February 2008 AACOG Region Newsletter

AACOG is currently accepting nominations for the 2008 AACOG Regional Awards, to be presented to the winners at a special ceremony on June 11, 2008. These nominations are open to the public. The deadline for receipt of the nominations is Thursday, May 1, 2008.

Categories for nomination are:

Regional Citizen of the Year
Corporate Citizen of the Year
Community Project of the Year
Governmental Regional Project of the Year

For more information about the awards, visit www.aacog.com/award.

Senior citizens who are interested in serving as advocates for Texas seniors can register their candidacy as a representative to the 12th Texas Silver-Haired Legislature (TSHL) in Austin, Texas. The Silver-Haired Legislature is elected every two years and works directly with the Texas Legislature to promote senior citizen issues and concerns and to enact laws that will help senior citizens. Candidates must file for election by February 29, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.

For more information about the TSHL elections, click on one of the links below:

Bexar County News Release - Candidate Forms
Alamo Region - Candidate Forms

On February 21, 2008, AACOG's Regional Law Enforcement Training Academy will be hosting an open house at their training facility, located at 8700 Tesoro Drive, 6th Floor, Classroom 1, San Antonio, Texas. Academy personnel will be conducting tours of the facility beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing every half hour until 1 p.m.

The open house will include an overview of the Regional Academy's operations; a demonstration of the distance learning program between the academy and the Kerr County Sheriff's Department; the integration of SMART Board and other technology; and the integration of reality based training, firearms/defensive tactics training, physical fitness program, and communications skill development. Refreshments will be served. For more information about the open house call (210) 362-5291 or e-mail dhaby@aacog.com.

The San Antonio region continues to celebrate the success of the Early Action Compact, signed in 2002 by visionary local elected officials from governments in Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Wilson Counties. The region has avoided a designation of "nonattainment" under federal air quality law thanks to the local/state/federal partnership established thru the compact and thanks to implementation of air quality improvement measures put into place by local governments.

One of the clean air policies which benefitted our community in 2004 has received fresh state funding and is now available again in the San Antonio region. The Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, or TERP, provides incentive grant packages to local business owners interested in upgrading their heavy-duty on-road vehicles and off-road equipment. Emission reduction incentive grant applications are now being accepted through April 11, 2008, while rebate grants are available starting Jan. 18, 2008.

AACOG is pleased to host two workshop sessions for TERP grants. TCEQ staff will be at AACOG's Al J. Notzon III Board Room, 8700 Tesoro Drive, Suite 100, San Antonio, on February 14, 2008, 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., to answer questions regarding the TERP grant application process. More information is available online through the the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's TERP website at www.terpgrants.org.

AACOG celebrated 40 Years of service to the Alamo Region at a celebration at the Radisson Market Square on December 5, 2007. The keynote speaker for the celebration was Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, Region 26. Former AACOG Board Chairmen and Members, as well as former AACOG Executive Director Al J. Notzon III, were on hand to celebrate the occassion.

Photo slideshow

The Continuity of Services Department (COS) of the Bexar Mental Retardation Authority was recently recognized by the Department of Aging and Disabilities Services (DADS) for their outstanding performance in Fiscal Year 2006-2007.

The Continuity of Service Department is responsible for the enrollments into the Home and Community-Based Services (HCS) Program, managing the HCS Interest list, monitoring consumers in the Texas Home Living Waiver Program, admitting consumers in Intermediate Care Facilities for persons with Mental Retardation (ICF/MR), attending staffings and facilitating movement to and from State Facilities, and developing & reviewing permanency plans for children 22 years and below residing in facilities.

During the period recognized, the COS staff was instrumental in enrolling into the HCS Program 355 consumers from the Interest List. Through the promoting independence initiative, the COS staff enrolled 10 consumers from large ICF/MRs, 4 from small/medium ICF/MRs, 4 from Multiple Disabilities Units, and 14 from State Schools. Seven children aging out of the Child Protective Services Program were enrolled into HCS. The COS staff also successfully monitored an average of 28 consumers in the Texas Home Living Program, assuring the needs of the consumers/families were met.

In FY2006-2007, the untiring efforts of the Bexar MRA Continuity of Services Department enabled them to meet all of DADS Performance Measures and outcome targets in the enrollment efforts and HCS Interest List contacts (scoring 100% in all four quarters), in permanency planning, and in serving people with mental retardation in the State and Intermediate Care Facilities. “Kudos” to Ethel Gathers and her staff at the Bexar MRA!

Article submitted by: Myrna Rodriguez Esquivel, City of San Antonio

The City of San Antonio’s (COSA) Housing & Neighborhood Services Department has recently been awarded a $4,000,000 Lead Hazard Reduction grant to continue addressing lead hazards in 228 homes built prior to 1978, which house children under the age of six and families of low income, countywide over the next three years. COSA has already successfully assisted 431 families over the course of seven years.

Under the grant program, children are tested for lead through the child’s pediatrician. If the child tests positive, families are referred to the COSA’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Program to address lead hazards in the home. The program works with state certified consultants who test the home and state certified contractors to address the lead hazards through solutions such as replacing windows and doors that have tested positive for lead paint or paint stabilization. All work performed is provided in the form of a grant to qualifying clients.

Lead paint can cause serious, and sometimes fatal, health problems, especially in children. Youngsters can experience developmental delays and permanent neurological damage. The most common source for lead is found in paint but it can also be found in pottery and ceramics, soil, food, and consumer products among other sources. For more information about COSA’s Lead-Based Paint Hazard Control Program, visit www.sanantonio.gov/nad and click on Lead-Based Paint Program or call (210) 207-5455. Brochures are also available online in English and Spanish.