Meeting Minutes-Approved 4/1/04

Date: March 4, 2004

Time: 10:30am-Noon

Place: 1400 Emeline Avenue, Bldg K, Room 206, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

1.0 Call to Order

Chair Stone called the meeting to order at 10:45 am.

2.0 Roll Call

Present: Bob McGaw, Charles Stone, Jenny Sarmiento

Excused: Thomas Ferr, Deborah Calloway, Michael Bush

Guest(s): John deCourcy- County Building Official, Jennifer Hutchinson – County Building Department Desk Supervisor

Staff: Andrea Smith

3.0 Announcements

Chair Stone distributed an article on universal design and informed the Commission that wouldn’t be able to attend the 4/1/04 Commission meeting.

4.0 Minutes

ACTION: The Commission approved meeting minutes for the February 2004 meeting.

msp Mcgaw/Stone

5.0 Additions/Deletions

6.0 Oral Communications

John deCourcy announced that there are two openings on the Building and Fire Code Appeals Board for persons with disabilities. Candidates must have building and design experience.

7.0 Reports

7.1 Commissioners Reports

Chair Stone reported:

· Elizabeth Hill, head of the State Legislative Analyst Office reported on State legislative changes. Although, Propositions 57 and 58 passed, the State budget still out of balance. Additional burdens on the State budget include Farmer Brothers Coffee vs. State Of California. Farmer Brothers sued the State over taxes and the state has to pay. This case has opened the door for other companies to sue. Also – doctors are suing over Med-Cal cutbacks.

· The Governor is basing the budget on 350 million in federal funding. They are trying to cut residual IHSS services to other programs, which are already at their cap. They also want to institute a 10% co-pay for disability children’s services. The deadline is October 2004 to stop cutbacks.

· HMO fraud investigations are being directed to the Attorney General

· Generic Service Provider will replace the title Homecare Provider.

· For more information on IHSS cutbacks, visit the www.cbp.org.

· IHSS participated in an action in San Francisco, but the media didn’t report it due to covering gay marriages.

7.2 Coordinators Report

No Report.

8.0 Ongoing business

8.1 Updates

Inclusive Home Design: No report

Accessible Parking Enforcement: The Coordinator reported that the Volunteer Coordinator for the Sheriff’s department is still researching liability coverage for the volunteer parking enforcement.

Legislation: See Chair Stone’s report above.

Cultural Competency Standards: The Coordinator and Commissioner Sarmiento will meet and develop a plan assess the Commission for Cultural Competency.

Terry Brickley Scholarship: The Coordinator reported that the Cabrillo College Foundation has information on Terry Brickley to give to the first recipient in May 2004. The scholarship has been designated a department scholarship and will awarded to a student with a disability.

8.2 Quarterly Review of goals

The Commission decided to focus on recruitment to fill Commission vacancies. They discussed conducting outreach through PSA’s, the Under One Roof Workshop, an announcement in the SPIN newsletter, and on the Commission website. The Commission also discussed researching ways that ticketing accessible parking violators could help generate revenue for the county.

9.0 New Business

9.1 Under One Roof: IHSS Workshop

Information on the event will soon be available on the County of Santa Cruz Public Authority website: www.santacruzinhomecare.org. The Coordinator reported that the Commission would be represented.

Next meeting’s agenda:

The meeting adjourned at 11.30a.m.

Andrea Smith

Commission Coordinator