Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services (MCRS)

MINUTES

Executive Team (ET)

Tuesday February 10, 2015

12:00 p.m.

Teleconference

Members Present: Carol Bergquist, Trina Edmondson, Anne Riddering, Brian Sabourin.

Members Excused: Michael Poyma.

Staff Present: Marlene Malloy, Shori Teeple.

1. Call to Order – C. Bergquist, Chair

The Chair called the meeting to order at 12:09 p.m.

2. Consensus of Agenda (02.10.15)

The Agenda was supported through consensus as presented.

3. Consensus of Minutes (01.13.15)

Edits were proposed for the draft minutes, including grammatical and spelling changes. The ET reached consensus by supporting the minutes as amended.

4 – Daily Business Operations (DBO)

-Financial Operations - expenditures are in line with the budget.

-Managing Follow-up from Business Meeting – draft minutes have been posted to website and other items are being managed.

-Annual Report - FY 2014 data has been received from the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP), with data expected to be received from Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) within the next few days.

-Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) inquiry – an email has been received from RSA about submission of the MCRS Annual Report.

-Timeframe for publication - an update has been relayed that the final information is being obtained and submission and final printing of the Annual Report to RSA will be forthcoming.

5 – MRS Customer Focus Groups

-Implementation of the Work Team – Discussion took place about next steps for plans to conduct focus groups with MRS customers. C. Bergquist and T. Edmondson volunteered to co-chair an MCRS advisory work team, with membership to include Council members who have expressed interest in being on the team. It was suggested that the work team be convened and a couple of meetings take place to determine next steps, including partner involvement in the process. Staff was directed to send out a meeting wizard invitation to schedule the first meeting. Pilot focus groups were suggested, with more discussion to take place during the first work team meeting.

-Timeframes – The first meeting will be scheduled for mid-February, with another meeting to take place before the March 17th business meeting.

6 – BSBP

-Meeting with Administrators – a meeting to be scheduled is in process.

-Meeting with Management Staff – a meeting to be scheduled is in process. It is hoped that one or two ET members will be able to participate in these meetings.

-Service System Data – 1st quarter FY 2015 data has been received from BSBP.

-FY 2016 State Plan – BSBP plans to begin to begin their State Plan meetings in early March, with B. Sabourin and S. Teeple to be involved in the discussions.

7 – MRS

-Service System Data - FY 2014 data should be received within the next few days.

-FY 2016 State Plan – it has not yet been determined when MRS State Plan meetings will begin. However, it is anticipated that B. Sabourin and M. Malloy will represent the Council at these meetings. MRS Director Suzanne Howell has encouraged the idea that new Council members be involved with attending MRS State Plan meetings. ET discussion took place about the learning curve of new members and the potential for their future involvement in these meetings.

-Online Orientation Design Work Group – M. Malloy has been invited by MRS to participate in this work team to update the online orientation series.

8 – National Coalition of State Rehabilitation Councils (NCSRC)

-Election of Officers – M. Malloy was re-elected to be the NCSRC Chairperson for the next 2 years.

-Transition of NCSRC website – within the next few months, the NCSRC website domain will be transferred to the Coalition, with an independent contractor to be hired and all website needs to be managed outside of the MCRS.

-NCSRC April Training Conference and Hill Visits – discussion took place about these upcoming events as well as plans for Council participation.

9 – Other Business

Membership

Council Member William Jones has announced his intention to resign from the MCRS. The Appointments Office will proceed with working to fill this vacancy for the Governor’s Talent Investment Board once W. Jones resignation has been received.

Governor’s Summit

B. Sabourin provided an overview of his attendance at yesterday’s Governor’s Summit. Lieutenant Governor was in attendance, along with employers and others who were there to help educate businesses about the benefits of hiring and employing individuals with disabilities. In addition to Council Member Mitch Tomlinson, new member Ed Benning was also in attendance and served on a panel of Employers answering questions posed about hiring individuals with disabilities.

10 – Adjournment

With no further business to be managed, the meeting was adjourned at 1:07 p.m.

Next Meeting Date/Time: Tuesday February 24, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. via teleconference.