Terry R. Farmer Jon Fisher President & CEO Board ... - Florida ARF

Terry R. Farmer
President & CEO
Jon Fisher
Board Chair
Florida ARF Board Meeting
April 20, 2007
10:45 a.m. – 11:21 a.m.
April Fly-In Meeting
Tallahassee, Florida
Call to Order:
Roll Call:
The meeting was called to order by Chair Jon Fisher who welcomed
members to the April Fly-In Florida ARF Board Meeting.
Roll call was taken by Florida ARF Human Resources Director John
Bruntlett. Attendance was as follows:
Attendance: Present: Absent:
Jon Fisher, Chair,
Barry Pollack, Secretary
Jon May, Treasurer
Dennis Haas, Parliamentarian
Joe Aniello,
Sherry White, Past Chair
Rich Gilmartin
Peggy Connell
Nadine Johnson
Jim McGuire
Jean-Marie Moore
Keith Muniz
Katie Porta
Holly Peters
Jim Weeks
Tina Philips
Troy Strawder
Following roll call, President & CEO Terry Farmer announced a quorum
was present.
Agenda
Minutes
Chair John Fisher asked for additions or changes to the agenda. Hearing
none, the agenda was accepted following the motion to accept from Joe
Aniello. The motion was seconded by Jean-Marie Moore.
Fisher presented the February 8, 2007, Florida ARF Board minutes for
approval. A motion was made by Katie Porta to accept the minutes as
written and was seconded by Nadine Johnson. The Board minutes were
accepted as written.
Chair’s Report Jon Fisher then provided the Chair’s report. Fisher thanked the staff for
their hard work during the session and for keeping members informed.
He encouraged staff and members to stay the course and to continue
fighting for more money for APD and no proviso to limit or cut services.
President’s Report Terry Farmer reported that Jane Johnson has been appointed APD
Director and that she began her official duties this week.

Legislative Session: Farmer informed Board members that Florida ARF
has been actively working to accomplish priorities on its legislative
platform and has had members participate in these priorities. Farmer
acknowledged that a Cost of Living Adjustment will not be accomplished
for the year due to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities projected
deficit.
Farmer announced that we will need members to come to Tallahassee
next week for conference and to continue making contacts with local
legislators to educate them about the need to fund the deficit.
RESPECT of Florida: Scott Gaedtke reported on the progress of the
RESPECT program. Gaedtke indicated that efforts continue to seek a
resolution of the District 2 Department of Transportation (DOT) contract
dispute. RESPECT of Florida has successfully negotiated with DOT for
a minimum wage increase in the contract, which will amount to a
$270,000 increase each year. RESPECT continues to work with
Infrastructure Corporation of America (ICA). Sales for RESPECT are
ahead of sales at this time last year. RESPECT successfully secured the
SunPass transponder contract and a contract that will generate around
$250-300,000 per year with the Florida Lottery to make t-shirts. Gaedtke
reported that AXON continues to open doors to new opportunities.
RESPECT has also added one new member (Gateway Community
Services) and awaits applications from two potential new members.
Membership: Suzanne Sewell reported that the overall membership is
stable. No members have been terminated for lack of payment of dues,
but we are working with some members on dues owed.
Terry Farmer attended the UCP Conference last week which will likely
result in the addition of two new members. Adam’s Acres in St.
Augustine is also a potential member we are working with. Mitchell &
Company has two staff that have become Professional Members.
Dialogue is ongoing with other potential members including other
Goodwill affiliates and independent organizations.
Treasurer’s Report Jon May, Treasurer, provided the Treasurer’s report and updated
members on the fiscal status of Florida ARF for January 2007 and
through February 2007. May stated that, overall, the findings are
positive. He reviewed the Explanation of Variances within the financial
report and pointed out the following for the month of February:
• February revenues increased over the prior year by more than
$44,000 due to an increase in membership dues, meeting
registration, and RESPECT service sales. These increases have
contributed to placing the overall revenues over 7% higher than
this same period in the prior year and the year-to-date revenues
are 4% higher than the previous year.
Florida ARF Board Meeting – Spring
April 20, 2007
Tallahassee, FL
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• Year-to-date revenues are less than expected (down by 7%);
however, the total operating expenses are more than 10% lower
than budgeted, allowing for a net income of $137,000 which is
$104,000 greater than expected.
May reviewed several variances noted within the report and asked for
questions or discussion. Following discussion, he asked for approval of
the financial report. Katie Porta moved to accept the report as presented
and Nadine Johnson seconded. The report was adopted unanimously.
Regarding the Audit status, the audit was completed in January but is
being held pending distribution of District 2 funds.
Forum Reports:
Children’s
Community
Supports
Suzanne Sewell reported in the absence of Chair Holly Peters that the
Children’s Forum had not met. Staff members continue to monitor
legislation with language to “fix” the Jessica Lunsford Act to eliminate
duplicate screenings and staff is tracking “Kidcare” amendments.
