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News 'n Notes from May 4, 2006

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1.) State Plan Update

The Council’s Draft State Plan and Public Hearing announcement are now available in Spanish. Both can be accessed on the Council’s web site (www.wcdd.org) or by contacting the WCDD office at the information below.

2.) Apprenticeship Organizer Project Update

The last edition of News ‘N Notes told you about the Apprenticeship Community Organizer Project. Some details of the project had yet to be finalized. Here is the information to fill in the blanks. There will be two lead organizations. They are the Apprenticeship Organizer Project located in Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund. Each organization will hire apprentices to learn community organizing techniques. The Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund will start to recruit an Organizer Coordinator this month.

In early June applications will be available for individuals interested in becoming an organizer apprentice. The requirements for the apprentice organizer position were described before. But in short, the person will commit two years to the project. After the apprenticeship period, the newly trained organizers will be available to assist local advocacy groups to help with organizing strategies. We anticipate that there may be between five and ten meetings a month for each organizer. Organizers would receive a stipend for these meetings with local groups. If you are interested in this project, call John Shaw at 608-266-7707.

3.) One Step Ahead Update

This very popular publication from the Council was updated just last year. It seems those updates lasted only a few months. Since our revision, there have been some changes to the laws and programs contained in it. The author, Roy Froemming, has updated those changes and they are now available on the WCDD web site under the “Publications” section. It is free of charge and can be printed from the web site or ordered through the office.

4.) County Data

Every year the Council collects data from counties to monitor the programs and services around the state. This task is mandated in state law. Some of the data that is collected includes updated DD budget and revenue figures; service utilization; and information about the service system, new developments, trends, and technical assistance needs. Last year the Council implemented a new on-line system for counties to make the process easier and less time consuming. Part of the process included a collaborative effort with the Dept. of Health and Family Services. Currently, Council staff, Steve Stanek, is finalizing improvements to the system to make it even better this year. The final product should be ready for use by early May.

5.) May Awareness Month

May is Mental Health Awareness Month for both the state and nation. To mark this occasion mental health advocates are holding several awareness events around the state. To learn more about them and what you can do to participate, contact Julie Whitehorse, at Wisconsin United for Mental Health at 608/251-1675 or visit the WUMH website.

6.) Give a Mom a Break Update

The Give a Mom a Break campaign has been hard at work in preparation of their May 13, 2006 target date. On April 11, 2006 steering committee members along with four participating families made a "Special Delivery" to our elected officials. Balloons and candy were delivered to each legislator announcing the start of the campaign.

The Give a Mom a Break Campaign is an awareness and educational campaign that encourages families of children with disabilities to invite their elected office to their home or school for a visit on or around Saturday, May 13, 2006. The campaign allows families to become more comfortable talking to their representatives. In addition, it allows elected officials to learn the challenges families face to obtain needed resources for their children. We hope this will be the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship. Elected officials will gain first hand knowledge on disability issues and they will have a resource available to them in the future (the family).

Currently there are 15 regional coordinators and 60 families committed to the May event. There are about 30 more families who have expressed interest in participating. This week families are calling their elected officials to confirm their visits. Legislators are also calling us and letting us know that they are interested and excited about their prospective visits.