IL-NET TA

Do you have a place for volunteers in your organization?

We have some training regarding volunteers on our website. Ability360 in Phoenix has some good structure to their Peer to Peer volunteers that would work with any volunteer project. We haven’t addressed the larger issue of volunteers, though, so it is time. If you are a center that has organized a volunteer program, please tell us about it in the comments below. For all of us, here are some elements to consider, whether you are looking at the Ability 360 training or elsewhere:

You have to decide how careful you want to be about who you recruit/accept, for example, so you will need a policy and practice around vetting the volunteer, and whether or not you will do criminal background checks or reference checks or both. For your own risk management, even if the volunteer works in the center and not in a person’s home, you want to decide about this.
Who matches the volunteer to a task? Do they get to choose from open positions, or do you make up a position to match their interests?
Make sure that the volunteer isn’t doing something that would typically be a paid position. That would violate some Department of Labor regulations. A Non-profit risk group says, “Federal law, under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, (FLSA) defines individuals that provide services without any expectation of compensation, and without any coercion or intimidation, as “volunteers” (non-employees).” They also provide some nuances related to the question of when a person is a volunteer and when they must be an employee.
You also need to decide whether you will use youth as volunteers and what restrictions you might have because they are under age. (You probably would not want them to volunteer off site without supervision.)
Orientation is the next element you want to examine. What does the person understand about Independent Living philosophy? You don’t want a proponent of sheltered sub-minimum work to be preaching that to a consumer, so you need to make sure the person’s beliefs are consistent with your philosophy. Often centers provide volunteers with the same orientation as staff members.
How will the volunteer track their time and activity? There are some states that have a match arrangement for donations, and that may allow you to count volunteer hours. If having volunteers is an important goal, you want to identify a way to report it to your board, staff and volunteers on the number of people and hours. If the volunteer works directly with a consumer, how will you record this in their Consumer Service Record?
You might find some useful tips in this Volunteer Management Guide on line. This site is a rich resource for orientation, training and management ideas related to volunteers.

What are some ways to use volunteers? Volunteers can work on your landscape, build a ramp for a consumer, sew a quilt for a fundraiser, teach your classes in an area of expertise. Done right, they can extend your resources to provide services to more people.

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Designated State Entity Assurances

Whether you are with the Designated State Entity or the SILC or a Center that receives Part B money, these new (and not yet implemented) assurances will be of interest to you. One of the most common difficulties reported between the DSE and Centers and SILCs has to do with timely payment, for example, and these assurances state that the DSE MUST make timely and prompt payment to Centers and SILCs. This requirement creates a platform fora conversation and the development of a process that will result in these timely payment. Most of these address potential areas of tension between the DSE and those funded through the SPIL. The areas specifically are:

The DSE acknowledges its role as the fiscal intermediary to receive, account for, and disburse funds received by the State to support Independent Living Services in the State;
The DSE must make timely and prompt payments to Part B funded SILCs and CILs:
When the reimbursement method is used, the DSE must make a payment within 30 calendar days after receipt of the billing, unless the agency or pass-through entity reasonably believes the request to be improper;
When necessary, the DSE will advance payments to Part B funded SILCs and CILs to cover its estimated disbursement needs for an initial period generally geared to the mutually agreed upon disbursing cycle;
The DSE will accept requests for advance payments and reimbursements at least monthly when electronic fund transfers are not used, and as often as necessary when electronic transfers are used, in accordance with the provisions of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ;
The DSE will abide by SILC determination of whether the SILC want to utilize DSE staff;
If the SILC informs the DSE that the SILC wants to utilize DSE staff, the DSE assures that management of such staff with regard to activities and functions performed for the SILC is the sole responsibility of the SILC in accordance with Sec. 705(e)(3) of the Act(Sec. 705(e)(3), 29 U.S.C. 796(e)(3));
The DSE will assure that the agency keeps appropriate records, in accordance with federal and State law, and provides access to records by the federal funding agency upon request;
The DSE assures that the SILC is established as an autonomous entity within the State as required in Sec 1329.14 of the WIOA regulations;
The DSE will not interfere with the business or operations of the SILC that include but are not limited to:
1. Expenditure of federal funds,
2. Meeting schedules and agendas,
3. SILC board business,
4. Voting actions of the SILC Board,
5. Personnel actions,
6. Allowable travel,
7. Trainings and;

The DSE will fully cooperate with the SILC in the nomination and appointment process for the SILC in the State.

*Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) indicators of minimum compliance, required by WIOA, and assurances — applicable to both the SILCs and the Designated State Entities (DSEs) — were sent from the Independent Living Administration to SILCs and DSEs in late September, 2017. ILA will be consulting with the network to develop a plan on setting effective dates for both the indicators and assurances. You can download the full text at http://www.ilru.org/federal-guidance-il-program, and click on “SILC Indicators and Assurances for the Designated State Entities” to open the document.

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State Independent Living Council Assurances

When your SILC accepts funds you agree to a set of assurances. You make a promise that you will do some specific things. We suggest that, whenever it fits, these promises be worked into your written policies and procedures. Sometimes you will tailor that policy to say more about your actual practice. For example, the first of the assurances is that you will meet regularly with the appointing authority in your state with recommendations for actual nominees to the council. How do you approach this? Do you assist people with getting and completing the application to serve on the SILC? Do you meet with the authority annually or quarterly? Do you keep a checklist or grid to indicate term limits and positions filled (like areas of the state)?

We suggest you expand your written policies and procedures further, and address these new assurances:

The SILC regularly (not less than annually) provides the appointing authority recommendations for eligible appointments;
The SILC is composed of the requisite members set forth in the Act (Sec. 705(b)(2), 29 U.S.C. Sec. 796 (b)(2));
The SILC terms of appointment adhere to the Act (Sec. 705(b)(6), 29 U.S.C Sec 796(b)(6));
The SILC is not established as an entity within a State agency in accordance with 45 CFR Sec. 1329.14(b);
The SILC will make the determination of whether it wants to utilize DSE staff to carry out the functions of the SILC;
1. The SILC must inform the DSE if it chooses to utilize DSE staff;
2. The SILC assumes management and responsibility of such staff with regard to activities and functions performed for the SILC in accordance with the Act (Sec. 705(e)(3), 29 U.S.C. 796(e)(3)).
The SILC shall ensure all program activities are accessible to people with disabilities;
The State Plan shall provide assurances that the designated State entity, any other agency, office, or entity of the State will not interfere with operations of the SILC, except as provided by law and regulation and;
The SILC actively consults with unserved and underserved populations in urban and rural areas that include, indigenous populations as appropriate for State Plan development as described in Sec. 713 (b)(7) the Act regarding Authorized Uses of Funds (29 U.S.C. Sec. 796e-2(b)(7)).

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What do the new indicators say about open meetings for SILC?

Because the Statewide Independent Living Council is crafted out of the Rehabilitation Act’s Purpose, let’s look at those words:

45 CFR 1329.2 Purpose. The purpose of title VII of the Act is to promote a philosophy of independent living (IL), 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 to promote the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society…

One of the elements of consumer control is found in the makeup of the SILC itself, which must have more than 50% people with disabilities who don’t work for either the State or a Center. That is the majority which approves the State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL) on behalf of the SILC, as well as the SILC’s policies, procedures, staff and operations.

But no council can represent all of the people in the state who have disabilities. The SILC must allow for public comment at its meetings, hold open meetings accessible to people across the state, and invite feedback into the development of the SPIL from a broad range of consumers throughout the state.

In last week’s post we looked at the policies and procedures that are required in the new SILC Indicators, and a lot of them — items c. through g. specifically — apply to the public nature of the SILC. This is an area where you have both state and federal requirements to consider as you develop your policies. You will want to refer to your state’s Sunshine Act or Open Meetings laws and regulations. Often there is someone in the governor’s office that would be willing to train your board on this, or review your proposed policies, or both.That portion is very specific to the state and these vary widely from state to state.

