HomeMy WebLinkAbout21.03.18 - Minutes, Disabilities Advisory Cmte3/18/2021
March 18th, 2021 Meeting Minutes for Washington County Disability Advisory Committee
Not in Attendance
Randy Samu, Amanda Distefano, Kris Detrow, Heidi Kendall
In Attendance
Sarah Thornton, Dave Barnhart, Linda Kline, Angie Auldridge, Troy Van Scoyoc, Diane Lewis, Danielle
Stahl
The meeting was called to order at 9:33am.
The committee discussed the web accessibility of the resource guide and an example of an app/widget
was shared called Equal Web - https://www.equalweb.com/ which provides options for a text reader,
screen reader adjustment, adjustment of contrast and color, and blink blocking.
As part of the marketing plan for the Disability Resource Guide, the committee decided to divide the
sections of the guide with the purpose of contacting each agency/business on the link in their section to
make them aware of their inclusion on the guide and to request that the guide be linked on their
website. A form letter/email has been created and sent to each member who volunteered so that we
have a consistent message, and hopefully this will expedite the process. It’s important to note that as
we communicate with the community about this guide, we are open to additions/edits that agencies
may request.
All of the sections have been assigned and the details of each assignment are below.
Sarah – Advocacy, Case Management, Day Services, In Home Services, Medical Travel Assistance,
Transportation
Angie – Caregiver/Parent Support Respite, Pediatric Support Programs, Therapy
Dave – Education, Employment, Equipment, Financial, Legal
Troy – Residential Services
Linda – Recreation
Danielle – Communication
Dave volunteered to communicate with the county regarding the need for web accessibility for the
entire county site, not just our page, as well as notification of our project to have agencies link back to
the resource guide. Dave also offered to connect with Paul Frey at the Chamber as well as Wes Decker
with the City to link this guide on their sites as well.
Danielle took the lead on getting the guide on the Healthy Washington County website as well as the
Washington County Health Department website.
Angie will be presenting the guide to the Healthy Washington County group on May 11th at 10am.
The committee then discussed the regular review of state legislation that specifically impact those with
disabilities during the legislative session for the purpose of notifying the county commissioners of
priority bills. It was agreed that Angie would send the Arc of Maryland and Maryland Developmental
Disabilities Council legislative reports to all members each week during the legislative session, which
ends on April 12, 2021. Members are asked to briefly review and bring any priority legislation to the next
meeting for discussion.
There was a brief discussion about structure of the committee, review of by-laws, which county
commissioner will now be assigned to the group and what staff member from the county should be in
attendance at the meetings. This discussion was tabled and will be added to the agenda for discussion at
the next meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 10:01am.