Annual Reports Annual Reports Menu Steering Committee Membership   Steve Kitchin Chairman, Vice President, Corporate Education & Training, New England Institute of Technology Chairman of the Board, Workforce Partnership of Greater RI Mr. William Anderson Chairperson, State Rehabilitation Council Ms. Susan L. Babin Administrator, Office of Quality Assurance/Special Projects, Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), Department of Mental Health, Retardation & Hospitals Ms. Annette Bourbonnierre Consumer Representative Mr. Leo Canuel Executive Director, People Actively Reaching Independence (PARI - ILC) Ms. Diane Cook Policy Specialist, Department of Human Services, Project Co-Coordinator, Work on the Rhodes to Independence Work Incentives Grant Ms. Aleatha Dickerson Consumer Representative Mr. Steven A. Florio Executive Director, RI Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Mr. Tim Flynn Consumer Representative Ms. Deborah Garneau Office of Children with Special Health Care Needs, Division of Family Health, RI Department of Health Mr. Bob Gearing Consumer Representative Ms. Elaina Goldstein Director, Public Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Rhode Island Executive Director, Rhodes to Independence Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Ms. Dianne Kayala Chief of Family Health Systems , Department of Human Services Mr. Richard King Consumer Representative Mr. Tony Lucca Director of Operations, Providence/Cranston Workforce Development Office Workforce Investment Board Mr. Thomas Martin Division of Behavioral Health, Department of Mental Health, Retardation & Hospitals Mr. Alfred J. Moscola Interim General Manager, RI Public Transit Authority Ms. Kathleen Partington Chief, Workforce Development Services, Department of Labor & Training Project Co-Coordinator, Work on the Rhodes to Independence Work Incentives Grant Mr. Arthur Plitt Commissioner, RI Governor's Commission on Disabilities Ms. Lorna C. Ricci Executive Director, Ocean State Center for Independent Living (OSCIL) Mr. Thomas J. Rossi President T.J. Rossi Associates, Employer Representative Ms. Susan Shapiro Vocational Rehabilitation/Human Resource Development Coordinator, Office of Rehabilitation Services, Department of Human Services Mr. Neil Sharpe Consumer Representative Mr. J. David Sienko President T.J. Rossi Associates, Employer Representative Mr. Thomas J. Rossi Education Specialist, RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Needs Ms. Lauren Slocum CEO, Central RI Chamber of Commerce Acknowledgements The Rhodes to Independence Steering Committee wishes to express appreciation to Steve Kitchin, Chair of the Steering Committee, Executive Director Elaina Goldstein, and to all of the individuals who served on the five Steering Committee Workgroups this year, and especially the Workgroup Chairs and Co-Chairs: Brent Cleaveland, Anne LeClerc, Michelle Malloy, Beth Pinkham, Susan Shapiro, David Sienko, and Michael Spoerri. Without their generosity of time and expertise, this year's Rhodes to Independence accomplishments and this 2004 Annual Report would not have been possible. The Steering Committee is grateful to the above-cited Chairs, Executive Director Elaina Goldstein and staff members Kate McCarthy-Barnett, Natanya Szendro, Devorah Weiner and Nancy Wooten for providing their expertise and skill in staffing the Workgroups and drafting the reports. We wish to acknowledge and thank Donald E. Letendre, Dean and Professor, University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy, for his valuable support and advocacy for the Rhodes to Independence. In addition, we want to extend our gratitude to the very capable College of Pharmacy administrative staff that has helped us through innumerable accounting challenges, budget and grants' issues. The successful passage of the Rhode Island Medicaid Buy-In in July 2004 was made possible through the time and effort of many individuals and organizations. The Steering Committee acknowledges with gratitude their contribution, with a special thanks to Representative Eileen Naughton, Senator June Gibbs, Governor's Commission for Disabilities Executive Secretary Bob Cooper, RI Economic Policy Council Executive Director Kip Bergstrom, the Human Resources Investment Council and the Department of Human Services. The staff of the three technical assistance centers for the Medicaid Infrastructure Grant deserve commendation: (1) the Center for Workers with Disabilities at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), (2) the National Consortium for Health Systems Development (NCHSD), and (3) the New England Partnerships (NEP) for their continuous help, support and responses to any and all questions, and for the opportunity to discuss challenges and accomplishments with our many " state partners". Last, but certainly not least, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for providing the funding and project support for this important project. Steering Committee | Executive Summary | Employment Retention | Housing Workgroup Outreach Workgroup | Transportation Workgroup Youth in Transition Workgroup | Annual Reports Menu About Us | Researchers/Publications and Toolkits