November 2023

November 2023

Click here to see original email campaign with photos.

From the Council's Chief Strategy Officer

Dear readers,

This week, I attended the third summit for our Leadership Academy of Excellence in Disability Services (LAEDS), offered in partnership with the Dept. of Human Resources. LAEDS is a training for state leaders who work in programs that serve people with disabilities (and isn't that all of them?!). 

This session, LAEDS participants practiced creative thinking skills and heard about innovation happening right now in state government related to people with disabilities. They heard from our Executive Director, Lauren Pearcy, about a framework for behavioral health across all services. I talked to participants about plain language - what it is, why it matters, and how to use it. 

Easy to understand information is a basic need for any of us. For people with disabilities, it's an essential first step to getting much needed services and supports. That's why we are excited to share below the news about TennCare's updated websites for key disability-related programs. It's also why we want to introduce you to the outreach team at Disability Rights Tennessee.

Clear information is a pathway to knowledge and empowerment. We hope this newsletter is one place you find it! We'd love to hear your feedback - the good, the bad, and everything in between. Contact us any time at TNDDC@tn.gov. Happy Thanksgiving next week to you and your loved ones! We'll see you back here when the holiday season is in full swing. 

Jolene Sharp
Chief Strategy Officer

P.S. November is Family Caregiver Month! Don't miss information below about a new resource for supporting family caregivers. Thank you to each of you who support a loved one with a disability - your love, passion, and advocacy are a driving force for positive change in our state. 

Get to Know These Leaders: Disability Rights Tennessee's Outreach Team

We like to introduce our readers to different leaders of agencies and programs that impact Tennesseans with disabilities.

Today, we're introducing you to Dalmys Sanchez, Jessica Klacik, and Lee Sherwood. Together, they form the communications team at Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT). DRT is our state's disability protection and advocacy organization, which is the legal arm of Tennessee's Developmental Disabilities Network. (Our Council is the policy change arm of the DD Network.)  

First, meet Dalmys Sanchez, Diversity Outreach Coordinator. 

Tell us a bit about your career background and your current role.
Dalmys: I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and my first language is Spanish. I first came to the United States on a scholarship to study special education after having graduated as an elementary school teacher in my country.

Although my educational background was in education and special education, I came to work with the disability community because of a personal experience with my first child. When he was three years old, he was expelled from a private pre-K program, allegedly because of his hyperactivity. I refused to leave the school without a referral to some program that would help my child behave better, so he could stay in school. I was encouraged to call the Regional Intervention Program (RIP). We went to RIP so they could fix our child, only to realize that the one that needed fixing was us (and the school staff who couldn’t deal with an active and curious 3-year-old)!

RIP was so impactful for my family that I developed a burning desire to stay in that world of kindness and respect for children. I let the staff know that I was interested in working in the program. A parent-case manager position opened almost immediately! That’s how my career in early intervention started. It continued for over a decade through my work in several agencies, including RIP and Tennessee’s Early Intervention System (TEIS).

I wanted to learn more about the issues that affect people with disabilities in the different stages of their lives, so I moved into the disability advocacy field by joining Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT). In the 7 years that I have been in the agency, I have filled different roles and grown as a disability advocate. I've gone from intake advocate to leading the access team to outreaching to the Spanish-speaking community, and currently coordinating the agency’s outreach efforts as the Outreach & Diversity Coordinator.

What is one thing you’re working on right now that you are excited about?
I am excited about connecting with community partners in the different regions of the state to collaborate outreach efforts in communities that are traditionally underserved, such as rural counties, sensory disability communities, the Spanish-speaking and other immigrant and refugee communities in the state.

What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned from working with TN’s disability community?
I have learned that if people of a particular community don’t reach out to agencies and organizations, it is not for lack of need, it is rather for lack of information. People don’t know what they don’t know, which is why outreach and education are such an important part of the advocacy work that we do.

If you could wave a magic wand to remove a barrier to doing all that you want to be doing in your role, what would that look like?
In a magical sense, I would make it so everyone understands each other’s language to be able to communicate effectively and make meaningful connections. This magic can happen when organizations and businesses employ people of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and provide interpreters when needed.

What are some activities you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy dancing, walking, watching my children play basketball, reading literature, and writing.

When should members of the disability community reach out to you or your team directly? 
When people want to learn about disability rights or want other groups to get education on the topic, they can contact me to request education or to request our participation in resource and educational events. They can write to GetHelp@DisabilityRightsTN.Org or call 800-342-1660.

Meet Jessica Klacik, Communication Coordinator for Disability Rights Tennessee.

