In This Issue:

Director Says Good-Bye

State Agency Partners

Lively Discussions

Success Story

Meet the QSI Coordinator

Explore Adoption

Message from the Interim Director

Moving Forward
By Jim DeBeaugrine

I would like to start by thanking Jane Johnson for her courage and dedication to the people we serve at the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. On a more personal note, she gave me the opportunity to join APD and I will be forever grateful. I also thank Governor Crist for his confidence in appointing me as the acting director of the agency. I am honored and excited to fill this role until the search for a permanent director concludes.

But most of all, I would like to thank each of you - the agency's employees. Nowhere else will you find a group of people with such selfless dedication to others. Some have suggested that managing APD is the worst job in state government. I respectfully disagree. My time here has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am a better person for having known you and seen you in action.

Certainly we would be naive to deny the challenges ahead of us. We are implementing the most sweeping changes to our service delivery system ever. Time and resources are limited. We will perhaps face the most difficult and heart wrenching decisions of our lives. But, I have personally seen you face seemingly impossible circumstances in the past. You emerged stronger than ever. I predict a repeat performance.

It is your single-minded focus on the people we serve that feeds my confidence. After all, these people aren't just customers. They are our family and friends. We love them too much to let them down.

It is more important than ever that we recommit ourselves to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of each individual we serve. The stakes are too high to allow circumstances to detract our focus from this fundamental priority. I am asking each APD employee to make sure consumers, family members, and business partners encounter a pleasant, attentive, and helpful person when they contact us. I am asking our stakeholders for patience, cooperation, and understanding. I am asking everyone to maintain civility and respect so that communication is not compromised during this difficult transition.

Remember that now is not the time to fan the flames. Our current circumstances are stressful enough. It has been said that losers are part of the problem while winners are part of the solution. We will ultimately be winners because failure is not an option for the people we all care about and serve. It is an honor to be on a winning team.

Clicking on most photos will open a larger version.

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Director Says Good-Bye

On May 22, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities said "so long" to its director, Jane Johnson. Johnson received several farewell gifts, including a giant card decorated by APD's multitalented Vicki McCrary. McCrary drew a picture of Johnson crossing the finish line on the card from a real life photo of Johnson competing in a race. Johnson is nationally known as an outstanding athlete who consistently is a top finisher in races.

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State Agency Partners

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities works in concert with the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) on many important issues. The two agencies have set up quarterly meetings with their leadership teams to discuss pending projects. The first meeting was held May 12. Former Director Jane Johnson and AHCA Secretary Holly Benson started the meeting with a friendly handshake. The leadership teams discussed the many pending issues both agencies are hoping to implement on July 1. The group enjoyed the face-to-face discussion and is looking forward to continuing the regular dialogue in the future.

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Lively Discussions

On May 9, the Agency for Persons with Disabilities held a meeting with stakeholders to discuss various options for implementing the legislatively mandated $43.5 million provider rate cut. The rate reduction is to go into effect July 1, 2008. There were many ideas discussed and a lively interaction among participants on this topic.

The agency has begun rule promulgation with the Agency for Health Care Administration to implement the legislatively mandated provider rate reduction. The proposal calls for a 7.21 percent reduction for most providers, and a 3 percent cut for residential habilitation and waiver support coordination. The Legislature reduced the rate paid for Personal Care Assistance to $15 an hour so that rate will not be impacted by the rate reduction.

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Success Story

Eight Years of Frustration Finally Paid Off

By Lakeland APD Customer Manyvone Champavannarath

I am proud to say I finally became an employee of Complete Fire Equipment after many years of frustration in searching for employment. Let me explain to you how I got to this point. I graduated from high school in 1994 and then graduated from Polk Community College in 1999.

Throughout my five years of college, my expenses were paid by Vocational Rehabilitation. I wouldn't have been able to get through college if it hadn't been for V.R. V.R. bought me a laptop computer and the equipment I needed to get through college, which I was very grateful for.

After graduation, I wanted a job right away. I told my counselor that I wanted to work on computers. My counselor told me that she would contact me when something came up. However, the weeks went by and I had not heard a word from my counselor at Vocational Rehabilitation. I began calling her once a week for two years straight. The only words that came out of her mouth were "nothing yet." I went from calling her once a week to only once a month for yet another year. It was still the same words, "nothing yet." My calls to my counselor began to lessen as the years dragged by. As time passed, I became frustrated with the same old answer and no prospects of a job.