The federal expectations are included in the Indicators*. Additional federal requirements are outlined in item 4. of the indicators. These are requirements from the federal level that may require more than your state does, so be sure to consider both. Here is what you need to do:

4. The SILC receives public input into the development of the State Plan for Independent Living in accordance with 45 CFR 1329.17(f) ensuring:

Adequate documentation of the State Plan development process, including but not limited to, a written process setting forth how input will be gathered from the state’s centers for independent living and individuals with disabilities throughout the state, and the process for how the information collected is considered.
All meetings regarding State Plan development and review are open to the public and provides advance notice of such meetings in accordance with existing State and federal laws and 45 CFR 1329.17(f)(2)(i)-(ii);
Meetings seeking public input regarding the State Plan provides advance notice of such meetings in accordance with existing State and federal laws, and 45 CFR 1329.17(f)(2)(i);
Public meeting locations, where public input is being taken, are accessible to all people with disabilities, including, but not limited to:
- proximity to public transportation,
- physical accessibility, and
- effective communication and accommodations that include auxiliary aids and services, necessary to make the meeting accessible to all people with disabilities.
- Materials available electronically must be 508 compliant and, upon request, available in alternative and accessible format including other commonly spoken languages

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The SILC Indicators are here…let’s talk SILC policies and procedures

Whether or not your SILC is a 501(c)(3) entity, you need written policies and procedures to guide how you do business.

Let’s take a moment to highlight the first of the Statewide Independent Living Council Indicators*, which is all about policies. (We will review the rest of the indicators, along with SILC and DSE Assurances, in later posts.)

These are indicators of minimum compliance for SILCs, and are an expansion of the content of Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act and regulations. Indicator #1 is that the SILC have written policies and procedures in a number of areas. Here is a list:

a. A method for recruiting members, reviewing applications, and regularly providing recommendations for eligible appointments to the appointing authority.

b. A method for identifying and resolving actual or potential disputes and conflicts of interest that are in compliance with State and federal law;

c. A process to hold public meetings and meet regularly as prescribed in 45 CFR 1329.15(a)(3)

d. A process and timelines for advance notice to the public of SILC meetings in compliance with State and federal law and 45 CFR 1329.15(3);

e. A process and timeline for advance notice to the public for SILC “Executive Session” meetings, that are closed to the public, that follow applicable federal and State laws;

i. “Executive Session” meetings should be rare and only take place to discuss confidential SILC issues such as but not limited to staffing.

ii. Agendas for “Executive Session” meetings must be made available to the public, although personal identifiable information regarding SILC staff shall not be included;

f. A process and timelines for the public to request reasonable accommodations to participate during a public Council meeting;

g. A method for developing, seeking and incorporating public input into, monitoring, reviewing and evaluating implementation of the State Plan as required in 45 CFR 1329.17; and

h. A process to verify centers for independent living are eligible to sign the State Plan in compliance with 45 CFR 1329.17(d)(2)(iii).

If you don’t have all these policies, you need to develop them or borrow them from a SILC that has them. Typically the Council approves all the policies and procedures. These areas are in addition to our recommended financial policies and procedures.

Join us next week for a discussion of the open meetings portion of this specifically.

*Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) indicators of minimum compliance, required by WIOA, and assurances — for both the SILCs and the Designated State Entities (DSEs) — were sent from the Independent Living Administration to SILCs and DSEs. While the effective date has not yet been determined, ILA will be consulting with the network to develop a plan on setting effective dates for both the indicators and assurances. You can download the full text at http://www.ilru.org/federal-guidance-il-program, and click on “SILC Indicators and Assurances for the Designated State Entities” to open the document.

