Just when you thought you were done with indirect cost rate proposals…

First a word to the wise — when you get anything in the mail that is related to your grant or your compliance with regulations, you need to read it carefully and do what it asks you to do. If what it asks is coming in the future in the form of a report or other information, be sure to put that date on your calendar. It may be the only reminder you will get.

A case in point is your Nonprofit Rate Agreement, which you received from the federal government some time in 2016 when your Indirect Cost Rate Proposal was accepted.  It probably said that your rate was provisional, and that the effective period was two or three years, depending on your local office. And on the second page of your approval, at the end of Section II: SPECIAL REMARKS is a note titled NEXT PROPOSAL DUE DATE. For most of you this date was March 2018, because it is roughly 6 months after your first trial or provisional year of your rate, which for most of you started September 30, 2017. Some of your dates will vary depending on how quickly your proposal was approved.

Then this week some of you received a letter saying that your Indirect Cost Rate Proposal is overdue. They are talking, not about the period of time your current plan is good, but about your responsibility to report back to them on how accurate it was.

Even if you haven’t received that letter yet, go to your approval letter and check that paragraph. If you are already late, and I suspect many of you are, do it as soon as possible.

You are to submit a new Indirect Cost Rate Proposal, this time based on your actual costs for the 2017 fiscal year. Use the same proposal, just update your numbers. Your percentage will very likely be a little off. Don’t worry about that — you have to put in your actual, so if it is off HHS will work with you to correct going forward. But do keep your indirect cost current. As we suggested in training, you want to run your own actuals anyway, because you want these to be accurate figures.

So take a deep breath and dive back in, because we probably will never be done with indirect cost rates.

11 Warning Signs of Gaslighting

Recent events have raised a national conversation about “gaslighting”, and I don’t know about you, but much of what is being said resonated with me, not just as a woman, but as a woman with a disability. I found this article by Stephanie Sarkis, an author with a book that addressed Gaslighting and some of the signs it is happening. First, her definition. She defines gaslighting as “a manipulation tactic used to gain power.” and goes on to say, “And it works too well.” Here is her article:

Gaslighting is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their reality. It works much better than you may think. Anyone is susceptible to gaslighting, and it is a common technique of abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. It is done slowly, so the victim doesn’t realize how much they’ve been brainwashed. For example, in the movie Gaslight (1944), a man manipulates his wife to the point where she thinks she is losing her mind.

In my book Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People – and Break Free I detail how gaslighters typically use the following techniques:

1. They tell blatant lies.

You know it’s an outright lie. Yet they are telling you this lie with a straight face. Why are they so blatant? Because they’re setting up a precedent. Once they tell you a huge lie, you’re not sure if anything they say is true. Keeping you unsteady and off-kilter is the goal.

2. They deny they ever said something, even though you have proof.

You know they said they would do something; you know you heard it. But they out and out deny it. It makes you start questioning your reality—maybe they never said that thing. And the more they do this, the more you question your reality and start accepting theirs.

3. They use what is near and dear to you as ammunition.

They know how important your kids are to you, and they know how important your identity is to you. So those may be one of the first things they attack. If you have kids, they tell you that you should not have had those children. They will tell you’d be a worthy person if only you didn’t have a long list of negative traits. They attack the foundation of your being.

4. They wear you down over time.

This is one of the insidious things about gaslighting—it is done gradually, over time. A lie here, a lie there, a snide comment every so often…and then it starts ramping up. Even the brightest, most self-aware people can be sucked into gaslighting—it is that effective. It’s the “frog in the frying pan” analogy: The heat is turned up slowly, so the frog never realizes what’s happening to it.

5. Their actions do not match their words.

When dealing with a person or entity that gaslights, look at what they are doing rather than what they are saying. What they are saying means nothing; it is just talk. What they are doing is the issue.

6. They throw in positive reinforcement to confuse you.

This person or entity that is cutting you down, telling you that you don’t have value, is now praising you for something you did. This adds an additional sense of uneasiness. You think, “Well maybe they aren’t so bad.” Yes, they are. This is a calculated attempt to keep you off-kilter—and again, to question your reality. Also look at what you were praised for; it is probably something that served the gaslighter.

7. They know confusion weakens people.

Gaslighters know that people like having a sense of stability and normalcy. Their goal is to uproot this and make you constantly question everything. And humans’ natural tendency is to look to the person or entity that will help you feel more stable—and that happens to be the gaslighter.

8. They project.

They are a drug user or a cheater, yet they are constantly accusing you of that. This is done so often that you start trying to defend yourself, and are distracted from the gaslighter’s own behavior.