Being the outspoken person I am, I started asking people for a job wherever I went, whether I was at meetings or in the waiting room at the doctor's office. Some people could not understand why I wanted a job. I think the general public actually thinks that people with disabilities receive a big fat check every month! They were shocked when I told them the amount of my disability check.

About two years ago, I called my friend, Shawn Wilson, asking about a job. I remember Shawn telling me she had her own appraisal firm. One night I decided to call her to see if she had something for me to do.

Three days later I called Shawn and she didn't have anything with her company, but she had a side job that she needed help with. She said that she was setting up a Web page for her high school class reunion. She told me that I would have to upload over 700 pictures and names to the Web site. After that I would have to go in to the Web site and approve the information people sent in. I quickly told Shawn that I would be more than happy to help her out. Shawn asked me if I had done anything like that before and I told her no, but I was willing to learn.

The next e-mail I received from Shawn was telling me I was hired! I screamed with excitement so loud that I scared everyone in the house. I had been waiting to hear those words for eight years. I worked late every night - I had so much fun that I wasn't worried about getting sleep. Shawn was very impressed that I had finished the project in less than three weeks. I was happy with what I was doing but wanted something more permanent. I figured if I wanted something, I was the one who had to find a way to get it. My supported living coach, Jerri Huntt, told me that she talked with her husband about creating a position for me doing data entry from home. Her husband, Phillip Huntt, and two other partners own a fire equipment company. I received a call from Jerri telling me Phillip was willing to give me a chance. I was so happy that I called everyone about my great news. My start day couldn't come fast enough.

V.R. bought me a new computer because my old one was outdated. My job is to enter the invoices (which are faxed to me) into QuickBooks software. In the future I hope to have even more responsibilities. There is a lot of flexibility in the job because I can work my hours anytime I want, as long as I get the job done. I began working 10 hours a week and this past April my hours were increased to 15.

The best part of having a job is getting paid every Friday. I do not have to wait until the beginning of the month to go out and have a little fun! After paying my bills, I still have money left over. Before I started my job, I never had any money left over.

When people ask me what I do for a living, it's a wonderful feeling to say that I work for Complete Fire Equipment!

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Meet the QSI Coordinator

Kathy Jo Gillan comes to APD from the Florida Department of Education, Assessment and Testing unit, where she was on a team responsible for FCAT testing quality assurance and data congruence. Prior to joining DOE, Gillan worked in the correctional education sector for higher education, secondary education (including Florida Virtual School), and district offices. Gillan has seven years of experience with online Web-based course curriculum development and research. She has four degrees in education that include the following specialties: secondary education, counseling, college student personnel administration, and instructional design. She comes to the agency with a background in project management, research, program evaluation, and testing. Gillan will be responsible for the overall coordination of the Questionnaire for Situational Information (QSI) project. We welcome her to APD!

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Explore Adoption

In June, we celebrate Father's Day. Here is a story about a very special APD dad.

Four Plus Two Makes a Family

By Melanie Etters

People working for and with the Agency for Persons for Disabilities know Tom Rice as the man who handles the agency's licensed homes and the Zero Tolerance initiative. What they may not know is that he is the father of two adopted special needs and two biological children.

Fifteen years ago in Ft. Lauderdale, Tom Rice married his wife, Sandie, and immediately became a father when they adopted a child who attended the school where they both taught. Andre was in foster care living in a group home at the time. Tom and Sandie were not impressed with the group home and wanted to make Andre their son. Andre has cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and medically complex needs. Ironically, once the adoption papers were finalized, Sandie found out that she was pregnant when she thought she could not have children. So within about a year, Tom Rice was married and had two children.

The family decided to move to Tallahassee after the arrival of their daughter, Sammie, and Tom went to work for the state and Sandie went to teach at a school for children with disabilities. The pair decided they wanted another child about five years later and had a daughter named Bailey. Sandie stopped working but they needed some income and decided to become foster parents for children with medical needs. They took care of several children. One day they received a call to go to the hospital to begin caring for a two-year-old girl named Faith who had been neglected by her mother. Sammie and Tom bonded with Faith. Faith's biological mother agreed to let Tom and Sandie adopt Faith, saying it was her one chance to do something good for her little girl. They also got approval from the father who was in jail. Since that time, they have been one big happy family.

Tom said, "You don't have to be rich to adopt kids with special needs. There are so many children that need homes. It has been the most challenging and at the same time the most rewarding thing we have ever done. It is an experience I would recommend." Andre and Faith receive Medicaid waiver services from APD, and his family also receives a monthly adoption subsidy to help with expenses. Additionally, all children adopted through the Department of Children and Families are automatically covered by Medicaid, so there is no worry about expensive health care costs. Plus the state will pay for college tuition. Tom urges people to consider adoption, saying, "There is a great need for homes for children with disabilities. I hope some other people will consider sharing their homes with them."

