Baby You Can Drive My Car (As Long As You Are Not Providing Transportation Services)

One of the many regulatory agencies that Imagine! is beholden to has rules regarding transportation of the individuals served by Imagine!. On my mind today are the rules directed toward employees of Imagine! who are using their personal vehicles to transport the people we serve, or non-employees providing transportation on behalf of Imagine! for the individuals we serve.

Sure, everyone should have a first aid kit, tools for inclement weather, and keep records of all maintenance performed on their vehicle. That’s what our grandfathers told us to do. It was not regulated by the government, nor shared with your employer or company for whom you might volunteer. The requirements go far beyond what a registered car owner would have to meet if the passenger didn’t have a developmental disability.

At first glance, that may seem like it makes sense – like it is a good protective measure. But upon further inspection, I think it is emblematic of how our service system in Colorado has become misdirected and now regulates to the exception rather than the rule.

What do I mean by that? Well, if I want to drive my registered car in Colorado there is a set of standards I must meet, such as: I need to have insurance, I need my emissions checked, my taillights need to be in working order, etc. As a member of my community, I accept that there are rules in place that I must meet in order to be allowed to use my vehicle. I accept that my car shouldn’t look like this:



Can't see the video? Click here.

So if I am at work and I need to travel to a different location I can jump in with a co-worker who is driving a typical registered vehicle and off we go. If I invite a person who is receiving services, we have to engage the regulatory checks and balances and document additional information in a separate record about the registered vehicle.

As a society, through the various laws that have been enacted over the years by various government representatives elected by the public, we have come to a general agreement on the balance of the risks and responsibilities we are willing to bear for the privilege of owning a registered vehicle.

And here is where these rules miss the point, in my opinion. Most organizations that serve individuals with one or more developmental disabilities have a goal of community inclusion for those they serve. Community inclusion isn’t a blank check, however. Being part of a community also means accepting certain risks and responsibilities.

If we truly believe in community inclusion for those we serve, we have to acknowledge that we can’t regulate away all of the risks that come with that honor.

It doesn’t make any sense to me that an employee of Imagine! can drive to work in a car that is perfectly acceptable under one set of rules (rules that apply to the majority of citizens), but that same car may not be acceptable to transport a client because of a different set of rules.

Don’t get me wrong. I know we serve a vulnerable population, and a good deal of the rules and regulations regarding our services that we abide by are perfectly reasonable. But rules like the ones I just described only end up making the task of achieving true community inclusion for those we serve that much more difficult.

By the way – my first aid kit is missing band aids. Please don’t tell my grandfather.

Then again, what do I know?

Good News Friday!

Next week, September 11-17, is National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week. The US Senate approved the establishment of National Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) Recognition Week in order to honor "direct support professionals and the tremendous impact they make everyday in communities across the country."

As both United States Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius noted, the "often unheralded efforts of direct support professionals make it possible for millions of Americans with disabilities to lead meaningful lives as valued members of their communities."

Anyone associated with Imagine! already knew that. DSPs are the beating heart of our organization. They are the ones who are working hard everyday to facilitate opportunities for those we serve so they may lead fulfilling lives of independence and quality in their homes and communities. To our DSPs, Imagine!’s mission isn’t just a bunch of words on a piece of paper – it is something they live and embody every day.

We are so fortunate here at Imagine! to have so many dedicated, talented, and passionate people who are willing not only to take on the difficult job of being a DSP, but to excel at it. Imagine!’s DSPs share several things in common – a willingness to go above and beyond what is required of them, an ability to see solutions where others see only barriers, and most importantly, a deep and unyielding commitment to the individuals they serve.

Today, I want to offer my sincere thanks to all of the DSPs at Imagine!. I am honored to work alongside you, and words cannot express how much I appreciate all you do for the individuals that Imagine! serves.

Good News Friday!

I often use this space to discuss how fortunate we are to live in a community that is so supportive of the work we do at Imagine!. At our best, Imagine! plays the role of facilitator between those we serve and the communities where they live. When that facilitation is successful, everyone benefits.

