WINTER 2015-2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

MESSAGE FROM MARY LU, pg. 3

BOARD OF DIRECTORS, pg. 3

ENVISION NEWS, pgs. 4 & 5

ENVISION PROGRAM SERVICES NEWS, pgs. 7 & 8

PHOTO GALLERY, pg. 9

CALENDAR OF EVENTS, pg. 11

Registration is open now! 3RD ANNUAL

5K IN MY SHOES WALK | RUN| ROLL

APRIL 17, 2016

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Give your time.

Give items.

Give in person or by mail.

Give online on Colorado Gives Day.

Give online at Network for Good.

Purchase a King Soopers Reloadable Card for $25.00.

Shop online through Amazon Smile.

Participate in our fundraisers.

Purchase artwork from our collection of pieces

created by people we support.

More detailed program information is available at:

www.envisionco.org/getinvolved.

Questions? Beth Allen

(970) 313-2602

WAYS TO SUPPORT ENVISION’S MISSION

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Message from Mary Lu, Executive Director

During these past few months, we have participated in discussions with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) on the issue of Conflict Free Case Management (CFCM). HCPF has received input from mul-tiple sources other than community centered boards including program ap-proved service agencies, people supported and their families/guardians, and advocacy organizations. That input will be included in a final plan for resolu-tion and will be submitted by HCPF to the legislature by July 1, 2016. We an-ticipate the plan will include incremental steps of implementation over a pe-riod of time, likely a few years. We at Envision have always felt that the most important consideration is that it be resolved in a way that does no harm and meets the needs of the people we support and their families so there is no or minimal disruption in their lives. Envision will continue to provide more information to our stakeholders as this process evolves. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly to discuss your concerns or to ask questions or share information. I can be contacted at mwalton@envisionco.org or (970) 313-2603. In other news, legislators are considering action that would increase accountability measures promoting trans-parency of community centered boards. At this time, it is unclear what action, if any, may be forthcoming. Envi-sion currently posts many of our public documents on our website that can be easily accessed at www.envisionco.org/publicinfo. Lastly, we are pleased to announce that our 3rd Annual 5K In My Shoes Walk, Run, Roll will be held on Sunday, April 17, 2016 at Envision offices. We will have a 1K option, breakfast burritos, lots of door prizes, hand-crafted medals, and loads of fun! Your participation and support is welcomed and appreciated. Registration is available online at www.envisionco.org/5KInMyShoes. Register by March 14th to save $5 and reserve your shirt size! Thank you for your support and contributions to our mission: To enhance the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Weld County.

Best regards, Mary Lu Walton Executive Director

UPCOMMING MEETINGS

MARCH 03| Board of Directors Meeting APRIL 04 | Executive Finance Committee Meeting APRIL 07| Board of Directors Meeting MAY 02 | Executive Finance Committee Meeting MAY 05 | Board of Directors Meeting JUNE 06 | Executive Finance Committee Meeting JUNE 09 | Board of Directors Meeting

All Board of Directors Meetings are open to the public, begin at 7:30 AM and are held at Envision offices: 1050 37th Street

Evans, Colorado 80620.

The Board of Directors is the governing body of a nonprofit organization. The responsibilities of the Board include deter-mining policies, approving major goals and objectives recom-

mended by management, approving an annual budget, review financial information, and hiring and evaluating the

Executive Director.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Membership

Erica Herman President

Joanna Martinson Vice President

Dr. Lesley Brooks Secretary/Treasurer

Kelly Walker Member

Angela Deabler Member

Linda Brainard Member

Erin Hunter Member

Jamie Erskine Member

Kathi Sargent Member

Doug Seery Member

Tanya Unrein Member

Monica Wickstrom Member

Want to know more about Envision’s Board of Directors? View their One-Page Profiles online at: www.envisionco.org/boardofdirectors

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ENVISION NEWS

Envision Volunteers...

More than ever, Envision depends upon the involve-ment of volunteers to continue to provide quality services for people and participate in fun events! We encourage community members to share their time and talents to enhance the quality of life for people we support and educate the community about Envi-sion’s purpose and mission. Some examples of our volunteer opportunities include: Board of Directors, Committee Members, 5K In My Shoes, Art Program, community events and more! Note, background checks are required for all volunteers.

