BOARD OF DIRECTOR’S MEETING Minutes December 14, 2021 Call Meeting to Order President Jane Shank called the meeting to order at 10:02 am. Attendance Present via phone/virtual: Brian Calley, Davin Hemmila, Tom Landry, John McCulloch, Malkia Newman, Paul Palmer, Selena Schmidt, Jane Shank, Mark Stephenson, Mark Wiedelman Absent: Melody Arabo, Jill Busha, Hansen Clarke Staff present: Michelle Roberts, Michele Brand, Mark McWilliams, Kyle Williams, Elham Jahshan, Kris Keranen, Theresa Diebolt, Sara Koroniotis, Rebecca Kasen Guests: Christin Nohner, Lois Shulman (PAC member) Approval of Agenda President Shank asked for a motion to approve the agenda. Tom Landry MOVED to approve the agenda and Selena Schmidt seconded. AYES: Calley, Hemmila, Landry, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Stephenson, Wiedelman NAYS: none Motion carried. Approval of Minutes President Shank asked for a motion to approve the minutes from the September 7, 2021, board meeting. Paul Palmer MOVED to approve the minutes and Mark Wiedelman seconded. AYES: Calley, Hemmila, Landry, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Stephenson, Wiedelman. NAYS: none Motion carried. Audit Committee The audit is not prepared yet so this will be removed from the agenda and added to the next meeting agenda. President’s Report President Shank began by mentioning the Oxford School shooting and other recent tragedies and how they affect who we are and the people we serve. Tragedies that touch our clients in so many ways. She would like members to think about ways to be proactive not only as a board, but as an organization. Shank discussed attendance at board meetings not only for regular meetings, but committee meetings, workgroups, etc. She would like to hear from board members as to what they need from her as president, things they would like to see and suggestions and ideas they may want to share. She would like to see the workgroups meet more often and set some goals. There was further discussion on the Oxford School tragedy and some of the ways people can help. There were a lot of organizations onsite offering services including board member, Selena Schmidt. Shank appointed members to new roles on committees, and the committee roster is posted on the board portal on our website along with other updates and meeting information. Executive Director and Staff Reports Executive Director, Michelle Roberts, thanked board members for their commitment to serving not only on the board but on committees and workgroups as well. She also thanked Selena Schmidt for being onsite at the Oxford High School assisting those in need. Roberts welcomed Rachel Huddleston to her first board meeting as Director of Communications and Christin Nohner from RWC Advocacy who has been contracted by DRM. It is a busy time of year at DRM with the annual audit and PPRs (program performance reports) being completed. We have also been working on fundraising tasks including the annual letter and we will be looking at different ways in which donations can be made to DRM. Roberts gave an update on the salary research that Michele Brand and staff have been working on. Some positions will see a substantial increase and Roberts is not sure when it will be rolled out but did say that it will probably be done in increments. Roberts shared some of the logistics of the vaccination advocacy grant including issues and frustrations surrounding obtaining funds, deadlines, and the slow process. Budgets have been approved but have not been paid out yet. Mark McWilliams gave an update on the vaccination advocacy team. We hired and oriented new staff and have a work plan including 4 goals which are 1) creating a survey, working with MI-DDI, to collect information; 2) outreach & partnerships; 3) improve access to vaccines; and 4) improve messaging including a website landing page and a QR scannable code. We have collaborated with 34 other P & A agencies to create a video on how we can help during the pandemic. Updates are being maintained on Instagram and Facebook. We are also doing trainings on vaccines and assisting with coordinating mobile clinics. Kris Keranen reported on the education team and gave an update on a few cases her team has been working on. One case involves a 6-year-old student that was not receiving services he was entitled to. Complaints were filed, school was out of compliance, and the department of education and the court became involved. Another case involved a student who was never given language services the entire time he was in the school district. That case is now at the Supreme Court level and could have national impact depending on the outcome. Keranen also mentioned they have been getting quite a few calls since the Oxford shooting and shared some of the concerns parents are sharing. Rebecca Kasen updated the board on the CAIR (Community and Institutional Rights) team stating they have been looking at discharge lists from hospitals and noticed individuals were not getting discharged. Her team started attending virtual court hearings to see what was happening at the hearings. They would then follow up to ensure individuals were getting discharged and getting services they are entitled to receive. They have also been checking on the children in Albion at the Office of Refugee Settlement and trying to get them help. They were able to get phone calls arranged for kids to make to check on their families back home. They have also been advocating for doctor and dentist visits, therapy, and mental health services. Michele Brand gave an update on IT/admin/HR/finance and said her team has been extremely busy hiring, researching salaries, upgrading firewalls, and recently had DocuSign installed. She also mentioned that our policy manual will be changing in accordance with our DEI training. Elham Jahshan reported on the employment team and shared that