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News 'n Notes from Jan 9, 2007

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1.) Council’s Annual Awards

It’s that time of year again when the Council accepts nominations for our three service awards plus our media contest. Each year, the Council recognizes individuals who have made a positive difference in the lives of Wisconsin citizens with developmental disabilities. Please consider nominating a person(s) for our awards or the media for work they have done this past year. Make sure you get your nomination in before the January 26, 2007 deadline.   The awards will be given in the following categories:

• Victor J. Contrucci Outstanding Service Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates a steadfast commitment to children with developmental disabilities in Wisconsin.
• The Jayn Wittenmyer Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes an individual who demonstrates an unwavering commitment to adults with developmental disabilities in Wisconsin.
• The Self-Advocate of the Year Award is presented to an individual with disabilities who has shown a dedicated commitment to advocacy for people with developmental disabilities in Wisconsin.
• Media Awards are presented to members of the media (television, radio and newspaper) for outstanding coverage of people with developmental disabilities during 2006.

If you did not receive a copy of the nomination forms by mail, you can print a copy from the WCDD web site. You can also contact the WCDD office to be placed on the mailing list for future years.

2.) Apprentice Organizer Project Update

This past summer WCDD took applications from both organizations and people interested in working in our new Community Organizer Project. Organizations applied to be mentors to the individuals, who will serve a seven month apprenticeship within their organization.

Three apprentices and four mentor organizations were chosen in August. They are now in their third month of the mentor relationship. The following is a brief summary of each person and the project they are working on.

Qyla Parker-Stevens from Racine is working on organizing parents within the Racine school district. Her goal is to help parents speak up about issues in the district. She is especially interested in working with minority parents who have children with special needs. Her mentor agency is the ARC of Racine County.

Jenna Ottow is from Milwaukee. She is working to get individuals engaged with the redesign of the Long Term Care System in Wisconsin. Her mentor agency is Independence First, the independent living center in Milwaukee.

Don Pirozzoli from Madison is developing alliances around the state that will engage local elected officials. The goal of the alliances is to make sure they have a voice in the legislative process this year and beyond. He is organizing a grassroots network of individuals with disabilities. Don is working with the Independent Living Council of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Coalition of Independent Living Centers.

The apprentices have completed three trainings. The trainings have been led by Si Kahn executive director of Grassroots leadership, Rob “Biko” Baker of the Campaign Against Violence, and Ami Stear from National 9-5. Each offered a different perspective on organizing. The apprenticeships will be completed at the end of April 2007. Then, each apprentice will help WCDD work on various community organizing projects.

3.) DAWN Updates

The Council’s grassroots organizing project called DAWN will be making some changes very soon. The main changes will be found in the issue areas. Each issue area will be organized with a brief background piece about the issue, why the issue is important to people with disabilities, proposed legislation that would change the issue, and who you can contact for more information. These sections will be shorter and more accessible.

The proposed legislation section will feature CapWiz. This is a tool that many advocacy organizations use to connect with their elected officials. WCDD in cooperation with our national organization, NACDD, will offer this feature to people in Wisconsin. Soon with a few simple clicks, you’ll be able to send an email to your elected officials on proposed legislation. WCDD will often provide talking points for you to use in your email. We anticipate this will increase advocate’s contact with their representatives.

Many things will not change with DAWN. There will still be email alerts for those on the email network. DAWN Advocacy and Grassroots Grants will still be available. Mostly DAWN is being updated and reorganized. Look for these changes soon and let us know what you think about them.

4.) Council’s January Meeting

The WCDD will hold their January meeting on Thursday, January 25, 2007 at the Council offices. The meeting will be from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The main agenda item will be about the use of the RAD (Resource Allocation Decision) under the Family Care Program. This is the process by which a person’s services and budget are determined based on their goals. The Council's Standing Committees will be meeting on Wednesday, January 24, 2007.