and he has a vice president, two administrative assistants and a she explained. In addition to Nancy and financial officer,” Carmine Vara, his sister Andrea serves on the board, as well as four members of his community. Valerie L. Smith Chris *, who serves as the financial officer, has board’s known Carmine Vara since 1997, when they met at an equestrian riding school. He said he volunteered because “I wanted to help out a friend. handle all of financial stuff. His mother and I “I Carmine’s have access to a bank account for him. I handle both his personal funds and any money he receives from state or federal Chris explained. organizations,” According to Sickert, microboards generally follow one of two models. some cases, the microboard becomes a “In licensed provider in the state for services for the person they support. This is a difficult, very labor-intensive process, with a big application. Once approved, the board becomes a licensed provider and receives waiver funds to directly hire staff and pay for services. other model is one that simply uses board members “The as a natural circle of support for the individual with a disability. Another licensed provider provides the he said. services,” The All About Carmine board decided it would apply to become a licensed provider to assure he was receiving the individualized services he requires. have petitioned the state for a waiver to become a “We personal care provider. approved, we can hire staff Once it’s and pay bills on our be able to contract Carmine’s own. We’ll with who will be the best fit for conduct the Carmine. We’ll hiring and firing process and training. We have a policy and procedures manual that Chris said. details everything,” In addition to training to learn how to properly support
and he has a vice president, two administrative assistants and a financial officer,” she explained. In addition to Nancy and Carmine Vara, his sister Andrea serves on the board, as well as four members of his community. Valerie L. Smith Chris *, who serves as the board’s financial officer, has known Carmine Vara since 1997, when they met at an equestrian riding school. He said he volunteered because “I wanted to help out a friend. “I handle all of Carmine’s financial stuff. His mother and I have access to a bank account for him. I handle both his personal funds and any money he receives from state or federal organizations,” Chris explained. According to Sickert, microboards generally follow one of two models. “In some cases, the microboard becomes a licensed provider in the state for services for the person they support. This is a difficult, very labor-intensive process, with a big application. Once approved, the board becomes a licensed provider and receives waiver funds to directly hire staff and pay for services. “The other model is one that simply uses board members as a natural circle of support for the individual with a disability. Another licensed provider provides the services,” he said. The All About Carmine board decided it would apply to become a licensed provider to assure he was receiving the individualized services he requires. “We have petitioned the state for a waiver to become a personal care provider. Once it’s approved, we can hire staff and pay Carmine’s bills on our own. We’ll be able to contract with who will be the best fit for Carmine. We’ll conduct the hiring and firing process and training. We have a policy and procedures manual that details everything,” Chris said. In addition to training to learn how to properly support