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In This Issue:
From the CEO Important changes
Development Corner Three key questions
Good News that is Good to Know Now hiring
News and Announcements Stories in the media and announcements
Upcoming Events Spring Thing is coming soon
Fundraising Factoid The Valentine’s party is coming
Live Is this the future of Meadowbrook?
Learn Day Program changes, in detail
Work Texas Mutual grant to boost production efforts
Grow Horticulture volunteers needed
Wrangler’s Tale Phillip has the details down pat
Guest Voices Meet our new board chair, Brittany Sloan
Live, Learn, Work, Grow Try our Find-a-Word
Important Links For more info and details
From the CEO
Eva Aguirre
“Life is about accepting challenges along the way, choosing to keep moving forward, and savoring the journey.”
Roy T. Bennett
They say change is inevitable and the “spice of life.” And so it is for New Danville. Effective March 1, 2023, a major change will occur in our day program. What we’ve known as “day habilitation” will transition to the new “Individualized Skills and Socialization” or ISS.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued regulations in 2014 governing the settings where Medicaid HCDS (HCS) are provided. States must comply with the regulations by March 2023. The plan for the transition of day habilitation services was submitted in compliance with the 2020-21 General Appropriations Act of Texas, House Bill 1, 86th Legislature, Regular Session, 2019 (Article II, Health and Human Services Commission, Rider 21). Rider 21 required HHSC to develop a plan to replace day habilitation services in the HCS waiver programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with more integrated services that maximize participation and integration of individuals with IDD in the community. Now, what does this all mean?
Implementation of this new model will require the following: New Danville will soon be licensed as an ISS provider. We have been diligently working to ensure that we have the required policies and procedures in place to meet the new requirements. We will soon submit our application for licensing to the state, and will then be audited by the state to ensure that we meet the requirements. This licensing process will occur every three years. We have also been staffing the program to meet the ratio requirements, as well as planning how the off-site component will be implemented. The ISS program will also include both on-site and off-site components for activities; lower staffing ratios to support the individuals (typically 1:8 ratio); implementing an hourly rate rather than a daily rate of reimbursement based on how the client spends their day; and, a registry of oversight of the ISS program.
Certainly, this is posing new challenges, but we are “choosing to keep moving forward” to ensure that we have the best ISS program in the county for the benefit of all of our Wranglers. We are planning an information meeting on February 16th, from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm, where I will be able to answer all of your questions. I highly encourage all family members and caregivers to attend this informational session.
Follow me to the “Learn” section for more specific information on the off-site model.
Development Corner – Three Critical Questions
Development Director
Jonas Salk changed the world with his development of the first successful polio vaccine. He said, “Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” The New Danville team dreams not of changing the world, but of changing as many lives of special needs adults as possible. It has imagined a future of supporting 50% more clients and providing homes for 100% more residents. The courage of the leaders, board members, staff members, volunteers and donors will bring our dreams to reality.
We call the dream, Vision 2025; our process for achieving the vision is our Growing…for Living initiative. It is a collaborative campaign to grow life experiences for adults with IDD. The process is officially underway now that we have been told to anticipate funding of our $933,000 request to complete infrastructure development on the south side of the New Danville campus. (You can learn more at www.NewDanville.org/Vision2025.)
We ask three key questions:
- What if we are able to support significantly more special needs adults? What will it mean to their lives?
- How soon can we accomplish these goals? That will depend on the support of many. We hope that current donors share our vision with friends, neighbors, colleagues, and anyone else who understands our cause.
- What if we don’t tackle this plan? How many adults in our rapidly growing area will not have access to affordable, personalized services that support their dreams to live, learn, work and grow to their potential?
We need everyone’s courage and encouragement, support of all types, and many prayers and well wishes. Please share the link above with friends, relatives, neighbors, companies, foundations…anyone who knows our cause and believes in it.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at 936-253-5757 or Dion.McInnis@NewDanville.org.
Good News that’s Good to Know
New Danville continues to grow and all indications are that the trend is not changing any time soon. At the end of 2021, we had 88 day program registrants. At the end of 2022, we had 104. (The annual report for 2022 will come out in February.)
We have job openings as we add positions to meet the needs of enrollment growth and fundraising initiatives. We are looking for Direct Support Professionals and a Special Event/Stewardship Coordinator. More information can be found here.