Suzanne Sewell reported in the absence of Chair Tina Phillips that the
Community Supports Forum hosted three sessions during the Florida
ARF 2007 Fly-In including: An Agency for Persons with Disabilities Open
Forum with Lucy Mohs, Legislative Affairs Director; Mental Health
Systems Experiences with Managed Care by Dr. Kate Lyon; and, an
Update from CMS on Managed Care by Randy Wilcox.
In Session 1, Lucy Mohs, Legislative Affairs Director for APD, updated
members on Jane Johnson the new APD Director and the agency’s plan
to make changes to the program to fix the deficit. Mohs had a very open
dialogue with members and asked that we work with and support the
agency in our legislative efforts.
Session 2 featured a presentation from the Florida Council for Community
Mental Health by Katharine Lyon, Ph.D. The presenter reviewed
experiences from the mental health system being moved into managed
care. Lyon shared that MCO take costs off the top that cut services to
clients. Their association is looking to form a PSN to try and bypass this
problem.
For Session 3, Randy Wilcox from Children’s Medical Services spoke to
members on Medicaid Reform for CMS in Broward and Duval Counties.
Wilcox gave an informative presentation about the realities of forming
provider service networks.
Florida ARF staff announced that members who are interested in learning
more about Managed Care are encouraged to attend the Florida ARF
training May 10-11, 2007, in Tampa, Florida. Staff was encouraged to
invite other stakeholders to attend the training.
Florida ARF Board Meeting – Spring
April 20, 2007
Tallahassee, FL
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Employment
Chair Rich Gilmartin reported that Florida ARF is hosting an Employment
Futures Forum scheduled for July 10 th at the Renaissance Vinoy in
conjunction with.the annual Arc of Florida Convention that is being hosted
by PARC.
Gilmartin reported that Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Director
Bill Palmer discussed provider report cards and the website they are
developing where providers can list their services. More information on
the website will be forthcoming.
Palmer discussed what counts as a successful employment outcome for
VR and what constitutes an integrated work setting. He stated that VR is
looking at issues on a case-by-case basis and that they are treating each
case individually. After reviewing the TSA by RSA, Bill reported that most
previously disallowed placements have been overturned and are now
considered placements. Florida ARF staff will continue to follow up on
the Supported Employment payback issue.
ICFDD
Jim Weeks reported, in the absence of Chair Jim McGuire, that Kim
Smoak had presented on the ICFDD rule and the Emergency Status
System.
Joe Aniello discussed assessments for legal fees from FARF 1 litigation.
Florida ARF still owes about $13,000 to attorneys. Members decided to
assess ICFDD members to pay this final bill for litigation.
Members reviewed and provided input on the proposed ICFDD brochure
developed by Florida ARF. Staff were asked to work with APD on central
referral for ICFDD’s.
The ICFDD Forum also discussed ICFDD Interim Rates and learned
Florida ARF representatives met with AHCA earlier in the week to follow
up on requested amendments to the reimbursement plan that would allow
lower occupancy rates for smaller ICFDDs. A proposed position paper on
Interim Vacancy Rates was developed to seek AHCA approval to allow
smaller facilities the opportunity to seek interim vacancy rates when
occupancy levels fall below 95%. From the meeting, AHCA staff agreed
for us to work with the legislature to make our plan happen, but a few
hours after the meeting AHCA staff emailed Suzanne Sewell with a
position change on this task. Staff will continue to work on this issue.
Legal Advocacy
Government
Relations
Chair Joe Aniello reported that the Legal Advocacy Forum had not met
and had no activity to report.
Government Relations Chair Katie Porta reported that the Government
Relations Forum met earlier in the day and discussed strategy for the
remainder of the 2007 Legislative Session. Members and staff are
encouraged to continue efforts to get the deficit funded, support no
proviso for APD, and get Governor Crist’s budget funded.
Florida ARF Board Meeting – Spring
April 20, 2007
Tallahassee, FL
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RESPECT
Oversight
Women’s
Leadership
New Business
Old Business
Adjournment
Signature:
Scott Gaedtke reported that the RESPECT Oversight committee had no
activity to report. Members discussed Wage & Hour Audits by the
Department of Labor and asked for a conference call to share
experiences with audits.
Suzanne Sewell reported in the absence of Sylvia Goldsmith that the
Women’s Leadership Forum had no activity to report.
No new business was reported.
No old business was reported.
Hearing no other business, the Chair asked for a motion to adjourn. Katie
Porta moved to adjourn the meeting and the motion was seconded by
Nadine Johnson. The meeting was adjourned at 11:21 a.m.
______________________________
Barry Pollack, Secretary
______________________________
Date Approved
Florida ARF Board Meeting – Spring
April 20, 2007
Tallahassee, FL
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