Take Action to Strengthen the Direct Support Workforce
New Board Members, Foundation Trustees Reappointed, Board affirms ACA Position and approves ANCOR, UCP, AAIDD, The Arc, NACDD Public Policy Agenda for the 115th Congress, February Meet & Greet in San Diego
Although the ANCOR Board of Directors has not met in person since last the November/December Across the Board report, as you can see from the headlines above, we have a number of interim electronic actions to report. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].
Board Adopts ACA “Repeal and Replace” Position As Congress moved quickly toward setting in motion the steps toward repealing the Affordable Health Act – President Obama’s signature health care reform bill – on January 13th the board voted to support a motion made by Mark Davis, State Association Executive Liaison to the Board, that ANCOR oppose the repeal of the ACA without a replacement. Specifically, the board adopted the position that “the US Congress not move to repeal the Affordable Care Act without its replacement in place at the same time. Furthermore, that any proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid be previewed and shared with constituents before any actions are taken to move them forward.”
Public Policy Agenda for the 115th Congress Every two years, ANCOR partners with the UCP, The Arc, AAIDD and NACDD on the development of policy priorities for the forthcoming Congress. The resulting product is known as the Public Policy Agenda and is distributed widely with members of Congress. The process is shepherded by staff at The Arc, and takes months of planning meetings to finalize. Each organization’s Board votes on the final product. Under the leadership of ANCOR Board member Stan Soby and ANCOR staff Esme Grant Grewal and Katherine Berland, the agenda includes priorities important to ANCOR membership – including a strong emphasis on addressing the Direct Support Professional Workforce Crisis, preserving and protecting Medicaid and enhancing technology options for people. The ANCOR Board approved the Agenda in an electronic vote the week of December 15th. The final version will be posted on our website in the coming weeks.
New Board Members: Daryn and Tony Thomas
Congratulations are in order for Tony Thomas and Daryn Demeritt – the two newest members of the ANCOR Board of Directors. Tony joins the board as the elected representative of the Board of Representatives, and Daryn’s appointment was made by the full board pursuant to their authority to elect up to two additional members.
Both men bring a wealth of experience and history of long time ANCOR engagement. Tony Thomas, CEO of Welcome House (Westlake, Ohio), elected in a special election to fill the vacancy created by Bob Bond’s December resignation, brings strong expertise in workforce, housing and co-occurring IDD/BH diagnoses best practice and policy development, and has been active with the board of representatives for many years. Daryn Demeritt, an experienced government relations professional, is the Senior Vice President of Government Relations for ResCare (headquartered in Louisville, KY), currently co-chairs ANCOR’s SOS Campaign, and previously co-chaired the National Advocacy Campaign.
Foundation Trustees Reappointed Congratulations are also in order following the reappointment of four members of the ANCOR Foundation Board of Trustees. In December the ANCOR Board of Directors voted electronically to re-appoint Bonnie Brooks, CEO OHI (Hermon, ME), Ann Moffitt, Vice President Community Development, Keystone Partnership (Harrisburg, PA), Terry Rogers, ED, Chesco Services (Chesterfield, South Carolina), and Bill Tapp, Consultant (Knoxville, TN).
Finally, If You’re in San Diego in February Please consider joining members of the ANCOR Board for a meet & greet and informal lunch discussion on Friday, February 10th beginning at noon at the Arc of San Diego’s North Shore Vocational Center. Email Gabrielle Sedor ([email protected]) if you think you can make it. The full board meets Feb 8-9 at the Loews Coronado for the annual winter retreat.
Barbara Merrill is CEO of ANCOR. She can be reached at [email protected].