Tell us a bit about your career background and your current role.
Jessica: I am actually a recent graduate, having graduated from college at Purdue University in August of 2022. During my time there, I majored in Public Relations and Strategic Communications with certificates in Public Policy and Environmental and Sustainability Studies.

I had a few internships and job experiences while in college, including an internship with Boiler Communication, which was Purdue’s student-run agency, and selling bridal gowns on the weekends! I was led to a job at Disability Rights Tennessee by life experience. My family took in a cousin of mine who has disabilities when I was 18, and I saw the way she was failed by the systems and society in general. It was at this time I became an advocate for individuals with disabilities. My experience being a caregiver for her and my background in communications led me to this role as a Communications Coordinator. I plan and execute:social media plans,blog plans,internal and external communications,and website maintenance,as well as all branding needs!

What is one thing you’re working on right now that you are excited about?
I just worked in collaboration with our Voting Access team to create a series of videos to be used in poll training across the state. These videos outlined accessibility, effective communication, accommodations, and more. I was able to work with many members of the DRT team to make these videos a reality, from planning to distribution. I was also featured in the videos as a poll worker, making it my debut role on video!

What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned from working with TN’s disability community?
I would say being more involved with the disability community has shown me how many barriers are encountered in everyday life that can be easily corrected or adjusted to be accessible. Examples of this in my work are: utilizing alternative text, or text that describes an image for screen readers,using heavy contrast in graphic designs for easily readable text,or ensuring videos have captions. I will also say, I have learned that accessibility is changing every day, so it is important to keep a student mindset and to give yourself grace!

If you could wave a magic wand to remove a barrier to doing all that you want to be doing in your role, what would that look like?
I would say I would love digital accessibility features to be easier to use and used more often! With the communication channels I manage being primarily digital, I wish I was able to reach underserved communities more easily and effectively. Some features like automated and accurate captioning for videos or easy and accurate translation would make my job more streamlined and remove barriers for people online far and wide.

What are some activities you enjoy doing in your free time?
In my free time, I love spending time with friends or my cats, exploring Nashville, or crafting! I am from a small town up by Chicago and only moved here about a year-and-a-half ago, so I feel like I still have so much in the area to see and people to meet! I also love live music, so I really enjoy going to writers' rounds and finding new artists to listen to.

Meet Lee Sherwood, Director of Community Relations and Development for Disability Rights Tennessee.

Tell us a bit about your career background and your current role.
Lee: Although not originally from Nashville, I made Nashville my home at the age of 15, when my family moved from Galveston, TX. I have moved away from Nashville a few times to pursue my education elsewhere, but I have always found my way back.

I earned my bachelor’s degree in history from Sewanee: The University of the South and went on to work as the Manager of Development and Outreach for a disability service provider here in Nashville. In 2021, I eagerly combined my passion for learning and my love for travel when I relocated to Venice, Italy, to pursue a master's degree in human rights and democratization. From there, I was lucky enough to spend 6 months in Ljubljana, Slovenia, writing my thesis on humanitarian intervention in Haiti in the late 1990s. 

Today, I proudly serve as the Director of Community Relations and Development at Disability Rights Tennessee. Getting information out into the community, sharing current projects that DRT is working on, coordinating and attending community events/training, and raising money to expand the services we offer are all things that come through the Community Relations department. 

What is one thing you’re working on right now that you are excited about?
It is so hard to pick just one thing that DRT is working on. With 2024 being a big election year, I am really excited to get voting information out to the community. We just finalized some great poll worker training videos that we will be releasing very soon!

What is one of the biggest lessons you have learned from working with TN’s disability community?
Having worked in two different agencies with two different structures, the interconnectivity of the entire TN disability community was apparent from the very beginning. It is always a joy to walk into meetings, trainings, etc. and always see a familiar face from our community. It takes a village of advocates to make positive change, and I am proud to be a part of it!

If you could wave a magic wand to remove a barrier to doing all that you want to be doing in your role, what would that look like?
As a communicator, especially in the digital times we live in, I wish that all the information we post goes directly to the feed, inbox, or notification center of everyone who needs it. Accessibility issues come in many different forms, and I wish I could see all businesses, social media users, governments, and everyone in-between make their content as accessible as possible!

What are some activities you enjoy doing in your free time?
I am lucky enough to live near both Radnor Lake and Percy Warner Park, so I love to go on walks and hikes there, especially right now with the leaves changing colors! I also love to try new restaurants with family and friends, read, and travel as much as I can.

When should members of the disability community reach out to you or your team directly? 
Disability Rights Tennessee has a Get Help line that is always open. You can reach us by email at GetHelp@DisabilityRightsTN.org, via voice call at 1.800.342.1660, or on our website at www.DisabilityRightsTN.org.