To become an Envision Volunteer, please contact: Beth Allen, (970) 313-2602, ballen@envisionco.org

BECOME AN ADVOCATE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS!

Human Rights Committee (HRC) exists to focus on issues concerning people with intellec-tual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). It was established by Colorado Law and serves as a third party mechanism. The committee participates in the assuring informed consent is given, monitoring suspensions of rights of persons receiving services, monitoring be-havior development programs in which persons with I/DD are involved, monitoring psy-chotropic medication used by persons receiving services and ensures investigations of mistreatment, abuse, neglect and exploitation occur. The committee is comprised, to the extent possible, of two professional persons trained in the application of behavior devel-opment techniques, and three representatives of persons receiving services, their parents, legal guardians, or authorized representatives. The committee is entirely volunteer and Envision is always looking for people to participate in this committee. The committee meets the 4th Wednesday of every month.

For more information, please contact the HRC Liaison, Karen Colasacco, Adult Case Management Director at (970) 313-2679 or by email at: kcolasacco@envisionco.org.

Stay Connected!

Envision is on social media sites including, Facebook and Twitter! You can follow, friend, message or connect with us anytime. We post re-

cent events and important information related to Envi-sion. We do not spam our followers. By connecting with us through social media, you help spread aware-ness throughout our community. Also, you can get important weather related office closures, announce-ments, calendar of events and more by visiting:

www.envisionco.org/newsandevents

#EnvisionCoOrg

JOIN THE 3RD ANNUAL 5K IN MY SHOES Guest Writer, Roxanne Stacey

We hope you will join us for our 3rd Annual 5K In My Shoes Walk, Run, Roll that will be held on Sunday, April 17th, 2016 at Envision which is located at 1050 37th Street in Evans. Check-in for participants will be at 7:30 am and the race will begin at 8:30. A 1K course will also be available for those who want to participate in a shorter race. The cost to register is $30, but those who register by March 14th, will save $5 and reserve their shirt size. All participants will receive a shirt and a race participant bag. Breakfast burritos, coffee, and water will be avail-able to everyone in attendance. Participants will also have the opportunity to win hand crafted ceramic medals made by people participating in Envision’s Art Program. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers, the top three male and female finishers in each age group, and to the overall winner. Every partici-pant in the race will also be eligible to win door prizes! Some prizes include tickets or passes to Loveland Ski Area, 18-hole golf rounds, Elitch Gardens, Denver Zoo, Union Colony Civic Center, Pikes Peak Cog Railway and lots of gift certificates, cards and awesome free stuff! People of all ages and all abilities are welcome to participate in this fun event! The course is entirely wheelchair accessible and through a partnership with Athletes In Tandem some people will be pushed through the race. All proceeds from the event will support the mission of Envision to enhance the quality of life for people with in-tellectual and developmental disabilities here in Weld County.

Register online now at: www.envisionco.org/5KInMyShoes #5KInMyShoes

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ENVISION NEWS (cont.) Meet Allison Neidert, Early Intervention Case Manager...

Allison is a Colorado native from Loveland and is now living in Fort Collins. In 2009, Allison earned her Ele-mentary Education Degree from University of North-ern Colorado and has built a career working with chil-dren in classroom settings. As Assistant Director, her passion grew by directly working with families leading her to explore Early Intervention. Allison brings with her many years of enthusiasm and a deep care for the individuals and families she works with. She is married, has two cats and enjoys travel with her hus-band, spending time with her family, skiing, sporting events or hiking in the beautiful Colorado Rockies.

Introducing Juliana Meik, Early Intervention Case Manager...

Juliana grew up in a small community in central Cali-fornia. She earned an Associate's of Arts degree in Family Science from a college in Idaho. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education with a Child and Family emphasis from California State University. Juliana comes to Envision from the Poudre School District where she worked as an Early Head Start Family Mentor, serving families and children prenatal to three years old. Juliana has lived in Colorado for nine years and looks forward to continuing to serve children and families in her own community. In her spare time, Juliana en-joys teaching swim lessons, serving the children in her church, and spending time with her family and friends.

Welcome Janet Sierra, Bilingual Early Intervention Case Manager...

Janet joined the Early Intervention team in August

2015. During college, she was inspired to support

marginalized communities and populations. Since

coming to Envision, Janet has thrived on opportuni-

ties to support and strengthen family relationships

and empower families to advocate for themselves.

