Speakers for Answers And Alternatives for Families of the Developmentally Disabled

September AAAFDD Guest Speakers: Eve Bogan and Rena Harris

Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS)

Eve Bogan, Director of Tools for Independence

Rena Harris, Program Manager for Residential & Independent Living

Services

Monday, September 26th

7:00 - 9:00 PM

The Tucker Recreation Center

4998 LaVista Road, Room 2, Tucker, GA

ABOUT JF&CS

Jewish Family & Career Services (JF&CS) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian

organization that offers a variety of programs and services to people in

metro Atlanta, providing tools for living to individuals and families of all

ages and needs. Having provided social services to the greater Atlanta

community for 120 years, JF&CS has grown to serve more than 30,000

individuals annually. The agency currently manages more than 40

programs without regard to age, race, religion, national origin or

ability to pay. For more information, call 770.677.9300 or go to

www.YourToolsForLiving.org.

Developmental Disabilities Services - Tools for Independence (TFI) is

one of four divisions, offering nonsectarian programs and services

supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, their families

and their family caregivers. We follow a person-centered approach to

ensure those with disabilities have a hand in directing their services

and a voice concerning their future. The programs promote self-

determination and the right of those with special needs to choose their

own destinies. Our goal is to help these individuals realize their dreams

and to integrate them into the community by providing them with

community living supports, a social network, employment and a means

of transportation.

Programs include:

•Alterman JETS Transportation Program – escorted van rides

•Zimmerman Horowitz Independent Living Program (ZHILP) –

Community Living Supports, and Residential Supports

•Tools for Independence Works – Day and vocational supports

including the LifeWorks day program, TeamWorks prevocational

program, and BizWorks, supported employment for individuals

who are also in ZHILP

•Larry Bregman Educational Conference –Annual conference for

adults with developmental disabilities and their caregivers

Tools for Independence offers both family and client workshops, an

activities group for adults with Aspergers, as well as the PACT

volunteer program, linking adults with disabilities to trained, supported

volunteers

All staff are extensively screened, trained and supervised, using

nationally recognized training modules. The program is guided by both

professional and family advisory committees.

Eve Bogan is Director of Tools for Independence. She served on the

health and human services staff in the South Carolina Governor’s office

as a liaison to the Departments of Mental Health and Public Health, was

the first director of the Maternal, Infant and Child Health Council in

South Carolina, Director of statewide early intervention systems for

young children with disabilities in both South Carolina and Georgia,

Director of the South Carolina Mental Health Association, and more

recently director of the Georgia Babies Can’t Wait Program and

Programs and Services Section of Georgia Public Health’s Family Health

Branch. Eve has been Director of the JF&CS Tools for Independence

Division since 2007. She has a BA from Sarah Lawrence College and

Masters in Sociology/Social Anthropology from Hebrew University in

Jerusalem. She has served on the Governors’ Council on

Developmental Disabilities and the State Interagency Coordinating

Council for Early Intervention Services, representing Public Health.

She currently serves on the board of AAIDD, Georgia Chapter and is

President-elect of SPADD.

Rena Harris, Program Manager for Residential & Independent Living

Services, has been in the field of developmental disabilities for 15 years

and with JF&CS for almost nine years. She has extensive experience in

residential and community-based services and specialized experience

designing supports for individuals with severe behavior disorders.

Rena is proficient in navigating state developmental disabilities

systems. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oregon

State University and is working on a master’s in Behavior Analysis.

Please visit the Tools for Independence page at

https://yourtoolsforliving.org/services/dd or call 770-677-9345.

November Nancy Vara, Executive Diretor, Georgia Microboards Association, "What

is a Microboard?" and "A Parent's Perspective on Self-Direction"

Monday, November 14th

7:00 - 9:00 PM

The Tucker Recreation Center

4998 LaVista Road, Room 2, Tucker, GA

NANCY VARA is Executive Director of the Georgia Microboards

Association, whichwas formed to provide training and ongoing

assistance to small, non-profit organizations called "microboards,"

whose mission is to oversee the supports and services of one

individual with a disability. The Association helps each microboard plan

personal and individualized services and supports through a unique,

person-centered planning tool called PATH - Planning Alternative

Tomorrows with Hope. Nancywill also share some personal stories and

provide the audience with a parent's perspective on the self-direction

option, where participants are afforded the decision-making authority

to recruit, hire, train and supervise the individuals who furnish their

direct support services and have the authority to control how Medicaid

funds in a budget are spent. If you are considering the self-direct

option, this is a meeting you don't want to miss!

Contact Information:

Nancy Vara, Executive Director

Georgia Microboards Association, Inc.

