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Minutes for April 1, 2013

Present: Betsy Rockefellar, Karen Gutmacher, Rebecca Beaton, Jill Merlin, Ken Pariseau, Heather Chaves, Keith Wilcox, Christine Kirsch, Gina Albanese, Andrew Lawson, Emilie Turcotte, Jack Ringland, Shane Williams, Jason Harritas, Joan Renates, Carlotta Kelley, Mark Susa, Vincent DeJesus, Kevin DelBonis, Deanne Gagne, Tanja Blicker-Ucran, Sue Babin

1. Tanja welcomed everyone and called the meeting to order.

2. Deanne reviewed the March Minutes.

3. Vinnny to read the Mission Statement of the Coalition.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT: • Meet one another, • Learn from one another, • Share information, • Talk about opportunities for partnerships and connections within local

communities, • Build leadership capacity to increase and strengthen the voices of

individuals with disabilities in public policy and state agency decisions on services/supports that people with disabilities need or want, and

• Talk about ways that we can work together and unite as one on issues that WE think are important in our lives or will benefit people with disabilities living in RI.

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4. Job Club Program Tanja and Deanne let everyone know that they have been running an 8 week JOB CLUB program at Generations for their Culinary Arts Training Program funded by ORS. The purpose of the Job Club is to provide Peer Support and share personal experiences to assist people with disabilities to obtain jobs. The Topics covered include Skills/Qualities important to employers; networking; resume development, completing job application s; making a budget and saving money; interviewing skills; and Next Steps.

We are hoping that the Coalition could get funded by ORS to run other Job Clubs around the State and potentially involve more Coalition members as paid part time staff. 5. EITC Sue gave a presentation about the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Even if you do not owe any money you should file taxes. And even if you have not earned a lot of money you should file because you may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC is a refundable TAX CREDIT. It is for people who earn under

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$49,078.00 to help them keep more money they have earned. It is not just for people with disabilities but also for staff and anyone who works and makes less than $49,078. a year. The IRS says that many more people in RI are eligible for this Tax Credit and are not getting it because they are not claiming it on their taxes. You can get FREE TAX ASSISTANCE by calling “211” and asking for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Sites (VITA). Then you can call and make an appointment with a Tax Specialist who will answer any of your questions and help you prepare and file your Income Taxes at NO COST to you so you can get this money in your own pocket! If you did not file for this Tax Credit in 2011 or 2010 you can file amended taxes and get the money for those two years also! 6. Action for Priority Areas: Employment Tanja and Deanne asked everyone to think about what information we want to be able to say to employers about workers with disabilities to encourage them to hire people with disabilities. People had a lot of comments including:

• Hard working and persistent • Even though you have a disability you can still work • People with disabilities want to work just like anyone else • They can do the job • People have skills • We are GOOD employees…”the customers LOVE Me!” • We can provide good customer service and help people who

ask for help • We are honest

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• We use diligence and want to work to succeed • We can provide a different viewpoint and be an asset

to the workforce • We can help to make a positive image for the business

Vinny, Kevin, Becca and Jack volunteered to work with Tanja and Deanne to develop a presentation the Coalition can use with employers. Public Education Members thought we should continue to develop the Bullying Presentation. This abuse seems to be happening in many places in schools and teachers not doing anything about it. We need to do work to teach people it is NOT OK to bully anyone. We should do a presentation in schools for junior and senior high students; in group homes, and at agencies that serve adults with disabilities. Becca, Kevin, Heidi, Vinny and Jack volunteered to work with Deanne and Tanja to further develop this presentation. 7. Updates/News Keith distributed some information for the Advocates in Action “NoTalent” Show for April 18, 2013 from 5:30 pm-9:30 pm. Jack announced that last week’s open meeting for the SILC to obtain feedback from the community on their State Plan for 2014-2016 was very well attended and people provided good comments. Tanja mentioned the next meeting of the Coalition will be Monday, May 6, 2013 from 1:00-3:00 at Dean’s List.

Minutes Respectfully Submitted by Sue Babin