Collaboration Now: Why and HowCAPTAIN Conference Ventura CADecember 5-6, 2017TONY ANDERSONEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR VALLEY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL CENTER

A little about me: How my 30 years in the field have informed my position on collaboration

DSP Roles: Group Homes, Day Programs, Behavioral Aid, IHSS Worker, Direct Support and Frontline Supervisor

Community Provider: Homes, SLS, Respite, County EPSDT, ICFs, CCFs, Children and Adults

Government: County Health and Human Services and Governor’s Appointee

Advocacy: Local, State, and National. Lobbyist in Sacramento. Community Organizer.

Regional Center: Case Manager and Resource Development and now Executive Director

Seek first to understand, then to be understood

What happens when we don’t collaborate and work together?

2003 Change in Eligibility The ACA 2008/9 Congress and 2017 US Congress 2009 The great recession and the 50 changes to the

Lanterman Act

Over 50 Changes to the Lanterman Act: All the groups worked on their own Rate Freezes

Audit requirements above $500,000

Early Start Respite Services Elimination

Review Committees

Respite/remove cap

Service Prohibitions

Social Recreation Services Elimination

SLS maximizing resources

Full day /half day billing

Audit/review requirements $250,000 & $500,000

Early Start sequestration cuts to ICC

Prohibition of deductibles

Least Costly Provider Medi-‐Cal

Autism Insurance,

Healthy Families

Holiday schedule

Insurance co-‐pays

Cut 10% supported employment

Early Start Eligibility Changes

DC closure

Etc. etc. etc.

Have we ever done it right?

Yes The California Lanterman

Act IDEA PL94-142 The Independent Living

Movement Community Response to

the 2003 Suspension of the Lanterman Act

The 2003 Proposed Suspension of the Lanterman Act Under Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

The proposal would suspend the Lanterman Act Limit the number of people served

Create a waiting list for services DDS would need to prioritize who would

receive services and in what order. Saved $250 million over two years by

eliminating art and music therapy, equestrian therapy, camp experiences and respite care.

African Proverb “if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to far, go together”

COLLABORATION = SUSTAINABILITY

Recent successful collaboration with real impact on our community

Lanterman Coalition 8 ideas agreement 10 Campaign

The Lanterman Coalition: Since 2003

Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together

is success. Henry Ford

Year One: “8 Points Campaign”

(1) DC Closures, (2) 5% rate increase, (3) rate reform, (4) revert Early Start, (5) revert Supported Employment, (6) support families through respite improvements including removing

the caps, (7) end co-pays & fix deductibles issue, (8) fix other admin changes audits, family payments and overhead

percentages.

Results of the “8 Points” Campaign

The 8 Points 2014 Campaign was too complicated: (1) DC Closures – Moratorium on DC Placements (sort of

victory), (2) 5% rate increase,

(3) rate reform – The idea passed the legislature but the Governor vetoed. Instead he assigned the HHS Secretary to create a task force to work on this (sort of victory).

(4) revert Early Start – Victory, Eligibility was Reverted Back (5) revert Supported Employment,

(6) support families through respite improvements including removing the caps,

(7) end co-pays & fix deductibles issue,

(8) fix other admin changes audits, family payments and overhead percentages.

Lessons Learned: We forgot “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

From the “8 Points” to the “10 Campaign”

The 10 Campaign Year 2 Asked for a 10% increase for all community services

(no one is left behind) and all Regional Center operations (no regional centers or functions are left behind)

The 10% was not an end goal the purpose for the 10% is to stop the current crisis from continuing to escalate and to begin to stabilize the community system.

10 Campaign Outcomes

ACCEPTED: 5% rate increases Respite, SLS, ILS, ICF, Transportation.

ADDED: Their 5% wage and benefits (providers and regional centers) increases to 7.5%.

ADDED: 2.5% increase to all admin budgets across the board. ADDED: 10% Restoration of Supported Employment Program

Rate (this ended up at 11%) ACCEPTED: $30 million competitive employment proposals. ADDED: Raise threshold for audits to $2 mil. ACCEPTED: Restoration of the ICF cuts (had been part of the

10% Campaign all along).

March 1, 2016 Governor Signs

Final Deal: $535 million total fund ongoing increase to the budget.

Final Deal

Rate Increases

Rate Increases

Rate Increases

So how do translate this into local collaboration?

Lessons learned from the field of community organizing

People will be fully committed in a sustainable way if the work they are doing is tied to their self-interest.

Projects connected to the core of the individual’s beliefs and or the organization’s true purpose.

Compromise: It is the deal made making things work – a process in victory.

Cut the problem into actionable steps

Lessons learned from systems change theory

Without systems thinking in our approach to problems we are at risk of seeing the problems that are systemic in nature too narrowly.

We may end up thinking we understand the problem in its totality but in fact we are only seeing the “trunk” and not the whole elephant.

Lessons learned from systems change theory

Peter Senge “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization Team Learning

Personal Mastery

Shared Vision

Mental Models

Systems Thinking

Local Collaboration: Summary

Don’t forget it’s all personal You can’t fake this you really must seek first to

understand the circumstances and needs of others Constantly building of trust Focus: Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing