Texas Governor’s Committee on People with DisabilitiesSummary Minutes

October 24-25, 2017

The Committee did not officially convene because a quorum was not present until later in the afternoon. Chair Bangor stated the Committee could hear reports and comments from members of the public. At 3:10 p.m. Dylan Rafaty motioned to call the meeting to order; Linda Millstone seconded; the motion passed. Mr. Rafaty noted a correction which suggested Plano as a possible location for the next Lex Frieden Employment Awards ceremony. Linda Millstone motioned to accept as amended the Meeting Minutes from July 28, 2017; Elizabeth Dickey seconded; the motion passed. Chair Bangor read requests for Excused Member Absences from Heather Griffith, Saul Herrera, and Marco Trevino. Dylan Rafaty motioned; Elizabeth Dickey seconded; motion passed to accept their requests.Communication access real-time translation (CART) was provided by Texas Closed Captioning.Committee Members Present, October 24, 2017:Chair Aaron Bangor, Austin; Elizabeth Dickey, Austin; Archer Hadley, Austin; P. Faye Kuo, San Antonio; Richard Martinez, San Antonio; Linda Millstone, Austin; and Dylan Rafaty, PlanoCommittee Members Present, October 25, 2017:Chair Aaron Bangor; Archer Hadley; Richard Martinez; Linda Millstone; and Dylan RafatyStaff Present:Ron Lucey, Executive Director; Fran Robertson, Policy Research Specialist; Randi Turner, Accessibility and Disability Rights Coordinator; and Nancy Van Loan, Executive AssistantVisitors:Mark Cundall, REV UP Texas; Linda Litzinger, Texas Parent to Parent; Steve Aleman, Disability Rights Texas (DRT); Jean Langendorf, DRT; David Ondich, City of Austin; Joanie Garro, Garro Behavior Consulting; Suzanne Potts, Autism Society of Texas; Sandra Bitter, Texas State Independent Living Council ; Ashley Frye, TxSILC; Beth Hamilton, Texas Association of the Deaf; Tiffany Williams, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities; Jana McKelvey, Texans for Special Education; Claudia Peden, Texas Workforce Commission; Kimberly

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Berry, TWC; Dana Williamson, Health and Human Services Commission; Alice Shukalo, Texas Talking Book Program; Yesenia Rodriguez, Department of Family & Protective Services; Mahon Farman-Farmaian, DFPS; Jeff Kline, Department of Information Resources; Amy Kilpatrick, Texas Education Agency; Ashley Ford, Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities; Alex Sprague; Karl Ewan; Aaron Gregg; Ellen Bauman; and Suzanne OndichPublic CommentMark Cundall: REV UP is an acronym for Register, Educate, Vote and Use your Power. It is a national effort which began in Texas. REV UP Texas is a nonpartisan group outreaching to Texans with disabilities to increase voting registration and encourage a well informed electorate. Roughly half of persons with disabilities are registered to vote. A Texas Disabilities Issues forum is being planned for August. Candidates from both parties will be invited to participate in the forum as well as complete a survey to solicit substantive responses. Educational outreach of disability issues is important to candidates and voters. REV UP’s activities include a new public service announcement and National Disabilities Voter Registration Day. There are more than fifty organizations co-sponsoring events. REV UP is looking for a media liaison and possible spokespersons from around the state. League of Texas Women Voters is a major partner, as well as the Governor’s Committee. Website: www.REVUPTEXAS.orgAlice Shukalo volunteers as narrator and monitor with the Talking Book program at Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Only five percent of possible patrons with disabilities are being served due to lack of advertising about the program. Texans who cannot read standard print because of visual and physical disabilities would benefit if they were aware of the program. A need in the agency’s strategic plan could be for statutory authorization from the legislature to purchase advertising to promote their services. Ms. Shukalo would like to put forth a recommendation that the Legislature find authorization and appropriate funding.Linda Litzinger addressed the Committee as a parent of an adult with disabilities. In order for someone with disabilities to be employed many things must work in concert: accessible transportation, affordable housing and attendant care. Multiple layers of government seem to hamper the success of individuals with disabilities. Federal SSDI rules state that once you have a work history, you are expected to continue working. However, a new state rule only pays attendants for “face-to-face” time they serve which discourages attendants to accept jobs. This affects your federal financial assistance. Affordable housing needs to be located within paratransit boundaries. Ms. Litzinger recommends creating a “disability ombudsman” to help negotiate between multiple levels of government.