So today I’d like to highlight two businesses that have embraced their part in that facilitation. These stories come from Imagine!’s Out & About Summer Camp program. 91% of Out & About’s services are offered in the community and do not involve a base site or segregated setting. The individuals served by Out & About can have some challenging behaviors, and therefore Out & About always works with the organizations where events are scheduled beforehand to ensure mutual understanding. Here are two stories of how that mutual understanding, along with a willingness to create a welcoming atmosphere, can lead to successful results:

At Centennial Lanes in Longmont, the manager and the coordinators maintain open communication regarding safety and quality of time at the bowling alley. One of our summer campers took a few weeks to adjust to the stimulating environment in the bowling alley and reacted by running through the alley and making loud vocalizations. The manager has kindly worked with us and shared ideas with how to keep safe in the bowling alley.

At Elitch Gardens, the kindness and professionalism of the staff was evident when they granted us accessibility passes to skip the lines. This was a great help for our campers who become anxious and have a hard time waiting and standing in line. Also, any time a consumer appeared to be having a difficult time, an Elitch Garden's staff would kindly approach and offer support if needed.

Imagine! and Out & About strive to make every experience in the community a positive one, and are grateful for the community members who help make this happen!

Cinderella and Cigarettes

About two years back, I attended a training put on by the Disney Institute called “Building a Culture of Healthcare Excellence.” I found the training to be fascinating, and so much of what was discussed was relevant to the system of funding and delivering services to individuals with developmental disabilities in Colorado, as well as to Imagine! and the way we work.

For example, one of the things the trainer discussed was how Disney had an overall vision of providing “entertainment experiences for all generations to share.” That vision permeates the company from top to bottom, and all actions are undertaken to meet that vision. The trainer gave an example of how nobody visiting one of Disney’s theme parks wants to have an encounter with a Cinderella with cigarette smoke on her breath – it would ruin the magical experience that the Disney company strives to provide all of its visitors.

But what was interesting about the discussion about the smoking Cinderella example was that the trainer didn’t say “and therefore we have a policy that our Cinderella’s can’t smoke.” While that may indeed be the policy, instead Disney emphasizes the idea that every employee at Disney is responsible for making a visit to Disneyland or Disneyworld a magical experience. They are encouraged to take ownership of what they do and be an active part of that experience. That helps it become more natural and obvious for the employee to realize that smoking and cigarette breath might make the experience for guests much less enjoyable.

Instead of taking the big picture approach, it seems to me that in our world we focus strictly on the policies without offering a bigger vision for what we do and way.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. We have to file incident reports whenever an individual gets injured. This makes sense, and I don’t argue with that idea. But we never file incidents reports when someone we serve does something good or positive.

Imagine!’s mission is about providing opportunities for those we serve, but nothing we are regulated on has any relation to, or measure of, opportunities provided. If you run down the list of all the regulations we have to meet, and all the things we are trained on, (and both lists are substantial) you will see that they are all related to what to do when things go wrong – not about providing opportunities. Consequently, a substantial majority of our time, energy, and resources are spent on avoiding doing the wrong thing, instead of doing the right things – providing opportunities for those we serve.

In other words, all we ever do is tell Cinderella not to smoke. We fail to encourage Cinderella to look and act her best, stay fit, and treat people with kindness. This constant focus on the negative produces employees (from the Direct Service Professionals on up to the executive level) who are uninspired and frustrated.

I get it. Cinderella shouldn’t smoke. But it is time to get past that smokescreen (pun intended) created by that simplistic approach to what we do and start paying attention to the bigger picture of how we can facilitate the positive growth of the individuals we serve.

Then again, what do I know?

Good News Friday!

Assisting persons with developmental disabilities is essentially a community building endeavor. That is why Imagine! is always looking for opportunities to collaborate with other organizations to find for ways to improve our ability to serve some of the most vulnerable among us.

