Don Schultz, Chair; Donna Desjardins, Vice-Chair; Christine Botsford; Dr. Douglas Fleming; Ralph Gorrie; Johanne Hassey; Carmela Levesque; Laurel Morris-Duncan
Administration: Dr. Alex Hillyard, C.E.O.; Lucille  Froese, Recording Secretary.

Guests:

Fred Keating and Ellen Nielsen of  Lindisfarne Productions;
Dr. Susan Moisey, Athabasca University

A. Don Schultz, Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:05 am, January 20, 2001.

• Presentation by Calder Bateman Communications and  Lindisfarne Productions Inc.

Fred Keating and Ellen Nielsen gave a short presentation on the process and phases of a video production. While the video being produced for the Northeast Alberta PDD Community will only be 5-7 minutes in length, the remaining footage will be used to develop a video library which can be used for future videos. The approach for the video being produced for the Northeast PDD Community is meant to be real, it will include dreams, reality, abilities and disabilities.

• Presentation by Dr. Susan Moisey, Athabasca University

Dr. Susan Moisey gave an interesting presentation on the Northeast Alberta Virtual Learning Community for Persons With Developmental Disabilities and their families. A virtual learning community is a meeting place where individuals interact with each other and a place where information is available to help people become better informed and make choices and decisions. Similar to other communities, it contains information, people, learning facilities and a library. Community based access will be available through Alberta North which has centres located throughout Alberta. Each site will have someone available to help users get on to the website and use it.

1.1 Board Orientation and Review

On January 9, 2001 the Honourable Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr. Gary Mar, announced the following appointments to the Northeast Alberta P.D.D. Community Board: Reappointments: Don Schultz, Donna Desjardins, Laurel Morris-Duncan, Christine Botsford. New appointment: Ralph Gorrie.

The Minister reappointed Don Schultz to the position of Chair of the Board and made a new appointment of Donna Desjardins to the position of Vice-Chair. All the Ministerial appointments have been made effective January 9, 2001 with their term ending January 14, 2004.

Board members Dr. Doug Fleming, Carmela Levesque and Johanne Hassey are continuing in their appointments.

The Board members and CEO reviewed and discussed the operations and responsibilities of the Board, what has worked well and enhanced the working of the Board; what needs revisions and new ideas or processes which may enhance the operations of the Board. Discussion was directed around the legislative grounding for the Board, the Board's role and responsibilities, Board member roles and responsibilities, relationship of the Board to the  CEO, relationship with and responsibility the Board has to the community.

The Board members also reviewed the process and format for conducting public Board meetings which was adopted at the December 11, 1998 Board meeting and established a schedule of public Board meetings which will be communicated to the public.

The process and format adopted by the Board addressed the following:

• Format of Board reports and discussion items
• Introduction, discussion and Board Motions/agenda items
• Frequency and length of meetings
• Board member Request for Information, Inquiries and Reports
• Board member notice of motion
• Agendas
• Format of Agenda
• Delivery of Agendas

Schedule of Board meetings:

February         St. Paul                       August           Bonnyville
March             Vegreville                   September     Whitecourt
April                Barrhead                    October         Westlock
May                Fort McMurray          November      St. Paul
June                Athabasca                  December       Lac La Biche
July                 Phone Conference      January          Edmonton

1.2 Northeast Alberta PDD Regional Conference 2000:
                                Back to the Future

A draft document entitled "A Summary of the Proceedings from the 2^nd Annual Northeast Alberta Community Board  PDD Conference" has been developed. Board members will provide feedback to the administration on the areas of clarity of presentation, style, format and content prior to the next Board meeting. Following feedback and direction from the Board, the conference proceedings will be shared with all conference participants and community partners.

2.1 Community Focused Transition Planning

The Northeast Board and a number of community councils have identified a need for resources to assist individuals with developmental disabilities and their families with the numerous transition points, events or phases which occur in life.

Initial discussions on the topic suggest a variety of interpretations and approaches that could be used in developing such a resource.

As a result, it was decided to establish a project team in partnership with AACL to further develop the concept and prepare resource materials.

Phase I of the project is consultation with community councils in St. Paul, Westlock and Bonnyville. The intention of the community consultation is to identify the relevant themes and framework for the notion of transition planning.

It is estimated that Phase I will be completed by April 2001. Phase II will focus on the development of resources and a timeline for this will be shared with the Board in May 2001.

Resources developed in this project will be incorporated into the Northeast Alberta Visual Learning Community. This transition planning project is another example of a Board initiative to engage the community and facilitate self-determination for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

#01-01-283 MOTION: Christine Botsford  moved the Board accept the report for information. Carried unanimously.

