Independent Support Coordination:

Brokering Supports For People

 

Independent support coordination is an important entity that was created to meet the agreements made by the State of Tennessee and the United States Department of Justice in 1996.

 

At heart, the agreements were designed to make fundamental changes in the Tennessee service delivery system that would better serve the life needs of persons with mental retardation. These changes were designed to provide a greater degree of support to people with mental retardation in their efforts to live a healthy, safe and abundant life.

 

Independent support coordination has a history of helping people with mental retardation and their loved ones obtain supports that best meet their desired lifestyles, family and cultural traditions, and receive assistance in finding the many state, community and naturally sponsored supports available in the community.

 

 

Initial use of “Independent” Support Coordination” promoted the idea that support coordination would help people by changing the service model from one of being agency  or state centered to one of being person centered.

 

Independent support coordinators were expected to make the service delivery system work for the person and family and/or help the person use natural supports and other resources outside of the service delivery system to fulfill the promises made in the DMRS vision statement. 

 

With the hindsight of experience, it has become evident to many practitioners       that the center of support coordination is not “independence.”  In addition to maintaining person centered and family centered relationships and focus, an independent support coordinator must work within a highly interdependent service delivery system that requires complex skills in engineering collaborative relationships on behalf of people with mental retardation, family members, and other interdependent entities. 

 

Independent support coordinators work within a culture where there are at least eight entities that influence role effectiveness:

 

Persons receiving supports and services within the boundaries of the service delivery system:

Family members and/or conservators;

Provider agency staff;

DMRS quality assurance review teams;

Quality Review Panel reviewers;

TennCare reviewers;

Central Management Services, and,

Arc of Washington County work environment rules and expectations (as interpreted and enforced by administrators, managers, and staff.

 

These entities make up a network of practice in which collaboration, reciprocity, and fraternization are required to insure the successful achievement of outcomes important to people with disabilities, parents and/or conservators, system planners/implementers, federal and state monitors, provider staff, and independent support coordinators.

The Arc of Washington County expects its independent support coordinators to be knowledgeable about the needs of the person and family, the current progress and effectiveness of action plans designed to meet the person’s needs, how to go about making things “right” when people’s needs aren’t being met, DMRS regulations, the  rules and regulations of the various work cultures within which ISCs work, and resources available in the various communities within which the person lives.

 

A successful independent support coordinator is skilled in nourishing collaborative relationships in a highly interdependent service environment to serve the life needs of persons with mental retardation and the hopes and dreams family members and loved ones have for their success, health, and safety.

 

As this article is being written, new waivers are being considered by DMRS that may change the title and scope of independent support coordination.  Community Support Broker is a term that is used in some states to describe the work of people responsible for many of the duties currently described as Independent Support Coordination in Tennessee. 

 

This new term, if adopted, may be a better descriptor of the central role our profession plays in the lives of people, families, providers, community members, and our contract partners.

 

In collaboration with any changes that occur in titles, scope, or expectations; our Arc will continue to promote behaviors and attitudes that meet the life needs of persons with disabilities, meet regulatory compliance, promote acceptance of the rules and expectations of our Arc, and respect the needs of colleagues and partners within the service delivery system.

 

 

 

An Excerpt From The Family Support

2006 Annual Report

The Arc of Washington County completes an annual report about the Family Support Program each year. It is a review of the services provided and the satisfaction received from those services. The following is an excerpt of the 2006 report.

 

The Family Support Program of the Arc of Washington County is one of twenty community based programs across the state of Tennessee funded by the Tennessee Division of Mental Retardation Services (DMRS).The Washington County Arc Family Support Program received $555,862 in Fiscal Year 2006 to provide supports to people living in Carter, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties. The majority of funding requested and used by families in FY06 was for Respite (15%), Nutrition/ Clothing/ Supplies (18%), Personal Assistance (8%), Housing (14%), Transportation (8%) and Health Related costs (8%). The remainder was spread over 13 additional categories.

 

The founders of the Family Support Program in Tennessee were parents, state officials, and numerous advocacy organizations. They were supported in their  efforts by political leaders, provider agency leaders, and communities of faith across our state. Family Support Services began statewide in Fiscal Year 1989.  The first budget was for $108,000.  In Fiscal Year 2006, $7,556,237 was provided statewide to assist families and individuals with severe disabilities.

 

Individuals or families who qualify may receive up to $4,000 a year for use in obtaining life and family assistance. The average amount of annual funding for a family is below $2,000.  This is a testimony to the fairness and willingness of families to share resources with other needy families and the gentle but vigilant oversight of staff, local, and district councils.

 

The Family Support Program is committed to the idea that parents are best able to provide loving quality care to their children.  The program is designed to allow parents and/or adults with disabilities to take greater control over their lives or the lives of their children. This program strengthens families and communities by helping them to stay together, thereby reducing the need to move children and adults with disabilities into institutions, foster care, adoption or in some extreme situations on the street.

 

Years of experience have shown the disastrous financial and emotional cost for families, communities and state governments when children with disabilities are neglected or placed in out of home environments.

 

The Family Support Program allows families and local communities greater control by minimizing bureaucratic layers, giving local and district councils the authority to oversee the manner in which funding is awarded to families, and insuring families can petition for review if the decisions do not seem fair.