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Ms. Litzinger also addressed the Committee as a member of Texas Parent to Parent. She spoke about the disaster response and durable medical equipment run by a group from Georgia Tech, originally began with the work of moms from Protecting Texas Fragile Kids. Equipment is acquired from donors, either reused or new equipment from manufacturers. Equipment is washed, sorted, cataloged and stored until it is distributed. A website allows searching for specific needs. [Ron Lucey praised Linda as an unsung hero in Texas’ response to Hurricane Harvey in terms of organizing communication between disability organizations out of Houston.]Steve Aleman is an attorney at Disability Rights Texas which is the protection and advocacy organization for the state. DRT receives federal funds to provide legal services to advance civil rights of persons with disabilities. Mr. Aleman announced a community survey to ensure they are moving in the right direction. The survey is available in multiple languages (English, Spanish, and Vietnamese) and is available on their website. DRT will be collecting responses over the next several months.DRT was successful during the 85th legislative session in adding a statutory requirement in Texas Education Code about the state limitation or encouragement to school districts to limit enrollment of students with disabilities. Texas Education Agency is no longer allowed by law, in any way, to indicate to school districts that they should not be denying students with disabilities eligibility for special education services. He identified a key topic: public financial support provided to Texas schools to educate students with disabilities. A State Commission for Public School Finance was created in the 85th legislative session to evaluate ideas about generating revenue and how to best distribute that revenue to Texas public schools.Ellen Bauman by profession is a certified Christian educator and works with a disability ministry. Ms. Bauman spoke about her 21-year old granddaughter who has intellectual disabilities and the importance of respite time for parents/caregivers. Her church organizes a quarterly mini series called “Look Ahead” where speakers offer training and resources on how families get through the maze of resources, help them deal with the schools; educate, inform, empower and encourage them. A current focus is alternatives to guardianship.Suzanne Potts is the executive director of the Autism Society of Texas and spoke about beginning a conversation about the need for training, better communication and a statewide disaster strategy. The organization provides informational referral, support, education, advocacy and community inclusion opportunities. Ms. Potts has children with autism. Immediately after Hurricane Harvey the Autism Society of Texas contacted FEMA and the Red Cross offering advice about managing autistic behaviors and providing sensory items for the families placed in shelters. They connected people with

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partners including Easter Seals for behavioral support and respite and talked to the disability integration teams and coordinated with local mental health officials. Going into a shelter was overwhelming for someone with autism. There was no routine or schedule at the shelters. The experience was a sensory overload, the food was horrible for people with gastrointestinal issues or perhaps on special diets.Jana McElvey addressed the Committee on behalf of Texans for Disability Reform about children with special needs in the public, charter and private school systems. She reached out to Portlight Strategies and FEMA during Hurricane Harvey conference calls. They wanted to know where the children were, who had been displaced by the hurricane. Daily attendance should be taken through a centralized system. She believes a special education disaster response task force should be established including government agencies, stakeholders and stakeholder groups. Ms. McElvey would like Texas Education Agency to establish a Special Education/Section 504 liaison to coordinate responses in times of disaster.Dr. Bethany Hamilton is a liaison with Texas Association of the Deaf and works with deaf and hard of hearing students across the state. She spoke about language acquisition issues experienced from birth to adulthood. For language, birth to age eight is a critical time. Deaf and hard of hearing students aren’t prepared to graduate high school ready and qualified to work. Currently there is no Texas data regarding language acquisition for the deaf and hard of hearing population which would support legislation. Solutions she hopes for include more involvement at the community level, partnering with other organizations, a system to gather data, and making corporate changes reflecting appropriate terminology. She said federal law uses “deaf and hard of hearing” so it’s time Texas adapt to that terminology.Jean Langendorf, representing Disability Rights Texas, discussed questions that arose during the 85th Session about service or assistance animals and the use and the misuse of those animals. DRT would like a clearer definition when it relates to housing. Most questions relate to service animals and the Fair Housing Act where the animals offer emotional support. Texas Apartment Association pushed some legislation that would make it difficult or threatening to someone who had requested the animal as a reasonable accommodation. Ms. Langendorf hopes to work with the Governor’s Committee and other advocacy organizations to clarify provisions in state law that could clear up confusion.Joanie Garro spoke about behavioral effects and lessons learned before and after Hurricane Harvey. She has siblings with disabilities but also a professional background as a board certified behavior analyst. Different ways of communication were not addressed at shelters. She listened during conference calls where physical accessibility was discussed but nothing related to the behavioral needs of individuals with developmental disabilities.