Janet has many hobbies including cooking, baking,

watching Netflix, reading and exploring Colorado.

Janet is family oriented and spends time with her

nephews and boyfriend.

Children’s Case Management

Thank you to all of our Colorado Gives Day donors!

We would like to express our gratitude to everyone who partici-pated in Colorado Gives Day on December 8th. We raised a little over $2000.00. It is because of generous donations like these that Envision is able to fulfill our mission to enhance the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Weld County.

Thank you for your support! Angela Deabler Celeste Ewert

David L. Young Jenni Keil

Jennifer Bauer Kara Harvey Kelly Walker

Kelsey Blakley Linda Brainard Marty Kennedy

Mary Allen Mary Lu Walton

Dr. Richard Hanks Tannis Bator

Travis Colvin Vicki Steiner

Virginia Judisch

…and all of our generous donors

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Program Services Welcomes New Staff...

The Program Services Department is pleased to announce new staff members who have joined us:

Elisabeth Alison, Direct Care Provider

Shannon England, Direct Care Provider

Breanna Garcia, Direct Care Provider

Krisie Mott, Direct Care Provider Assistant

It’s great to have you all working with us! Welcome Aboard!

Hire the Work Crew

The seasons are always changing and there is much work to be done! Hire the crew to help with your next project. Examples: yard work, recycling, grounds keeping, gardening, etc. The average rate for work is $20.00 per hour.

Contact a Crew Supervisor at (970) 313-2624.

ENVISION PROGRAM SERVICES NEWS...

Changes in Program Services...

The Program Services department has completed

some restructuring; beginning December 1, 2015,

re-organizing occurred to allow for people to be

“specialists” in service delivery areas. Shawn Crois-

sant is the Day Program/SLS Coordinator, and

Samantha Whittington and Tanya Hughes are the

Program Managers for Day Program/SLS. Virginia

Fernandez is the Residential Coordinator, with

Sheila Floyd and Miriya Navarrete as the PCA Man-

agers and Greg Gunnells as the Host Home Pro-

vider Manager. Tiffany Cron is the Program Coor-

dinator over-seeing Family Support Services, Sup-

ported Employment and is our Therap and Person

Centered Thinking specialist. Amy Salazar is the

Supported Employment Manager. Because of re-

structuring, staff will now be able to focus most of

their time and energy exclusively on specific pro-

grams.

Happenings in Day Program... Sometimes there are absences in Day Program for a variety of reasons; people are sick, on vacation, or we have to close for a snow day, but whatever the rea-son, we were able to have a “make up day” on a Sat-urday in December for people who had missed out on services earlier in the year. This was a great success! Although we weren’t able to do this for everyone, there were several groups who were able to partici-pate in some fun holiday events, including Santa’s Work Shop in Centerra. We are looking forward to being able to offer more Day Program services in the evenings and on weekends. On January 21st, many people enjoyed an all day trip

to the National Western Stock Show at the Denver

Coliseum and to the Farm Show at Island Grove on

January 26th.

We also hosted a tea party on January 5th at Centen-nial Park Library that was open to the public. There were fun games and activities which were thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. On February 9th, some people showed their team spirit at the Victory Parade held in downtown Denver in honor of the Broncos win at Super Bowl 50. The most visible change was the acquisition of a new

fleet of vehicles. The leases on our old minivans ex-

pired and were replaced with a fleet of ten new mini-

vans and nine 4-door sedans. These new vehicles do

not carry the Envision logos as we felt this was more

in line with our philosophies of being a Person-

Centered Organization.

Envision Program Services Vision...

Envision Program Services is a Program Approved Service Agency (PASA) that provides Adult Compre-hensive Services (Residential and Day Program), Sup-ported Living Services and Family Support Services. To create, implement and manage individual and sustainable client programs and services that pro-mote independence and enhance the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities.

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“Pat on the Back” Recognition Award...

