Looking Forward

Dear Imagine friends and family,

Today is Fiscal New Year's Day for Imagine and the State of California. This is the sober version of that holiday.

The budget for Imagine for 2024-2025 is looking good and has rapidly gotten better. The budget for the State of California is unsustainable which affects our ambitions for the new resources.

Given a choice between making hard choices to balance the budget and fully funding past promises, the state government kind of chose neither. The plan is to declare a fiscal emergency during a strong economy to take substantial resources out of the rainy day fund and slow down some spending promises. In Imagine's case, this means that the final phase of "Rate Reform" is set to take place in January rather than nowish. That also has no impact on reducing next year's deficit.

Prudence requires that, until California's budget balances, Imagine set aside substantial funds to protect caregiver wages and leadership positions in the event of funding cuts. The rate reform increases come with the requirement that half of any rate increases go to caregiver compensation.

But the Rate Reform isn't the only way our next year budget projection has improved in the two months since we passed the budget. In late June, we learned that through separate legislation our FHA will once again be funded in line with group homes beginning today. We have already substantially increased provider stipends and plan to do more before the end of the year with a series of incentives to improve life for our clients and compliance with regulations. But importantly for Imagine, this funding will transition our FHA program from one that the rest of the agency subsidizes to one that supports our infrastructure.

We expect one of our SLS clients to transition to self-determination and the plan is that some of the behavioral support resources will be combined with SLS supports to improve the funding of the program, the wages of better trained caregivers and to better support the agency. Fun fact, by the way, San Andreas Regional Center has eight individuals in the self-determination program who receive services similar to SLS. Four of those are served by Imagine, and that's going to be five. Let's take a moment as a community to celebrate our pioneering spirit.

A final fiscal consideration not in the passed budget: Our auditor pointed out that we spend about 1/3 less on administration and overhead as similar nonprofits our size. We have maintained that because we have had very long term administrative staff committed to the agency and efficient with our processes, but even before Heather left, we were aware that the leadership team is pretty consistently spread thin.

Anyway, what the board will receive from management (probably at the October meeting) is a plan that looks at these funding improvements in this way:

• Whatever proceeds there are from rate reform should be divided in two between caregiver compensation and agency reserves.
• New funding added to FHA should be divided between higher base stipends for providers, incentives for providers who meet important standards around client lifestyle goals, safe housing and medical support.
• Other than those related to rate reform, new available resources should be used primarily to sustainably strengthen both the services and administrative sides of Imagine's leadership team. By sustainably, I mean we won't spend them all.

We had three great events in June with at least one coming in July. At the start of the month, our client AJ hosted a pool party for some of his peers in the agency. That was a lot of fun. On the solstice we had our Summer Barbecue which was also a lot of fun. And then on the following Friday, we had Ian's big birthday extravaganza. That was great and it should be noted, we got to hear Bob be wrong about a who sang a song from the 60s. If you missed the party, you missed that too. I did not so you are right to envy me.

And Shared Adventures' Day On The Beach is coming up on the 13th. This is one of the events that makes Santa Cruz special for people with developmental disabilities. Imagine contributes by leading the registration for the event. If you would like to volunteer for the Team Imagine subsection of Team Shared Adventures, please let me know. If you haven't registered and would like to, you can do so here.

We want to add a new column to the Spotlight Section of this newsletter. For now, we're calling it Spotlight on Change. The purpose of this column is to raise awareness throughout the agency and our stakeholders of the changes, small or large, that can be made by using person-centered thinking. We welcome all of our stakeholders to contribute by sending stories and accompanying photos to Maggie or me.



Further down, this month's newsletter includes the following:.

An appreciation of Eileen, our recruiter, who plans to leave this month after training her replacement. For Imagine stakeholders, especially those with more than one year experience, it would be easy to undervalue Eileen's contribution to improvements in the quality of our services (and the mood of her coworkers.) I want you all to realize what Eileen has given us in a year.

In The Year of...closing an experiment but no end to trying.

I hijacked Patty's column this month to give a lecture on communication and reliability.

The Person-Centered Evolution this month talks about the decision making profile.

The Redwood Chronicles has not one, not two but three stories from Jake.

In Community Connections, our next big together in the Age of Rekow, promised.

Our usual stuff in the column around self-determination.

The Advocacy Corner discusses the state budget.

Our monthly Transparency at Imagine column includes a repeat of next year's approved budget, 2021's and 2022's final audits as well as our latest IRS Form 990 as submitted May 15.

This month we have spotlights on a person we serve, a caregiver and a change, to wit, Zach, Julie and Victor and community time with Daniel.

As ever, I am at your service. If you have any questions, feedback or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here. I look forward to hearing from you.

Gratefully yours,

Doug

Thank you, Eileen

(Trigger warning- contains compliments)

About a year ago, our recruiter, Fabi, went on maternity leave and Eileen came to us as a temp. It didn't take long before we weren't willing to let her leave and we still aren't. But this is her last month in her position at Imagine because it turns out Patty and I aren't omnipotent. Eileen has been building a future career as an aesthetist and the opportunity she was seeking came to her. I've never been more Team Ugly.

The first way I knew that Eileen was gifted at the recruiter position, were the summaries she would send out after her interviews. They were concise but also displayed a great sense of the candidate's presentation, strengths and any concerns. It made it much easier for Facilitators and me to guess how well a candidate would match with a client in need of a caregiver. Over the course of her year with Imagine, Eileen got to know enough about the people we serve that by the end, she had the ability to suggest matches well. The quality of matching has been better with Eileen as our recruiter.

