The annual Holiday Fundraising Campaign runs November through January, sometimes with donations coming in later months.  Last year, we wrote to you about a critical moment we were in, running substantial deficits due primarily to the cost of the pandemic and, to a lesser degree, due to the rise in the minimum wage.

Our community responded with extraordinary generosity.  We doubled the best campaign that had happened to date and it made all the difference.  Our (not yet unaudited) financials last year show a surplus of $30,000, about half a percent of our revenues.  Our holiday campaign brought in $115,000 which means that without your help, we would have had to make important decisions differently.  Our clients and staff were safer, our progress went further and our focus stayed where it belongs because of that extraordinary giving.

This year the tone will be different. Our needs are less critical in the present. But something that we, with the whole world, learned from the pandemic: that life can change dramatically and quickly and sometimes harshly.  When they did, our reserves as much our commitment made it possible for us to focus on the safety and wellbeing of those challenged with us. The gift we needed to do the right thing were the cash reserves that could pay for PPE when it is was scarce and extra sick pay when it was needed and to keep our attention where it was needed when that was so hard. The gift we needed was yours.

So if you have given to us in the past, you will hear from us soon by letter or email. If you want to skip the flirting, though, you can give here without the suspense.

-Submitted by Doug

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a great Halloween and if you are celebrating today, Feliz Día de Los Muertos. October is always a special month to Imagine because one of our biggest events of the year traditionally happens on October. 

I want to thank everyone who attended and continues to support the Film Festival. It has been a personal goal for me to see this Film Festival grow in attendees as well as in catching the attention of local artists and film makers. This year we had agencies that had not previously submitted a film, participate, as well as international film makers show interest and support in having their films showcased in our film festival. 

I would like to address a particular film on the line up this year. The title of the film is Mind my Mind. It is a film directed by Floor Adams, a director from the Netherlands. This film is about a young man with autism that is navigating the social norms of dating. This film was listed in our program with a warning of "Mature Audiences Recommended." During the showing of this film, there were audience members that realized the film had mature content and decided to leave before the rest of the show. It is of course a personal decision to decide your comfort level when watching a film and I support the decision not to watch any film that makes you feel uncomfortable in any way. I would like to acknowledge that this film is different from what we have previously showcased in our film festival and also state that this is a direction in which we would like to continue, in terms of accepting a variety of films into our film festival. It is our position that people with disabilities are just as diverse as any community and therefore will have different experiences and stories to tell. We would like to continue to raise awareness to all of these stories and experiences. We will certainly enhance the precautions we took this year to make sure people understand what they will be seeing before they see it.

If you would like to watch Mind my Mind, please reach out to me for a link. 

This year we had a lot of interest in us posting the film lineup online. A few of these films are available online. Other films are difficult to find without a file. The program for the film festival has been made available on our website. If you would like to watch any of the films, please reach out to me. Below is the program if you want to watch or rewatch any of our films.

Here is the link for an audience favorite: https://www.freebirdshort.com

Patty Lopez 

Assistant Director of Human Resources 

Imagine Supported Living Services 

Office: 831-464-8355 ext. 112

Cell: (831) 325-7760

Fax: (831) 612-6384

Greeting Imagine Family, 

As you will have heard this will be my last newsletter article as Imagine’s Director of Services. November 4^th will be my last day at Imagine though I plan to always be part of the Imagine family. My wife, father-in-law and dog all remain Imagine employees, so you’ll likely still see me at events and functions. I will also be continuing to work in this field locally so I may even work with some of you again in a different capacity.

My decision to move on was a difficult one as this company has done so much for me since I started as a part time direct care staff back in 2011. I am also still so incredibly fond of our consumers, staff and families who have been so welcoming and supportive during my tenure. For me as I reached ten years in management supporting consumers and teams, I felt that I was ready for a new challenge and new experiences in my career. 

I wish everyone all best moving forward, and I’m really excited to see Imagine get back to its best as we all start edging further and further from the pandemic effects (fingers crossed).

Thanks again to everyone for all the support over the years!

Charlie.

Self-Determination is now available for any regional center client who chooses it but it seems to be a slow process enrolling. If I can be of any help, please feel free to contact me. I'm pleased that there are a few current and recent Imagine employees who are developing Independent Facilitation practices and I'll be glad to connect them with those looking.

This month, the Independent Facilitator Roundtable will be Wednesday, September November 2 at 11AM. The Zoom link is right here.

For people interested in Self-determination, there is also a monthly zoom event to introduce individuals and families to Independent Facilitators.It's the third Friday of each month and the time is supposed to rotate but we seem stuck on 2:30-4. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send the link and confirmation of the time.

The Independent Facilitator Network has a Slack Channel you can join by clicking here. (email me if that sentence seems randomly generated.) Individuals and family members are welcome and it's a great place to have your SDP questions answered.

-Submitted by Doug

Community Connections

Please join us for a Zoom meet-up of parents/stakeholders and Imagine leadership. We will connect through Zoom on Thursday 11/17 5:30-7pm. Bring your questions, concerns, and encouragements.

Susan Douglass, Imagine parent, BOD member

susancruzan50@gmail.com 831-818-2501

Our next board meeting is currently scheduled for December 21, although that might be cutting it pretty fine around the holidays. If you would like to attend, keep an eye on this space and write to Norma so we know to include you. Enhancements to direct care wages that should be possible a few months after the first of the year is a topic I would anticipate.

