Hello All,
 
Please take the time to read this and know that we will have a bit of discussion time for this during the staff retreat.
 
Schools are still working on reopening plans and IEP meetings are occurring the last week of August and first week of September. So our contracts are still in flux. Please anticipate your schedule for September coming out on August 28^th  and they may come in parts; week by week. Thank you for understanding.
 
Cornerstone will be reorganized to support BIs, PSIs and BI leads with admin work and remote teaching. Beginning August 31^st, the telecommuting policy will end for BIs, PSIs, and BI leads and they should report to Cornerstone when not scheduled or scheduled for a remote session. Montpelier BIs, PSI and BI Leads will report to the Montpelier Office. Georgia office may also serve as a place for admin and remote teaching. Program Manager space and Support will be scheduled as needed on sites.  More information will come out about how this will work the week of August 24^th and will include how to account for lunch and drive time.
 
BAs, RSPs and Operations staff will continue with the current telecommuting policy. There will be 1 office for Operations, 1 office for Coordinators/Directors and 1 office for RSP to be occupied by 1 staff at a time at Talcott.  The library at Talcott can hold meetings with up to 2 people social distancing and the large space at Cornerstone will have a conference table that allows for up to 6 people for face to face meetings when needed. All other meetings should take place virtually.  Meeting protocol and use of space will be posted by the first of the month.
 
Schedules:
Everyone is still responsible for updating their schedule for the following week by Friday at 5pm. If you are a direct service staff and not scheduled but would like hours please write admin in your schedule. Please know that schedules are very fluid at this time and may change a lot and often. 
 
Staring August 31^st, unpaid lunch breaks are not necessary and sometimes will not be able to happen. Breaks will be incorporated into your day at schools and at the office but will not always be scheduled.  You will however typically have the opportunity to take off your mask and eat, this will typically be 10-15 minutes and you will be on call for your client in case of an immediate need. If you leave the building you are working at to go get lunch you need to clock out for your lunch time to include getting and eating the lunch. If you are feeling that you would like a 20-30 minute unpaid lunch this school year please let your supervisor know and we will do our best to make this happen. Anyone using the telecommuting policy needs to continue to incorporate a lunch time in their schedule and a reminder that commute to and from your home is not part of your scheduled day even if it happens midday.
 
Starting August 20^th, Directors, Coordinators and BAs are meeting with families to discuss how we will be serving our BZ students that typically get in home services. We anticipate changes for our younger clients as we may transfer services to the office.  Services may also be more focused and treatment will be given by the BA in partnership with families and caregivers with a focus on caregiver training.  Staff will only be in homes of our BZ clients in very specific situations. This is the current guidance for in home services: https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/VDH%20Illustrated%20Timeline%20Infographic.pdf .  The caveat to this will be clients who have significant needs and have their own apartment or treatment spaces. We anticipate that this means for BI staff that shift 3 will be minimal. After school time will be used for team meetings and trainings as needed.
 
We would like to try something new for the fall in regards to staff supporting S^D as caregivers/ PCAS. We hope that this shift will support families, give opportunities for staff for second jobs and still abide by RBT ethics, while supporting the integrity of programming. We would like to put this system into place and would love your feedback. Below is what we anticipate it would look like
1.Families would request a Caregiver by sending in a flyer to their BA with information including- a blurb on student, dates and times they are looking for, location of services and bit about the environment they would be working (amount of people in the house, activities that would be occurring at that time etc).
2. The BA would post in hoopla and a place on the website
3. Notes – staff cannot have been on the client’s S^D team for the past 6 months. BA can give you some details about the client, but all support for that client would come with the parent present. S^D BA would not supervise you in that role rather the parent would be the supervisor, but may have you attend caregiver training meetings with them. Families would be aware that your S^D schedule would always come first and is a bit unpredictable at this current time. S^D cannot support you with negotiating pay or any employment issues. Hours working for a family also do not count towards RBT hours.  If your supervisors feel like the job may be effecting your ability to do your S^D job, we may counsel you to leave the position, giving you time to make an appropriate departure (2-4 weeks).
 
 
Staff Safety:
Staff and client safety is very important to us and we recognize that there are lots of conflicting views out in the world about teachers and students and opening up schools. Please know that we have been working with schools to communicate the needs of our company to make sure our staff safety is considered at all times. We are working on a COVID plan for each one of our students that looks at risk, student and staff in regards to when clients and staff may pose an additional risk based on client profile and need to instruct or support a student in a particular manner.
 
The Agency of Education is scheduled in the near future to give more guidance about how to support students that may have complex needs.  COVID plans for each school age student will be shared with staff before 9.8.2020. At any time if you are needing extra support in understanding the exposure plan, accommodations for students and or communication within the company about safety /exposure information please ask your supervisor or safety officer. If they don’t know the answer they will find it and get back to you.
 
We cannot express enough the following: 1. Wear your mask 2. Look at the ventilation where you are at during all times – keep the air and yourself moving when you can 3. Be concise in regards to time spent in close proximity to others and avoid close contact as much as possible. (Close Contact is considered being with a person for 15 minutes within 6 feet). Also, depending on how staff schedules roll out and the community spread this fall, we may need to ask staff to keep close contact information on their cloud schedule.
 
Wellness:
This is a crazy time with  lots of information and uncertainty. We are constantly weighing how to support staff, clients and families. We know that we do not always see everyone, but are thinking about you all. Please if you have any questions or concerns share these with your supervisors as they have opportunities throughout the week to connect with others regarding needs. Also remember EAP is a confidential resource that can support you:
You can call EAP at 1-866-660-9533 to speak with someone directly or you can access EAP information and rescources through the website at www.investeap.org and the password is SDAssoc.
 
Looking at policy, benefits and company changes for 2021 if you have a Suggestion, Thought, Beautiful Question  (A beautiful question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift the way we perceive or think about something—and that might serve as a catalyst to bring about change) on a policy, benefit or system change that maybe helpful to you and the greater staff please share with Human Resources. Please put STB & your name in the subject line. Human Resources will then collate them all and give them to the CEO and Directors to consider when looking at any company changes for 2021. We thank you in advance.