News and Announcements
Diane and Glen Egley (pictured above at the 2021 ribbon-cutting event for the Charbonneau Family Building at New Danville) were recently recognized as an award winner for the 39th annual Governor’s Volunteer Awards, administered by OneStar (the Texas Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service). These awards represent the highest honor for volunteers and volunteerism in the state of Texas. The Egleys were selected for the Volunteer Family of the Year.
The awards will be presented at a special event at the Governor’s Mansion in April.
Colt Murphy, a proud Wrangler, and Meadowbrook resident, recently competed in the Special Olympics statewide bowling competition. Congratulations, Colt, for your first-place finish. All those day program bowling classes have paid off!
Upcoming Events
Spring Thing
April 28, 2023
The Woodlands Conference Center
Mark your calendar!
Keynote Speaker: Rory Feek: farmer and filmmaker, author and artist, world-class storyteller raising his 8-year old special needs daughter. Look him up on YouTube!
Honorees: The Lynne and Steve Charbonneau Family of Charbonneau Industries for their great generosity and dedication to New Danville.
Fundraising Factoid
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, you can be sure there’s another party for the Wranglers on the horizon. Please click here to help make this yet another party of fun, celebration, and good times.
Please remember our Amazon Wishlist next time you are shopping online. New Danville has benefitted from a variety of contributions through the Wishlist. Thank you!
LIVE – Is This the Future of Housing at New Danville?
Thanks to notification from Montgomery County Community Development that New Danville can anticipate funding of our request for $933,000 to complete the infrastructure on the south end of campus, we can share our plans in more detail. Our top priority is the construction of 11 new homes in “Meadowbrook South” after the infrastructure work is completed in about a year. These homes will enable us to accommodate 35 more residents, doubling our current level.
Those who have seen the architectural renderings of the homes are excited. Eva Aguirre, president and CEO, speculates that the new homes will be filled within six months of completion.
During the year of infrastructure work, the New Danville team will be working diligently on raising the necessary funds to build the homes.
The plan is to have nine homes that are duplexes with a one-bedroom home adjacent to a two-bedroom home. There will also be two duplexes with two-bedroom homes on each side.
For more information, including a storybook of Vision 2025 and a virtual flyover, please feel free to spend some time at www.NewDanville.org/Vision2025.
LEARN – “Savoring the Journey”
New Danville has always been recognized for the richness and variety of the day program.
The focus of the Individualized Skills and Socialization program is to “provide activities integrated into the larger community to promote the development of skills and behavior that support greater independence and personal choice, and they must be consistent with achieving the outcomes identified in the person’s service plan.” You may be asking yourself, “but my family member does not receive HCS services. Does this apply to them?” The answer is “yes.” The license is issued to New Danville and we must ensure that all participants in the day program, regardless of funding, are treated the same and fall under the same guidelines. Our only other option would be to notify the state that we are opting out of being an ISS provider. In this scenario, we would have to discharge all Wranglers receiving HCS, or any other waiver funding. That is not an option we will entertain.
We look forward to “savoring the journey” by expanding the types and frequency of our community-based activities. All community activities will be more than just a leisure/social event. We will be incorporating a “learning” component of everyday skills used in the community. Group size will also be limited to eight clients to one staff, on average, while others could be one to six. This will be determined by the lowest Level of Need of the participants. As to our on-site schedule, we plan to keep those that are the most popular and introduce newer, more skill-based, classes.
As noted in my column at the beginning of this newsletter, we have been planning for this for several months and still do not have all of the answers; however, one thing we do know is that we have the passion and talent to make New Danville’s Individualized Skills and Socialization program one to envy and be proud of.
WORK – More Jobs in Production
“Apparently, we didn’t have the fire hose valve open all the way,” said Program Manager Bryan Gill with a smile. “We have so many wonderful signs of growth and development, ranging from booming enrollment to several job openings. Because of the recent Texas Mutual grant, we also have more jobs that are being created for our Wranglers (clients). All of this is happening while we are adapting to new state policies for agencies like ours. There’s even more, too. These are amazing times for those who are ready for them. We’re ready.”
“Amidst all the changes,” said President and CEO Eva Aguirre, “we cannot lose sight of our desire to provide meaningful employment for our clients. The Texas Mutual grant comes at a very interesting time for us, but it is also helping us bring our plans and dreams together, particularly for the various roles we have for clients in the production area where they help produce woodshop items, bath and beauty products, and help label various food mixes. The grant will also help us move forward in our plans for developing our horticulture program. Jobs for special needs adults are very important, and we see the production area, as well as some other roles on-site, as a key to making more jobs available.”
