Ground-breaking ceremony set for new MARC East

MARC will conduct a ground-breaking ceremony Oct. 18, 2013, at 10 a.m. at the site of its new building, 66 Buttonwood Court, Madison, WI 53718. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is scheduled to help us launch this exciting new venture. The possibilities emerging here are breath-taking, said Russell King, MARCs executive director. This is so much more than a safe and inviting place to receive services, this is a place where potentials can be explored, ideas can be incubated and dreams can come true. Our intent is to use the facility to achieve ever greater community integration, develop micro-enterprises, and enhance our participants ability to savor the dignity, independence and joy of a productive life. MARC offers supportive employment at more than 130 employer job sites. When clients are not at work, they are taking advantage of field trips and day services as their needs, capacities and desires require. This facility will be a hub of activity and services for people with developmental disabilities, said Debra Webb, MARC East program director. Our coordination for supportive employment will take place at the center, along with our day services of personal care, vocational training, recreation, social interaction and sensory stimulation. Continued.

MARC News MARC East

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MARC West
MARC South MARC Mt. Horeb MARC Stoughton MARC RAC/RES

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The new facility will have generous program space, accessibility, lighting, outdoor recreation and green spaces with the capacity for gardening and other activities at wheelchair heights. The building will provide state-of-the-art mechanicals, electronic communication, and green design features that link modern practices of providing therapy to the physical space where the therapy is provided. Aesthetically peaceful environments tend to reduce anxiety and anxietyinduced behaviors. Designed by Potter Lawson, the building is owned by the Clack Family Foundation. All MARC programs (Madison West, Stoughton, Mt. Horeb, Madison South and RAC&RES) will have access to multi-purpose rooms. The acre of outdoor space has the potential to evolve for use in recreation, a disability-accessible park, and nature-related activities and grounds. Learn more about MARC at www.marc-inc.org.

MARC Foundation fall fundraiser coming in October watch your mailbox!

Each fall, the MARC Foundation reaches out to the extended MARC family and asks for financial support. Your contributions are vital to MARCs ability to continue to serve, because funding from our primary source of revenue Dane County has been cut 28% over the past 10 years, and is currently facing another cut of 2.6%. Due to the slow recovery of the economy, MARCs production contracts have been fewer and less lucrative this past year, too. And, of course, the cost of wages and benefits is always on the rise. In short: We need you to donate. . This mailing serves a dual purpose. The envelope will provide you the Continued.
The class of 2013-14 Project SEARCH interns and staff.

opportunity to update your contact information and the method youd prefer MARC use to contact you. Finally, please help us expand our field of potential supporters by giving us the names and address of any individuals, groups, foundations or other organizations you think will be inspired by the MARC mission of service to people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and will want to help. The new MARC web site has a guide on the many ways supporters can help. Visit us at www.marc-inc.org.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month

The purpose of National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to educate about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. Held annually, National Disability Employment Awareness Month is led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, but its true spirit lies in the many observances held at the grassroots level across the nation every year. Employers of all sizes and in all industries are encouraged to participate in NDEAM. For specific ideas about how MARC supporters and partners can support National Disability Employment Awareness Month, visit the ODEP website at www.dol.gov/odep/. Suggestions range from simple, such as putting up a poster, to comprehensive, such as implementing a disability education program. Regardless, we all play an important part in fostering a more inclusive workforce, one where every person is recognized for his or her abilities every day of every month.

MARC launches new web site

MARC has a new web site at its old address: www.marc-inc.org. Please, take a look and let us know what you think. The site is still under construction, so if there is information or other resources youd like to see on our site, but you dont find them yet, ju st drop us a line and tell us what it is. If youre on Facebook, youre encouraged to find us and like us.

