Illinois Department of Human Services ICRE-R Advisory Council met Oct. 7.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
In attendance (via Zoom): Letitia Doe (Superintendent) Wanda McNeal, Mary McAloon, Louis Hamer (DHS), Darci Contri, Therese Manderino, Tina Cole,
The meeting was called to order at 9:05 am
Review of Minutes
Minutes for June 8, 2021 were reviewed.
Superintendent's Report, Letitia Doe
MaryAnne Kelly, board president, and most of the members of the advisory board have resigned.
Ideas for recruiting new members included: Therese will reach out to recent retirees; Letitia will ask the parents; She has a student who is interested in serving on the board.
Other suggestions included contacting UIC, Business Partners and Mr. McNally, the retired principal of Vaughn.
Wanda will send board members the agendas for future meetings.
Darci will continue on the board until June, 2022.
The entrepreneurship program with UIC and self-employment programs are in planning stages. There are mission and vision statements. Meetings are held on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to plan program model.
Covid is still an issue. This limits all outside activities. There are new procedures for testing students and staff.
Last year's graduates are continuing at ICRE for an additional year, due to instruction time missed for Covid.
There are staff shortages due to resignations and to new complicated hiring procedures from the state. More retirees are expected in December. Staff has been filling in and working overtime. Many programs are on hold until staffing is completed.
State does allow some contract positions, but it is difficult to find hires.
Foundation Report, Therese Manderino
The 5 Year Contract with ICRE for space for the Foundation has ended. The Foundation does not generate enough income to continue with the contract. The space in out for bid.
Therese has proposed condensing the space for the Foundation. No decision has been made.
Therese has been working from home on Zoom with the entrepreneurs. This has been successful. The students are working from home, but lack of space will hurt production.
ICRE will reopen the store to help generate some funds.
Abilities Expo in June was a success. Transportation was a problem for students and not everyone could attend.
Darci has space for Therese in an Expo in Peoria. Therese cannot transport all the materials needed. Darci will see if she can offer help
Letitia hopes the new entrepreneur program with UIC will help bridge the gap between new and old programs. Therese is open to all ideas for success.
New Business
There is no new business.
Old Business
At the June Meeting, there was discussion about the side yard garden which is overgrown and not taken care of. There have been no changes since then
Therese suggested dismantling the garden and to consider either grass or wild flowers. ICRE is waiting for funding.
Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned at 10:49 am.
Date of next meeting: December 9, 2021 @ 9:30 am via Zoom. Meetings will continue on Zoom until it is considered safe for non-staff to enter the building.
https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=138000
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