PDD Website Committee: Christine Botsford will be the representative for the Board.

2.2  Northeast Alberta PDD Community Video

The Board's overall public awareness and communication strategy for the Northeast Region included the production of a video. The administration has previously presented a report which outlined the purpose and scope of the video production. This is one of the Board's strategies to engage and involve the broader community and encourage self-determination for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Calder Bateman Communications and  Lindisfarne Productions have been retained to develop and produce the video.

The result will be a 5-7 minute video and a bank of video tape which can be used for the development of additional videos for selected topics (e.g. housing, employment, education). Video tape and still pictures gathered during the production will be available for use by Service Provider Boards and community councils in the development of their own public awareness and community educational materials.

The administration, with the assistance of the Board, will be involving all members of the PDD community within the Region in the development of the video. It is important that all interested parties have a level of comfort with the following:

• Purposes of the video
• Theme and key messages
• Style and tone
• Talent pool
• Sample interview questions and interview groups

Staff and Board members will attend meetings of Community Councils and Service Provider Boards during the months of February and March to gather input and reactions. In addition, the administration will be involving the  CEO's from the Service Provider Boards and all PDD staff in the review and planning of the production elements (selection of individuals, sites, etc.)

Alberta Association for Community Living  (AACL)  has agreed to assist the administration in this project. Given the experience of AACL in the area of public awareness and education, their assistance will be invaluable.

2.3  Northeast Alberta Virtual Learning Community for Adults
       with Developmental Disabilities and Their Families     

At the September 23^rd, 2000 Board meeting, the Board approved in principle a collaborative project involving Athabasca University, Alberta North, and the Alberta Association for Community Living, and agreed to be a partner in this endeavour.

The purpose of the project is to develop a virtual learning community -- an integrated system of Internet-based information and communication technologies --coupled with community-level support, as a resource for adults with developmental disabilities in Northeast Alberta and their families. The vision is a highly accessible, virtual community or "meeting place," where individuals interact with each other in a mutually supporting manner, offering advice, encouragement, and friendship. They readily access information about local support services, and engage in discussions with service providers. If services are not available or suitable, they contact advocates or policy makers to communicate their unmet needs. The community is dynamic and constantly evolving, providing up-to-date information about developments, opportunities, and local achievements as they occur.

The project involves three phases. The first phase of the project, Design & Development, will occur between January and August, 2001.

The Northeast Alberta Community PDD Board will continue to be updated as the Project continues through periodic reports that will be submitted to the Board. This project is consistent with the Northeast Board's vision and values supporting greater community involvement and self-determination for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

• The January Provincial  PDD Board meeting was cancelled

7. Communications from C.E.O.

• Post Secondary Educational Options: January 19, 2001, Grant  McEwan Professional Development
• Representatives from Grant McEwan College lead a session on Inclusive Post Secondary Education (IPSE). Topics covered: practices and principles, organizational and funding models seen in IPSE programs and transitional issues for students and their families who are considering participating in IPSE;
• A student from Grant McEwan College and a parent of a graduate related stories of their experiences with college or university;
• This was a good opportunity for staff to see that post-secondary opportunities are continuous learning environments.
• Provincial PDD Human Resource Initiative: Focus Group
• There will be a small focus group meeting of 16-18 people on February 16^th, 2001 in Westlock.
• Northeast Region Consortium of Service Providers:  CEO Retreat
• A regional retreat in Jasper is planned for March, to look at strategies and operational ways to provide things that will match the Board's vision for the future and look at strategies and approaches to meet housing and employment needs.
• Provincial Eligibility Study: Input opportunities
• The province is reviewing the provincial eligibility and intake procedures. Draft questions were handed out to Board members for their review and input. Additional questions are to be given to the administration to forward to Ann Houston.

7. Board Regional Feedback and Future Direction

Laurel Morris-Duncan

• Jeff Wright is interested in being the parent representative for the Northeast  PDD Community on the Provincial  PDD Models of Funding Projects committee.
• Approved by the Board. Any costs not covered by the Provincial  PDD Board will be covered by the Northeast Alberta  PDD Community Board
• Letters should go in support for Keyano College - need to have some input by letter encouraging them for developing community based training for rehabilitation and extending beyond nursing aides. Also, a letter should go to the  FAS group for their conference.

I.  Notice of Motion/Request for Information

• February 17^th, 2001 St. Paul
• March 17^th, 2001 Vegreville
• April 21^st, 2001 Barrhead