MARC board member addresses Dane County Board on proposed cuts to funding for MARC services
On Sept. 3, Fran Bicknell offered the following comments at a public hearing. Fifty years ago this summer, my husband and I were told to institutionalize our son by the experts at the Boston School for Blind Babies. Brad was 10 years old at the time (belying the anachronistic name of the residential school). They told us that we would not be able to handle him when he became a teenager, since Brad was autistic, as well as totally blind. We rejected their advice and returned to Madison to help create programs to meet his needs. We have been grateful for many years for Dane Countys commitment to community services. This commitment began in the mid 1960s when several of us mothers from MARC and the Portal Foster Center sought and received county matching funds for day programs for our children who were then excluded from the public schools. The Day Care Services Act had been passed and signed into Law in 1961 allowing 40% state funding to establish day services for children with severe disabilities. We had been paying $60 per month in fees before Dane County stepped in with the matching funds (at a time when tuition to the University of Wisconsin was $100 per semester)! Continued. A short history of MARC MARC was founded in 1952 to provide educational services to children with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Back then, public schools were unable to meet their special needs, and parents of these children were encouraged to put the children in institutions. As schools began educating children with disabilities, MARC adapted to meet the needs of adults. This evolution became all the more important as the nation moved away from the institutionalization of adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Today, MARC holistic approach is essential to the lives or more than 300 adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities and the families and friends who love them.

My gratitude to Dane County continues. Brads day support services enabled us to keep him at home until he was 31 years old. He is now served in a family style home by Community Living Connections (CLC) and is thriving in their caring environment. I am grateful for the staff members who strive to understand the challenges of total blindness combined with autism. He asks to go back to his home when his visits with me exceed two full days! Brad has benefitted from MARC programs for 50 years. The Portal Foster Program (now a part of MARC) developed person centered programming out of necessityno two of the children had the same combination of multiple disabilities. We also pioneered supported employment for some of the teen agers in the late 1960s, before the concept even had a name! Dane County funding made it possible for severely disabled children and teenagers to live at home with their families before the normalization and integration theories came along. Now it is time to plead with you not to cut the funding for these programs for the 11th year in a row! We had not even kept up with inflation in the 14 years before the actual cuts started! Brads basic needs continue to be met, but it gets more and more difficult to arrange a special time out in the community (for either MARC or CLC). Some of the clients are not as fortunate as he is and are not able to be physically independent. The best staff members in the world cannot cut back on the time needed to transfer a person from a wheel chair to a bed or toilet. It is unrealistic and cruel to continue cuts to people with disabilities and the excellent staff members whom we cannot pay what they are truly worth! Thank you.

MARC enhances fund development and supported employment outreach

Michael Steinhauer has joined MARC as the director of job and fund development, a hybrid position intended to develop networks that will strength both MARC fundraising and supported employment opportunities. Michael has served people with disabilities his entire adult life and brings to MARC deep experience in grant writing, networking, public speaking, and coalition building. He was the 2013 winner of the Community Support Award from the ARC of Dane County. Continued.

Michael arrived in Madison in 1999 as the executive director of the Wisconsin Occupational Therapy Association. There, he supported all occupational therapy practitioners state-wide in all settings that OTs serve people with developmental disabilities. Michael has helped more Dane County individuals with disabilities and their families, organizations, and communities around disaster and emergency planning activities than any other person in this area of practice. First, he served as a contractor with the Board for People with Developmental Disabilities, where he created a web-based resource bank of readiness materials while addressing numerous state level legislative and regulatory oversight committees, sensitizing them to modern emergency preparedness planning. Later, he served as the Special Populations Planner Katie, an 11-year-old Golden Retriever for Dane County Emergency Management where a from Golden Retriever Animal Rescue of comprehensive program was developed around Wisconsin, has begun bringing joy to readiness for people with disabilities, disabilitythe participants at MARC South and the related response activities for reception centers, RAC. She is certified for nursing homes shelters, a volunteer rescue registry, and a and assisted living facilities. Katie is the program for continuity of operations planning for best friend and house companion of non-profit service organizations. Michael is a state Michael Steinhauer, MARCs new instructor for Wisconsin Emergency Management director of job and fund development. on planning for special populations, the author of the Madison Emergency Management Plan, author of the FEMA Lessons Learned Series spotlight on Special Needs Registries, and co-author of the National Association for Home Care Disaster Planning Guidelines.

