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Breaking News!
Federal Government proposes Early Intervention changes! The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center has more information, including a side-by-side comparison.
May 25, 2007: Volume 1, Issue 3
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SB 1270 Report: "Your Day, Your Way!" The State Council is proud and happy to announce that the SB 1270 Report, "Your Day, Your Way!" and the DVD, "Building the Bridge: SB 1270 Recommendations," were presented to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kim Belshé, Senator Elaine Alquist, and staff, Assemblyman Jim Beall and staff, Peggy Collins and legislative budget staff and various department administrators, on Tuesday, May 1, 2007. The Council would like to express its gratitude to all of you for your efforts which made this report possible; we could not have succeeded without your participation in the process. The SB 1270 Report and adapted version of the recommendations are now available on-line.
» Final SB 1270 Stakeholder Workgroup Recommendations » Y la version adaptada de recomendaciones We will be posting film clips from the DVD on line in the near future; please check the State Council Website at: www.scdd.ca.gov for updates.
Thank you for your outstanding work! The State Council on Developmental Disabilities is looking forward to your continued support as we work together to implement the SB 1270 report recommendations. |
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 Happenings
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Things to Come
2. Governor’s Revised 2007-2008 Budget 3. Consumer Friendly Governor’s Budget Overview 4. State and Strategic Plans online soon |
Her approach in decision-making is to consider the human as well as the fiscal or programmatic consequences. She broke into male-dominated positions and won over skeptics with her strong leadership skills and her straightforward, non-confrontational approach to problem-solving.Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Olga Martin Steele in March 2007 to serve as the Chief Deputy Director at the Council.
Olga comes to the Council from the Santa Clara Valley Water District where she rose to be the Chief Administrative Officer, a high level post not previously held by a woman. Olga praised the Water District Chief Executive Officer for being “instrumental in bringing minorities and women into top management.”
Her colleagues at the Water District, located in San Jose, described her as remaining “tough in the face of adversity and true to her conviction”. Among her many accomplishments at the Water District was to institute a two-year budget to allow better long-range planning and fiscal stability. She was also part of a team that successfully implemented interest-based bargaining, a collaborative approach not often used in public agencies. Also called “integrative” or “win-win” bargaining, this approach works to find solutions that benefit everyone concerned.
One of her personal favorite achievements was establishing a day care center at the Water District. The project had been delayed for over 12 years, to the frustration of Board members and employees with growing children. “As a single mom, I endured all the hardships that go with leaving children to go to work,” said Olga. “I always had a dream to bring child care centers close to the worksite.” Within two years of starting on the project, Olga presided over the center’s ground-breaking.
Prior to her time at the Water District, Olga worked for a number of state departments, including the Department of Fish and Game, Caltrans, and the California Conservation Corps, where she served as Chief Deputy Director.
When asked to describe some of the most important elements in state government, Olga echoes Governor Schwarzenegger’s mission of service and transparency in government. “Scrutiny creates an opportunity to improve public agencies that are entrusted to be of service and should be open to the public. There should be no secrets,” Olga said.
Olga expects to run someday for the Lake County Board of Supervisors because her mentor, Blanca Alvarado of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, “inspired me to continue to look for ways to serve the public.” She said the Lake County area has “wonderful land and water resources with a budding tourist and resort-based economy. It is ripe for becoming a destination spot.” But she wants it to “happen in a way that protects the environment.”
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Through the Council-funded "Building Bridges to Better Lives Project," people with developmental disabilities contributed 34,000 volunteer hours to their local community during Federal Fiscal Year 2006.
Building Bridges, a project developed and implemented by Tierra Del Sol Foundation, created a new direct service support model to enable adults with developmental disabilities to participate in community service opportunities of their own choosing. This project is unique in that it serves individuals with significant levels of disabilities who had been "marking time" in center-based programs for years or even decades, and for whom community participation opportunities have traditionally been very limited or even non-existent.
Excerpts from an August 2006 Daily News column by Dennis McCarthy puts these contributions in perspective:
"Finally, they're out there working and volunteering in the community where they belong, not living in the shadows where they don't... This year alone, the 200 men and women with developmental disabilities from the Tierra Del Sol Foundation in Sunland have donated more than 30,000 hours to help 40 community organizations. Not bad for talented, hardworking people who society felt, not that long ago, had to be protected and segregated for their own good. How wrong society was."
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Examples of community organizations that benefited from the Building Bridges volunteers include: |
Examples of the diverse range of community service activities include: |
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On April 27th and 28th, the Orange County Collaborative to End Abuse of Individuals with Disabilities (CEAID) hosted two community workshops on Emergency Preparedness for Special Needs Populations. Area Board 11 is a founding member and co-chair of CEAID, together with the Dayle McIntosh Center for Independent Living and Orange County (O.C.) Adult Protective Services. State agencies sponsoring the event included the State Council, California Volunteers – Office of the Governor, and Fairview Developmental Center.
The workshops featured training by Ana Marie Jones of CARD (Collaborating Agencies Responding to Disaster), along with a panel of local representatives from state and county agencies and other community-based organizations (O.C. Health Care Agency, Dayle McIntosh Center, the O.C. Chapter of the American Red Cross, and the O.C. Fire Authority and Sheriff’s Department).
Held at two different locations in the county, the workshops attracted approximately 500 people with disabilities, family members, caregivers, and providers. Simultaneous interpretation was available in Spanish, Vietnamese and American Sign Language. The workshop was filmed and a captioned DVD will be edited and available soon in several languages.
CEAID has received requests to work on these issues with other local governmental and private agencies serving people with disabilities and will continue to update the Council as future plans, trainings, and materials are developed and implemented.
Other members of CEAID include: Community Care Licensing; the Orange County Ombudsman; CalOptima; Fairview Developmental Center; Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (PAI); Regional Center of Orange County; Orange County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS); the IHSS Public Authority and IHSS Advisory Committee; AIDS Services Foundation; and Community Service Programs, Inc.
Other sponsors of the event were CalOptima; Dayle McIntosh Center; the Orange County IHSS Advisory Committee; Regional Center of Orange County; the City of Anaheim; the Alzheimer’s Association; Project GetSafe; the Center for Disability Issues and the Health Professions; the Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross; and several local retailers.
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© 2007 State of California
The content found herein may not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Schwarzenegger Administration.