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It should be important to create an environment to promote calm behaviors. Activity kits were shared at some shelters which included sensory items. Ms. Garro suggested having a behavioral triage team available during future disasters and preparedness kits for people with autism spectrum disorders and intellectual disabilities.Karl Ewan spoke about the resistance experienced by people who are deaf or hard of hearing regarding captioning in televisions at public places. He recounted a story where local police arrested someone who was deaf because of a request for the captioning to be turned on. The argument staff at the establishments use is that captioning blocks the banner across the bottom of the screens. He asked if there was a way to mandate captioning in public places. Secondly, Mr. Ewan would like to see more open captioning options at movie theatres.Dennis Borel, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities submitted written comments, available upon request. The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities provided a statement on Hurricane Harvey and Texans with disabilities and seniors. CTD adamantly reminds lawmakers and recovery planners that people with disabilities are at additional risks during natural disaster recovery efforts. Physical and communications barriers during and after a disaster can limit access to shelter and means of evacuation. The following recommendations and observations were shared: Steps must be taken to avoid unnecessary institutionalizations; recovery planners must take into account the daily needs and equipment that people with disabilities rely on for their health and independence; community attendant care must continue with as little interruption as possible; public schools must continue to serve students with disabilities Individualized Education Plans (IEPs); and as we rebuild principals of universal design should be used whenever possible.Frederick Jefferson, Greater Houston Autism Coalition submitted written comments, available upon request. His comments pertained to the experience of families with autism who used American Red Cross shelters in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. His autism organization makes specific recommendations for improving shelter conditions for individuals and families with autism including the provision of sensory areas that reduce noise and over stimulation.David Ondich welcomed the GCPD on behalf of the City of Austin. He is excited to celebrate employers at this evening’s Lex Frieden Employment Awards ceremony who hire and retain persons with disabilities.Executive Director’s Report – Ron Lucey

Community Outreach and Public Information Coordinator position is posted on the Office of the Governor’s website and WorkInTexas. A

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major responsibility will be to reconnect with the Committee’s county/mayors committees and raise the number of new committees serving Texans with disabilities.

The GCPD’s budget was increased to reflect staffing. We would like to host a training conference for county/mayors committees this summer.

Performance Measures submitted to the Legislative Budget Board, as of the end of fiscal year 2017 included a) 7,737 responses to the GCPD’s parking survey; b) 390,189 outreach of GCPD programs and inquiries from the public, presentations and GovDelivery bulletins which is our primary mode of communication; and c) 43 active committees supported by the GCPD.

Future meetings: January of 2018 in San Antonio and April 2018 in at Texas State University in San Marcos coordination with the annual Barbara Jordan Media Awards. At the time of the meeting GCPD have not secured a partner for the awards. Subsequently Texas State University’s College of Journalism agreed to host the 2018 BJMA Awards program. After discussion Aaron Bangor moved a meeting date of January 9th.