Several clients currently have on-site jobs, in landscape maintenance, custodial and pallet production. Bryan said that more clients will be employed in several existing roles because of the grant.
“There is a lot involved in our job development efforts. We are very conscious of never creating a situation where clients are volunteering for revenue-producing projects. If a client helps make something that we sell, they will be paid an hourly rate. I am pleased that our Direct Support Professional, Trisha Woods, will be transitioning to a full-time role as Production Coordinator in the very near future.”
Many of the products that will be sold at the upcoming Spring Thing event are made by Wranglers. Products are also available at Jazzy Junque and at New Danville’s online store.
GROW – A Sign of Growth
Where is the best place to find gardeners? A garden! It is with that wisdom that New Danville is taking steps to develop a horticulture program from its gardening class. Direct Support Professional James Scott has overseen the gardening class for years, and soon the class will grow more than vegetables and herbs…it will grow gardeners.
Thanks to a recent grant, New Danville is making the changes necessary to increase the number of on-site jobs for its clients (Wranglers). Plans are to develop a horticulture initiative wherein some Wranglers will have paying jobs to produce various herbs, vegetables and decorative plants to be sold in various venues, including New Danville’s resale store, and at the annual Spring Thing fundraiser event. The Wranglers who are most interested and capable will be discovered in the regular gardening class.
James said that volunteers are key to building a horticulture program. “The volunteers with the Montgomery County Master Gardeners have been great. Thanks to them, we have a greenhouse where we can grow all year. To develop a program capable of constantly growing things we can sell, we’ll need volunteers who can commit to a schedule and enjoy working with special needs adults.” James said the clients in the gardening class learn about how plants start from seeds, fertilization, soil condition, watering and weeding, and the taste of fresh produce. “They learn a lot,” he said. “We need people who are patient, want to teach, and enjoy watching both people and plants grow.”
If you meet those criteria, please indicate your interest at www.NewDanville.org/get-involved.
Wrangler’s Tale: Details, Details
Phillip began attending New Danville’s day program in October 2009, its second anniversary. He can cite almost every detail of what has occurred at New Danville since then. He has a mind for details, something which he says began when he was in elementary school; he graduated from high school in 2007.
Phillip is a walking history book on New Danville milestones: when buildings were constructed, when particular staff members started or left, when particular field trips occurred, and so on.
Some people remember their favorite movies; Phillip remembers movies, actors and specific scenes. A lot of people remember songs; Phillip remembers titles, artists and specific lyrics. He enjoys playing games with all that he remembers, challenging others with conversational pop quizzes as to whether they remember titles, scenes, words, etc. One of the New Danville team members is Dion McInnis, director of development. Phillip loves to ask visitors who are with Dion if they have seen the Belmonts anywhere. (Dion and the Belmonts were a popular doo-wop and rock-and-roll music group several decades ago.)
Phillip enjoys playing with the information he recalls, connecting dots of details. He gathers a lot of details from others because he is curious and not afraid to ask. Birth dates have a particularly strong connection to his memory stores, but he also remembers states or countries others have travelled to, among other things that he likes to inquire about.
His taste is eclectic. For example, he said, “I don’t like a particular type of music. I pay attention to the sound, not the category.” The same can be said for movies, too.
A lot of what Phillip captures in a day is converted to notes that are then transcribed later to his journal. “I’ve had a journal for a long time,” he said.
For as sharp as his memory is, it is not what he is most proud of. He cited three things as true sources of pride: graduating high school, earning his Eagle Scout status, and how well he takes care of the smaller animals at New Danville, like the chickens and goats. “I really enjoyed feeding the goats and chickens, and taking care of their water bowls, when I had the chances to.”
If you visit New Danville, Phillip may ask your birthday. And if you visit again, he’ll be able to tell you when your birthday is.
Guest Voices – Happy to be at the Helm
In January, Brittany Sloan officially takes the helm as the new chair of New Danville’s Board of Directors. She joined the Board in 2020 and is involved in The Woodlands community in various professional and nonprofit activities. Brittany is the managing attorney for B Sloan Law in The Woodlands.
Happy New Year!