9. They try to align people against you.

Gaslighters are masters at manipulating and finding the people they know will stand by them no matter what—and they use these people against you. They will make comments such as, “This person knows that you’re not right,” or “This person knows you’re useless too.” Keep in mind it does not mean that these people actually said these things. A gaslighter is a constant liar. When the gaslighter uses this tactic it makes you feel like you don’t know who to trust or turn to—and that leads you right back to the gaslighter. And that’s exactly what they want: Isolation gives them more control.

10. They tell you or others that you are crazy.

This is one of the most effective tools of the gaslighter, because it’s dismissive. The gaslighter knows if they question your sanity, people will not believe you when you tell them the gaslighter is abusive or out-of-control. It’s a master technique.

11. They tell you everyone else is a liar.

By telling you that everyone else (your family, the media) is a liar, it again makes you question your reality. You’ve never known someone with the audacity to do this, so they must be telling the truth, right? No. It’s a manipulation technique. It makes people turn to the gaslighter for the “correct” information—which isn’t correct information at all.

The more you are aware of these techniques, the quicker you can identify them and avoid falling into the gaslighter’s trap.

Book: Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People – and Break Free
Copyright 2017 Sarkis Media: www.stephaniesarkis.com

About the Author

Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, Ph.D., N.C.C., D.C.M.H.S., L.M.H.C., is the author of Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People—and Break Free.

Take time to listen to each other!

Is it just me, or does there seem to be more bickering in the world than there used to be? You can see it in almost every relationship — between countries, between races, between political parties and candidates, between other community members. A speech in the Madam Secretary TV show this past week caught my attention. The Secretary of State in the series said in part, “…we must never lose sight of our common humanity, our common values and our common decency. I was reminded recently of our nation’s founding motto, E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. Thirteen disparate colonies became one country. … governments can’t legislate tolerance or eradicate hate. That’s why each one of us has to find the beauty in our differences instead of the fear. Listen instead of reacting. Reach out instead of recoiling. It’s up to us. All of us.”

There is a disturbing reality that is reducing our effectiveness as the Independent Living Network. It isn’t new, but I am discouraged that it never seems to end. Because I am a neutral third party, sometimes I hear two sides of an issue that is plaguing our movement in a specific state or between specific centers or other partners. And sometimes it seems we are so quick to judge the “rightness” or “wrongness” of an idea don’t we don’t wait to hear each other out. Sometimes partners even develop intentional barriers so they can avoid listening to each other.

I used to shrug and say that we are all advocates and sometimes in our fervent advocacy we forget who our friends are. In the last couple of years I have looked at our political system, and thought maybe these very fixed opinions are part of our current culture. I hope we will see a shift back to being kinder to each other — the alternative is so very painful. And sometimes the divisions between members of our network are so long and wide that I am not sure they can be crossed. The philosophical interpretations are so important, but each party sees them dramatically differently.

I don’t have any easy answers. In a few cases the animosity runs so deep and has so much history that I don’t have a lot of hope. Still, I feel a need to offer a few thoughts.

  • Make a connection person to person, not agency to agency. Take time to know your partners as individuals who, like you, are a part of the Independent Living Network, even if you question their commitment to Independent Living Philosophy.
  • Be respectful and kind every time you can be. Our world needs a lot more kindness, and each of us can do a part in reacting in kindness, especially to others in our network.
  • Listen to what they have to say. Now if you are in one of those longer feuds, I am willing to guess that you are sure you already know their opinions and you disagree with them, so you don’t have to listen. I would challenge you, though — you can find a spark of what drew that person to IL in there somewhere. Listen, and then listen some more. They already know your protests, too, so if you discuss you will just keep cutting each other off. Listen without discussing and you may hear something new.
  • In every advocacy situation there are specific points that are of concern. When you can, focus on those points and not on specific personalities. Even if that individual moves on tomorrow, the issues and policies and practices will probably still be of concern. Work on those specifically.

I don’t need to give you lessons on advocacy — you know the many ways to effect change in your communities — but you usually start with education. Make sure the other party knows your concerns and why they are an issue. Educate the others first, giving them a chance to do the right thing.  Then, of course, you do what you must to bring about change.

And one last thought. If you are in one of these difficult situations, if you and a network partner are at odds, has the advocacy you are doing now worked to improve the situation? If not, I urge you to step back and try another way.

And to “… find the beauty in our differences instead of the fear. Listen instead of reacting. Reach out instead of recoiling. It’s up to us. All of us.”

 

Have you checked your listing?

