Change and Growth: New Service Covers Kansas Consumers with Independent Living Counseling Independence, Inc. Brings on New Staff to Expand Services and Provide Independent Living Counseling Through the Working Healthy Program

Independence, Inc. is expanding its services in 2020 to include Independent Living Counseling (ILC) through the Working Healthy - W.O.R.K. program. With independent living as our adhered-to philosophy and the basis of the work we do, bringing on board some fabulous Independent Living Counselors and offering this service to consumers state-wide, just seemed like the right fit and the right step. Working Healthy is a work-incentive, Medicaid Buy-in Program that supports and encourages people with disabilities to work, thus increasing income while not jeopardizing health care benefits. W.O.R.K. (Work Opportunities Reward Kansas) is the program through which consumers can in enroll in various Working Healthy services - one of which, is Independent Living Counseling. We are pleased to begin offering this service in January and our coverage is state-wide! Who is Eligible for ILC services? You must be: age 16-64; meet SS definition of disability; have verified earned income from competitive employment subject to FICA/SECA taxes; earn at least &65.01/month; Earn at or above the federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour and be a Kansas Resident.

Guest Blog: Person-Centered Approach and Self-Direction are the Wind Beneath the Wings of Missouri College Student

"Joyful" is the word often used to describe Rachel Mast, posing in front of Missouri State University where she is a student in the Bear POWER Program ( Promoting Opportunities for Work, Education and Resilience) Photo and Blog submitted by Jawanda Mast, mom of Rachel

My daughter Rachel receives services under the Home and Community Based Waiver Services (HCBS) Self-Directed Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Waiver. She qualified for services just before her senior year in high school.  Rachel was fully included throughout her school journey and has been included in the community and church activities. It is only natural that she wanted to go to college like her friends. When she was born with Down syndrome just over twenty years ago, no one was talking about college. There were only a handful of programs. Fortunately, today there are around 280 college programs for students with intellectual disabilities.   As part of Rachel’s person-centered plan, she made it clear that she wanted to go to college like her friends. So, like other students dreaming of college, we visited different programs. The program Rachel decided to attend is the Missouri State Bear POWER program in Springfield, MO. There are multiple reasons for her choice. The program is inclusive. She takes some typical classes, some classes with other students in her program where they work on things like resumes and job interviews, she accesses speech language clinic services, and she has the opportunity to participate in an internship each semester. While Rachel has many interests, she decided the theater and hospitality would give her the training to prepare her to do many things.   While the program provides some supports, our family and Rachel’s circle believed she needed a little more support, specifically in the area of independent living. Long before she chose a college, we had confirmed through case managers and care managers that Rachel would be able to use her waiver services for these supports even if the college is out of state.  We found several students who would be helping provide support and submitted paperwork to the Fiscal Management Service (FMS) we were working with and about a month before time to go to college, we hit a snag. Seems like there is some tax issue and not every FMS is able to administer what we needed. I was nearly panic stricken as we had a very short amount of time to find a new FMS agency and get all the paperwork resubmitted.   Rachel’s case manager, care manager, and people up the chain of command all jumped into action. Our case manager identified two other FMS providers who could manage what we needed. I quickly spoke to a few other families and we chose Independence, Inc. We have been so pleased. Alisa Snyder, Independence, Inc. Business and FMS Payroll Manager, is the person we have contact with with most of the time and her customer service skills are amazing. She went above and beyond to help make everything happen quickly and pretty seamlessly. We’ve had some technological bumps, and she has worked with me and Rachel’s personal care assistants to work through these issues. She promptly responds to requests and has really turned what could have been a disaster into a winning situation.   We are thankful that we found Independence Inc. and appreciate the supports Rachel receives so she can live the life she chooses. Rachel says, “I love being a college girl. It makes my heart happy to go to Missouri State University and live my dreams.”

Disability Mentoring Day 2019 Recap: A Great Day of Work Exploration, Mentoring for Area Students

Student stands to give an account of his mentoring experience at the DMD celebration banquet

Police officers from Lawrence Police Dept. were among the mentors at DMD 2019

Keynote speaker Peter Steimle, motivates and informs students at the DMD Banquet

Disability Mentoring Day is a nationwide effort to promote job readiness and career development for high school students with disabilities. Independence, Inc. holds an annual DMD event in October where area high school students are matched with business mentors to provide a morning of job-exploration and hands-on experience in a career field of their choice. This year, we matched nearly 100 students with mentors for a morning of job shadowing then hosted a banquet to come together with the students, mentors, school staff and community partners to celebrate the efforts of everyone involved. Independence, Inc. Board Member, Craig Weinaug was the MC and Peter Steimle, Workforce Services Professional, gave an informative and motivational keynote presentation on being the best "YOU" you can be, in the workplace and beyond. Our theme this year was "Dream Big, Start Small...Every Step Counts!" What's on the horizon for DMD and Independence, Inc.? We have a team of innovators working together as we partner with area high schools and business partners to look at what changes, if any, we can make to ensure that Disability Mentoring Day is a meaningful, impactful experience with measurable and positive outcomes for our students. As we move into 2020, we will explore expanding mentoring opportunities throughout the year, engaging more business partners and creating a program that truly lives up to the mission of readying transition age students with disabilities for future success in employment.

Independence, Inc. Granted City Funds to Expand Accessible Housing Program After picture of an Accessible Housing Program bathroom modification project including grab bars and a hand-held shower unit. Our Accessibility Housing Program (AHP) is expanding this fiscal year thanks to a 2019 grant from the City of Lawrence Affordable Housing Trust Fund (HTF). Our HTF program is open to homeowners and renters alike, who need accessibility modifications to their home. For more information or to see if you qualify, contact Amy Ballinger: 785-841-0333 aballinger@independenceinc.org (Reposted from our summer newsletter as the survey is still open and in need of participants) The Southwest ADA Regional Center is conducting a survey to investigate the impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA Impact 2020 Survey is open to people with personal and/or professional experience in disability issues. The information gathered will be used to understand what aspects of society have become more accessible due to the ADA; understand what areas still require further investigation and proposed solutions; and develop and improve the information, support, and guidance needed to help further the goals of the ADA. The survey results will be announced prior to the ADA 30th anniversary in 2020. It’s important to have results that represent people with every type of disability, from every subset of the population, and from all regions of the country. Begin Survey Now

Independence, Inc. Receives Nearly $18k Kansas Health Foundation Capacity Building Grant for Technology Updates Independence, Inc. received a much-anticipated $17,872.00 Capacity Building Grant from the Kansas Health Foundation of Wichita, Kansas for needed technology updates including new staff computers, a move to a cloud-based server and and a website re-design. December 17th, our office staff made the switch to the new computers and new server and over the next couple of months, we will begin building our new, fully-accessible website. We couldn't be more excited! The Kansas Health Foundation is a philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. For more information about the Kansas Health Foundation, visit www.kansashealth.org

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