May 02
Congratulations to UCP of Delaware on their 4th & Rodney Housing Project
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Congratulations to UCP of Delaware on their 4th & Rodney Housing Project United Cerebral Palsy of Delaware, Inc. (UCPDE) and Be Ready Community Development Corporation, Inc. (BRCDC), have received a $650,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh to start the redevelopment of ten properties on the West Side of Wilmington, DE. The grant focuses on the first of three properties on the 1500 block of W. 4th Street This first phase will cost $1.5 million. UCPDE and BRCDC’s goal is to purchase the ten blighted and otherwise vacant properties on the block, as well as renovate two of the houses, and to demolish eight of the buildings in order to create and build new accessible and affordable housing. The combined new and renovated building will have three floors with a commercial space on the first floor, and a total of twenty apartments on the upper two floors. Total project costs are estimated at $5.5 million. All of the apartments will be built according to principles of Universal Design. Eight of the apartments will be feature accessible kitchens and bathrooms with roll-in showers. The apartments will be available for a mixed community of people with and without disabilities. The building’s first floor will have a commercial space for businesses and a business incubator. The incubator will provide space for a commercial kitchen, with an area for pop up restaurants, beauticians and barbers, service industry (i.e. travel or insurance agents), retail, and a business center with conference room and other supporting services. Residents and community members alike will have the opportunity to access these services. The project will bring new housing, economic vitality, and create jobs for the West Side of Wilmington! Volunteer Engagement Call Rescheduled to July 27th Regrettably, our presenters for the April 27th Volunteer Engagement Call, on Best Practices for Use and Protection of UCP Trademarks, had to cancel. We are rescheduling that topic and presentation for the Volunteer Engagement Call being held on July 27th at 12:00 PM EST. Brief Description: This presentation will provide a brief overview of U.S. trademark law, and the requirements that it imposes to police and protect the UCP brand. As part of this discussion, we will highlight portions of UCP’s Brand Standards and Usage Guidelines, and answer any specific usage questions posed by the affiliate board members. The presenters will be Amy Carroll, Counsel and Brian J. Winterfeldt, Co-Head of Global Brand Management and Internet Practice, at Mayer Brown LLP. Steptember Event Next Steps Twelve affiliates have indicated their desire to participate in the 2017 Steptember event with Cerebral Palsy Alliance. Participating affiliates will have a conference call within the next few weeks to select a representative to work with CPA on the UCP-branded website, along with assisting with the marketing for the event. Upcoming Affiliate Topical Call on CARF Our presenters for the Affiliate Topical Call on June 27th at 3:00 PM EST will be Monica Elsbrock, President and CEO, UCP of Nevada; Roberta Jaro, Chief Operating Officer, UCP of MetroBoston; and Brenda Yarnell, President and CEO of UCP of Land of Lincoln. All of these UCP affiliate executives also serve as CARF surveyors. The discussion will include an overview of CARF for new organizations considering various accreditations, changes in the standards for 2017, tips on the most troublesome standards, and best practices regarding the Leadership and Program Standards. Washington Update: Media UCP joined several other groups in CCD, including ANCOR, in calling out the Washington Post on misleading coverage about social security disability claims. The article “Disabled or Just Desperate?” is here, the letter is here. Several members of CCD also wrote to the Hill with their concerns. Health As a member of the CPR Coalition for rehabilitative services, UCP joined a letter to the Hill calling on Congress to continue coverage for rehab services in any ACA reform proposal under consideration. Likewise, as a member of the ITEM Coalition for assistive devices, UCP joined a letter to the Hill to retain coverage for assistive devices in any healthcare reform. UCP also joined a letter with the Chronic Illness and Disability Partnership opposing the MacArthur Amendment, which may remove the essential health benefits (EHB) provision from the Affordable Care Act. CRT UCP’s Public Education Associate, Karin Hitselberger, recently attended the NCART Annual Conference and Lobby Day to advocate for greater CMS coverage of complex rehab technologies (like wheelchair components). UCP also joined the Center for Medicare Advocacy’s group letter in support of the Steven Gleason Enduring Voices Act. ANCOR is continuing to provide weekly briefings at 12:30 EST on Fridays about the latest movement on healthcare. If you missed their recent webinar on AHCA and what comes next, you can listen to the archive here. For the latest insights, please be sure you’ve signed up for ANCOR’s Washington Updates. If you need assistance with accessing ANCOR’s resources, please write to Ellie Collinson at ecollinson@ucp.org. Organizational Resources HCBS: ACL rescheduled a webinar “What Is ACL's Interest in HCBS Quality?” for May 10 at 2 pm EST. Re-register here. Also, save the date for the next webinar in the ACL series, scheduled for June 28th, with representatives from the National Quality Forum and the SCAN Foundation to discuss progress made in quality framework development. Respite Funding: ACL is opening up Lifespan Respite Funding for New States Only. Click here to see more about this opportunity. Interested state agencies must apply by June 14th. LTSS: Couldn’t join the Resources for Integrated Care webinar on How Managed Long-Term Services And Supports Can Help Family Caregivers? Materials can be found here. Technology: EARN has released slides from their recent webinar Making the Business Case for Accessible Websites and Workplace Technologies. Managed Care: The Disability Network Business Acumen Center hosted a webinar for Community Based Organizations (CBOs) about national efforts to help CBOs sharpen their business skills in order to translate their mission and expertise into value-add partnerships with a variety of payers including managed care organizations. Here are the slides. Employment: The NIDILRR-funded Diversity Partners Intervention: Moving the Disability Employment Needle Through Value Added Relationships Between Talent Acquisition Providers and the Business Community debuted its online curriculum for employment service professionals who wish to improve overall excellence in serving job seekers with disabilities, and to leverage existing business relationships to benefit those job seekers. The site features more than 20 learning modules for frontline service providers and managers, as well as information and guidance for organizational leaders. The curriculum is free. Dental: Join the Children's Dental Health Project for the third installment of their Policy Webinar series on Tuesday, May 9th, at 3:00 p.m. ET. They will discuss Medicaid waivers, including the waiver process, how they are being used, and how they could impact access to oral health care. For more information, click here. Take Action DEADLINE APPROACHING: Complete Environmental Survey of Disability CBOs (Due May 31st) A cooperative agreement of organizations (including ANCOR) is aimed at building the capacity of community-based disability organizations to contract with integrated care and other health sector entities. The group is conducting an Environmental Scan that will help guide this effort. The growing trend nationwide to integrate healthcare and long term services and supports are creating exciting opportunities for CBOs open to operating in new ways. This comprehensive environmental scan survey will serve as the foundation for the development of tools and resources to help organizations improve their ability to work with managed care organizations, accountable care organizations, and other health systems. Click here to learn more and take the survey. APPLY: The National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities (NLCDD) (Summer 2017 Leadership Institute applications are due May 10, 2017) A crisis is looming in the field of intellectual/developmental disabilities. Fully two-thirds of current CEOs and executive directors of nonprofit organizations and an equal number of government senior managers, anticipate remaining in their positions for five years or fewer. Many leaders of disability organizations are reaching retirement age and there is not a next generation of leaders prepared to move into these positions. In a recent study of intellectual/developmental disability organizations by The University of Delaware, over 50% of the CEOs surveyed did not have a succession plan for their organizations. Learn more about the Institute and apply here. |