Developmental Disabilities Reform Act

Draft Review & Revision Meeting 8

June 4, 2009
415 Michigan Avenue, NE

Meeting Notes

In attendance: Mark Back, OAG/DDS; Sandy

Bernstein, University Legal Services; Karen Davis,
Quality Trust; Emma Hambright, DDS; Mat
McCollough, Office of Disability Rights; Mary Lou
Meccariello, The Arc of DC; Elaine Saunders; T.J.
Sutcliffe, The Arc of DC; Bob Williams, DDS;
Antoinette Wiseman, Septima Clark Public Charter
School

Meeting notes:

1. Welcome, Introductions and Announcements

Notes from Meeting 7 were distributed. Meeting 7

participants are asked to review the meeting notes and
contact T.J. Sutcliffe (tjsutcliffe@arcdc.net or 202-636-
2963) with any corrections. Meeting notes are not

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intended to be a transcript of the discussion, but rather
attempt to highlight key items discussed and the
resolution of each item.

2. Discussion of criminal background check section

The group revisited its discussion from Meeting 7

regarding criminal background checks for staff and
volunteers at DDA and providers. The majority of
meeting participants agreed to make the following
change:

A person who has any of the felonies convictions

listed on page 61 of the draft DDRA will be
permanently barred from working as a paid
employee at DDA or a provider agency, or as a
volunteer who has unsupervised contact with
persons with developmental disabilities.

Participants noted that this issue may be reviewed

further during the DC Council legislative process.

3. Discussion of services for persons found

incompetent in a criminal case

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The intent of this section was to continue the current
system for persons who are committed to DDA due to a
finding that the person is incompetent to stand trial in
a criminal case, with no change. The only intentional
change in the current draft is that the person would be
committed “to the care of DDA” as opposed to a facility.

T.J. Sutcliffe noted that several provisions that exist

under current law (including transfer proceedings and
the annual hearing) were inadvertently left out of the
current draft. The Drafting Subcommittee will ensure
that all needed provisions in current law will be
transferred over into the final draft bill.

4. Discussion of legislative review and reporting

The group agreed to make the following changes to this

section:

Require a report card on the agency’s

implementation of the Comprehensive
Developmental Disability Services Plan (as opposed
to the Mayor’s).

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Remove the requirement to provide service
descriptions (page 74, line 1).

Clarify that grievance data are for grievances filed

with the DDS office authorized to resolve grievances
on behalf of the Developmental Disabilities
Administration.

Ten years after the legislation takes effect, the

Council should conduct a comprehensive review of
the legislation to determine if it has met the goals
and objectives and to determine any if changes are
needed to improve the legislation’s effectiveness.
The Mayor should submit recommendations to the
Council.

Incorporate waiting list data requirements to track

the numbers of people in intake and the numbers of
people not yet receiving services (but for whom
services have been approved).

5. Next meeting

The next meeting will be Thursday, June 11th from 3:00

to 5:00 p.m. at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library at

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901 G Street, NW in room A10. Topics will be:
grievances; legal services, advocates and Court access;
and transition from admission and commitment
processes and procedures.

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