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Rebranding – Transforming your Image

Know why you want to change your name, image and logo. What is the new image you want to portray? Youth? Movement? Freedom? Are there any negative perceptions that you want to overcome? How do you dispel the perceptions that your CIL is a caregiver or residential program? Take time to thoroughly explore your reasons so that you can know if you are successful.
Take time to be curious, to image new possibilities. Beth Comstock, on her blog “How I Unlearn”, said this: “Sometimes, setting aside your emotions and direct impressions is a crucial skill. When we have a tight deadline, we can’t indulge every stray thought. But selectively listening to stray thoughts can be productive. If you find yourself dreading a project or consistently annoyed by it, it’s worth taking ten or fifteen minutes to think back to the moments when you felt that way and why. It might help you see the outlines of a problem that’s just below the surface. The same goes for sudden bursts of curiosity. At first blush, curiosity can actually look like distraction. But if something about your project is causing you and your team to ask a series of questions or go off on tangents, take a moment and ask yourselves why. Is there a potential opportunity lurking behind this curiosity, an assumption that could turn your work on its head? When curiosity crops up, don’t always ignore it. It might point out where your assumptions are holding you back.”
As a non-profit you have a public that is interested in what you do. In an article on rebranding, in Non-Profit Quarterly, Carlo Cuesto said “In order to tell our own story, we need to listen to and embrace the stories of those we wish to reach. A story is a gift, not a donor-acquisition strategy. Stories bind us together by allowing us to glimpse the other. And when we glimpse the other, we seek to understand it in all its nuanced glory. It overtakes and ripples across our consciousness, forcing us to reconcile what we are experiencing with what we think we already know.” If your center is effective, your consumers have stories that will connect with what you do in ways that mere descriptions cannot.
Engage your whole community in the discussion. We are community controlled entities, and our consumers should be involved in the exploration of a your center’s role and identity. When you step into your new “skin” it should be a good fit for your best moments.
Make sure the image you want to portray is what you project. What is the story about disability that you want to tell to the community? Some organizations focus on ability — so you see the new brand of Ability 360 in Phoenix (formerly called Arizona Bridge to Independent Living (ABIL). “Ability360 puts the focus on the word ‘ability’ and not ‘disability’,” said Ability360 President and CEO at the time, Phil Pangrazio. “The all-encompassing 360-concept demonstrates more inclusiveness of people with all types of disabilities and the new name helps clear up confusion that has existed for many years about who we are and what we do.”The new logo, designed by Phoenix-based graphic design firm P.S. Studios depicts the word “Ability” in gray, sans-serif capital letters and “360” in light blue with the “0” designed as an arrow pointing upward. “The new logo with the upward-pointing arrow, is more modern than our previous logo, promotes positive and forward-moving energy in a very simple design that, most importantly, replaces the previous logo that conveyed a stereotypical image of disability with a wheelchair at its core,” Pangrazio said. “We’re thrilled to be moving forward under a new, streamlined and highly effective name and brand.”
Don’t get caught between your past and your future. Make a plan and roll out your new brand with fun and fanfare. At that point all the old signage, logos, brochures and business cards should be gone and the new ones in their place. Don’t drag your transformation out over time. Don’t allow drawers of old stuff filed away because someone likes it. Other than a copy or two for your archives, the old will inform but cannot speak for the new image/brand. You will use the power of “new” to connect even more people to your center and your work.
You have some “unlearning” to do as part of this change. If you and your stakeholders — board, staff, consumers — hold on to the old name or other old thinking, how do you expect the community at large to perceive you differently.

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Clarify and agree — in writing!

Back in the 1980s, when I was a very young manager of a new Center in Kansas, the Rehabilitation Services Administration’s regional office brought in a speaker named John Conway to talk to centers and other RSA funded entities about how to evaluate staff. Conway was a fan the phrase, “Clarify and agree!” In respect to employment evaluations, this meant breaking the job down in outline form — sometimes a very extensive outline — and going through with the employee to clarify several things.

First, we clarified what all the job tasks were — that was the outline. These were called Functions (for the Roman numerals out of the job description) and Responsibilities (for all the detail added into the outline.)

