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News 'n Notes from Mar. 31, 2006

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1.) State Plan Update

A Draft version of the 2007-2011 State Plan was approved by the Council at their March 23, 2006 meeting.

The Draft will be available for public comment and review for at least 45 days. Copies will be available by April 7, 2006 by contacting the WCDD office or by checking our web site. There will be a public hearing on the Draft Plan on May 24, 2006 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Madison Concourse Hotel, 1 W. Dayton St, Madison. The Draft Plan includes four goals: Self-Determination, Transition, Advocacy and Organizing, and Public Awareness. Comments on the Draft Plan are due in the Council office by Monday, May 22, 2006.

2.) Awards Luncheon

The Council will hold their annual awards luncheon at Noon on April 20, 2006 at the Madison Concourse Hotel. The Council will recognize the media for their outstanding reporting of disability issues in 2005. In addition, the Council will award three service awards. The Self-Advocate award will go to Julie and Jason Endres of Eau Claire. The Victor Contrucci award will be presented to Beth Wroblewski of Waterloo. The Adult Service award will go to Linda Jorgenson of Washburn. Lastly, the Council will present a Special Recognition award to the Dept. of Health and Family Services for their work on the ICF/MR Restructuring Initiative.

People interested in attending this event can call Fil Clissa by April 7, 2006 at 609-689-0333 or email her at: fil@tds.net. The cost is $9.00.

3.) Grassroots Grants Announced

This years DAWN Grassroots Grants were recently announced by the Council. Twelve grants were awarded. Recipients were chosen from around the state. Recipients will be working on local disability advocacy projects. Projects include working with school districts, elected officials, and organizing local advocates. For a complete list of recipients and a description of their projects go to the DAWN web site.

4.) Apprenticeship Organizer Project

Here’s a heads up on a new Council project coming soon. The Council will start a project to train disability community organizers later this spring. The purpose of this project is to develop and grow a network of dedicated disability advocates statewide. The project will start by recruiting up to five individuals with disabilities or their families. Those selected will successfully complete an intensive six-month training course on how to organize for social change. While in training, each participant will receive a monthly stipend of $700 and work 20 hours a week on organizing activities in a local organization for seven months.

Once the training is finished, each person commits to putting their skills to work by organizing others in their community for at least a year. If this sounds like you or your family, the Council wants to hear from you. The application process and final details of the project will be announced soon through the DAWN email and web site system.

5.) Annual Data

The Council recently submitted data to the federal government to report on the progress being made in the current 2002-2006 State Plan. The Council currently has projects and activities in areas such as education, housing, employment, advocacy, and inclusion. If you would like to know more about this data, contact the Council office.

6.) Next Council Meeting

The next Council meeting will be Thursday, April 20, 2006. It will be held at the Madison Concourse Hotel at 9:00 a.m. There will be a business meeting followed tentatively by a presentation by the Dept. of Health and Family Services on the expansion of Family Care in the state. The meeting will be followed by the Annual Awards luncheon.

The Council will meet again on May 25, 2006 to review the public comments made to the Draft 2007-2011 State Plan. This meeting will be held at the Council offices in Madison starting at 9:00 a.m.