Transcripts For SFGTV Mayors Disability Council 42117 201704

Via wheelchair left. Assistive listening devices are available in our meeting is open captioned and sign language interpreter. Our agendas are also available in large print in braille. Please, ask staff for any additional assistance. To prevent electronic interference with this room sound system, and to respect everyones ability to focus on the presentations, please, silence all mobile phones and pdas. Your cooperation is appreciated. We welcome the publics participation during Public Comment. You may complete a speakers card available in the front of the room. Approach the microphone during Public Comment, or call our ridge line our ridge line our ridge line at 14155549632. When a staff person will handle request to speak at the appropriate time. The maters Disability Council meetings are generally held on the third friday of the month. Our next regular meeting will be held our next regular meeting will be held on friday, our next regular meeting will be held on friday, may 19, 2017 from one4 pm here in San Francisco city hall in room 400. Please, call the Mayors Office on disability for further information or to request accommodations. At 14155546789. Voice. Or by email at mod at. Voice. Or by email at mod sfguv. Org. A reminder to all our guest today to speak slowly into the microphone to assist our sinners and interpreters. We thank you for joining us today. We really do because we can appreciate the hassle that the power outage throughout the city and getting here so we think our presenters, our audience, i think the council members. For being here. Okay. So lets get right onto our agenda. I also want to let you know that you can come up during Public Comment portion and speak and if you dont have a speakers card that is fine which is like to know who you are so we can address you properly. Excuse me donna . Okay. Now we will proceed. We did the welcome and were going to proceed with the roll call senhaux present, blacksten here, kostanian [inaudible] sassouni [inaudible]. Smolinski here, williams here. Thank you donna. If this meeting were going to normally come in to make an amendment to the agenda. Or, the approval of the agenda but we dont have a quorum to do so. So we will go ahead and proceed to item number three which is Public Comments. Items not on todays agenda within the jurisdiction of the mdc. Each speaker is limited to three minutes. Through the chairs behest spews reading of the agenda, please . Im sorry. Are to me i was excited to get on the meeting. Thank you, donna go ahead agenda item number one, welcome introduction and roll call. Agenda item number two, action item meeting and approval of the agenda which was amended by the chair. Agenda item number three is Public Comments. Items not on todays agenda within the jurisdiction of the mdc. Each speaker is limited to three minutes. Please, approach the microphone or give your common card to the mod staff. Agenda item number four, information item report from the Mayors Office on disability. Agenda item number five, information item. What is so special about the specials guild. The special skilled programs and future directions presentation by andy axel chief technical officer at the special skill. Public comment is welcome. Information item number six, autism job club. The neural Diverse Workforce in the new normal of employment. Discussion about the many employment initiatives being undertaken through the United States in Northern California for adults on the autism spectrum and the initial results. Presentation by Michael Wernick former director California Employment Development Department Attorney sedgwick llp. Public comment is welcome. Information item number seven, living and working as a person on the autism spectrum. Presentation by matthew mcintyre. Public comment is welcome. Break. Counsel will take a 15 minute break. Agenda item number eight, information item. Department of rehabilitation. Serving individuals with autism an overview of the department of Rehabilitation Services to assist individuals with autism to return to work. Presentation by teresa wu, San Francisco district Administrator Department of rehabilitation. Public comment is welcome. Agenda item number nine, information item. Access sf ust the arts. Promoting transition and maximizing potential. Learn how access prevent Unified School District supports students to discover their passions, maximize their potential, and achieve their goals during their last four years of Public School utilizing San Francisco as its campus. Presentation by heidi sarah 10, special education department, jen kabobi, special education teacher. Tommy leung student advocate, samuel ben wallace, student advocate. Public comment is welcome. Agenda item number 10, information item. Support services for students on the autism spectrum at uc berkeley. A snapshot of Services Provided by uc berkeleys disabled Students Program specifically coordinated to support students on the autism spectrum. Presentation by Marina Fontana Ma crc trio disability specialist uc berkeley. Public comment is welcome. Agenda item number 11, information item. Life as a uc Berkeley Student on the autism spectrum. Discussion of the increasing number of uc Berkeley Students with autism and their support Networks Among themselves and with the university. Presentation by anna burnett, uc berkeley freshman, former member of mayors youth commission. Public comment is welcome. Agenda item number 12, information