Volume 5, Number 4, August 2019 Governor’s Council on Disability Newsletter GCD: Governor’s Council on Disability GCD logo image Inside this Issue Page 1: . New Council Members Appointed . Thirty New Leaders graduate MO-YLF Page 2: . August/September Awareness Events Page 3: . Meet Council Member Kim Lackey . Legislative Actions and Upcoming Priorities Poll Page 4: . MOSILC Consumer Needs Survey . ADA Impact Survey . Upcoming Events New Council Members Appointed by Claudia Browner The Governor’s Council on Disability is excited to announce its newest Council members! On July 9, 2019, Governor Parson appointed three new Council members to the Governor’s Council on Disability—Kim Lackey, who serves as the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at Paraquad Inc., a Center for Independent Living in St. Louis; Andrew Sartorius, an attorney with Sartorius Kirsch in Jefferson City; and Lesia Shelton, a Specialized Employment Manager with Preferred Employment Services in Springfield. Congratulations on your appointments. We will introduce our new Council members in the upcoming issues of the GCD Newsletter. This current issue features Kim Lackey in our Council member spotlight on Page 3. Thirty New Leaders Graduate MO-YLF by Claudia Browner GCD staff and planning team members from our partnering agencies spent the last several months preparing for the 17th annual Missouri Youth Leadership Forum (MO-YLF), a week-long leadership and career development training for high school students (ages 16-21) with disabilities. The turnout was the highest ever with 30 delegates participating in the event, along with many staff members and volunteers who helped make this year’s MO-YLF another great success. A special thank you goes to Paraquad, MU Pre-Employment Transition Services, and the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation for their involvement in the planning and staffing of the event, as well as all of the sponsors and donors who make this program possible. (Continued on page 2) Photo: 2019 Missouri Youth Leadership Forum delegates and staff on MU campus From July 16-20, thirty delegates representing 21 different counties in Missouri learned about the importance of self-advocacy, disability culture and history, mentorship, the legislative process in Missouri, career development, independent living and community service. Throughout the week, delegates completed a leadership plan by setting goals for their future. Page 2 (Continued from page 1) Photos: Adaptive Sports Night, Mentor Event, Employment/Career Development Event, MO-YLF participants and Governor Parson in the Governor’s Office One of the highlights of the week was the legislative day at the capitol, where delegates engaged in a mock legislative debate in the House and Senate Chambers, led by Representatives Chuck Basye, Ian Mackey and legislative liaison Rich Germinder (Dept. of Natural Resources) in the House, and Senator Lauren Arthur in the Senate. Following the mock bill debate, the MO-YLF participants had the opportunity to visit the Governor’s Office and meet Governor Parson. This experience left a lasting impression for many of the delegates! Evening activities included national keynote speaker Rohan Murphy, an adaptive sports night led by Disabled Athlete Sports Association (DASA), a talent show, and a dance. On the last day of MO-YLF, parents had the opportunity to attend an educational session and resource fair. At the closing graduation banquet, the delegates gave presentations about their learning experience to the audience, and graduated to become MO-YLF alumni. Since the inception of the program in 2001, 344 delegates have completed the program. Sixteen of the MO-YLF alumni also returned this year to serve as facilitators, team members and mentors. The planning team will soon start preparing for next year’s MO-YLF. Be sure to watch for announcements and the application this fall and help us share the information about this life changing program. August Awareness Events . Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month . Gastroparesis Awareness Month . National Immunization Awareness Month . Psoriasis Awareness Month September Awareness Events . Cancer Awareness Month for Childhood, Ovarian, Prostate, and Blood Cancers . National Preparedness Month . National Sickle Cell Month . National Suicide Prevention Month Page 3 Meet Council Member Kim Lackey by Claudia Browner Image of Council member Kim Lackey One of the three newest appointees to the Governor’s Council on Disability is Kim Lackey, who was appointed by Governor Parson on July 9, 2019. Kim Lackey is the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at Paraquad Inc., a Center for Independent Living in St. Louis. At Paraquad, Kim leads the policy and advocacy strategy for the organization. She guides and directs a team of individuals working to influence public policy and create change that improves the lives of individuals with disabilities. Kim performs policy research and