Today I’d like to share one example of the sort of collaboration that Imagine! is involved in that has the potential to positively impact many lives.

Boulder-based Moving to End Sexual Assault (MESA) currently holds a three-year grant from the Office on Violence Against Women. Imagine! is serving as a collaborative community partner on the grant. The ultimate goals of the grant are to facilitate sustainable system change at both MESA and Imagine!, and to help MESA as well as Imagine! staff and volunteers improve both organizations’ ability to serve people with disabilities who have experienced sexual assault. Two MESA staff members, Audrey Reich and Marti Hopper, serve as core collaboration team members along with Julie Hartman from Imagine!.

Here’s an update on grant activity that was featured in MESA’s Summer Newsletter:

The project is now in the middle of conducting a major needs assessment of both organizations to help us assess how we can best serve sexual assault survivors with disabilities. The core team has been working vigorously during July, conducting individual interviews and focus groups with people throughout both organizations. The data gathering is scheduled to be completed in August. Once the data is collated, the findings will guide us and the leadership teams of both MESA and Imagine! in creating a strategic plan.

We would like to extend our most sincere thanks to everyone who has graciously given us their time and the richness of your thoughts and feedback during this needs assessment process.

Congratulations to all involved in this worthy project, and thank you for your hard work.

Dancing With The (Hopefully Aligned) Stars

While Imagine! was hosting a Boulder Chamber of Commerce “Business After Hours” last week, I had the opportunity to visit with several other Chamber members. During one of the conversations a member asked about regulatory issues we have. I gave a standard response about the three State regulatory agents; Departments of Health Care Policy and Financing, Human Services, and Public Health and Environment. Each has a dog in the fight, as they say. I didn’t really come up with a good analogy as to how much of a challenge this can be at times. So I had to think about it for a few days.

Pretend you are at a wedding reception with a live band. Pretend you are asked to dance, and pretend you said yes and hit the dance floor. And as soon as you hit the floor a second band, and then a third band begin to play music at the same time. The three bands decided on their own music and insist you wiggle about following the Arthur Murray steps for their song.



You get the picture.

More recently, Governor Hickenlooper has the regulatory agencies talking with one another to streamline and hopefully share the same sheet music for our wedding reception. Hopefully the next time a person a developmental disability comes seeking support, or asks me to dance, we will be all listening to the same music.

Then again, what do I know?

Good News Friday

Today, I’d like to officially introduce the members of the 2011-2012 Imagine! Leadership Development Group (LDG).

This year’s LDG members are:

Erika Alvis, who works in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source Department.

Jenna Corder, who works in Imagine!'s Case Management Department.

Kari Devine, who works in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source Department.

Rachel Harmon, who works in Imagine!’s Family Support Department.

Jeff Near, who works in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source Department.

Amanda Ripley, who works for Imagine!’s Behavioral Health Services Department.

The purpose of Imagine!’s Leadership Development program is to provide a coordinated platform that strategically develops talent within Imagine! to address the company’s leadership needs for the future. The program is designed to educate employee participants about the complexities of the organization and to assist management in learning about people with talent that may be good matches for leadership roles.

Each participant in the LDG will gain a broad understanding of leadership skills and be provided the opportunity to apply their learning in various settings. Each participant will assess their present strengths and areas for growth and realize their potential for leadership. Leadership skills and knowledge gained will be applicable in many aspects of the successful participant’s experiences.

The Leadership Development Group will utilize a variety of methods of learning during the course of the year. These methods will include opportunities for self-study, facilitated group meetings, attendance at other Imagine! meetings, mentoring, training opportunities, and presentations.

Congratulations to all of this year’s LDG members. I think you will find it to be a very rewarding experience.  I’m looking forward to getting to know you and, just as important, to learning from you throughout the year.



Imagine!’s 2011-2012 Imagine! Leadership Development Group (clockwise from left: Jenna Corder, Erika Alvis, Kari Devine, Amanda Ripley, and Rachel Harmon) pose with Mark Emery.  Not pictured: Jeff Near.