her team has been working with a college student who is blind who wanted to go on to law school and was denied part-time status 3 days before classes started. They filed a claim, went to court and the school ended up adopting a new part-time policy. Another case they have been working on was with another client who wanted to attend law school who was receiving social security. They got the student into law school without going to court. Rachel Huddleston reported on the new communications team sharing they have been working with the vaccine team making inserts for the brochures and PowerPoint presentations, a landing page, and a vaccine video. They created an employment video, constantly update our website, and created a litigation tracker. She brought on Simon Zagata who is an attorney and has a communications background and is doing both on a part-time basis. Simon launched an Instagram page and has been doing a lot on there as well. Huddleston mentioned they are also working on PPRs and Sarah has been working on crunching numbers. Rachel Prevatt is also part of the team working on voting issues and has done an accessibility check in Ann Arbor and is working with the Secretary of State. They are also working on a voting video. Sara Koroniotis reported on the Rep Payee Team and explained the different stages the reviews go through prior to getting sent to the social security office. They are still conducting reviews remotely to ensure the safety of the beneficiaries, third parties as well as staff. They look at fee charging, beneficiary’s needs, benefits, reporting to social security, and banking procedures. They also check to see that the payee is acting in the best interests of the beneficiaries and if the beneficiaries’ needs are being met. Kyle Williams gave an update on the litigation team and began with mentioning the Oxford shooting and how it relates to the class action lawsuit DRM has been working on with children being in a crisis situation and not getting the help and services they need. He went on to state we are making significant progress on that case and will soon have a new and more diverse class of representatives. Williams introduced Nick Gable who is new to DRM and is the lead attorney on the Waskul lawsuit and has worked on that case for about five years now. Williams stated the case would not exist if it weren’t for Nick’s efforts as a legal service attorney to bring the initial complaint. We are very fortunate to have Nick on our team. We recently contracted with a vendor for discovery software to keep up with the amount of information that we are receiving in discovery. There is still a lot of work to be done, but we intend to take this to trial. This is giving us a better idea of where we are at in terms of direct care worker shortages and how we got there. On the NGRI lawsuit, we continue to work with MDHHS on the implementation of the settlement. Several calls have come in through our intake department and we have been able to resolve every issue and work closely with the department in resolving issues as they arise. Williams referred to his written report for additional updates on some of the other cases his team has been working on. Public Comment There was no public comment. PAIMI Advisory Council Report PAIMI Advisory Council report was given by Chair, Malkia Newman, and the minutes from the PAIMI Advisory Council meeting held on November 16, 2021, were presented. Brian Calley MOVED to approve the November 16, 2021, meeting minutes and Tom Landry seconded. AYES: Calley, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Stephenson, Wiedelman. NAYS: none Motion carried. Committee Reports 1. Budget & Finance Committee – Brian Calley/ Michele Brand Brian Calley stated that with a lot of eyes on our financials, he is confident with the team. Michele Brand reminded board members that this time of year is based on the prior year’s activities and stated we were underspent in our budget and have a larger carryover going into this year. She is in the process of reviewing the audit report which will be presented to the board at the next meeting. Mark Wiedelman MOVED to accept and approve the Budget & Finance Committee report and Malkia Newman seconded. AYES: Calley, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Stephenson, Wiedelman. NAYS: none Motion carried. 2. Public Policy/legislature report – Christin Nohner Christin gave an update on supplemental funding that is moving through the legislature and stated they are watching things very closely. Today is the last day in session till early to mid-January. Christin stated there is a lot of money in the state, and funds are being caried over into fy2022. She will provide a written report to Michelle if anyone would like to review it. Malkia Newman MOVED to accept and approve the Public Policy report and Mark Wiedelman seconded. AYES: Calley, Landry, McCulloch, Newman, Palmer, Schmidt, Shank, Stephenson, Wiedelman NAYS: none Motion carried. Old Business Old business – annual forms, board retreat & inclusion project, workgroup Jane said you will be hearing more on the above via email and on the day of the retreat. New Business New business – Jane mentioned the meeting dates for FY2022 and asked members to mark their calendars. Jane reminded members of the annual Ernie Reynolds essay contest and asked for volunteers to participate in the selection process. Volunteers include Tom Landry, Mark Wiedelman, Selena Schmidt and Mark Stephenson. Adjourn President Shank excused staff so board members can go into Executive Session at 12:23. Executive Session Executive Session adjourned at 12:45 pm. Minutes prepared by: Theresa Diebolt, Executive Assistant Minutes approved by: Mark Wiedelman, Secretary Meeting dates for 2022 (Please mark your calendars) Tuesday, May 10, 2022 Tuesday, September 6, 2022 Tuesday, December 13, 2022