External Program Review Committee (EPRC) minutes

Date: Nov. 7, 2024

DSD liaisons: Stacie Enders

Type: Whole committee

Present: Kim Frost, Jodi Greenstein, Dan Baker, Antonina (Toni) Puente, Susie Haben, Lindsay Nash, Melanie Eidsmoe and Laura Daire

Not present: Danielle Bishop

Agenda items

Review the meeting agenda for additional information.

Public comments

There were no public comments during this meeting.

Vote

The committee discussed and voted on the minutes from September and October 2024.

September 2024

· Toni Puente: yes

· Dan Baker: yes

· Melanie Eidsmoe: yes

· Laura Daire: yes

· Susie Haben: abstain

· Lindsay Nash: yes

· Kim Frost: yes

· Jodi Greenstein: yes

October 2024

· Toni Puente: yes

· Dan Baker: yes

· Melanie Eidsmoe: yes

· Laura Daire: yes

· Susie Haben: abstain

· Lindsay Nash: abstain

· Kim Frost: yes

· Jodi Greenstein: yes

Subcommittee updates

Requests for approval subcommittee

People they support are experiencing more chronic circumstances. They see providers consistently making significant efforts to improve people’s quality of life.

Emergency use of manual restraint subcommittee

This subcommittee is meeting next month to continue working on the PSTP examples. They will be making several examples specific to different types of support needs, such as a:

· Child

· Person with communication needs

· Person with mental illness.

Discussion

Dan Baker volunteered to cover the in-person meeting attendance for Dec. 5. At the committee’s next meeting they will work on who is going to cover meetings for 2025.

The EUMR subcommittee is going to pick a different day for meetings, not Fridays, and get back to Stacie Enders. Stacie will send out the meeting invites soon for 2025.

Annual goals

The committee reviewed their 2024 goals:

Provide resources and guidance for improving communication skills.

· A training provider offered to provide free training for this resource. Stacie is checking with leadership on whether any protocols need to be followed to accept free trainings.

Simplify and organize online DHS materials and training resources related to positive supports or intervention services.

· The committee discussed training needs:

DHS is working on creating an inventory of the hundreds of trainings the Disability Services Division owns or financially supports. That inventory will be made available to staff to better identify gaps in trainings or gaps in who has access to trainings.

There is a need for resources on how to support people who have a mental health disorder and developmental disabilities. DHS could direct people to the national resources from NADD. However, those often have a cost. DHS could consider offering alternative materials for free or purchasing existing materials.

It is difficult for providers to find resources when needed – all resources, all topics. Perhaps DHS could work on making the new training inventory available to the public? Providers would like MN specific resources. Stacie will share this with the team working on the inventory.

It is often difficult for teams to have the capacity to keep online materials up to date.

It would be nice to be able to look up resources by region.

If the inventory were made available online, perhaps DHS could also create a request box where people can submit topics to DHS they feel are not covered by the materials.

MNPSP.org has a lot of good resources, but it can be difficult to navigate. The resources on that website may or may not be included in the inventory since DHS pays for the site – we are not sure. Stacie will ask.

It might be helpful to have resources related to addressing trauma that staff experience on the job, such as exposure to death, physical injury, sexual assault, racial discrimination, etc.

Explore ways to improve access to positive support services.

· The study contract extension period is complete, but the report was not fully completed. However, DHS has access to the data from the public and will continue analysis to determine next steps in the coming years.