Family Voices Indiana

Indiana's 2011 Legislative Session Welcome to the 5th edition of FV Indiana's Guide to the Legislative Session. This year brings a "long session", stating on January 5th, 2011, where a two year state budget will be set. The continued economic downturn will create significant stresses on budget planning and resources. It will be more important than ever for Families to be involved, sharing your experience. This guide is intended to be a reference issue; in it you will find information on the budget process, how a bill becomes a law, definitions and translations of acronyms and information on the House and Senate leadership. If you are in a district with a new legislator, make the effort to introduce yourself and share your perspective. If your legislator is returning continue to build your relationship. Watch FV Indiana and other sources for action alerts as the session progresses. If you have information about the session to share please contact fv.indiana@gmai

FV Indiana encourages our members to share their perspective during the upcoming public comment period. The Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services (DDRS) has made a commitment to transparency and public input in the policy development process. As a result, all new policies and policy updates will be posted online for public review and comment. The public comment period will last 10 business days from the date of posting, after which all policies will be removed from the page, reviewed based on the public input, finalized and posted onto the DDRS policy page . The following policies will be posted on Tuesday January 4, 2011 and will be available for review until Monday January 17, 2011: Individualized Support Teams Use of Restrictive Interventions Incident Reporting Protection of Individual Rights Behavioral Support Plan BQIS Complaints Individual/Guardian Responsibilities Imminent Danger Outcome Attainment Personnel Policies & Manuals Personnel Records Professional Qual