Congratulations to This Year's Award Winners!
The Awards Committee has selected the 2017 honorees for The Arc Maryland to be presented at the Annual Convention Luncheon on Friday, June 2, 2017, at The BWI Baltimore Hilton Hotel at 1739 W Nursery Rd, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090.
Our honorees make outstanding contributions to children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
President's Cup
Cristine Marchand, The Arc Maryland
The Legacy Award
Stephen H. Morgan, The Arc Baltimore
Kathleen Rollason, The Arc Central Chesapeake Region
Outstanding Legislator of the Year Award
The Honorable Andrew A Serafini, Maryland Senate
The Honorable William C. Smith, Maryland Senate
The Honorable Craig J. Zucker, Maryland Senate
The Honorable Eric D. Ebersole, Maryland House of Delegates
The Honorable Eric G. Luedtke, Maryland House of Delegates
The Honorable Maggie McIntosh, Maryland House of Delegates
The Honorable Kirill Reznik, Maryland House of Delegates
The Honorable Alonzo T. Washington, Maryland House of Delegates
Lorraine Sheehan-Bernard Gould Award for Volunteer Governmental Affairs Service
Lori Scott, Howard County
Outstanding Advocate of the Year
Leslie Seid Margolis, Esq., Disability Rights Maryland
Employer of the Year
Fast Shop/Gott Company, Calvert County
Stanley S. Sidle/William Ohge Memorial Citizenship Award
Christopher McCaffery, Calvert County
Professional of the Year
Lynn Buhler, Ph.D., Baltimore
The Arc Outstanding Employee of the Year: Administration/Management
Becky Barry, The Arc Carroll County
Aaron Stephens, The Arc of Frederick County
The Arc Outstanding Employee of the Year: Gilbert John Zucchi Direct Care Award
Francine Barnhart, The Arc of Washington County
Regina Gaye, The Arc Prince George's County
School Inclusion Award
Lisa Lapina and
Julia Nelson
Crofton Woods Elementary School
Anne Arundel County
Certificate of Appreciation/Meritorious Service
Sergeant James Miller, Talbot County
Wolf Pack Theater Company, Prince George's County
The Arc Volunteer of the Year
Kathy Creighton, The Arc Central Chesapeake Region
Delores Datcher, The Arc Southern Maryland
Mike Lewis, The Arc Howard County
Neil MacDonald, The Arc Baltimore
Melissa Main, The Arc of Frederick County
Shirley Patterson, The Arc Prince George's County
Beatrice Rodgers, The Arc Maryland
Steve Rowlands, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region
Joe and Dianne Statari, The Arc of Washington County
Robert Tievsky, The Arc Montgomery County
Students from University of Maryland Baltimore County, The Arc Carroll County
"Per Capita" Membership Award
The Arc Baltimore
Membership Achievement Award
The Arc Montgomery County
Congratulations to all of the recipients! We can't wait to see you at the convention.
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The Arc Maryland Convention Update & Important Deadlines!
The Arc Maryland's Convention is only weeks away! Registration is underway -
click here to register. We will have eight breakout sessions following our opening plenary session featuring Walter Suskind of the documentary,
Life, Animated! Breakout sessions topics are:
- Sibling Issues - Panel discussion moderated by Walter Suskind
- Person Center Planning & Transformation of Staff
- Saylor Alliance Police Training
- Capped Waiver
- ABLE Act: Next Steps
- Public Speaking 101
- Children's Issues Update
- Adaptive Technology
Hotel Room - Special rate for a limited time only!
For any attendees who need overnight accommodations, we have a special rate at the Hilton Baltimore BWI Airport, but you must book the room by noon on May 2. Please
click here to book a room.
Send in your entries for the video competition
Our video contest showcasing sibling relationships is now underway. This year's convention theme is Discover! with a focus on sibling relationships. For this year's video completion, we encourage people to send in a two-minute or less video that demonstrates the importance of siblings with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. All videos must be uploaded to YouTube with the hashtag #TheArcSiblings2017 and then a link to the YouTube video posting emailed to
[email protected]. All submissions are due May 12 and must be include a release form.
Click here for the video release form.
Deadline approaching for program ad submissions
All ads for this year's convention program are due April 15. Honor your award winners with an advertisement! Full page ads (5.5" x 8.5") are $200 or one half page ads (5.5" x 4.25") are $150 from your chapter or organization. All artwork must be in PDF format and camera ready.
Exhibitor registration deadline is May 15
Welcome two new exhibitors - Koons Ford and The Hays Companies! Register now to exhibit or sponsor The Arc Maryland's 2017 Convention. Deadline is May 15.
Click here
for more information.
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Get to Know The Arc of Howard County's Executive Director Cindy Parr
Cindy Parr is the Executive Director for The Arc of Howard County. A Maryland native, Cindy attended South Hagerstown High School before graduating from Towson State University. During her high school years, she clearly remembers the bicentennial, the unveiling of the space shuttle "Enterprise," and the release of the first "Rocky" movie. Cindy was first attracted to The Arc due to her passion for advocacy and the chance to be a voice for people with disabilities. It was her dream job.
To learn more about Cindy,
click here.