A key activity for the quarter was Hurricane Harvey response. Staff engaged in substantial case management and information and referral for Harvey survivors with disabilities. Randi Turner served on the Governor’s phone line responding to media and citizens with information and referral. Staff supported partners in the Golden Triangle (Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange) by hosting conference calls and creating a contact list to share resources. The most important area of recovery will be housing, with over a half million homes flooded. Mr. Lucey learned recently that Houston’s city manager has made a commitment that all public facilities owned by the city will be built with the latest accessibility standards in mind.

Webinars are a new initiative of the GCPD, facilitated by Randi Turner and hosted on the ZOOM platform. October kicked off a series with two sessions on Employment. Lia Davis from Disability Rights Texas gave a general overview of ADA Title I and Joyce Walker Jones, legal counsel for EEOC talked about case law. Upcoming topics include housing, Communication Access, and service animals.

The GCPD is partnering with Knowbility, a nonprofit organization that promotes accessibility on the Internet, on the State of Texas OpenAIR competition. The Accessible Internet Rally is a game-based training program developed utilizing a group of web developers from the private sector or state agencies to form a team designing an accessible website for a local nonprofit. A mentor coaches the team on Web Content Access Guidelines.

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The GCPD partnered with Texas Workforce Commission for the HireAbility Campaign in October. As this year’s NDEAM poster was designed, the hashtag for HireAbility and Nancy Wood’s artwork, “Arise, Shine!” were featured. In the distribution of 2,500 posters, a letter from Governor Greg Abbott addressed the benefits of hiring Texans with disabilities.

Outreach activities included a presentation at the Abilities Expo trying to get Houston citizens with disabilities signed up for the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry. Mr. Lucey gave an accessibility presentation to the Leadership and Exchange in Arts and Disabilities (LEAD) conference. The focus was how to make the performing arts and recreational facilities like theme parks and other types of places of public accommodation fully accessible to all disabilities. Several hundred individuals from around the country attended. The GCPD received The Golden Hand Award by Texas Association of the Deaf and National Association of the Deaf for partnering with the Texas Deaf community. Mr. Lucey attended SAAFE Day hosted by the Kilgore Fire Department, which was essentially a street festival for families who have someone with disabilities. Randi Turner gave a presentation during the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators (TAHIT) conference. She received a Star of Texas award. Other presentations included IRS Diversity Day in Austin, White Cane Day, and a disability employment event at Bastrop’s Bureau of Prisons.

Fran Robertson wrote a detailed report on Accessible Parking in Texas, based on an Interim Charge. As a follow up, she and Mr. Lucey have been invited to present the report’s findings to the U.S. Access Board and the International Parking Institute. One piece of legislation passed during the 85th Session making parking worse for Disabled Veterans. The bill allows widows or widowers of a deceased veteran to receive a license plate, even though that person might not have a disability.

With a quorum being present, Committee discussed future Governor’s Committee meeting and awards program planning. Also one policy recommendation to be included in the 2020-2021 biennium based on testimony heard during to Public Comments earlier in the day.

Aaron Bangor motioned to “direct staff to explore partnership opportunities with higher education programs that focus on journalism and to find the best opportunity for a partnership for the Barbara Jordan Media Awards in April of 2018.” Dylan Rafaty seconded; motion passed.

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Aaron Bangor motioned to recommend the staff plan a quarterly meeting in San Antonio all day Tuesday, January 9th, 2018. Dylan Rafaty seconded; motion passed.

Aaron Bangor motioned “to authorize funding for the Texas State Library’s Talking Book Program to purchase advertising to market its program on recorded books and thereby expand services to people who, because of one or more disabilities, are unable to make use of the printed word and/or physical books”. Mr. Lucey suggested an addition to include a Performance Measure or Goals related to appropriation authority. Linda Millstone seconded and the motion passed.