Because this column is titled "transparency," I'd like to say a little more about the direct care enhancements, what to expect and when so that members of our community with an opinion can attend the board meeting. The first thing to say is that any substantial change to our budget requires board approval. But there seems to be a clear consensus on the board and among the management that new revenues from adding clients and from rate increases should be divided between rebuilding our reserves and improving direct care pay with nothing else meriting those funds. The consensus further suggests that direct care wages are very much the more important of those two priorities.

But there will still be some decisions for the board to make.  One is the timing of raises.  Although the rate increases go into effect January 1, the funds take longer to actually arrive. Previous rate increases have taken a month and a half to four months for the new funds to reach Imagine.  Depending on how critical our reserves are, the board will have to choose whether to make direct care raises effective January 1 as well or if it is more prudent to have them take effect on the first day of the month after the new rates provide actual increased payments. By the December board meeting, we should have a good sense of how far we are from missing a payroll and have at least strong indications of whether implementation of the rate increases will be a long or short process.  I am confident that both the board and management prefer to increase wages sooner rather than later but circumstances as we find them and your views will be influential.

Another decision is exactly which caregiver wages should rise.  In 2020-2021, a compensation committee composed of board members, direct care staff and management set up a program for how to raise wages as resources allow.  The report is here.  With the rate increases earlier this year, we corrected a portion of our deficit and took the first step recommended by the committee (that day wages be 10% higher than asleep.) The next step in implementing the program would be an additional, substantial raise to people who have been with the agency for a long time. Given the challenges of hiring, though, the board might want to consider whether to reduce the seniority raises in favor of increasing entry level wages. The board has not discussed this choice in depth and, while the management intends to spell out the available choices, your input can only help.

The last choice that the board will take up is: how much of new funds should go to caregiver wages.  The statute authorizing the increase requires that a majority of the new funds go to that purpose and the board and management want to maximize caregiver wages. Furthermore, there are no other expenditures under consideration for the rate increase. But we have learned from COVID how important reserves are and we still run deficits due, primarily or entirely, to choices we made during the pandemic.  So there will be some trade-offs considered between trying to spend 100% of new funds on caregiver compensation and something above 50%. We will be happy to hear opinions on this matter as well.

Our most recent form 990 is here. You can also find it on our website. Our catch-up audits are in process but not obviously on a catching-up trajectory.

We are still recruiting board members. We are working to diversify the board and to add a GAAP-trained treasurer. An attorney wouldn't be bad either. If you know someone with a passion for our mission who might like to volunteer, please write to me.

-Submitted by Doug

There's a fair bit happening but it is hard at the moment to see where it is headed. Some clarity, at least in what the California administration wants to prioritize, will become apparent when the first draft of the Governor's budget is released in January. If you want a list of the assorted things being worked on at the policy level, feel free to write me.

As always, thanks to Marty Omoto of CDCAN for amplifying the transparency and circularity of information between the community and policy-makers. If you would like to receive CDCAN's extensive reporting, write to Marty. CDCAN's work is entirely funded by the donations of those of us who benefit. Write to me or to Marty if you'd like to kick in.

Just a side note regarding CDCAN: Marty's adopted youngest son is recovering from some medical challenges. Posts may have been a little sparse recently, but A is doing great and due out of the hospital today. I expect reports to be back online soon.

-Submitted by Doug

One of the challenges to person-centered service provision is always how challenging behaviors from clients get addressed. The first, most obvious thing, is that the services are there to enrich the life of the individual, not to manage him, her or them.  Most of the inspirational posters on the topic make this point.

But challenging behaviors often get in the way of living richly, having friends and accessing the community. They can get in the way of caregivers wanting to stick around.  That turnover gets in the way of meeting all the other goals the individual would otherwise benefit from.

The reason person-centered thinking is so important is that, like every other question, the best solution always varies from person to person. But the balance requires, first, that whatever an individual needs support with, including their own behavior, composes the work to be done.  Second, that we not center the job on the behavior but on the individual. 

At Imagine, we struggle, sometimes, to find the right balance.  But we struggle while bearing in mind that the person matters more than their actions and that what we owe them matters more than our own comfort.

-Submitted by Doug

Staff and Client Birthdays:

Doug P. 

Jose V.

Michael S.

Elizabeth P.

Amanda R. 

Cynthia H.

Shannen Q.

Erik R. 

Pauline S.

Stephanie U.

Agustin V.

Jennifer E.

Vanessa M.

Vanessa G.

Yvonne R. 

Daisy L. 

Jaliyah R.

Valeria C.

Wendy T. 

Rachel P.

Staff Anniversaries:

Rosie L. - 17 Years!!

John B. - 10 Years!!

Tanya W. - 8 Years!!

Joanna Z. - 7 Years!!

Ken C. - 5 Years!!

Jai S. - 4 Years!!

Miriam H. - 4 Years!!

Isaac T. - 4 Years!!

Pauline S. - 2 Years!!

Janet E. - 2 Years!!

Randall M. - 1 Year!!

Citlali G. - 1 Year!!

Shannen Q. - 1 Year!! 

Thank you for your commitment!