priorities

Protection & Advocacy (P&A) Priority Setting Process

Priorities are set annually. Many priorities carry over into the next fiscal year, often because we are unable to complete work on large systemic issues within a calendar year.

We gather consumer input about priorities from public comment sheets and consumer survey postcards that ask which disability problems the commenter wants P&A to address in the future.

In addition to written comments, we also obtain input from the public at two public forums held per year. Typically, we hold one forum in November or December to obtain input regarding priorities that P&A is currently working on. We hold the second forum in July or August to obtain input regarding priorities for following fiscal year, which begins October 1.

We hold these forums at facilities and in the community, focusing on underserved disability, minority, and geographic populations. Two of the places we have held forums in the recent past include the far eastern and far western regions of Kentucky. Both our PAIMI Advisory Council and PADD Advisory Board members assist us with these forums.

Additionally, we review information and referral (I&R) requests we have received throughout the year to identify any patterns or trends of specific disability-related problems. We respond to an average of 170 I&R calls per month. If we have received numerous calls about conditions or staff at a particular psychiatric hospital, for example, we consider setting a priority to address the potential problems there.

Once we have compiled results of the written public comments, input from the public forum, and I&R patterns or trends, we review those results to determine if there is a possible remedy for the identified problems. If there is, we discuss strategies to resolve issues, including resources needed.

We then share this analysis with the PAIMI Council and the PADD Board, who provide further input and suggestions, particularly suggestions about which of the issues or problems members feel are most important for P&A to address.

In recent years we have attempted to work on cross-disability issues (such as abuse/neglect, healthcare, education, employment and the right to receive services in the most integrated setting), while not losing sight of the fact that that there are some issues unique to specific disability populations.

Priorities 2018

Priorities 2017

Priorities 2016