Linda Millstone motioned “to clarify Texas law in the Human Resource Code in three different areas the differences between an assistance animal and a service animal.” State law addressing assistance animals and service animals is confusing and does not adequately define the difference between the two categories of support for individuals with disabilities. Assistance Animal and Service Animal currently means a canine, specifically and individually trained, to perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual or other mental disability. Mr. Hadley prefers to exclusively use Service Dog which aligns with ADA terminology. Discussion included the need to define proper validation or accreditation from a state approved program. Aaron Bangor seconded; motion passed.

Reports from Exofficio RepresentativesDepartment of Information Resources, Jeff KlineDIR rates the rules on accessibility regarding electronic and information resources (EIR). Significant changes have occurred that will benefit state employees and the people of Texas. Mr. Kline encouraged everyone to review the September 29 Texas Register published rulemaking. Highlights included replacing the technical specifications criteria (Section 508) with new international standard (WCAG 2.0AA). The effective date is April 18, 2020. Language still reads, “based on the request for accommodation” which puts the burden on the individual to ask for it. DIR did not include WCAG guideline 1.2 mandating captioning of videos because it was considered to be an undue burden to the state, however, agencies or institutions of higher learning can caption whatever they want, or by request. Language was added regarding when compliance cannot be accomplished for any kind of resource, an alternate version must be provided to make the web page, web form or application document or other EIR with equivalent information or functionality in compliance. Another change ensured agencies specifically

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test with accessibility validation tools. A section was added that state websites and applications should be designed to support variations and internet connection speeds and emerging technologies. DIR will assist with establishing statewide website accessibility compliance goals and track agency progress toward achieving those goals.State Independent Living Center, Sandra Breitengross BitterMack Marsh and Dr. Ralph Jones are the new chair and vice chair, respectively. The second Accessible Transportation Summit will be in Waco January 25-26, the theme is Collaboration and Connectivity: Transportation Works. Topics include updates on autonomous driving and ride sharing, new regulations on safeguarding wheelchairs during air travel, and a presentation by Texas A&M Transportation Institute and data driven advocacy. SILC is hosting independent living town halls and having bimonthly virtual conversations on independent living focusing on topics from their state plan. The discussion for November is mental health and independent living with speakers Dr. Ralph Jones and Dr. Ricardo Irizarry. SILC is working with the local independent living centers providing direct services for Hurricane Harvey disaster relief. A fundraiser allowed $11,000 to go to seven centers that were impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Regarding the State Plan for Independent Living for fiscal year 2017, SILC is working with the centers for independent living and the independent living network to gather data for the final review of implementation of the progress on the objectives to ensure the resources are in place and customers are satisfied. An International Summit was held in August. Delegates from Taiwan and Japan came to look at disability throughout the state.Texas Workforce Commission, Claudia PedenRecent highlights from the agency included the vocational rehabilitation and blind services divisions becoming one designated unit, effective October 1, as required by Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). TWC also receives federal funds to provide pre-employment transition services. The new organizational structure represents six regions where previously there were five, and twenty-nine vocational rehabilitation management units statewide. Through the merger, the two divisions were able to increase the number of vocational rehabilitation counselors by forty-five, including specialized areas around transition. TWC is maintaining specialization in the areas of blindness, deafblindness, deaf or hard of hearing, and autism. There will be a training plan to ensure staff receives required training to have a full understanding of serving all of their customers with disabilities. Key Performance data as of end of August 2017: Customers served (Blind Services Division 10,719 and Rehabilitation Services Division 89,283 for a