Football Mania fundraiser

Are you ready for some football? MARC is! It is that time of year again for MARCs Football Mania fundraising sweepstakes. Football Mania is a fun charity sweepstakes based on the 17 weeks of the professional football season. During our Football Mania sweepstakes those who purchase tickets have chances to win $1,000s in cash prizes. Continued.
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Participants pay $20 for music and book downloads and receive a sweepstakes game card. On the back of the game card there are three random teams for each of the 17 weeks of the professional football season. At the end of each week the three teams scores are added up. The eight highest and three lowest scoring game cards will a prize. There is a guaranteed winner each week from MARC. At the end of the professional football season there will be grand prizes for the highest score for all 17 weeks.

RES participant Glenn Beck scanning documents at the Forest Products Lab. See the related story on page 13.

Football Mania is simple to play and participants do not have to know anything about football to win. MARC will calculate scores for all cards, notify winners every week and mail out prize money. Its just that simple! Participants can purchase paper tickets directly from one of the six MARC programs or electronic tickets at www.charitymania.com/give/A3313. With Football Mania you can have fun with football, have chances to win money, and support MARC all at the same time! For details or official rules please call Krystal Butler or Michael Steinhauer at (608) 223-9110 ext. 36 or visit www.charitymania.com/give/A3313.

The Affordable Care Act and you

There has been a tremendous amount of information (and misinformation) about the provisions and implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For example, a significant number of people think Congress repealed the ACA or that it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, when, of course, neither is true. A number of ACA provisions are already in effect, including: no lifetime limits on coverage. dependent children up to the age of 26 can remain on their parents' health insurance. preventative services are covered with no co-pays or deductibles. children with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied coverage. Continued.
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 insurers can only spend between 15% and 20% (depending on size) of the amount they receive in premiums on overhead and administration. Consumers have already received over $3.4 billion in rebates from companies that didn't follow this rule and were overcharging their customers. A number of provisions will go into effect on in the next few months, including: guaranteed issue Cody, a Project SEARCH grad, speaking at the graduation insurance companies cannot ceremony. See related story on page 13. deny coverage except in cases of fraud. no one with a pre-existing condition can be denied coverage. the state's HIRSP (health insurance risk sharing pool) program will end. insurance companies can only consider whether someone has individual or family coverage, area of residence, age, and tobacco use when determining premiums. limits access to many catastrophic plans to people under the age of 30. In addition, the private health insurance marketplace, or exchange, will begin operating Oct. 1. Consumers can check for insurance eligibility and determine whether they qualify for subsidies or tax credits to help pay insurance premiums. Policies will be offered for individuals and small groups. You are not eligible to buy insurance on the exchange if you have insurance coverage from your employer or if you qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. The best resource right now for information about the marketplace is: www.healthcare.gov Or call toll-free (800) 318-2596. Open enrollment in the marketplace begins Oct. 1, 2013. You must enroll by Dec. 15, 2013, and make your first premium payment, for your new health coverage to start on Jan. 1, 2014.
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Starting in late September, the state Department of Health Services will begin notifying people who will be affected by the BadgerCare eligibility changes required under the state budget and due to Governor Walker's refusal to accept billions of dollars in federal funding to expand eligibility. About 87,000 parents/caretakers and 5,000 childless adults will lose their BadgerCare coverage and need to transition to the private marketplace. Wisconsin is removing more low-income individuals from Medicaid than any other state -- more than twice as many as the second-place state. Earlier this month, 13 insurance companies indicated they want to offer plans for individuals in Wisconsins marketplace. Nine companies want to offer plans to small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. A list of these insurers can be found here: http://oci.wi.gov/pressrel/0813qhp.htm. The state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has not yet released any information on what plans will be offered or what the rates will be. Each plan in the marketplace must offer a package of essential health benefits, which is described here: https://www.healthcare.gov/what-does-marketplace-health-insurance-cover/ On Aug. 14, Rep. Jon Richards, Sen. Jon Erpenbach, and U.S. Sen, Tammy Baldwin led a public roundtable discussion on Wisconsins insurance market with key stakeholders and the Obama Administration. You can watch the Wisconsin Eye coverage of the meeting here: http://tinyclip.tv/3324a4ee

You quack me up!