item. Partnership and life issues. The experience of students with autism. This presentation will focus on the impact a support system can have on a students life. Discussion topics include, identity development, family, school, community, special interest, and the overall experience of our panelists. Presentation by lovette spencer, disability specialist San Francisco State University and mikhail jamison San Francisco State University student. Public comment is welcome. Agenda item number 13, Public Comment. Items not on todays agenda but within the jurisdiction of the mdc. Each speaker is limited to three minutes. Please, approach the microphone or give your common card to the mod staff. Agenda item number 14, information item. Correspondence. Agenda item number 15, discussion item, councilmember comments and announcements. Agenda item number 16, adjournment. Thank you, donna. We will proceed onto item number three, Public Comments. [calling Public Comment cards. ] good afternoon everybody. Most of you guys know who i am. Im jerryi live on [inaudible] california and north of alameda. I am here today becausei really [inaudible] 23, four years were longer than that. The first time, long time i came back. I want to be here. I was not here at that time. I want to let you guys know, i know excuse me im trying to say her name. The president knows who i am and has seen me many many times. But [inaudible] new to me and i do not know who you guys are but [inaudible] know you guys very well. Except jim. Jim ive met once before at the other meeting. [inaudible]. But i am here today to tell people about [inaudible]. I cant talk about it at this point right now, but if you want to get interested, call me at 510776 interested, call me at 5107767242. Again, 510, 7767242. That phone callby jerry grice. [inaudible] thats why anybody wants to meet and no more about that part of it. One more thing im going to add. A little more information you need to know. Look on the people first california. On network. [inaudible] more information about it. Thank you very much. Thank you, jerry. Any other speakers . Okay could we will go ahead at this time and close Public Comments. We will go to information item number four which is report from the Mayors Office on disability. Thank you peered through the chair, unfortunately nicole bohn the director of the Mayors Office on disability is part of the San Francisco response to the major power outage. So she is not here today to read her report but im going to read it in her absence. The director wrote a letter of support proposing ab1103 idaho stop legislation allowing bicyclists not to come to a full stop at a stop sign or intersection and pass through at a reasonable speed. Mdc reviewed similar legislation when it was proposed , when it was a proposed City Ordinance in 2015 and strongly opposed that proposal at that time. Mod provided that letter and stated that the proposed state legislation does not appear to be significantly different in that the concerns of the people with disabilities remain as follows threaten safety for those especially with sensory and physical disabilities. Contrary to the desired outcomes of San Francisco vision zero, zero injuries and fatalities to pedestrians. And reasonable speed definitions seems subjective. Number two, mod continues to be part of the Crisis Intervention Team which works to educate the San Francisco Police Department on a variety of issues designed to increase awareness of social competencies. Mod offers a very wellreceived training module specific to learning about and responding to people with intellectual disabilities and those on the autism spectrum. Number three. Mod works with the Public Library regarding the incorporation of accessibility opportunities as part of Digital Inclusion week which will be held may 8 through the 13th, 2017. Highlight especially the tech expo from 10 30 am1 pm on tuesday, may 9 at the main library. Me providers and tech organizations, learn about city programs and resources, and see the latest products and services and action. Learn how classes oneonone help and other tools can help you cross the digital divide, enhance your tech skills, into the Tech Industry. We will sub device giveaways and raffle prizes for participants including a chrome book, a Roku Streaming stick, usd flash drives, tshirts and more. Come join us learn and have fun. Apply apply hours friday, may 12to4 pm h of the blind could enjoy some Light Refreshments my share your favorite app, and learn about bart global be my eyes and other useful apps for people with visual impairments. That concludes the directors report. Thank you donna for giving the report on behalf of ms. Bohn. We are going to continue with information item number five. What is so special about the specialist guild. I would like to welcome our presenter andy and zell. Thank you for being here today. Hello. My name is andy axel im the chief technical officer of the specialist guild. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to speak here. Our organization is nonprofit social enterprise. The commission of housing adults to help find employment at the level of their abilities and intelligence. So typically we work with earlymid20s population with at least some college, if not a degree and provide training, both in terms of Technical Skills, and also socialization so that they fit into the difficult tech environments. I like to say a few words about autism. The level of autism in our country right now. Im sure youve heard roughly 1 out of 60 babies now born are diagnosed with autism. But the more significant part of that is that actually the services for children are quite good at this point, but about 50,000 of these children turn 18 every year. And face essentially, a very difficult time finding employment. The statistics we have is about 40 of the artistic never work and with respect to the overall population, the Unemployment Rate [inaudible] and under employment rate is roughly 95 8590 . So essentially, most people who even to find work end up working a much lower level than they could. So the population we work with are often called high functioning. Which means that theythere disability are pretty much invisible. They fall into the social dyslexia area and because of the recruiting practices thats in fashion nowadays, they find it very difficult to pass the interview process for regular jobs. Often, even after they do get a job, they lose employment very rapidly and its never because of a skill mismatch. Its mostly because of social mishaps at the workplace. So the special guild, we have been if i some Technical Area thats in demand in the bay area. We have started with Software Testing as a skill thats particularly suitable for autistic people because it requires a lot of concentration. It doesnt require a lot of social interaction. You, essentially, are able to work on your own. We provide a training for our students that last about 12 weeks, and then unfortunately, once you are trained you still cannot get hired because the industry is looking for experience. So we followed up with an Internship Program for those people who prove they are capable of doing this kind of work. The whole purpose of the internship is to give a pedigree if you will, something to put on the resume. We work with local Tech Companies. We do all the mobile testing for wikipedia for example here in San Francisco. So coming out of our program, people are both trained and have a track record of working for Tech Companies around here. This is special because most programs are either focus purely on training, or purely on job placementand sort of the internship, the central part giving people an experience, giving them their first job, is missing. So one of the things we want to do is advocate that we need more programs. We actually hope to call it a apprenticeship but it turns out that in california that has a Legal Definition that we dont need. So thats why its called an internship now. I think the challenges just to tell you our funding is about a third from earned income to contacts we do for companies. One third is from the department of rehabfor training and about a third is from grants we get from the public. So the biggest challenge for an organization like us is that the only source of revenue we can get is for the training portion of our program. By the way, the rates at which the state reimburses us and everybody else whos doing this kind of work, have not changed since 1989. So it is tough. So the biggest challenge, i think, is how do we get these people into their first job, and anything that the council can do in that regard to advocate local industry to be more ready to hire people who have no track record, but can be fantastic employees,. Coincidentally, today on npr there was a segment about the sap program which is done in the south bay and i dont know if any of you for that program, but one of the items that came out of it is that the retention rate of up autistic employees has been 100 here in the bay area. In the Tech Industry thats unheard of. So anyway, i would be happy to answer any questions if you have any about our organization and autism in general. Thank you. Im going to open up any questions to councilmembers . Councilmember sassouni. Its interesting that you mentioned, its really great. I wish we had a Similar Program related to now. We need a lot more people assistance with double disabilities. If they are doubly challenge and often there are communication breakdowns and also the difficulties with social skills. Theres no program like that now. Its quite shocking. From infancy to the year of 21, yes, it becomes quite challenging for these individuals. And we see that right now. Yes. The comment i would make is thatone thing we found through running our program through the last five years is a huge benefit to theparticipants aside from learning a new skill. Its that social connection that they mostly never had before. Now they are in aenvironment that is accepting along with people who are like them. So this is a hugemakes a huge difference. Now the second point is [inaudible] also help some of the autistic people who are hard of hearing. Unfortunate, because of the renumeration we get its totally impossible for us to have as an example a translator. We have not been able to pay for that. If you can suggest a way, ill be happy to work with you. Any other questions . Okay. Im sorry. Councilmember smolinskis plo. You mentioned the rate of reimbursement from the state has not changed since 1989. What can this body do to help push for that for a change . In general i think the difficulty of this population and older populations who are invisible disabilities, is that they are truly invisible, even for help and many particular, the high functioning people, the expectation that comes out that they should be able to make their way in life by themselves. So i think that also the other point that many of the programs that the state and federal level ar