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Around the State

Lakeland Visit

On May 9, Communications Director Melanie Etters, APR, CPRC, visited the Lakeland Area Office. Area 14 Director Eric Olsen shared the many tasks the area is handling with a large focus being the implementation of the new waiver tiers.

For more information on the Lakeland Area 14 office, please visit their APD Web site at: http://apd.myflorida.com/area/14/

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Delmarva Foundation Public Reporting Web Site Update

The Addition of Stars and Percentages

By Bob Foley

A new user-friendly upgrade to the public reporting Web site, www.flddresources.org, is being made. This addition to the Web site should be in place by July 1, 2008.

A star rating system will be used for providers who receive a Delmarva on-site review. This system should make it easier to compare the performance of different providers. The stars will represent the provider's most recent performance findings by Delmarva:

• 4 Stars = Achieving, the highest level of performance
• 3 Stars = Implementing
• 2 Stars = Emerging
• 1 Star = Not Emerging, the lowest level of performance

Here are some of the reasons why a provider may have a certain number of stars:

4 Stars: Achieving

• The provider always helps individuals achieve goals, or helps them take steps toward achieving the goals.
• The provider finds out from individuals what is most important to them and helps them achieve it.
• The provider's mission and practices always reflect person-centered supports and services.
• The provider knows the people receiving services, and keeps trying to learn more about them.
• The provider regularly takes steps to assist the people receiving services to understand their options. This helps people to make informed decisions.

3 Stars: Implementing

• The provider usually takes steps to help people, and some steps toward goals are being made but goals are not regularly being achieved.
• The provider has tried to move toward person-centered supports and services, but this is not always occurring.
• The provider knows general information about the people receiving services. They have some systems to learn about people but do not know enough about everyone they serve.
• The provider takes some steps to assist the people receiving services to understand their options. This helps some people to make informed decisions.

2 Stars: Emerging

• The provider takes some action toward helping individuals achieve goals but overall goals are not being achieved.
• The provider is aware of the concept of person-centered supports and services but is not yet putting this concept into action.
• The provider knows very basic information about the people receiving services. They do not have good systems to learn more about people and what matters most to them.
• The provider offers choices to people receiving services but does not take steps to assist people to understand their options. Informed decisions are not often taking place.

1 Star: Not Emerging

• The provider does little to help individuals achieve goals or to know what is important to individuals.
• Any of the provider's actions to help people to achieve goals are either inconsistent or without direction.
• The provider has done little or nothing to move toward person-centered supports and services.
• The provider knows very little about the people receiving services, including their choices and preferences.
• The provider does not help people receiving services to understand options and make informed decisions.

Providers who do not receive an on-site review may have had a desk review. This means they will not have a star rating. Desk - reviewed providers will instead have a percentage by their name. The percentage is based on the Medicaid waiver handbook requirements that are scored as either met or not met. This score represents the percentage of elements scored as met. Thus, 100 percent is the highest score a provider could have, and zero percent is the lowest.

If you have any questions about these additions to the Web site, please contact the Delmarva Customer Service Representative at 1-866-254-2075.

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Governor Appoints Two to Transportation Disadvantaged

Governor Charlie Crist recently announced two appointments to the Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged with both terms ending August 13, 2009:

• Peter Gianino, 61, of Palm City, attorney with Grazi & Gianino, succeeding Gary Talbot



• Charlotte Temple, 55, of Jacksonville, president of Temple Enterprises, Inc., and director of advocacy with The ARC of Jacksonville, succeeding Robert Wychulis

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Governor Appoints Three to Advocacy Council

Governor Charlie Crist recently announced the following appointments to the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council:

• Nell Knott, 70, of LaBelle, owner of Knottsville Farm, Inc., succeeding George Barford



• Sharon Shlakman, 61, of West Palm Beach, retired, succeeding Bernard Kalina



• Jay Starling, 60, of Tallahassee, retired, succeeding William Woodard

All of the appointments end on November 11, 2010.

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No Delays at MRDP

For the first time in many years, APD's Mentally Retarded Defendant Program (MRDP) does not have a waiting list for entry into the program and actually has a few vacancies. This is a direct result of moving some beds from MRDP, which are funded from state General Revenue, to the Disability Center campuses, which receive federal matching dollars, therefore saving the state almost $1 million.

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