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TOTAL of 100,002) Successful Closures (Blind Services Division 1,319 & Rehabilitation Services Division 14,037 for TOTAL of 15,356). The Vocational Rehabilitation division also received VR reallotment funding from RSA which will be prioritized based on customers that were impacted by the hurricane. Staff are reaching out to current customers in the affected areas to see how they were impacted and if any assistive technology or durable medical equipment was lost, etc. Ron Lucey requested a summary from TWC’s Civil Rights division be included in future exofficio reports. The Committee is interested in trends, significant findings and the number of complaints filed.Health and Human Services Commission, Dana Williamson, Medicaid-CHIP Policy DivisionFor several months staff in the benefits division worked exclusively with federal partners and state leadership so recipients knew about the extension to continue receiving SNAP benefits and Medicaid financial eligibility. A main concern was continuity of benefits for folks who were processing annual renewals right before or just after the hurricane hit. Former Department of Aging and Disability Services regulatory units are now over at HHSC, so regulatory partners worked with assisted living and nursing facilities for expanded capacity during evacuation of residents to other locations. They worked closely with managed care organizations around prior authorizations, with flexibility to see a physician and to ensure people had access to durable medical equipment and adaptive aid types of supplies. Local mental health authorities were active in providing crisis intervention and assessment. The 211 hotline was extremely busy as well as a 24-hour call center. Helpful information was added to websites. Ice and water were provided to some impacted counties.House Bill 3292 (85R) looked at temporary continuation of medical assistance for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities but is still subject to the availability of funds. Senate Bill 894 looked at State Auditor’s Office recommendations and gave guidance on the oversight of managed care organizations. Texas Home Living Waiver is the first waiver serving individuals with intellectual disabilities targeting transitioning into a managed care environment. Rider 187 directed HHSC to have a more concentrated outreach in the STAR+PLUS waiver program for people who want to exercise consumer directed services option. Rider 190 directed HHSC to evaluate the cost of effectiveness of allowing small intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to convert from an Intermediate Care Facility into a Home and Community based model. HHSC was asked to look at electronic visit verification technology. There were quite a few contractor changes that impacted the Early Childhood Intervention program, specifically in Hays, Llano, Real,

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Uvalde, Gillespie, Kendall and Kerr counties. The former Texas Office for the Prevention of Disabilities was abolished and duties transferred to a new office in HHSC, the Office of Disability Prevention for Children.Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Robert Posey.A written report was provided. A new initiative has to do with transportation network companies (TNCs). House Bill 100 requires the transportation network companies create a pilot program in one of their four largest markets to provide accessible transportation services and then report back to TDLR and each legislative transportation committee with primary jurisdiction over transportation. HB 100 also has a non-discrimination provision for persons with disabilities or persons with service animals. The transportation network company may not impose an additional charge for transportation of persons with physical disabilities.Conclusion of first portion of the two-day Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities meeting.

October 25, 2017Continuation of the two-day Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities meeting. A quorum was not present. Chair Bangor thanked staff for planning the previous evening’s Lex Frieden Employment Awards ceremony. It was an opportunity to recognize great work that's being done by individuals and businesses across Texas. Dr. Sarah Rose, Director, Minor in Disability Studies and Associate Professor of History from the University of Texas at Arlington very much appreciated the opportunity to display their “Building a Barrier-Free Campus” exhibit as an educational experience for ceremony attendees. She provided brochures encouraging the collection of disability history.Texas Education Agency – Amy KilpatrickThe following bills that passed will be reviewed for administrative rule changes. Senate Bill 748 and House Bill 1886 related to transition planning and notices to parents of students who turn 18. House Bill 1556 related to the roles foster and surrogate parents play as well as training for foster and surrogate parents. Senate Bill 463 related to individual graduation committees to ensure graduation requirements are satisfied. Proposed revisions to the Texas Administrative Code were drafted. Testimony will be solicited during a public hearing on Oct 30-31 or input may be provided via TEA’s website. Other bills passed that don’t require changes to Texas Administrative Code, for instance, House Bill 657 related to procedures for students enrolled in special education who fail to perform satisfactorily on certain state assessments. Senate Bill 160 related to the prohibition of a