The next way I came to appreciate what a rare gem she is was waiting to speak with her while she interviewed two candidates in a row and I noticed her cadence. Eileen has a soft voice and speaks at a pace that invites people who want to speak to do so, while allowing someone who feels timid or nervous to form their sentences.

Filling shifts is the absolute bottom rung of an SLS agency's hierarchy of needs but Imagine has spent an awful lot of our time and energy there over the last several years. During Eileen's year, that turned around to the degree that person-centered thinking now begins before a caregiver is hired.

(Another great thing about Eileen is her curiosity- she did the basic course in Person-Centered Planning, QBS and other trainings for caregivers.)

Of course, the personality of our coworkers matter too. Me, I'm a sucker for the kind of kind of joke that gets funnier while you process it and Eileen has a dry, soft-spoken wit. She is professional and sophisticated (although she also seems to know a lot about what happens on TikTok.) One other thing about her is she is very uncomfortable receiving compliments so this column will have a trigger warning.

While we accept that Eileen's new position suits her goals better than staying with us, we do not release her from the Imagine family. We hope to see Eileen around a lot as we are all very fond of her. But we all wish her the best in her new position. If you need a great aesthetist, reach out and we'll put you in touch.

-Submitted by Doug

Person Centered Evolution

The decision making profile is a training tool that can make it easier for care providers and strangers to get the truest, most informed choices from an individual.

The individual and those who know the individual can put their heads together with the goal of giving information in the way that will be best received and easiest processed by the person served. It also helps caregivers and others to offer choices and get consent in the way and under the conditions that will provide the sincerest, most understandable choices, including on matters of consent.

The Redwood Chronicles

This month we get three stories from Jake:

#1

One day my staff Connie with me as a 1 on 1. We went for drive out to Monterey County to as Connie calls it “The Island” it’s actually the Moss Landing Harbor. We saw a sea otter as we entered the Harbor Area (No Pictures Taken ☹️, since Connie was driving) took a few pictures of the Big Boats docked. There was one was one that was Huge one it was named “King Philip.” It was one the biggest boats docked, My Staff Connie said it was a fishing boat. Connie also mentioned from her Property that she can see the lights of these fishing boats are visible, still waiting for a Picture 🤔)

As always Connie and I have Awesome Adventures in Monterey County “The Monterey Bay “

Moral: Where kings fish, otters rule.

#2

A few weeks ago when I got to Redwood (Common Roots Farm) from being out in the community with my staff Connie and Sandra. The day was sunny and very warm, so I decided to be out on the porch and just absorb the sunshine and the warmth while waiting for My PM staff Aaron (My New Buddy ☺️) Connie and I were watching a pair of swallows come back and forth (to the house that is front of My House)they were circling and would fly under the roof to that house. Connie said “That’s a Mommy and Daddy making a Nest for their Babies” I gave her a grin,and laughed when My Staff Connie Would say they were a Mommy and Daddy..

Moral: Families swallow a lot, and so do swallows family.

#3

For about a month and half the Red Tail Hawks at Common Roots have been making their presence known and most of all heard. My Staff Connie and I always Keep watching the one tree that is on the Common Roots Property . My staff Connie always says “Look at the tree, You see The Red Tail Hawk?” Connie says they have a nest 🪺 with eggs with Baby Hawks, and will be here before the Summer Solstice. And a few days ago we can hear the noises of these little baby hawks and The Momma and Daddy are always chatting back and with the babies.

Connie and I always try to guess how many there are. I said 3 and Connie says 2.

We will just have to continue this story next month.

Moral: You can raise any number of children as long as their tails stay red.

Human Resources Corner

Hello Everyone, 

(this is totally Doug) I wanted to remind you all of the importance of communication, reliability and how they are connected.

With regard to reliability, the first thing we want to recognize is that things happen sometimes and people get sick sometimes. Even our most reliable caregivers need to call out once or twice a year. Even our most timely employees are probably late that often too.

When you will be late or are out due to illness or emergency W, you do not have to find your own coverage (although it is great if you can) and you do not have to tell the whole team, although it is kindly if you do. But we do ask all of our employees at every level to let us know as early as possible and at least 20 minutes before a shift starts if they will be late.

This is important to the people we serve and the caregivers who serve with you. Many of Imagine's clients are very closely tied to patterns. If they expect something to happen, like a shift change, they can suffer extra anxiety when it doesn't happen on time. Knowing someone will be late or missing gives the rest of the team time to prepare the individual.

Almost all of Imagine's clients are sensitive to how their caregivers are feeling and sometimes the people most impacted by a caregiver's tardiness or absence are the people who have to stay after their shift. With two hours notice, Imagine can almost always have someone the client knows in place to relieve the on-duty staff on time. With 20 minutes notice, we often can. Without knowing someone will miss their shift or be late, we cannot.

Finally, I want to address and be transparent about frequent call-outs. Even if each time late to or absent from a shift is completely legitimate, documented and well communicated, people who call out weekly or more (or just a little less) do have trouble getting promoted or preferred shifts or keeping their positions. Because of the impact on the people we serve and the team, we consider that both legal and moral.

Patty Lopez

Assistant Director of Human Resources

Imagine Supported Living Services