What do you get when you cross a duck and a whole lot of MARC East clients? Answer: A whole lot of fun and excitement! We found this out on June 27 when Maynard the Duck, the Madison Mallards mascot, made an appearance at our building. Maynard was found standing on his head, dancing, shaking hands, and having his picture taken all over our building. Many of our clients are Mallards fans and thoroughly enjoyed his visit.

Community spotlight: Klima and Madison Ice Arena

These days, many motion pictures have special effects. Have you ever wondered where these props for the movie industry are made? Well, some of these are made right in our area. Klima is a fabricator of the special effects utilized in this industry. Klima supports MARC efforts to employ people with disabilities. Jermaine began with Klima in 2011. He works two mornings per week. Both Jermaine and Klima enjoy the benefits that this relationship brings. Supported employment in community settings brings a tremendous amount of pride and satisfaction to both Jermaine and Klima. Jermaines also works at the Madison Ice Arena, keeping the building clean and tidy. Jermaine has blossomed into an adult that offers inspiration to those around him.

MARC West case managers

Email is a very effective form of directly communicating. Here are the email addresses of the case managers for MARC West. Yu Cheung Shum: ycshum@marc-inc.org Rhiannon Wiegel: rwiegel@marc-inc.org Margo Klassy: mklassy@marc-inc.org Kim Gobrecht; kgobrecht@marc-inc.org Agnes Meier: ameier@marc-inc.org

Services available after high school graduation

In our last edition of the MARC newsletter, we mentioned that MARC West began services for four high school graduates. Since that edition, MARC West has again expanded our services to two additional high school graduates. Supported employment along with day services offers a blend of services that many adults require. MARC West continues to celebrate serving adults with disabilities and is very appreciative of the confidence from families and the Dane County system.
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MARC South has added two new staff members since the Mach edition of The Voice of Choice. Please welcome to the MARC family: Sheila Dahmen and Ashley Hoffman. We have introduced pet therapy to the menu of services at MARC South. Katie, a nursing home-certified Golden Retriever, is a great addition to our family and a huge hit with the MARC South and MARC RAC participants.

Introducing the new Mt. Horeb director

Trish Vandre has joined MARC as the new program director in Mt. Horeb, succeeding Sara Herman, who is now director of vocational services for Innovate Services in the Fox Valley region. Trish comes to us from Sauk County, where she is the director of the ADRC, and where she has served vulnerable populations for more than 20 years. She has experience managing a staff of nearly 30 and a budget of nearly $2 million with 10 separate programs and 37 revenue sources. Trish brings abilities to MARC that will help position MARC for the future, including grant writing, five years of negotiating contracts with Family Care, training and experience in system analysis, and a record of innovation and creativity. Her servant leadership style, in-depth knowledge and compassionate spirit have been widely recognized with speaking engagements and leadership roles for county, state and national professional organizations She holds a bachelors degree in human service from Virginia Wesleyan College, has earned certification as a change leader through the University of Wisconsin, and is a Fellow at the GWAAR Leadership Institute. Trish is a proven leader, excelling at providing motivation and support during extremely demanding and changing Continued. Thank you! MARC offers a BIG thank you to Sara Herman for her years of service as director of the MARC Mt. Horeb program. Her entrepreneurial creativity, progressive management style and genuine compassion for MARC participants enriched both the MARC family and the Mt. Horeb community.