Phone: 678-983-6217

email: gamicro1@gmail.com

Web: gamicroboards.org/

FebruaryAlice Irvine, RN and Tricia Wiley, RN

American Red Cross Disaster Readiness and Home Safety

Monday, February 27th

7:00-8:30 PM

Tucker Recreation Center,

4898 Lavista Road, Room 2

Tucker, GA 30084

Alice Irvine is a retired RN who has been affiliated with the Red Cross for

35 years. Most of her professional life has been devoted to Community

Health and Geriatrics. Ms. Irvine owned and operated a Geriatric Care

Management practice prior to retirement.

Tricia Wiley is a retired RN and an American Red Cross volunteer. She has

worked as a school nurse in California and has a background in Mental

Health. Currently she runs a health screening clinic at an independent

living complex.

March Mark E. Biernath, Estate and Special Needs Planning Attorney

Monday, March 26

7:00 - 8:30 PM

The Tucker Recreation Center

4998 LaVista Road, Room 2, Tucker, GA

MARK E. BIERNATH is the author of a guide for parents in Georgia

seeking guardianship for their adult children and a frequent speaker

on estate planning topics for family support groups, as well as local

and regional conferences for parents and professionals. He is a lawyer

practicing primarily in estate planning; trust and will design.

Mr. Biernath earned his B.S. Mgt. from the Georgia Institute of

Technology, his Th.M. from the Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas,

Texas, and his J.D. from Georgia State University College of Law. While

at Georgia State, Mr. Biernath was a member of the Law Review and

was an Associate Legislative Editor. He is admitted to the bars of the

courts of Georgia as well as the United States District Court, Northern

District of Georgia. He is a charter member of the Academy of Special

Needs Planners, a national organization of attorneys dedicated to

excellence in special needs planning. He is also a member of

WealthCounsel LLC, the premiere national organization of Estate

Planning Attorneys. Mr. Biernath is a member of the State Bar of

Georgia, ElderCounsel, the DeKalb Bar Association, the Atlanta Bar

Association and their corresponding Estate Planning and Probate

Sections. Mr. Biernath is a lifetime fellow of the Atlanta Bar Foundation.

Law Offices of Mark E. Biernath, P.C.

3617 Shallowford Road, Main Office, Atlanta, GA 30340

Phone: 770-455-0535 Fax: 770-457-1827

http://biernathlaw.com/

MayCathy Humphrey, Developmental Disabilities Ministries, Inc.

Monday, May 28

7:00 - 8:30 PM

The Tucker Recreation Center

4998 LaVista Road, Room 2, Tucker, GA

CATHY HUMPHREY is Director of Church and Community Services for

Developmental Disabilities Ministries and has worked with DDM for 12

years. She has a master’s degree in Health Care Policy and

Administration from Mercer University. She and her husband Lloyd,

who is Printing Manager for the Georgia Baptist Convention, have two

grown children.

DDM provides an Opening New Worlds Conference every spring to

provide education, fellowship and support to churches, parents and

professionals/caregivers/teachers. The next conference is April 13-

14, 2012 at Wesley Glen Ministries in Macon. Topics include

Understanding Autism; Spiritual Concepts for People with Autism;

Starting a Special Needs Ministry in your Church; A Tutorial for Helping

Children with Various Behaviors; Healthy Sibling/Family Relationships;

Aging Issues for People with Developmental Disabilities; Navigating the

State System; Respite Care; and Planning for the Future for your

Dependent with Special Needs.

A Special Family Retreat for families who have children with

developmental disabilities was established by DDM in 2010 as an

annual summer event designed to provide respite, ministry, resources,

education, support, fun and fellowship. The next retreat will be on

June 7-10, 2012 at Epworth by the Sea Methodist Retreat Center on

St. Simons Island, GA. Cost for families is $50 and sponsorships are

solicited to fund the retreat weekend. Registration begins online on

January 1, 2012 at www.ddmga.org., and a maximum of 15 families

can participate.

DDM has been providing community-based residential services for men

and women with developmental disabilities for 30 years, with homes

and apartments in metro-Atlanta, Forsyth, Manchester, Augusta,

Bainbridge, Canton, and Alpharetta. DDM has 501(c)(3) non-profit

status with the IRS, and is nationally accredited by CARF in Community

Services: Community Housing, Community Integration and Supported

Living. The DDM mission is to empower persons with developmental

disabilities to achieve their highest level of social, physical, emotional

and spiritual maturity.

Contact:

Developmental Disabilities Ministries

6320 Amherst Court

Norcross, Georgia 30092

770-623-4899

www.ddmga.org