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Weekly E-Newsletter
For Melmark employees and families of individuals who reside and attend programs at Melmark's service division in New England. Please see below for important program information. Watch your inbox for a new newsletter every week.
In this Issue:
- Mission Moments
- Advocacy: Breaking News Update
- Reminder: Peanut Free Environments
- School Dress Code and Field Trips
- Visitation Guidance
- School Calendar
- Staff Updates
- Vaccine Reminders and COVID-19 Protocols
- Research and Publications
- Events
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Scenes from Melmark Harvest Fest and Halloween, 2022! | |
Advocacy: Breaking News Update | |
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We are pleased to share landmark news out of North Carolina! Here you'll find details about the historic injunctive relief order that will have positive impacts for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (“I/DD”) in NC . Its ripple effects will have impact across the country.
On Nov. 2, 2022, Superior Court Judge R. Allen Baddour entered an injunctive relief order in Samantha R., et al. v North Carolina and the NC Department of Health and Human Services. The case, which was filed in May 2017, challenged the lack of adequate home and community-based services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (“I/DD”).
The state has said for many years that it wants to, and intends to, reduce reliance on institutional settings and serve more people in the community. The Order holds the state accountable to do just that – provide community-based services for more people with I/DD.
Under the order:
*Within 10 years the state must provide services to the 16,314 people currently on the waiting list for an Innovations (Medicaid) Waiver slot. The Innovations Waiver is a package of services that support people with I/DD who want to live in the community instead of an institution.
*The state must effectively address and resolve the serious shortage of direct care workers who provide community-based support. The support these workers provide is critical to the success of people who want to live independently. Without these important workers, the independence of disabled people cannot be realized, preventing people with I/DD from living, working, and playing in their own communities.
*The state must assist 3,000 people who want to leave or avoid institutional settings, and cease new admissions to institutions after 6 years, except for purposes of respite or short-term stabilization.
*The state must provide quarterly reports about each measure the judge set forth in the order, and post data to its website so everyone gets timely information about the state’s progress. The state must also report this information to DRNC and the judge to allow for verification and tracking.
Here we have included a few reference documents, from Disability Rights North Carolina, related to this news:
Full Press Release
Full Story
Judge Baddour’s Order
FAQs
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Important Reminder: No Peanuts, Please | | |
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An Important Reminder
We maintain several peanut/nut free environments at Melmark. No food or snack items containing nuts are allowed to be brought into the school building for any reason. This applies to the Lawrence Adult Day program as well.
Thank you for your monitoring and vigilance!
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School Dress Code and Community Trips | |
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Dress Code
As the weather and season here in New England begins to change, please take a moment to review reminders from Melmark's student dress code.
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Community Trips and Field Trips
Also, we are excited to resume routine classroom community outings and field trips! Our goal is for students to develop and generalize a variety of skills including money skills, social skills, group interaction, appropriate van and community behavior.
We will be providing a schedule for your child/classroom along with correspondence in student communication logs related to specific days and locations for these outings.
For any further questions or concerns, please reach out to Silva Orchanian, Lauren Carter or Julia Hrdina.
Thank you for your support and collaboration!
Silva Orchanian, M.Ed., BCBA, LABA
Senior Director of Day Services
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Reminder: School Calendar | | |
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Our next half day is: November 23, 2022 | |
Reminder: We will be closed on Thursday, November 24 and Friday, November 25. | | |
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We have recently said goodbye to the following Melmark staff member(s) and we wish them well in their future endeavors:
Olivia Mazzoni, ABA Children’s Residential Counselor, Birch
Emmanuel Smith, ABA Classroom Counselor
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Melmark Employee Benefit Resources from TIAA:
A November calendar of events and promotional flyers from TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.) are available on SharePoint and via (10/31/22) email from Mary Morris, TIAA is the administrator for Melmark’s Retirement and 403(b) plans. Webinars are open to all and are available now for registration at: www.tiaa.org/webinars.
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Flu Vaccine and Covid Vaccine Reminders
Parents: Flu Consent Forms Needed!