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times using a philosophy of teambuilding and creating a culture of mentoring, empowerment and professional development. She is skillful in developing new approaches to service delivery and other professional challenges, performing the related costbenefit analyses, determining best practices, and piloting creative models. Trishs expertise in public speaking, training, writing, and network building will serve MARC very well, as will her experience as a professional advocate, Robert, a participant at MARC West. her knowledge of a wide array of community resources and entitlement program, and her passion for protecting and maintaining the quality of life of vulnerable people. She is known as a person of great generosity and compassion energetically involved in her church and community, an accomplished musician, and a trusted friend to those in need.

The summer months have been busy at MARC Stoughton, filled with production work, recreation activities, and vacation trips to summer camps, trips with family members and even a July 4th picnic. Clients and staff have reported their pleasure in having had chances to enjoy the weather and steady work opportunities to earn money for their fun in the sun outings. In-service trainings on Managing Threatening Confrontations, Client Approaches and Client Confidentiality were provided for staff. These training topics are offered annually to assure staff are current in the instruction and techniques that encourage and develop positive relationships, promote safety through appropriate and trusting support for clients that present challenges as well as strong commitment to maintain privacy.

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Important dates coming up

The MARC RES self-employment businesses have scheduled their next few sales event luncheons. Come celebrate Halloween at the luncheon on Oct. 25 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. You are invited to wear your favorite costume and enjoy the Halloweenies and smashed jack-o-lantern pie! In December, you will want to join us for the Christmas Sales Extravaganza on Dec. 6. Do your shopping while you are here! Its great food and great fun. Contact Christina Mollman at cmollman@marc-inc.org or call 2239100 ext 39.

Thomas, working with Agnes Meier at MARC West.

Forest Products Laboratorys Public Affairs Office publishes article featuring MARC participant
Glenn Beck has worked at the USDA Forest Products Lab since November 2011. Glenn helps scan historical documents to create digital records of patents and research studies from 1912 to 1990. He works independently with the assistance of co-workers and weekly MARC-RES staff support. Glenn is working at the lab through our NISH certification and contract with the federal government. He is a proud member of this working team who assists the scientists at the U.S. Forest Service apply and receive patents for their inventions.

Project SEARCH
Project SEARCH Madison recently presented at the Project SEARCH International Conference held in Cincinnati Ohio, the home of Project SEARCH. The title of the presentation was After the Honeymoon, How to Tackle The Tough Issues. The presentation was attended by about 80 individuals, and the feedback was extremely favorable! Project SEARCH Madison held its first official graduation ceremony at the VA Hospital on Friday, Continued.
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August 23, complete with cake and punch. Each of the students spoke about their year of rotations within the VA and UW Hospitals. Each student stressed the valuable skills they had learned and the friendships they had made within both hospitals.

High school graduates

RES has welcomed seven new high school graduates to MARC this summer. Each student, along with their families, have successfully navigated this life changing transition. We are excited to welcome a number of new employers to the MARC family. Please show them your support, patronage, and thank them for employing an individual from MARC. Latitude Graphics, High Point Church, Which Wich, Alberto, working through MARCs Project Search. Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Aldos Caf, Wal-Mart Super Center in Monona, UW Hospital and the VA Hospital.

Time Bank volunteers

On Thursday, June 23, the RAC had the privilege of listening to live music provided by Cindy Harrington vocalist accompanied by Dan Newhaus on trumpet and Jonathan Garber on ukulele. They came to MARC as volunteers from the TimeBank program. Clients sang along to Tiny Bubbles with Dan blowing real bubbles in the background and Cindy wearing a grass skirt. We also clapped to Elvis and swayed to songs like Moon Light Bay, You are my Sunshine, and Some Where Over the Rainbow being big hits. Are you interested in providing leadership at MARC? If youre interested in serving on the MARC Board of Directors, the MARC Foundations board, or any committees or task forces, please contact MARC at info@marc-inc.org. Thank you!
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