ILRU maintains directories for CIL partners — for the Centers and state associations of centers at http://www.ilru.org/projects/cil-net/cil-center-and-association-directory   and for SILCs at http://www.ilru.org/projects/silc-net/silc-directory

I am always a little surprised when I get a question from our ranks about where a center is and what the contact information is — until I look for myself. Then I sometimes find that the information in our directories is out of date.

So today I have a request for you. Please look at your state’s information in the directory, and let us know if anything needs to be changed. You can do this through the “Contact Us” tab on the website.

Our directory is well-used — by other centers, by funders, by consumers. Please help us keep it up do date. Your vattention to these details will help all of us.

So are CILs and the SILC required to get along?

In the State Plan for Independent Living section of the Act – 704 (i) — clearly requires the SPIL to include in the SPIL a plan for the cooperation between the SILC and CILs as well as others:

Sec. 704. State Plan.

(i) Cooperation, Coordination, and Working Relationships Among Various Entities. – The plan shall set forth the steps that will be taken to maximize the cooperation, coordination, and working relationships among –

(1)  the Statewide Independent Living Council

(2)  centers for independent living

(3)  the designated State entity; and

(4) other State agencies or entities represented on the Council, other councils that address the needs and issues of specific disability populations, and other public and private entities determined to be appropriate by the Council.

Another pertinent reference from the law and regulations is implied every time the word “network” (which is not defined) is used; and since more than 50% of the CIL directors must sign the SPIL, is also necessary there. The SILC’s work with the CILs is found in authorities (which are optional and must be listed in the SPIL)

45 CFR §1329.16   Authorities of the SILC.

(a) The SILC may conduct the following discretionary activities, as authorized and described in the approved State Plan:

(1) Work with Centers for Independent Living to coordinate services with public and private entities to improve services provided to individuals with disabilities;

(2) Conduct resource development activities to support the activities described in the approved SPIL and/or to support the provision of independent living services by Centers for Independent Living;

Another aspect is that both the SILC and the CIL are addressed in Title VII, so they share the purpose statement that opens Title VII related to IL philosophy:

“The purpose of this chapter is to promote a philosophy of independent living, including a philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access, and individual and system advocacy, in order to maximize the leadership, empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with disabilities, and the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society…”

Section 701 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended

Are Electronic Signatures Allowed?

Note: Updated after initial post with additional information.

Question: Do the feds provide any instruction on keeping paper files versus digital records? I am asking this question because we are currently working on organizing files across our locations. I believe the feds require that we have paper copies of documents that require signatures but am not positive they forbid us from keeping them in digital format instead. And, what about other documents that end up in consumer files? Can we scan and store them in digital format or must they be on paper and in the consumer file.

Answer: This requirement is actually part of Uniform Administration Requirements, and now does allow electronic signatures or scanned documents for files. However, ILA/ACL hasn’t actually done any reviews under these regulations, so we are not certain they will agree. On the other hand, the review protocol being developed starts with a paper review, so we should know shortly. I have interpreted the regulation to mean that you can either scan and store actual signatures in digital format, and that you can use one of the electronic signature processes as well. Here is the reference:

§75.363   Methods for collection, transmission and storage of information.

In accordance with the May 2013 Executive Order on Making Open and Machine readable the New Default for Government Information, the HHS awarding agency and the non-Federal entity should, whenever practicable, collect, transmit, and store Federal award-related information in open and machine readable formats rather than in closed formats or on paper.

The context for this is financial records, but it references all Federal award-related information.

To be on the safe side, though, you may want to keep original documents signed by the consumer in a paper file, and scan the others into an electronic file. Make sure that your own policies and procedures match the practice you decide on.

Affirmative Action — a twist on Consumer Control

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You already know that your center is required to be consumer controlled. This means that a majority of staff AND management staff must be persons with disabilities, and that a majority of board members must be persons with significant disabilities to represent the persons served. Sometimes when I offer these requirements in a training setting I get some pushback about whether this is reverse discrimination. It is NOT because the regulations themselves require this as a condition of receiving Title VII funds through the Rehabilitation Act.  It is grant criteria, and you must follow it if you want the money.
There is more to this, though. As a grantee receiving federal money, you have other requirements you must meet. For example, the purchasing regulations include this:

Title 45 Subtitle A Subchapter A Part 75.330   Contracting with small and minority businesses, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms.

(a) The non-Federal entity must take all necessary affirmative steps to assure that minority businesses, women’s business enterprises, and labor surplus area firms are used when possible.

