PAIMI Council Meeting Minutes Via Zoom Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service, Inc. August 18, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. __________________________________________________________________________ Call to Order Acting Chair Selena Schmidt called the meeting to order at 11:02 a.m. Attendance Present: Selena Schmidt, Mark Reinstein, Kevin Fischer, Malkia Newman, Davin Hemmila, Amanda Absher, Lois Shulman, Kelly Riegel-Green Absent: Marie Jackson Staff: Michelle Roberts, Theresa Diebolt, Kyle Williams, Mark McWilliams Introductions took place and new members were welcomed. Selena introduced and welcomed the new Chair, Malkia Newman, and Vice Chair, Marie Jackson, and congratulated them on their new roles. Approval of Agenda Mark Reinstein MOVED to approve the Agenda and Lois Shulman seconded. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Schmidt, Reinstein, Fischer, Newman, Hemmila, Absher, Shulman, Riegel-Green NAYS: None Motion carried. Approval of Minutes Discussion began regarding Council membership, and since their terms are up, Selena Schmidt, Jill Busha and Kelly Riegel-Green will be stepping down from the Council. Malkia Newman MOVED to approve the minutes from the February 11, 2020 meeting and Kevin Fischer seconded. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Schmidt, Reinstein, Fischer, Newman, Riegel-Green NAYS: None Motion carried. Financial Report – Michelle Roberts Michelle Roberts gave the financial update and explained some of the spending of PAIMI funds included staff working with folks at correctional facilities. The pandemic has caused some discrepancies in that staff have not traveled or attended any conferences. Expenditures for the PAIMI Council were about half of what was budgeted also due to the pandemic. PAIMI Grievance Update Theresa Diebolt gave an update on grievances indicating five forms were requested and mailed out since February, and two grievances were filed. Chris Davis responded to the two grievances and they both returned grievances to the Executive Director. Michelle Roberts responded to both grievances and closed the files. Public Comment No public comment. Legislative update Mark McWilliams conveyed good news with a $1.5 billion deficit stating that is about half of what was estimated for the upcoming fiscal year. He will have a better idea near the end of August after the fiscal conference. McWilliams discussed new legislation on the use of solitary confinement in prisons, SB1060 and SB1061. We were involved in consulting with the Governor’s office regarding accessibility in COVID-19 testing facilities. We also contributed to the ‘Return to School’ document emphasizing the importance of social, emotional, and behavioral supports, and we have commented on several policies. Additionally, we helped fund and support a 5-part voting rights series called “Vote for Access” and McWilliams encourages everyone to look at it. The agency was involved in a story out of Oakland County involving a young lady who was placed in juvenile detention for not doing her homework which provoked a national reaction. One of our staff was quoted in an article discussing some of the issues. The charges were dropped, and it appears systemic issues will come out of that case. And, finally, we are changing our name and it is happening next week! We will now be known as Disability Rights Michigan which follows the naming convention with protection and advocacy agencies across the United States. Please check out our website at www.drmich.org. A question was asked about bills HB5832 (set up a crisis center program) and SB826 (expand legal authority to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse specialists to authorize restraint and seclusion and also to sign off on clinical certificates). McWilliams stated on behalf of the agency, comments were delivered, and concerns were expressed on these bills and we opposed both. Discussion followed and Council members expressed the need to form a work group and meet to continue to discuss these bills, especially SB826. Litigation Update Kyle Williams, Legal Director, stated we entered an interim agreement with the state last week on the children’s class action case. Another case the team is wrapping up is the NGRI lawsuit in which we are trying to achieve more systemic injunctive relief from MDHHS regarding their NGRI process, and we are anticipating substantial changes coming out of this lawsuit. Williams gave updates on a few of the other cases the team is working on. Priorities Michelle Roberts stated that because we are federally funded, the federal funders require us to set priorities which we are now referring to as focus areas. She explained the objectives and activities under each focus area. Once these are established by DRM management, they are presented to the Council for input and approval. They are then presented to the Board of Directors for their input and approval. Once approved, they are written into an application that is submitted to SAMHSA for approval. PAIMI is the only funder that requires this process. Roberts presented the proposed focus areas for fiscal year 2021 and outlined each focus area and the proposed changes as highlighted in the handout. Discussion and recommendations were made for minor changes to the proposal. Once revisions are made, the proposed focus areas will be presented to the Board of Directors at the next meeting. Mark Reinstein MOVED to adopt the proposed focus areas and Kevin Fischer seconded. ROLL CALL VOTE: AYES: Schmidt, Reinstein, Fischer, Newman, Riegel-Green, Absher, Shulman NAYS: None Motion carried. Old Business Council membership. Chair Schmidt indicated that as three members are stepping down from the Council, we will be in need of an attorney to sit on the Council as well as a parent of a minor child (18 or under) who is or has received mental health services. We also need someone of American Indian decent. Conferences. Since Council members are not able to physically attend conferences this year, it was suggested that a guest speaker could be invited to speak at a virtual meeting. New Business It was suggested to new members to think about topics or special interests they would like to bring to the Council or have presented to the group. Future meetings Tuesday, November 17, 2020 Adjourn The meeting was adjourned at 1:34 pm.