Finance Committee Agenda and Packet 2013 12 16

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Parents team about their rights, about how to support their child with a disability, how to advocate for their child, and how to build independent living skills as their children move into adult life. The group meets once a month with supplementary workshops, summer programs for children, and family social gatherings in between. While parents receive support and education, children and youth with and without disabilities have support to socialize, and music and art therapy are built into the program. Siblings of children with a disability access a sibling workshop which allows them to talk and leam about growing up with a brother or sister with a disability. All family members are welcomed and food is provided at each session. Experts from the community are invited to talk about nutrition, behavior support, grief and loss, long -term care services, health care programs etc. Caminando Juntos is facilitated by an ACL advocate who is a native Spanish speaker. The program started with 5 families in February 2012 and has grown to 55 families (total group attendance often exceeds 55 people as several family members typically participate including children with and without disabilities). This is a unique program and the ACL hopes to create a replicable model for other communities. The group has the potential to grow beyond capacity due to the lack of anything similar and we are actively working on replicating it in another community served by the ACL. Public Policy Advocacy Target Population: People with UDD and their families The ACL is actively involved in public policy advocacy and closely follows changes in the systems within which we advocate so that we stay fully informed about the impact system changes may have on our constituents' lives. Some changes /proposed changes have a negative impact on people's lives, and we advocate on a system level to avoid or minimize that impact. In addition, we keep our membership and the community updated on system changes and provide information and guidance to empower individuals to appropriately and effectively advocate at the system level. Public policy advocacy occurs at a local and federal level through our affiliation with The Arc of The United States, the other Arc Chapters in Colorado, and other advocacy organizations. Our efforts have an impact the lives of all Coloradoans. Self - Advocates Becoming Empowered Target Population: people with UDD The ACL also facilitates the Boulder Chapter of Self - Advocates Becoming Empowered (S.A.B.E.). The group is comprised of adults with I /DD whose goal is to raise awareness of the contributions people with IIDD make to their communities, and to have a positive impact on the lives of people with IIDD and their communities through local and state level advocacy and outreach. SABE membership is 43. ACL Training Programs In 2012 the ACL provided group training to 1,123 people and we anticipate similar numbers in 2014. Target audiences include self - advocates, parents, caregivers, professionals and community members. In order to promote self - advocacy, self - sufficiency, and reduce reliance on professional advocacy from the ACL (which is a finite resource) the ACL has an extensive training and support program. The purpose of our training programs is to proactively prevent crises through education and support. Safety First: Through a partnership with the Boulder Police Department ACL offers a class called Safety First. The class is offered twice a year, once for adults and once for youth. Topics include recognizing actual and/or risk of abuse, exploitation and victimization, fire safety, how and when to access emergency services, communicating with emergency personnel, stranger danger, home security, and personal safety. Quizzes and role play results show that in the class setting all participants can demonstrate an understanding of how to use emergency services appropriately and what constitutes the inappropriate use of emergency services. 11