 

Summertime Fun In The Tri-Cities

 

Summertime is here! And what a perfect time for families to enjoy the many activities offered throughout the community this summer.  Our early intervention staff have put together some events and activities that can be enjoyed by all ages.Here are our ideas for some good old fashioned family fun:

 

Music on the Square, Jonesborough, TN. Free concerts every Friday night that begin around 7 p.m. and are held at The Courthouse Square in Historic Jonesborough. Bring a blanket and chair and enjoy!

 

Johnson City Public Library. Family Story time is scheduled every Monday evening at 6:30 p.m. for all the family to enjoy. Two’s Company Story time, for 2 year olds and their caregivers, will be held every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Preschool Story time  for children 3-5 years old will take place every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. The 2006 Tennessee Summer Reading Theme, “Jungle Tales: Hiss, Rumble, and Roar,” is for infants through 5th grade. This summer reading program began June 1st and will continue until July 27th.

 

Washington County Library at Jonesborough and Gray. The summer reading program, “Jungle Tales: Hiss, Rumble, and Roar” provides reading opportunities as well as programs designed to promote a love for reading for children ages 18 months-6th grade. This program is held on Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. at the Jonesborough Library and Thursdays at the Gray Library. Children need to be accompanied by an adult. Small 20-30 minute Story time sessions are planned for 2 year olds.

 

Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library. Preschool Story time (infant through preschool) is on Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. Children will enjoy board books, short stories, flannel board friends, music, art, and fun with friends.

 

Family Fun Night. Legion Street Pool, Johnson City. July 11 and August 15 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. A family night of fun with water games and swimming for the whole family. Open to all ages (12 and under must be accompanied by an adult). There is a fee of $1 per person.

 

Mommy and Me Swim Time. Freedom Hall Pool, Johnson City. Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. For parents looking for a less crowded time to bring little ones to the pool. Open to ages up to 4. There is a fee of $1 per person.

 

Erwin:

Fish Hatchery Park

 

Your family can also enjoy fun activities right at home! Here are a few suggestions for activities to enjoy at home during outside play and inside on those rainy days.

 

Water Play. Washing (dolls, plastic dishes, toy cars, toy boats, and clothing). Pouring (funnels, plastic containers such as margarine tubs, milk jugs, coffee scoops, spray can tops. Dribbling (poke holes in the bottom of a margarine tub). Squeezing (sponges and plastic squeeze bottles). Floating (use sponges for little rafts for little wooden or plastic people and animals, make the rafts move by blowing on them).

 

Sand Play. A cardboard box, dishpan, infant bathtub, tire, inflatable wading pool, or plastic wading pool makes a great sandbox for one or two children. Toys for sand play include funnels, margarine tubs, pails, scoops, small shovels, spray can tops, toy trucks and cars, plastic tubing, cardboard tubes, spoons, measuring cups, and gelatin molds.  Sand alternatives: dried beans, macaroni, rainbow rice, birdseed, cornmeal, dry cereal, pasta, and aquarium gravel.

 

Boxes of Fun. Get a large appliance box from a local store. Cut off one end. Cut shapes in the box large enough to crawl through. Cut squares, circles, and triangles for toddlers and other shapes like ovals, diamonds, and rectangles for younger preschoolers. Cut shapes on one side only and use the other side for creative art activities by taping paper to the side. Great activity for inside or outside!

 

Nature Walk. Go for a walk and collect nature items such as sticks, leaves, seeds, pebbles, and flowers and make a collage by gluing the collections onto construction paper.

 

Kool Aid Play Dough. In a small heavy duty zip-loc bag, mix 1 ¼ cups flour, ¼ cup salt, and 1 pkg. Kool aid mix (without added sweetener). Add 1 cup boiling water and 1 ½ tsp. salad oil. Stir with a spoon to blend (this is very hot). Cover with a towel and allow to cool. When cool, knead until smooth. Smells wonderful!

 

Have a safe and happy summer and have fun growing, loving, and learning together!

 

 

People Who Make A Difference:

Member Profile:  Helen Lane

 

The Arc of Washington County’s first official board of directors began meeting in the early 1960s.  Since then, many interested community members, parents and/or family members of people with disabilities, people with disabilities, city officials, and clergy have volunteered their time and talents to further the work of our Arc by participating on the Board.

 

Helen Lane is one of those individuals.  She has been a member of the board since 2003 and since then has held the offices of both vice-president and president.  Helen is a graduate of East Tennessee State University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in English and her Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education.

 

She works for Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS) which is housed at East Tennessee State.  This organization orchestrates all the services for children birth—age 3 who have developmental disabilities across the state. Helen first became acquainted with the Arc when her son, Nathan, transitioned from the Tennessee School for the Blind and began receiving family support and respite services through the Arc.  She recalls how helpful Diane Holtsclaw, beloved Arc employee who passed away in 2001, was when Nathan was transitioning.

 

Through her job, she also works with the Arc’s early intervention specialists to refer children to the Little Folks program.Helen is married with three children:  Franklin, age 30, Nathan, age 25 and Lacy, age 21.  Lacy also works part-time at  the Arc of Washington County. In her spare time, she and her family love to travel, she loves to read and has enjoyed watching her children play sports through the years.