analysis, legislative advocacy, and legal advocacy. She attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and received a B.S. in History and Political Science. Kim graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia, School of Law in May 2006 with her J.D. Kim has worked on improving access to employment, health care, public transportation and affordable accessible housing for individuals with disabilities for more than 12 years. Kim and her husband Andrew live in St. Louis. Legislative Actions and Upcoming Priorities Poll by Laura Mueth Image of state capitol building Governor Parson has signed several bills since the conclusion of the legislative session. He signed all of the appropriations bills without any line item vetoes. This means the state budget was funded as passed by the House of Representatives and Senate. Signed bills related to disability include House Bills 138 and 547 and Senate Bills 29, 101, 230, and 514. All signed bills will go in to effect later this month on August 28 unless another date is specified. For details regarding each bill please see the “Legislative Session Concluded” article in the June issue of the GCD Newsletter and the Legislative Update. Governor Parson vetoed two bills with sections related to disability issues. House Bill 399 was one but several parts of it are also part of Senate Bill 514 and will become law as a result of Senate Bill 514 being signed. The other was Senate Bill 147 which means the all-rider motorcycle helmet law will not be repealed and remains law in Missouri. You can read the veto letters at House Bill 399 Veto Letter and Senate Bill 147 Veto Letter. At the conclusion of legislative sessions individuals with disabilities and organizations often reflect on the accomplishments from the session and work that still needs to be done to improve lives and make Missouri a state people are proud to call home. If you believe more needs to be done by state legislators to improve the lives of people with disabilities please complete the Governor’s Council on Disability’s upcoming 2019 Legislative Priorities Poll between August 26th and November 8th. For those not familiar with the Legislative Priorities Poll and its purpose, each year GCD sends out a poll to hear from the public regarding disability related legislation and areas of concern. Each response received is reviewed by staff and will be used to shape the Council’s legislative priorities and interactions with legislators for the 2020 legislative session. A report of the results is also shared with all legislators and other elected officials. The Legislative Priorities Poll will be available on August 26th on the Legislative Priorities Poll page of the GCD website and at events. The online survey link will also be sent to the GCD email lists and posted on Facebook. Page 4 MOSILC Consumer Needs Survey MOSILC logo The Missouri Statewide Independent Living Council (MOSILC) is asking for your participation in the annual Missouri Statewide Consumer Needs Survey 2019. The information is used to develop the next three year State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL). To complete the survey, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L8K5RHN For questions or additional information, please contact MOSILC at https://mosilc.org ADA 2020 Impact Survey ADA30 logo with link to ADA2020 Impact Survey at http://sgiz.mobi/s3/ADA-Impact-2020-Survey The year 2020 will mark the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). A research study is currently underway to study the impact of the ADA 30 years after its passage. You can help! Complete the ADA Impact Survey and share the survey link: http://sgiz.mobi/s3/ADA-Impact-2020-Survey Upcoming Events . August 13, 2019 Mental Health Champions Banquet, Jefferson City . August 25-27, 2019 Real Voices Real Choices Conference, Osage Beach . September 10, 2019 The Arc Missouri Educational Summit, Columbia . Sept. 23-25, 2019 National Head Injury Conference, Kansas City . October 2, 2019 MPACT Tools for Life Transition Summit, Joplin . October 15, 2019 MPACT Tools for Life Transition Summit, Jefferson City . Oct. 25-28, 2019 APRIL Conference, GrandRapids, Michigan Missouri Governor’s Council on Disability Members . Yvonne Wright, Chair, New Bloomfield . Joan Bergstrom, Ed. D, Lee’s Summit . Charles Comstock, Kirksville . Betty Davidson, Ph.D., St. Louis . Ronald Hack, St. Louis . Chip Hailey, Joplin . Mary Ann Harter, St. Louis . Rosemary Hendon, West Plains . Katie Jones, St. Charles . Kim Lackey, St. Louis . Elijah Mayfield, Jefferson City . DeAnna Noriega, Columbia . Susan Orton, Creve Coeur . Andrew Sartorius, Jefferson City . Lesia Shelton, Buffalo . Opeoluwa Sotonwa, Jefferson City . James Trout, St. Louis . Robert Wallace, St. Louis Missouri Governor’s Council on Disability Staff Members . Claudia Browner, Executive Director . Christina Brazell, Administrative Office Support Assistant . Laura Mueth, Disability Program Specialist . Rachel Rackers, Disability Program Specialist