For Family Caregivers Month: A new website to help communities support caregivers

SupportCaregiving.org is a new, national site that shares specific actions to support family caregivers.We all can work together to lighten the load for family caregivers. Explore the site for strategies that you can take to better support family caregivers and share this resource widely with your networks. 

The site includes resource guides with concrete actions for:

  • Family caregivers
  • Area Agencies on Aging 
  • Employers
  • Funders
  • Managed Care Plans
  • State officials

The site also features a short, animated video overview of the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. The site was launched by a coalition of groups, including NASHP, the National Alliance for Caregiving, and The John A. Hartford Foundation.

TennCare launches updated websites for programs serving people with disabilities

TennCare has launched updated websites for:

  • Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS)
  • Employment and Community First (ECF) CHOICES - offers services for people of all ages who have an intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD) 

Long Term Services and Supports partnered with members of our Council staff, along with other external partners, to provide feedback on the website.

Thomas Wood, LTSS Director of Communication for TennCare, shared more background on the project. 

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What were the goals for the website transformation project?
One of the goals of the website transformation project was to make the web pages more user friendly. In addition, we wanted to create a new webpage that housed many of the LTSS documents in one place. Overall, our goal was to streamline the website so that anyone could easily find what they were looking for.
 
How did you gather feedback?
We gathered feedback through focus groups, brainstorming sessions, and testing out different webpages. We met with external groups, including:the MCOs (managed care organizations that contract with TennCare to provide services)DIDD (TN Dept. of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities) AAADs (Area Agencies on Aging and Disability)PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) In the meetings, we gathered feedback on ways to improve the site. We also met with subject matter experts throughout LTSS. In these sessions, we thought of ways to include the external feedback into the new webpages. Through this work, we were able to include many of the recommendations that external partners made.

What do you hope people will experience on the updated sites?
We hope that people can more easily navigate throughout the LTSS website and find what they are looking for. The program pages have been updated to make them more efficient and easier to access. We also hope that the new LTSS Documents page will help people find the documents they need in a more efficient manner.

For questions about TennCare's website transformation project, contact Thomas at thomas.wood@tn.gov. 

Have you opened an ABLE TN account?


By Cassidy Denton, Tennessee Department of Treasury

More than 3,000 Tennesseans have found ABLE TN to be a great solution to help save for their future. ABLE TN account holders have saved more than $43 million in 3,291 accounts, as of June 30, 2023. Would ABLE TN be a good option for you?
 
The Tennessee Department of Treasury is proud to administer ABLE TN, one of the nation’s first Achieving a Better Life Experience programs! ABLE TN is a savings program that provides Tennesseans with disabilities the opportunity to put aside money to pay for qualified expenses. With an ABLE TN account, participants can save and invest for the future with tax-free earnings. They can conveniently manage their account online.
 
ABLE TN provides individuals with disabilities opportunities to save and invest to maintain health, independence, and quality of life. ABLE accounts can be opened in the name of the person with a disability, as long as the disability was diagnosed before their 26th birthday. While the named individual is the account owner, there are ways others can help maintain the account on their behalf. ABLE accounts can be set up and managed by a legal representative.
 
Anyone can make contributions to an ABLE TN account in a variety of ways, including:

  • checks,
  • electronic transfers (EFTs), and
  • payroll deductions. 

Participants can even invite their friends and family to contribute directly to their ABLE TN account through Ugift, an easy, free online service. 

The 2023 annual contribution limit for an ABLE account is $17,000. The contribution limit increases to $18,000 starting in 2024. In some situations, working ABLE account owners can save more. Over time, individuals may accumulate up to $100,000 in an ABLE account without impacting their eligibility for certain federal means-tested benefits. An eligible account owner can only have one ABLE account.
 
The Tennessee Department of Treasury monitors each investment option offered by ABLE TN to ensure the highest quality investment options are available to account owners. These are the same professionals who invest funds for public employees and teachers. Interest earned on ABLE TN account funds is tax-free if used to cover qualified disability expenses.
 
When you have a qualified disability expense, you can make a tax-free withdrawal from the ABLE TN account to pay for it. Qualified disability expenses are ones related to the account owner’s disability. Examples include:

  • education,
  • housing,assistive technology,
  • and more. 

To learn if an ABLE TN account is right for you and your family, go to ABLETN.gov to learn more.

Disability Policy Corner (Nov. 2023)

Special news collection 
Articles about the TN legislative workgroup considering rejecting federal education funding that has been meeting this month. This would have a significant impact on students with disabilities in TN.

TN news and events

Federal news and events