APD > News & Reports > Media Advisory

APD Holds Disability Summit

TAMPA, FL - The Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) is hosting the "Planning for the Future – Unity in the Developmental Disabilities Community" summit on Thursday, January 17, in Tampa. The meeting will be held from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the Downtown Convention Center, 333 South Franklin Street. Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio is scheduled to deliver a welcome message. APD Director Jane Johnson will give introductory remarks. The media are welcome to attend.

The event will bring together state legislators, policy makers, service providers, and customers in the developmental disability community. APD has adjusted its services in the last few months. A deficit caused by increased service utilization in the Home and Community Based Services waiver, coupled with a shrinking state revenue base, have created uncertainty among stakeholders. The summit has several purposes, including keeping lines of communication open, correcting misinformation that might be circulating, providing a public discussion on issues pertaining to stakeholders, and planning for the future.

At 10:30 a.m., a discussion will be held by a panel of Florida legislators, including Sen. Ronda Storms (R--Brandon), Sen. Durell Peaden Jr. (R--Crestview), Sen. Nan Rich (D--Sunrise), and Rep. Bill Galvano (R--Bradenton). A complete agenda is provided below.

The Agency for Persons with Disabilities currently serves more than 35,000 Floridians with the developmental disabilities of autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, Prader-Willi syndrome, and spina bifida. For more information about the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, call 1-866-APD-CARES (1-866-273-2273) or visit apd.myflorida.com.

9 a.m. - 10 a.m. Sign In

10 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Welcome Message -- Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio

10:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Introductions, Purpose Statement/Overview -- APD Director Jane E. Johnson

10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Panel Discussion -- "Working with the Florida Legislature--What's Ahead" -- Moderator: Lance Block, Chairman, Governor's Commission on Disabilities -- Panelists: Amy Baker, Coordinator, Legislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research; Sen. Ronda Storms, Chairman, Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee; Sen. Durell Peaden, Chairman, Senate Health Care Appropriations Committee; Sen. Nan Rich, Vice Chair, Senate Health Care Appropriations Committee and member, Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee; Rep. Bill Galvano, Chairman, House Healthy Families Committee; Public Input

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Panel Discussion: "State of APD--Where We Have Been, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going" -- Moderator: Bill Palmer, Director, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Education -- Panelists: Jane Johnson, APD Director; Jim DeBeaugrine, APD Deputy Director of Budget and Planning; Mac McCoy, APD Deputy Director of Operations; Public Input

12:45 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Lunch Break: Concession Area/On Your Own

1:45 p.m. - 3 p.m. Roundtable Discussion* of Major Goals/Concerns Impacting the DD Community -- Moderator: Thom DeLilla, Bureau Chief, Office of Brain and Spinal Cord Injury, Department of Health -- Panelists: Deborah Linton, Executive Director, Arc of Florida; Terry Farmer, Executive Director, Florida Association of Rehabilitative Facilities; Debra Dowds, Executive Director, Florida Developmental Disabilities Council; Gary Weston, Director, Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities; Janice Phillips, Chair, Florida Association of Support Coordinators; Betty Kay Clements, Vice Chairperson, Family Care Council Florida; Ed Carraway, Developmental Service Institutions Supporters; Laura Prado, President, Florida's Voice on Developmental Disabilities; former Rep. Susan Goldstein, Floridians for the Future of the Developmentally Disabled; Rich LaBelle, Executive Director, Family Network on Disabilities of Florida, Inc.; Ven Sequenzia, President, Autism Society of Florida; Tony Gelabert, President, Florida Association for Behavior Analysis; Jane Johnson, Director, APD -- *Three minutes per person

3 p.m. - 4 p.m. Public Input (Two minutes per speaker)

4 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Wrap Up

REMINDER FOR MEDIA---When reporting on stories about people with disabilities, remember to use language that puts the person first, rather than the disability. For example, use phrases such as "persons with disabilities" (instead of "the disabled") and "person who uses a wheelchair" (rather than "wheelchair bound").