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Flu Vaccines: Parents, please send in the flu consent form for your child. We must receive the form back for every child. If you have a completed form please send it to Esther Chege in the Nursing Department, email: [email protected]. Thank you. | |
COVID-19 Vaccines - As we enter the fall months, we urge any families whose loved ones are not vaccinated against COVID-19 to please consider vaccination and/or the most recent booster available. If you do vaccinate your child, please send in the vaccination document so we can update our records. | |
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Effective 10/3/2022, EOHHS updated its congregate care guidance to be consistent with the CDC's guidance for the general public related to isolation, exposures and asymptomatic close contacts. Below you will find links to CDC guidance for the general guidance.
Specifically, in residential congregate care guidance, if a residential student or adult is identified as a close contact, regardless of their vaccination status, they are no longer required to quarantine unless they have symptoms. However, they should wear a mask for 10 days (when possible) to ensure safety for all.
Helena Maguire, M.S., LABA, BCBA, CDE
Executive Director
Melmark New England
Here, you can find previously published information on Melmark COVID-19 protocols for reference as needed.
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Research, Publications and Conference Presentations | | |
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Article: Rethinking Non-Compliance as a Skill and Promoting Self-Advocacy
The article in Autism Spectrum News s is written by Alex Kishbaugh, MS, BCBA, Haley M. K. Steinhauser, PhD, BCBA-D, and Frank L. Bird, MEd, BCBA, CDE.
Nearly all behavior analysts have come across “non-compliance” within the behavior repertoire of our consumers. Many of us have operationally defined it and targeted it for deceleration. However, how often do we stop to consider the significance of non-compliance? Can noncompliance be adaptive? Can non-compliance have multiple adaptive functions? Can we teach our consumers to discriminate when and how to adaptively communicate “no”?
Congratulations, Melmark Authors!
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Whether you're a clinician needing BCBA credits or you're a parent / caretaker wanting to learn more - check out Melmark's Expert Speaker Series. Melmark facilitates the sharing of knowledge regarding clinically sophisticated, evidence-based practices. All events are streamed to Melmark divisions, so you can attend the location nearest you. | |
Association of Professional Behavior Analysts Leadership Conference | |
Jennifer Mucellin, MA, BCBA, Director of Operations for the Residential Treatment Facility at Melmark Pennsylvania, and Kara Reagon, PhD, BCBA-D, LABA, Director of Curriculum at Melmark New England, attended the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts Leadership Conference in New Orleans, LA, this week. Melmark supports conference attendance and other professional development activities as part of our commitment to a highly-skilled workforce. | | |
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Last month we mailed our Fall Appeal to members of the Melmark Community! We hope you received it and are enjoying many of the fall activities referred to on the checklist.
Donations to the Fall Appeal are important to our fundraising success and gifts of any amount are appreciated! It's not too late to donate online, or to use the reply slip in the mailing. As always your support is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Ellen M. Kallman, CDE
Director of Advancement
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Save the Date: Annual Holiday Show, December 9 & 16 | | |
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We are planning for the Melmark New England Annual Holiday Show - Further details will follow. For now, please save the following dates:
Friday, December 9, 2022: EC classrooms and the Adult Program
Friday, December 16, 2022: Classrooms 1 -14
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Storytime for Special Needs Families at the Pollard Memorial Library in Lowell.
November 12 at 10:00 AM
Children of ALL abilities are invited to join us for a morning of songs, rhymes, and movement. Everyone in the family is welcome, siblings, too!
Registration is required.
For more information contact Molly Hancock, Coordinator of Youth Services at 978-674-1527 or at [email protected].
To register, visit the events page at LowellLibrary.org or call the Children’s Desk at 978-674-1529.
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Thank you for your ongoing partnership and collaboration to ensure Melmark's mission-first programs for the children, adults and families who rely on us every day.
Sincerely,
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Rita M. Gardner, M.P.H., LABA, BCBA, CDE (she/her)
President and CEO
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Helena Maguire, M.S., LABA, BCBA, CDE
Melmark New England Executive Director
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Melmark's Core Commitments
Unified Culture
Compassionate Care
Integrity in Everything We Do
Highly Skilled Workforce
Evidence-Based Practices
Best Outcomes
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Follow us on social media @MelmarkNE | | | | | |