(b) Affirmative steps must include:

(1) Placing qualified small and minority businesses and women’s business enterprises on solicitation lists;

(2) Assuring that small and minority businesses, and women’s business enterprises are solicited whenever they are potential sources;

(3) Dividing total requirements, when economically feasible, into smaller tasks or quantities to permit maximum participation by small and minority businesses, and women’s business enterprises;

(4) Establishing delivery schedules, where the requirement permits, which encourage participation by small and minority businesses, and women’s business enterprises;

(5) Using the services and assistance, as appropriate, of such organizations as the Small Business Administration and the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce; and

(6) Requiring the prime contractor, if subcontracts are to be let, to take the affirmative steps listed in paragraphs (b)(1) through (5) of this section.

Are you surprised this applies to you at your center? Sometimes we forget that, as contractors of federal funds, there are requirements that apply to us besides our basic regulations. These take consumer control a step further, and urge affirmative action to hire minorities, women and people with disabilities. Some of those references are below, but here is what I want you to think about.  A staff photo from a Center for Independent Living should look diverse. Not only should there be people with visible disabilities, but also women and people of color and people of all ages. Can you say that is true of your center? These same requirements apply to SILC staff, and the council is urged to be representative of the state’s demographics.
29 U.S.C. 793 – EMPLOYMENT UNDER FEDERAL CONTRACTS includes affirmative action around who you hire, and 29 U.S.C. 794 addresses non-discrimination in employment. Both apply to our Centers and SILCs as recipients of federal dollars. There are references to the ADA that make it clear this also applies to people with disabilities, as well as others who have traditionally been underemployed. Here are some excerpts:
 
The plan shall provide satisfactory assurances that all recipients of financial assistance under this part will— (1) notify all individuals seeking or receiving services under this part about the availability of the client assistance program under section 732 of this title, the purposes of the services provided under such program, and how to contact such program; (2) take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities on the same terms and conditions required with respect to the employment of such individuals under the provisions of section 793 of this title; …
(a) Amount of contracts or subcontracts; provision for employment and advancement of qualified individuals with disabilities; regulations
 
Any contract in excess of $10,000 entered into by any Federal department or agency for the procurement of personal property and nonpersonal services (including construction) for the United States shall contain a provision requiring that the party contracting with the United States shall take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities. The provisions of this section shall apply to any subcontract in excess of $10,000 entered into by a prime contractor in carrying out any contract for the procurement of personal property and nonpersonal services (including construction) for the United States. The President shall implement the provisions of this section by promulgating regulations within ninety days after September 26, 1973.
(d) Standards used in determining violation of section
 
The standards used to determine whether this section has been violated in a complaint alleging nonaffirmative action employment discrimination under this section shall be the standards applied under title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111 et seq.) and the provisions of sections 501 through 504, and 510,1 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12201–12204 and 12210), as such sections relate to employment.
SEC. 102. DISCRIMINATION.
 
(a) GENERAL RULE- No covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
(b) CONSTRUCTION- As used in subsection (a), the term `discriminate’ includes–
… (6) using qualification standards, employment tests or other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities unless the standard, test or other selection criteria, as used by the covered entity, is shown to be job-related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity; and…

Help! A board member wants my job!

I have been assisting centers and SILCs and executive directors in trouble for some time now. I have noticed a disturbing trend — one that happens often enough for me to address it here.

Sometimes one of those sharp board members you’ve recruited decides s/he wants your job.  They don’t say so out loud, usually, but they often start the same way — the board holds frequent executive sessions without you, and begin to criticize your performance. And nothing you do seems to satisfy them. They give you huge (and sometimes somewhat meaningless) tasks and then warn you when they aren’t satisfied, then warn you again, then you are dismissed…

And the board appoints one of its own as the interim.

There are some policies and practices that may assist in avoiding or managing this kind of crisis.

  • Adopt a policy that no current board member can apply for a position at the center. If a board member wishes to apply they should first resign from the board.  It is too difficult for the executive director or the board to say no to a current board member, even if they aren’t qualified.
  • Develop two succession plans — one for an emergency, as a stop gap, and another for the long term as the board appoints an interim and seeks your successor.  Thinking this process through now will help your organization have a thoughtful plan instead of panicking in the moment.
  • Have a process for the board’s annual review of your performance. Help them remember and complete this review.
  • If they are dragging their feet, provide them with your own assessment of your performance based on your job description or strategic plan or both.  Then provide them with a few questions to answer and discuss with you. This can be simple or complex, but getting it down in a timely basis will keep you aware of any troubles brewing with the board.
  • Developing a strong relationship with your board will also serve you well when a single member is criticizing you. Be responsive to any requests for information, and follow up to be sure questions are answered.
  • Review what you provide the board at your monthly meetings. Do you add notes to the financial statements to make sure that the board understands the numbers? Do you have some measures of program progress that you can sure with the board so they know what is happening in the community?