Then the genius of his system — we clarified the amount of Authority the staff person had to accomplish those items. If it was a routine task that they did without permission, that was a A item for Act without checking. If it was a task that the person did without permission, but needed to report on, that was a B item for Both Act and Check. If it was an item that needed prior approval it was a C item — Check First.

The conversation that took place made an excellent employee evaluation — one that usually took a couple of hitches to complete because it was an extensive conversation about the job. Let me give you an example of my first evaluation with the board. One of the responsibilities was to give news releases to the local papers in the many counties where our center was located. I marked that an A — Act without checking. The board marked it a C – Check first. One member explained that she got the morning paper, but sometimes before she could open it she got a phone call asking about an article we’d placed there. She did not like to be surprised. We ended up agreeing that I would let the board members know in advance when an article was going to be in the paper, and if desired, would give them a copy of the news release at the same time as it was given to the paper.

“Clarify and agree” became an important management concept for me. Do you see what I mean? There I was doing something that irritated my board vice president (soon to be president) just when I most needed to cultivate a positive working relationship. By clarifying and agreeing together we resolved a potential conflict before it blew up in my face.

I think this same approach is important as a planning tool. Your mission only guides you forward if it is absolutely clear. Those grandiose goals are only meaningful if you break them down into small enough pieces to clarify exactly who is going to do what. And in planning especially, but in all these conversations, the deadline for getting it done.

This also works as a partnership tool. As you work with other entities in the community, it is good to take time to be clear on who is doing what. Get specific. Walk through a task in your mind and jot down enough detail to have the conversation. Here is an excellent article about clarifying before you commit. As author Randy Taussig states, “As a leader of your business, you’re responsible for developing and articulating a vision that everyone understands and can follow. The key is to gain clarity first, commitment second. This will foster the alignment and enthusiasm that will get you there faster!”

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Disability Rights — Have we achieved equal access and protection?

When I teach about the history and philosophy of Independent Living, I go back to the 1960s and describe the times. I lived in the St. Louis area then, and I remember the race riots in East St. Louis on the news, and taking the bus from my little town to East St. Louis to visit a friend over Spring Break. We were a little uneasy, even in the middle of the day, there at the bus stop. I went from knowing only one black family in my small town to being one of only two white faces on the street in East St. Louis.

This was a time when rights — all kinds of rights — were being discussed. Women were seeking equal pay. Consumers wanted disclosure of risk when they made a purchase. And people with disabilities stopped being grateful for crumbs and began to understand that fair and equal treatment was a right in this country. “All men are created equal…” took on new meaning across the land in many different arenas.

After the Civil Rights Act passed in 1965, the protests did not stop. Passing a law to provide rights does not necessarily translate into equal rights in day to day life. Do you think the Civil Rights Act has been fully actualized in our society? Are all people truly seen as equal? Do people of color have equal rights, equal status, equal pay, equal treatment today? More than 50 years later, the law is still sometimes ignored and equal rights are still not universal.

The Civil Rights Act became law in the mid sixties. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed twenty-five years later, in 1990. Has the ADA been fully actualized?

The answer, of course, is no, the promise of the ADA has not been fully realized in our country. In a recent article, the American Bar Association Journal addressed this as a 14th Amendment issue — as equal protection, not just equal rights. Linda Klein said, “When it comes to employment opportunities, educational equality and access to fair benefits, people with disabilities can lack essential constitutional protections.”

We all need to be vigilant in knowing, promoting and protecting our own rights and those of our brothers and sisters and all whose equal rights are denied.

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Tips for Boards — Evaluating the Executive Director

There are several elements to a good evaluation. Let me mention those first.

