Annual Report Fiscal Year 2008-09

 

The purposes of an annual report are to define the position of an organization at the end of its fiscal year, give a summary of accomplishments, and provide a sense of future direction.  The typical challenge is to provide this information in a manner that is clear and concise enough that it is read.  Another challenge for CDSA is to consider government affairs activity when the legislative calendar doesn’t match the fiscal calendar.  So the decision in this report is to evaluate the process through September 2009.

 

Letter from the President

 

Dear CDSA Members,

 

When times are challenging, and this past year was probably one of the most challenging our industry has ever faced, our collective knowledge, talents, and voice are more important than ever.  Your continued membership and hearty participation in our association is very much appreciated.  It’s easy to focus on the battles we didn’t win, but I want to take this opportunity to highlight a couple of critical accomplishments from this year.

               

We hired Chris Rice as our Executive Director.  In a very short period of time he has significantly improved the business management of the association at the board, staff, and operations level.  While there is still work to be done, Chris has a plan in place and is working diligently to move the association forward to accomplish the agreed upon goals and objectives.

               

Our grassroots effort was really strong this year and, as a result, many of us are much more connected to our elected officials and their staff members.  Some CDSA caucus-sponsored legislative breakfasts have become significant events in their communities and are well attended by legislators.  These relationships are of critical importance to us going forward and to our continued fight to preserve the Lanterman Act and all it represents to the people we serve.

 

Thanks to the 2008-2009 CDSA Board Members for their leadership and support.  We need more members to join committees, fill leadership positions, and help us add to our membership so that our voice and influence continues to grow.

 

 

 

Joan McKinney
Board President
2008-2009


A Narrative Review of 2008-09

 

Structure and Governance

California Disability Services Association (CDSA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit with two subsidiary organizations:  California Disability Services Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and Dynamic Solutions Incorporated (DSI), a for-profit entity.  Each of these organizations has a board, with final authority resting in the CDSA board.

 

The CDSA Board oversees a range of services provided to members through the two subsidiary organizations, several committees, and staff.  The major concerns of CDSA are government affairs, membership, internal relationships, external relationships, and contract management (the fee-based CARI program).  The Institute focuses on training and education.  DSI currently has two income sources, a State Workers Comp Insurance Fund pool and an insurance services brokerage. 

 

CDSA started 2008-09 under its new name and without a medical division, focused on the future.  The leadership made an effort to include new people in committees and to build the subsidiary boards to full strength.  The Institute now operates with a full nine-member board.  The Dynamic Solutions Board has five members and is seeking two additional directors. 

 

CDSA leadership developed a new iteration of the organization’s five-year strategic plan and one-year action plan at the end of the administrative year.  Committees and caucuses have commented on the plan, and it will be reviewed during the Annual Meeting. 

 

Membership

CDSA ended the 2007-08 year with 96 members.  It ended the 2008-09 year with 97 members.  These counts include affiliate members. 

 

During the year, the Membership and Development Committee reworked membership recruitment materials, and the new versions are now being used.  Staff modified the membership pledging and payment process in preparation for 2009-10.

 

The nine caucuses held regular meetings during the year.  All held outreach activities to legislators, ranging from a legislative breakfast to calls, e-mail, or office visits with legislators and their staffs.  Two held public awareness activities – one held a rally and one responded to inappropriate bonuses paid by a regional center.  Several caucuses were quite robust, with monthly or bi-monthly meetings, speakers, and a range of activity.  Two caucuses faced challenges because of limited participation or limited leadership.  Where caucuses were formed within other vendor meetings, CDSA faced an on-going challenge of defining what information to share.  Staff visited most caucuses during the year.

 

Over the last year, CDSA made a commitment to move its membership database and web hosting out of the web-based Internet4Associations.  It purchased Gomembers software in 2008, and staff is now managing membership and meetings in this software.

 

Government Affairs

The Public Policy Committee and contract lobbyists devoted most of their energies to responding to state budget cuts proposed by the Schwarzenegger administration.  The world-wide recession helped create an unprecedented $41 billion deficit in the California state budget for an 18-month period beginning in June of 2008.

 

The first budget cuts occurred to Supported Employment in October – a $10% rate cut.  An unprecedented 18-month budget (released in January) proposed $334 million in cuts to the Department of Developmental Services.  The CDSA response argued that a cut this large would be devastating to clients and made recommendations in the areas of program changes, cuts to Developmental Centers, programmatic flexibility, and pursuit of additional waiver funding. 

 

When the legislature approved the budget in February, without the usual committee and hearing processes, there was an immediate 3% “rate reduction” applied to all other services.  This was accompanied by an initial $100 million reduction to the 2009-10 DDS budget, with details to be worked out by DDS with stakeholders. 

