typical and no changes were requested for April. Some updates based on subsequent events are possible. The budget does include increases in pay and other forms of compensation, especially for caregivers, but they are modest in the budget year as we prepare for possible changes in State and Federal funding.

Our board meetings are open to all and if you email Maggie she'll make sure you get in and fed and heard.

Our (on time!) audit of the fiscal year through June 30, 2024 is in progress.

We are also working on an annual report to cover the last five years (the irony is appreciated by the authors.) This is the first time we have audited financials ready on time since COVID struck. We would love to include your stories of something that impacted or liberated you in our shared lives during that period. Please email me with your remembrance of the last five years.

We are still recruiting board members. We are working to diversify the board and to add a GAAP-trained treasurer. An attorney wouldn't be bad either. Neither would you. If you know someone with a passion for our mission who might like to volunteer, please write to me.

-Submitted by Doug