If you do these things, and keep your eyes and ears open, you may be able to see this coming. One strategy that I have used successfully is to ask the board member outright if they are angling for the position.  Often they have to say no because it is too early — and then it becomes more difficult for them to pursue the goal.

The growing role of Centers with Youth

Mix of youth around a picnic table in a park, most in blue including the young man with the flashy blue wheelchair.

All of our on-site training, with the IL-Net team, is amazing. As we get set for the new school year, I want to show you some of the ideas from one on youth. I was totally impressed at the energy and fun of the presenters — some youth, some who “grew up” in the Youth Leadership Forum, and some who are providing dynamic outreach with and for youth. You can find the the captioned video and PowerPoint presentations and other materials on our website. But to give you just a small taste, here are some program examples from Seth Hoderewski and Joe Michener from Lehigh Valley CIL(Allentown, PA). These are just a few slides from the excellent video available. Whether your center is large or small, you will find ideas for funding youth programs that will work for you.

Most (or all) of LVCIL’s young-adult population uses Core Services – IL skills (group and individual), peer support group, social clubs (e.g. CommUnity Club), etc.
• LVCIL’s addition of transition-focused programming for young adults started from inquiries (I&R) from parents and young adults seeking services.
• Core Services are integrated and integral to all supplemental services.
• For the School 2 Life portion of the program, young adults meet one to two times a month to participate in various activities, at LVCIL or in the community, to develop independent living and other skills.
• For the Real World program, young adults attend programming three days a week for six weeks to work more intensively on transition -related skills.
• One -on-one case management and support for parents is also provided.
• The need for more services (done in the “CIL” way) for young adults in our area, motivated LVCIL and Voc Rehab to partner and create the Career  Path program.
• Initial funding through an Innovation and Expansion grant from Voc Rehab to start the program in 2011.
• In the first year, LVCIL worked with 50 young adults (ages 18 -25, who are out of school) to provide supported employment services, including a
unique element called Skills Training (eight -week intensive program to develop work- essential skills).
• Success, Engagement, Education and Determination (SEED) is a program for 20 college students (any age) to receive support for IL and vocational skills on campus at a local community college.
• Partnered with the Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), and supported initially (2014) by a grant from the PA Developmental Disabilities
Council (DDC), but now moving to fee-for-service.
• Through WIOA funding, LVCIL has partnered with Voc Rehab (fee -for -service) this past year to provide pre-employment services to students (ages 16-21, in school):
  1. • Group presentations to students at their schools.
  2. Development of and support on paid work experiences.
  3. Development of and support on job shadowing experiences.
As you can see, this center is one of several represented in the training that have an active, vital youth program before discussing transition — so transition comes naturally as they leave secondary school.

How are the expenses of the CIL rep on the SILC handled?

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Question: Our SILC is considering how to treat the CIL rep on the council related to who pays their expenses. I think at our next meeting the Council really needs to discuss and flesh these out along with the CIL rep’s input, and update the policies providing more clarity related to this topic. We need policies that will work for both our SILC and the CIL Director Rep so CIL Director Reps can continue to be engaged and active in SILC-related business and neither entity will be solely saddled with all the costs for this participation.  I think where I’m getting tripped up is with the fact that currently her CIL pays for her time to travel/attend/participate in SILC meetings, so should her CIL then cover the cost of her travel/mileage to do this, too? Currently, this is how it works with our other Council Members who’s time is being compensated by a State Agency or other type of employer to travel/attend/participate in SILC meetings. 

Each SILC is responsible for its own policy, so there is flexibility here. Your policy should detail how travel is approved in advance, how it is paid (required documentation) and what is considered “reasonable and necessary”. Most treat in state travel as routine up to a budgeted amount, for all the voting members, and treat out of state travel as needing prior approval. The travel costs to and from the meeting are certainly routine, and typically these are paid upon submission to the voting members of the SILC.

SILC’s typically pay all travel expenses for the CIL rep, as they do for all other voting members.  Most SILCs do not pay an honorarium (to compensate for time) to any member who is paid by their employer for their time (even if they are taking vacation time, which is compensated time) to attend meetings.  They don’t pay anything for ex-officio, non-voting members – neither for time or expenses — because their agencies have to cover their time and travel.

If other CILs attend the meeting, they pay all their own expenses.  But the CIL Director chosen by the other CIL directors and appointed by the Governor is a voting member, and shouldn’t be treated any differently than all other voting members.