What a special time to be transitioning into this new role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of New Danville! There has been so much excitement building with our Board coming into 2023 and embarking on this new capital campaign for Vision 2025. We call the campaign Growing…for Living. It is a collaborative campaign to grow life experiences for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
With Vision 2025, our goal for New Danville is that by 2025 (our 20th anniversary), we will add 11 new homes for 35 new residents, a new classroom, a new assisted living facility, a community/recreation center, and a beautiful new country-style chapel with social hall. This is a huge feat that will drastically improve and change the lives of our residents and day program clients (Wranglers). It also will allow us to reach more families and touch other parts of our special needs community that is growing all the time as the area’s population grows.
For any big undertaking to be successful, we must be creative in spreading the word, connecting our contacts, and building a network of resources. I am honored to be at the helm of the Board for this endeavor. Our Board is focused on being specific and intentional when sharing New Danville’s mission with the leaders of our community to effectuate these improvements.
We ask for the supporters of New Danville to join us in spreading the word on Vision 2025 and the beautiful mission of New Danville. I welcome you to take advantage of any opportunity you have to take a tour there. You’ll fall in love with the mission and people immediately. I sure did!
DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO SHARE YOUR TIME AND TALENT TO SUPPORT THE WRANGLERS? Nonprofits depend on volunteers who share their time and talents. New Danville is no different. Here are some of the areas in which we utilize volunteers. Can you help? Jazzy Junque: Upscale home décor resale store located in the Outlets of Conroe shopping center Projects: Typically, one-day commitments to help with various projects typical of a rural campus Programs: Helping with instruction or other needs associated with the various programs/classes that we offer Special events: Our major fundraising events are Spring Thing and Play a Round for the Wranglers golf tournament To make it easier to indicate your interest, simply complete this form.
Live, Learn, Work, and Grow – Life and Times at New Danville
Wranglers Love Animals!
Speaking of animals, did you know? Our animal family continues to grow. We recently had two ducks given to us. The Wranglers named them Greg and Dharma. A small horse named Maisy was recently donated, too. In the next couple of months we will be given two baby, miniature steers. You’ll be able to meet them soon via the newsletter.
Let’s play Find-a-Word. Each word relates to New Danville. Here are the words you are looking for either vertically or horizontally.
Achieve: Something Wranglers work at every day
Cooking: Wranglers love this class…and the eating, too
Donkeys: We got ‘em and the Wranglers love ‘em
Grow: Not just plants grow here…people do too
Honey: We sell it at our online store and at Jazzy Junque
Horses: We have several, the newest is Maisy
Horticulture: Wranglers learn to grow…plants and themselves
Independence: Something all Wranglers aspire to, and we help
Isle: Wranglers learn about other countries…some are islands
Knowledge: Something to add to every day at New Danville
Learn: This is how Wranglers add knowledge
Live: What Wranglers do and some do on site
Noodle: Did we mention how popular cooking class is?
Pallet: Something Wranglers have made at least 7,000 of
Pride: Something Wranglers have and that we have for them
Sewing: Another popular class
Talent: Everyone has some and we help Wranglers find theirs
Weeds: The frustrating side of horticulture
Woodshop: A fun class and a place we make things to sell
Work: An important part of life
Wrangler: Our clients…the reason for everything we do
Did you have fun with that? Would you like to see more Wrangler-inspired pencil games? Let us know. We love hearing your thoughts about the newsletter and anything else that is on your mind.
Important Links
Wranglers’ Ballad: The original music video that shares what happens at New Danville and the heart with which all is done.
Make a donation: You are what makes all these stories possible.
Volunteer: Bring your talents to the service of Wranglers.
Request a tour: Learn about New Danville by seeing.
Jazzy Junque resale store: A great place to shop that benefits New Danville Inventory changes almost every day.
Vision 2025 and the campaign to fund it is called Growing…for Living: A Collaborative Campaign to Grow Life Experiences for Adults with IDD are our future. Find a virtual flyover and the campaign storybook by clicking the link. The year 2025 is our 20th anniversary.
We are pleased to introduce Live, Learn, Work and Grow: Wisdom from Under the Windmill, an inspiring, motivational, immediately usable presentation by Dion McInnis, development director. Bring this to your organization, association, business or group; everyone’s life can be better with the 15 nuggets of wisdom for living discovered at New Danville. Contact Dion at Dion.McInnis@NewDanville.org to book the presentation for your event.
New Danville is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit rural community in Willis, TX for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. New Danville provides our clients an opportunity to live enriched and purposeful lives; we proudly call them Wranglers.