The Program Services Department provides opportu-nity for people to recognize Direct Care Professionals, Crew Supervisors, Art Program Facilitators and Team Leaders for good work they are doing by submitting a “Pat on the Back” certificate in a box located in the Program Services Department. A certificate is drawn from the box during each of the quarterly meetings required for staff, and those three staff people are awarded a $20 gift card to Wal-Mart. Staff who had a nomination form submitted must be present at one of the meetings to qualify for the award. The nominees were: Maria Liz Davila, Nichole Gould, Donna Caballero, Chesli Kirby, Ted Herrera, Kim Nix, Lindsey McIntosh, Elida Rodriguez, Laura Henry, Lilia Juarez, Breanna Garcia, Leslie Smith, Zach Heil, Crys-tal Perez, Virginia Goetzel, Alan Perez, Sheri Sullivan, Sara Myers, Roger Harmon, Eddie Guerrero, Joan Chapman, Sandra Rogers, and Maria Barboza.

The winners for the quarter ending December 2015 are...

Misty Brewer

Sharlene Chapman

Shannon England

Congratulations to everyone

who was nominated and to our winners!

ENVISION PROGRAM SERVICES NEWS (CONT.)

Program Services Wish List...

Gardening gloves, canvases to paint on, gift cards to Hobby Lobby, Michaels, At Home and Wal-Mart.

Donations are tax deductible.

Schedule a drop-off: Celeste Ewert, Program Services Director at (970) 313-2604 or cewert@envisionco.org

Family Support Service Program Council...

Family Support Services Program (FSSP) Council is comprised of family members, professionals and interested community members. The Council acts as a guide to the implementation of FSSP at Envision. Council meetings are held quarterly at Envision of-fices. Council members are needed.

If you are interested please contact: Celeste Ewert, Program Services Director at

(970) 313-2604 or email cewert@envisionco.org.

S.T.A.R.S. Program Closed...

Due to increased availability of alternative resources within the community, S.T.A.R.S. program was dis-continued. If you have specific questions or concerns, please feel free to speak with your Program Coordi-nator about resources near you.

If you are in need of free supplies including diapers, wipes, and other items, please contact:

Mary's Cradle Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church

1250 7th Street Windsor, Colorado 80550

Mary's Cradle offers supplies twice a week: Wednesdays from 3pm-5pm and Thursdays from 9am to noon. Mary’s Cradle can be contacted directly with questions regarding their program at (970) 686-5084.

Envision is no longer accepting donations of any form of adaptive equipment, clothing or baby supplies.

Need A Break? Try Drop-off Respite...

Envision offers drop-off respite once per month for children and their siblings as well as adults. This is a great opportunity for families and caregivers to get a much needed break each month. We encourage all eligible family members to take advantage of this service, as needed. Please contact us at the information below at least four days in advance of the scheduled res-pite day in order to reserve your family member a spot

For exact dates and times, check our calendar online at: www.envisionco.org/newsandevents.

Respite will be held or originate at the Envision offices lo-cated at: 1050 37th Street, Evans, CO 80620.

Make a reservation: Trey Tafoya

Respite Program Facilitator 1050 37th Street Evans, CO 80620 (970) 590-9402

More information, including what to bring/not to bring,

medications, medical treatment, lunch/snacks and print-able brochures in English & Spanish are available online at:

www.envisionco.org/respite.

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PHOTO GALLERY

More photo albums are available on Facebook and our website:

www.envisionco.org

Ugly Sweater Day Hosted by Envision’s Employee Committee

2016 Awareness Day for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities with Rep. Dave Young

Outing to Play Pool

Envision’s Super Bowl 50 Party

Outing to the “Farm Show” at Island Grove Center

Greeley Lights the Night Parade

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March 3, 2016 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM Board of Directors Regular Meeting

March 12, 2016 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Children’s Drop-off Respite

March 26, 2016 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM Adult Drop-off Respite

March 28, 2016 ALL DAY ENVISION CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY

April 4, 2016 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM Family Support Services Program Logs and Receipts Deadline

April 4, 2016 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM Executive Finance Committee Regular Meeting

April 7, 2016 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM Board of Directors Regular Meeting

April 9, 2016 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Children’s Drop-off Respite

April 17, 2016 8:30 AM 3rd Annual 5K In My Shoes Walk | Run | Roll www.envisionco.org/5KInMyShoes

Register by March 14th and save $5 and reserve your shirt size!

April 23, 2016 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM Adult Drop-off Respite

May 2, 2016 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM Executive Finance Committee Regular Meeting

May 5, 2016 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM Board of Directors Regular Meeting

May 14, 2016 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Children’s Drop-off Respite

May 28, 2016 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM Adult Drop-off Respite

May 30, 2016 ALL DAY ENVISION CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY

CALENDAR OF EVENTS