I like to see evaluations which:

Make sure that the evaluation is a good match for the job description. You may even want to go through job description first, as a group with the executive director, to make sure it is complete and reflects the board’s expectations for the director. This will help you capture the routine performance issues.
Take a look at the goals set for your organization. If you don’t have a formal strategic planning process (which you are required to have, by the way) then you can look at grant applications to find the goals and objectives you’ve promised funders or other stakeholders that the organization will accomplish. This may include the State Plan for Independent Living, as well, because usually that plan includes goals for the centers. You can ask your director to gather these and to report to the board on the progress on these goals over the past year. This will help you capture progress made over the past year.
Invite the director to comment on all the areas prior to the board assessment, since often there are elements of the job that the board will not have detailed knowledge of.

There are many different ways to score these elements. Some centers use a numerical score, usually 0 through 5 or 7 and translate to a numerical score. Others us language like, “failed to meet expectations” “met some of the expectations”, “expectations met”, “expectations exceeded”.

You can find some additional advice and a sample form tailored to non-profit directors at https://www.compasspoint.org/board-cafe/annual-evaluation-executive-director

One place that is a little tricky sometimes is how to get input from the entire board without complicating the process unnecessarily. I see several approaches to this, but the least effective is an attempt to write the evaluation with the entire board in an executive session. It is cumbersome at best.

Some streamlined approaches might include:

The board chair asks the members to provide her/him with their comments, then the chair creates a draft and reviews it with the Executive Director and includes that individual’s input into the form before going back to the board.
An evaluation committee or the executive committee completes the first draft of the evaluation and then that is reviewed in executive session with the board to be finalized before inviting the executive director to join them and provide feedback. (This is awkward because the ED is providing feedback after the board members have already made comments. If you choose this, make sure there is time for the ED to be heard before you finalize that section.)
Have the executive director complete the self-evaluation first, then the board chair or committee completes their draft with that information at hand.

The most important thing is that the evaluation takes place at least annually and provides an opportunity for the board and the executive director to discuss the past year’s performance and what support the board is willing to provide to the ED in the coming year to assist with meeting expectations and challenges that are discussed.

New Executive Director? Do you really want to change that?

Every new executive director wants to make their mark. Take the time, though, to make sure that the change is what is really needed at this time. Here are some radical changes that Executive Directors sometimes make, and my comments and cautions regarding them.

A change of building. It is true that, as the new person in the space, you can see how the space is or is not serving your vision. Study this out, though. Take time to read and understand your lease, which is often for several years. See if there leasehold improvements that you are paying for through that lease. Often the landlord agrees to add an automatic door or remodel bathrooms, but your lease adds these costs to your rent and you agree to pay for them over the period of your lease. If you know when the lease is up you can plan how you will respond and when. If it is soon — ask for a month to month extension while you work with the board on the reasons change is needed. If it is several years away, turn your attention to other things. Getting a new office is energizing — but often takes you away from the real work that needs done.
Re-doing your office. When you first come into a job, no matter how you have prepared, you don’t really know the financial situation. Spending money on yourself doesn’t endear you to staff who have been doing without some things. Instead of jumping into the purchase of a new desk, start a list of improvements you’d like to make for everyone. Then begin the process of planning and budgeting for those changes.
Changing the name, logo, colors and image of your center. Rebranding is a very popular idea for new executive directors, and maybe it is needed — but it doesn’t need to be done in your first weeks, or even year. Take time to know what the consumers like and don’t like about your center and you will figure out how to improve not just cosmetically, but concretely. A good satisfaction survey will give you areas to work in.
Blaming your predecessor before you really understand the lay of the land. There is no value in trashing the person who came before you, even if that ED was fired by the board. That kind of situation is never black and white. Get to know the staff, the board, the policies and systems. Make sure you really understand what happened under your predecessor before you assume they were bad and you are better.
Changing staff job descriptions, redoing the organizational chart, or firing staff. You may indeed want to do these things, but again, talk to the staff and get to know them and what they see their jobs to be. Don’t act just to show that you are in charge. Include the stakeholders — staff, board, and consumers — as you decide how to move forward.

You are the new leader of an existing organization. Get to know that organization inside and out, through its people, then work out a plan with its stakeholders to change it.

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