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The Blueprint for Change is certainly an innovative and courageous attempt to move the system
forward from where we are today. And I want to applaud the Arc and all of their constituents
for moving this forward. The idea of accepting things as it is is just not acceptable. And
the fact that the Arc has taken the initiative and has laid out their principles and values
and approaches to achieve those is truly a positive endeavor and one that I think everybody
should support. The idea of the consumer having control over
their life is the ultimate goal and having the flexibility to achieve that is going to
be the issue. In all of the attempts to do person centered planning; select roommates;
different preferences for how their home is designed; where they live, has helped enable
people to live better quality of lives and it’s enhanced their lifestyle. So the key
is going to be how much latitude will the consumer and their family and their support
mechanism around that person, how much flexibility they will have.
I think parents and consumers, self-advocates need more education about what they can actually
expect. It may sound a little backwards but I sometimes think we accept what we get. And
so I believe that we need to provide regular information through the self-advocacy organization
to self-advocates and to families as to what you can actually expect. Now there are going
to be limits, budget limits other things, but that would be one thing. The other is
knowledge of the resources in each community and in the system. And it seems like we could
establish a better directory of those resources both statewide and locally to be able to connect
people to those resources whether they be free or, you know, some cost either through
insurance, you know, third party. But those would be two things I think would help empower
and thus be able to implement this Blueprint. The key is going to be how we get started.
What do we prioritize? It really covers everything. I think some emphasis on rights protection
and helping educate people on what to expect in terms of their rights, you know, maybe
could be elevated a little bit. I think the idea of lobbying with a kind of a standard
statement this is what we all want makes a lot of sense so we’re all singing the same
song so to speak. Certainly, you know, I think the goal to enhance the skills and abilities
of individuals, support team members and the direct support staff is going to be paramount.
And there’s ways that can be done without a lot of costs to the agency or the state
through collaborative efforts as you know and I, again we talked about how do we educate
families. I think we need to maximize the technology through the Arc website and to
the self-advocates and all of our members on key issues that need to be addressed, whether
they be behavior issues; health issues; reminders to families and self- advocates about seasonal
things like making sure you use sunscreen; if you're on different types of psychotropic
medications, simple things like that. To again that broader message, so that we’re all
getting the common consistent message sent out so that they can broaden that message
to all of their constituents.