 

After three large, open public hearings attended by more than 1,500 people, DDS conducted what has become known as “The Stakeholder Process,” bringing in a small number of individuals to represent the various constituents of DDS funding.  However, the stakeholder organizations did not choose their representatives.  DDS chose the individuals to participate, prohibited substitutions, and imposed a “gag order” on discussions.

Will Sanford represented CDSA.  He kept the association’s budget task force up to speed on the process and took back CDSA’s positions. Our primary requests included:

 

 

While the stakeholder process provided useful guidance to DDS that took some bad ideas off the table, many other unacceptable concepts remained or grew as the process continued.  DDS indicated it was impossible to consider any cuts outside of POS or increasing of federal revenue.

 

With a projected additional revenue shortfall of $24 billion in May, the Governor announced another cut to the DDS budget of $234 million, also to be implemented following stakeholder discussions.  The stakeholder discussion on these much larger cuts was quite limited, with DDS making very few changes to its initial proposals.  However, previous recommendations to close or consolidate DCs and increase waiver funding, rejected in earlier discussions, appeared in the DDS budget plan.  However, they were not used to diminish the impact of cuts to services.  Taken together, the cuts to the DDS budget exceeded $334 million in General Fund dollars and perhaps another $200-$300 million in lost Federal Funds. 

 

There was language in the budget that stated that California would maintain its commitment to the entitlement and attempted to prove it by stating that the expected 12,500 (5.6% caseload growth) new people would receive services. But deeper in the document, it was clear that the system would have to absorb the cost of services for new consumers, budget freezes made permanent last year that took $300 million from the base budget, and the impact of the 3% hit.

 

Months of Stakeholder meetings made clear that this wasn’t the joint development of a plan to implement painful cuts. Rather, stakeholders advised the Department and the Department chose which advice to take. There was no effort to reach consensus and many of the principles guiding stakeholder participation were not honored.

 

But the process itself took on a life of its own. The idea that there was some form of consensus among stakeholders grew among many legislators and their staffs. Efforts to argue alternative proposals in the Legislature were resisted often based on this belief.

The suspension of the budget sub-committee process and the transfer of all issues to a 10-member conference committee further restricted the ability of interested parties to have their concerns considered.

 

In the end, a budget and the implementing trailer bill were approved – by the conference committee in “placeholder” form without details – that reflected the Department’s priorities far more than it did the priorities of most of the participants.  CDSA continues to work on legislation that will fix a few of the most egregious problems created by the trailer bill.  Whether or not the current bill passes, work on issues created by the trailer bill will continue into the next legislative session. 

 

The budget was not the only area of Public Policy activity.  The Committee reviewed the content of 19 bills and determined CDSA positions. In difficult budget times, few bills advanced and virtually nothing with any cost got out of the fiscal committees in either House of the Legislature. 

 

CDSA sponsored SB 755 to set a voluntary goal for state agencies to use businesses owned or operated by Californians with developmental disabilities or nonprofit agencies that help create jobs for this population.  It also required identification of a central nonprofit agency (CNA) to coordinate purchases under § 19404.  The bill died in the Appropriations Committee because the Department of General Services estimated a high cost to certify the conditions that must be met by contractors to be eligible for set-aside contracting.

CDSA participated in meetings with the Department of Social services regarding possible regulations on the use of seclusion and restraint and with the Department of Rehabilitation on the use of federal stimulus funds.

 

Members of the Public Policy Committee and one of our lobbyists developed materials for members to apply for loss of subsidy if adult education cuts eliminated support for staff.  CDSA supported vocational rehabilitation funding from the federal stimulus bill and urged the California Department of Rehabilitation to apply most of those funds to supported employment activities for transitioning youth with developmental disabilities, moving from high school into the workplace.

 

Other issues that CDSA explored in discussions included extending the CARF accreditation period, combining titles 17 and 22, and exemptions from lunch and break requirements.

 

Contract Management (CARI)

The California Alliance of Rehabilitation Industries (CARI) contract management program has faced three challenges this year.  First, the former manager of the program established a competing business, taking some CARI contracts with him and securing some contracts that CARI pursued.  CARI has pushed back by talking with state officials who oversee contracts and by delineating the difference between CARI’s participating agencies and the competition. 

 

The second challenge has been to recognize the tight budgets that CARI participants face.  To keep CARI a win-win arrangement, the CDSA Board approved reducing CARI management fees from five percent to three percent.  This is a significant reduction in income for CDSA, but it helps participating agencies develop competitive bids.