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monitoring system performance indicator based solely on the number of percentage of students receiving special education services. House Bill 3632 related to an extension of the notice for the timeline for parents to request a due process hearing in certain circumstances, geared towards families who are highly mobile, particularly military families who because of their mobility get trapped in that timeline. Senate Bill 436 related to the operation of the Special Education Continuing Advisory Committee. The group is currently on hold, based on filling gubernatorial appointment vacancies.Under new leadership, TEA is using innovative ways to gather stakeholder input as well as continuing some traditional opportunities. Justin Porter is the new director for the Department of Special Populations and Laurie Cash is the Director of Special Education. Technical assistance staff, support specialists and a team of education service center liaisons have been hired. TEA is beginning partnerships with the National Center for Systemic Improvement, the National Center on Intensive Interventions as well becoming involved with early childhood tech assistance center whose main focus is quality inclusion for 3-5 year olds.Department of Family and Protective Services, Yesenia RodriguezHouse Bill 5 established DFPS as a standalone agency and transferred Adult Protective Services provider investigations to Health and Human Services Commission. House Bill 39 amended Family Code to allow DFPS to make an appropriate referral to an authorized provider. Child Protectives Services saw a reduction during the 85th session from 215 to 110 of home and community-based services home and long-term waivers. CPS recently revised all policies surrounding children and youth with disabilities, and resource guides were created for case workers. Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs partners with HHSC and DFPS to implement the 811 project assistance rental program, an affordable housing rental program. This project is located in eight metropolitan areas across Texas. Three vulnerable populations are eligible to participate: persons with severe mental illness who can receive rehabilitative services and/or mental health target case management; persons with disabilities exiting nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities for persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities; and current and former young adults with disabilities who have exited or who may be exiting foster care. Referrals and supportive services are provided by local mental and behavioral health authorities. Referrals are also provided by Money Follows the Person, relocation contractors, managed care organizations, and DFPS developmental disability and preparation for adult living case workers.Member ReportsLinda Millstone: In terms of providing assistance to persons with disabilities, UT Austin has created a Transition Plan, completed an inventory of projects

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and prioritized a schedule. A map of accessible building entrances is available online. A growing number of students with disabilities request, as a primary accommodation, additional time or a quiet space in which to test. For the 2016-17 academic year, 2,564 students registered with the Services for Students with Disabilities office. Largest diagnosis is psychological, seconded by ADHD, followed by learning and medical. UT Austin has seen a 26 percent increase from 2015. They are seeing an increase in the number of employees seeking accommodations. Work continues because the numbers are growing.Dylan Rafaty: Daymark Living is scheduled to open in May, 2018 in Waxahachie and will provide a community to house individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. They will advocate working with potential employers in the DFW metroplex and assist with transportation. Another housing environment, 29 Acres, focuses on people with Autism and Asperger’s. My Possibilities is moving out of their Plano campus into a new building that will serve 800 individuals weekly. Mr. Rafaty is working with advocates behind the scenes with DART in providing accessible transportation in Plano. A new transportation provider, BUBBL, serves about 2,500 people per month and is run by retired or off duty police officers. Mr. Rafaty presented at the Transitioning Students to Achieve Independence through Career Education conference in Grapevine and heard about the great need for education transition services. He presented to the Dyslexia Association based in Dallas. He is heavily involved in trying to get a Diversity Commission in Plano, because he sees a growing population active in their community. Mr. Rafaty was accepted into the Plano Citizens Academy and is learning about accessibility for persons with disabilities. He is now serving on the Plano ISD Special Education Advisory committee.Archer Hadley: “2017 Archer’s Challenge” was a weeklong event held in six different locations to promote awareness of accessibility in public places for persons using wheelchairs. The event raised $140,000. Ron Lucey spoke about his personal experience as a participant and noted he gained an entirely different perspective about the built environment. There is tremendous potential to educate a wide audience of elected officials, policy makers, and architectural engineers. Another special project Mr. Hadley is working on is YMCA of Austin’s Camp Cypress. They have a $21 million capital campaign to build an 85-acre summer camp outside of Austin and have received funding for an auditorium. Archer and others were asked to ensure the camp has universal design for every possible type of camper. A counselor program will be created so campers with disabilities can experience a leadership role. This will change the lives of hundreds of

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thousands of young people as well as their parents. It is invaluable for parents to get a break.Richard Martinez: Commented on the importance of recognizing leaders who are shining stars in the disability community at the Lex Frieden Employment Awards event. The general public should be made aware of Texas pioneers and leaders such as Lex Frieden, Larry Johnson, and Martha Arbuckle. He was disappointed there wasn’t any television coverage because it is important members from the media share the stories and the pioneers receive historical recognition. Mr. Martinez attended a paratransit best practices workshop. There are many challenges in the transit community, serving the community better, and the role of transportation network companies (TNCs). He will continue to track and provide input to Committee, but indicated a lag between the transit industry and technology. Mr. Martinez visited Northeast Senior Center in San Antonio to become aware of the needs of senior citizens who frequently also have disabilities. He has requested to be part of a renal failure advisory group.Aaron Bangor: Dr. Bangor spoke at a Human Factors and Ergonomic Society program on the intersection of disability and aging from an applications standpoint, i.e.: how do we as a community help assist designers and developers of technology, best meet the needs of older users. For instance, there was a great talk about using automated speech recognition systems to provide captioned telephone service. Frequently the aging population aren’t aware of solutions from which they may benefit. National Organization on Disability hosted an inclusive design forum discussing how tech in the workplace can be better provided. San Francisco hosted the Mobile World Congress Americas conference in partnership with CTIA, the wireless industry association. Disability stakeholders and companies from the wireless industry participated. The conference focused on challenges of seniors. The broad trend is the use of the “internet of things” in everyday life. Technology is a lot easier to make accessible than physical things. Potential for aging in place and Smart cities technologies serving the entire community and visitors.ATT is wrapping up a marketing campaign, Experience More, targeting individuals with vision loss. ATT’s marketing person had trouble finding someone that could build an accessible website. Jack McElhaney, from MicroAssist helped find a person with accessible competency, media development, and web development. MicroAssist also participates in the GCPD’s TechLunch meet ups.Policy Development for 2019-2020 Biennium

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Fran Robertson led a discussion on a survey based on one of the strategies from the Work Matters report: having the state serve as a model employer. She drew from ten motions brought forth last meeting involving various concepts for state agencies. This survey would be conducted through SurveyMonkey. The background of the person completing the survey needs to be captured. Staff hopes to have a champion to promote participation of this survey and possibly find an agency to pilot the survey to field test it. Ms. Robertson noted there is no centralized human resources department in Texas, only standardized job classifications and job descriptions. Topics discussed included:

Require state agencies to have ADA transition plans (the size of an agency may allow sharing of resources).

Publish and update the transition plans and publicly identify an ADA Coordinator.

Is a Self-Evaluation reviewed as part of the agency’s Transition Plan? (We’d like to link to the current transition plan but this foregoes the anonymity so should provide a disclaimer) Describe any best practices.

Centralized funding for accommodations. An aspirational goal to interview candidates with disabilities. Develop a climate or infrastructure to support persons with disabilities. Education of families of students with disabilities from lower socio-

economic backgrounds and serving them. Procedures for recruiting applicants who have disabilities. Use best efforts to increase agency hires of persons with disabilities by

7% as an aspirational goal which mirrors the federal government. Does the agency have written policy/procedure to handle reasonable

accommodation? Is there an interactive process? Are provision of providing reasonable accommodations centralized by human resources?

If adaptive equipment is needed as an accommodation is it purchased for an employee? Does funding come from a centralized budget?

Does the agency provide disability awareness and etiquette training for all employees? Do you think this should be required as part of the training?

Do you actively promote and recruit managers or directors with disabilities? What methods do you use to solicit input from persons with disabilities and stakeholders?

Does the agency have a complaint process for handling disability-related or disability discrimination complaints?

Does the agency work with the state’s vocational rehab program to plan for accommodations for employees with (or whom may acquire) disabilities?

Which percentage of jobs do you believe could be performed by someone with a disability in your agency?

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Having no quorum, Chairman Bangor wrapped up the meeting at 12:40 p.m.Respectfully submitted,

Nancy Van Loan, Executive Assistant

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