Finance Committee Agenda and Packet 2013 12 16

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CITY OF LOUISVILLE, COLORADO GRANT APPLICATION FOR NON- PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 1. What is the mission of your organization? The Association for Community Living promotes attitudes, practices, programs and policies that enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be included as a natural and integral part of community life. 2. What are the specific activities that will be supported with the assistance of City of Louisville funding, if granted? The ACL is the Arc chapter serving Boulder County. The organization serves as the only source of independent advocacy for people of all ages with intellectual /developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families in Boulder County. Demand for advocacy and support services continues to increase due to cuts in funding to K -12 education and to the Colorado Medicaid system which provides Medicaid waiver services to children and adults with I /DD. We offer services at no cost to our clients, many of whom experience severe poverty and would be unable to access support otherwise. Advocacy Programs Adult Advocacy Target Population•adults with MD waitlisted or receiving Medicaid services The wait list for Medicaid waivers is growing because there is insufficient funding to provide all eligible people with services and for those on the waitlist, only very limited funding and no direct support available from the Community Centered Board. Young adults are aging out of the public school system and some parents are unable to continue working due to the lack of employment opportunities and adult services to support their son or daughter. We continue to see families of children and adults with IIDD re- locating to Colorado and choosing to live in the Boulder area due to the many benefits the community offers. There are over 400 people on the waitlist for Medicaid waiver services through Imagine!, the Community Centered Board for Boulder County. However, the number of people eligible and waitlisted for DD services through Medicaid waivers will increase effective August 1st 2013 as a result of the State of Colorado adopting an expanded definition of developmental disability which no longer requires the person to have an IQ below 70. The ACL prioritizes adult advocacy and support services to meet the health and safety needs of people who are waitlisted for services and do not have family or other sources of support while they wait for Medicaid waiver services. The ACL also provides advocacy to people who are receiving services and need advocacy to address inadequacies in their services, with priority given to addressing the extremely high rate of mistreatment, abuse, neglect, and exploitation (MANE) of people with I/DD. Research shows that people with I/DD are four to ten times more likely to be the victims of crime than other people (Sobsey, D., Wells, D., Lucardie, R., & Mansell, S., 1995 & Young, M.E., et al 1997) that rates of sexual violence against women with I /DD range from 51 -79% and that onlyl 9-22% of cases are limited to one episode, yet less than 1% of prosecuted cases of sexual violence involve people with I/DD (Stuart, D., & Schott, C. 1997), This has been a core program of the ACL since 1974. The benefits to those served by this program include; asserting and protecting the rights of people in services who have experienced/are vulnerable to MANE, practical and emotional support to avoid and/or solve problems, make decisions, cope in times of crisis, and assistance to access public benefits, health care, community resources, and employment services. Number of people served in 2012: 181 9