The state budget has been CARI’s third challenge.  The governor issued an executive order to reduce all contracts by 15 percent.  This has resulted in frozen and terminated contracts, as well as reductions in scope.  To save state jobs, some contracts are being terminated so that state employees will do the work.

 

The bottom line is that CARI income will be lower in 2009-10.  To counteract this, CDSA has instituted a weekly report on contract opportunities and increased staff time for support of new contracts, renewals, and conversions to set-asides.  Andrea Gallippi and Melissa Smith work on CARI.

 

Communications

In February, CDSA instituted a “First of the Month” newsletter that goes to e-mail addresses provided by member organizations.  The newsletter is a summary of current issues and activities, with articles kept as short as possible and links to additional information, forms, and resources. 

 

As noted earlier, CDSA made a commitment to move its membership database and web hosting out of the web-based Internet4Associations.  Structural work for moving of the database has been started.  It will be accomplished in 2009-10.   

 

Meetings

CDSA held four general membership meetings during the administrative year. 

 

Event

 

Location

Paid Registration

Total Attendance

Dates

Annual Meeting

 

 

 

September 8-10, 2008

Holiday Inn on the Day, San Diego

86

93

 

Northern Policy Meeting

 

 

 

January 21, 2009

Delta Queen, Sacramento

34

39

 

Southern Policy Meeting

 

 

 

January 27, 2009

Airtel Plaza Hotel, Van Nuys

30

35

 

Spring Legislative Conference

 

 

 

March 24-26, 2009

Citizen Hotel, Sacramento

56

64

 

In addition, an annual Leadership Retreat took place at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento, May 19-20, involving 23 members and two staff in developing the latest strategic plan. 

 

Training and Education

All training and education activities have been transferred to the California Disability Services Institute, eliminating a need for an Education Committee reporting the CDSA Board.  The Institute ended the web-based Academy of Leadership Development program at the end of its second year of operation.  The Institute paid an annual fee for access to the courses and a fee for each participant.  The business model called for annual registration for some 200 courses and total participation for two years was under 40 registrations.  The Institute will return to organizing local seminars and explore options for less costly web-based training.

 

External Relations

CDSA continued to work with a large variety of organizations on issues related legislation and DDS.  Cooperating on legislation were Arc California, California Association for Health Services at Home, California Respite Services Association, California Supported Living Network, Easter Seals, Infant Development Association, People First of California, and United Association of California Careproviders.  At various points in the year, CDSA worked with the Association of Regional Center Agencies, Autism Society of California, Family Resource Centers Network of California, and the Service Employees International Union.  This year, a number of new partners have participated on serious matters. CDSA will continue to look for opportunities to expand our reach.

 

DDS invited two CDSA members to participate in a “small stakeholder process” to discuss the best ways to implement funding cuts to DDS.  Will Sanford (Futures Explored) represented CDSA, and Jacquie Foss (Strategies to Empower People) represented CSLN.

 

Insurance

Through its for-profit subsidiary, Dynamic Solutions Incorporated, CDSA continued to work with the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), managing a workers comp insurance pool with 68 participants.  Dynamic Solutions hired Aon Risk Services to provide safety and risk management support to the members of the insurance pool.  SCIF paid CDSA 3% of the premiums for managing the pool.

 

Dynamic Solutions created an insurance brokerage during 2008-09, offering a full range of insurance products to members and similar organizations.  Sales of policies during the first year will generate at least $18,000.  The broker for the first year of operation left at the end of June, and some issues are being resolved.  Income may reach $28,000.  A new broker is in place and sales efforts will continue. 

 

Staff and Contract Support

Will Sanford provided support as Interim Executive Director in the first half of the administrative year.  The CDSA Board hired new ED Chris Rice in January.  Three staff left during the year:  Skip Covell, Leigh Penny, and Toni Polk.  In addition, Bailey McCann left in July, 2009.  Current staff members are:

 

Lisa Bramasco, Account Executive, Dynamic Solutions
Andrea Gallippi, Assistant Executive Director
Chris Rice, Executive Director
Jim Scott, Membership Manager
Melissa Smith, Office Manager

 

Futures Explored provided bookkeeping services, delivered by Will Sanford and Lindsey Smith.  CDSA received legislative advocacy services from Dwight Hansen (Dwight Hansen Associates), Carl London and Sue North (both of Rose and Kindel).  CDSA participated in a joint contract of four months duration with three other organizations to hire Marcey Brightwell of R & K Grayling to develop public awareness of budget cut issues.  As noted earlier, Dynamic Solutions contracted with Aon Risk Services for support from Alex Michon and Rob Esparza.  Jan Richmond served CDSA as counsel.  Keith York, who served as business manager for CARI, ended his relationship with CDSA in September, 2008.