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The Arc Maryland Law Intern Siske Joined Policy Team for this Session
The Arc Maryland is appreciative to Andrew Siske, a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore (UB), who interned with us during the 2017 Session of the Maryland General Assembly. Andrew's chief work this Legislative Session was HB1061 - Education - Emergency and Evacuation Plans - Individuals with Disabilities, conducting national research to demonstrate other states' experiences. Andrew aspires to dedicate his legal career to serving youth and adults with disabilities by advocating for educational and other civil rights of persons with disabilities in courts and legislatures.
At UB, Andrew serves as the Treasurer for the University of Baltimore Students for Public Interest (UBSPI). UBSPI raises funds throughout each year for a grant program which enables UB law students to work full-time summer internships with government agencies and non-profit organizations. With a UBSPI grant, Andrew spent the summer of 2016 as a law clerk for Project HEAL at Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI). In that capacity, Andrew assisted in providing advocacy and legal services to KKI patients and families on a variety of legal issues relating to public benefits, custody, and special education matters. In addition, Andrew personally advocated on behalf of a parent during a school meeting and successfully obtained a 504 plan for a student. Further, Andrew presented a poster regarding assistive technology and the least restrictive environment mandate of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for the Association of University Centers on Disabilities' 2016 national conference.
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New Supreme Court Ruling Strengthens IDEA
In late March, the Supreme Court issued a decision on the Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, stating that public schools are required to provide students with disabilities more than the bare minimum benefit. The suit revolved around Endrew F., a child with autism who was making little progress in public schools when his parents moved him to a private school and asked the school district to reimburse Endrew's tuition. The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court reverses the lower court's ruling that the school district was not responsible for reimbursement because Endrew received "some" educational benefit. With this decision, the education that is offered through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) must be held to a higher standard. Chief Justice Roberts writes that the education plan "
must be appropriately ambitious in light of (a student's) circumstances, just as advancement from grade to grade is appropriately ambitious for most children in the regular classroom."
To read more about the Supreme Court ruling, click here.
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New Book "How to Advocate Successfully for Your Child: What Every Parent Should Know About Special Education Law" Published
Author Greer Gurland, Esq. put her skills as a Special Education Lawyer and a mother of a child with special needs to use recently, and published How to Advocate Successfully for Your Child: What Every Parent Should Know About Special Education Law. The book focuses on demystifying special education law and answering question that parents handle from the perspective of someone who has been there. This book is appropriate for parents of children with everything from learning disabilities to autism. The book can be found
here on Amazon, and is also
available in Spanish.
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Tenant and Landlord Laws
Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. provides impartial information on local laws for tenants and landlords. Should a Maryland resident feel they are being discriminated against in any aspect of home seeking, including seeking accommodations for one's disability, they should call Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. For more information, click here.
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"EVV Explained and Why It is Important in Home and Community Base Service (HCBS) Programs" Webinar - April 20
MiTC will be holding a webinar on April 20 from 2 to 3 pm. This webinar will focus on how to use Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) and how it can be used to expand and manage HCBS programs and comply with state Medicaid rules. For more information and to register,
click here.
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Craft Beer Festival - April 29
The Chesapeake Bay Resort and Spa is hosting the first annual Craft Beer Festival to help raise money for The Arc Southern Maryland and The Arc Central Chesapeake Region. There will be over 50 craft beers to try from 26 local breweries, as well as delicious food, and raffle prizes. For more information and to buy tickets,
click here.
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How to Work and Keep Your Disability Benefits Workshops
The Developmental Disabilities Administration will be holding four training sessions titled "How to Work and Keep Disability Benefits" in the months of April and May. These training sessions will focus on special rules called "work incentives" which allow people to work without the fear of losing essential benefits, including medical and cash benefits. The workshop will explain how to keep Medicaid Waiver services while working and how to get benefits counseling. The training sessions are open to self advocates, individuals with developmental disabilities, family members, and service providers.
SMRO
When: April 27, 9:30 am - 4 pm
Where: DDA SMRO - 312 Marshall Avenue, Suite #700, Laurel MD 20707
Register Now
ESRO
When: May 3, 9:30 am - 4 pm
Where: Holiday Inn Express - 8561 Ocean Gateway, Easton MD 21601
Register Now
CMRO
When: May 11, 9:30 am - 4 pm
Where: CMRO Training Room - 1401 Severn Street, Baltimore MD 21230
Register Now
WMRO
When: May 16, 9:30 am - 4 pm
Where: WMRO Training Room - 1360 Marshall Street, Hagerstown MD 21740
Register Now
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The Arc CCR Annual Golf Tournament and Silent Auction - May 8
Join The Arc Central Chesapeake Region for their annual golf tournament and silent auction on May 8 at 10 am at
South River Golf Club 3451 Solomon's Island Road Edgewater, MD 21037. Registration is $125 and covers golfing fees, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks for the whole day. For more information about the event and to register, click here.
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Celebrating Through Art: The First Lady's Mental Health Awareness Youth Art Display - May 8
Maryland's First Lady, Mrs. Yumi Hogan will be celebrating Children's Mental Health Awareness Week and the expressive power of artistic pursuits on May 8 with an art display containing works by young artist at the Lowe House Office Building in Annapolis. For more information about the event, click here.
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