June 23, 2025 • 24 mins
In this second installment, hosts Meghan (Smallwood) and Patrick (Cadigan) discuss the role of support broker with Jamie Brodnax. They talk about assisting families with person-centered planning (PCP) and self-direction, emphasizing the importance of understanding family needs, identifying goals, and managing funding. Jamie highlights the use of various tools to help keep her sane including apps and trackers. Jamie also addresses the challenges of staffing issues, advocating for clear employee handbooks and underscores the need for support brokers to be well-informed, organized, and able to connect families with resources to ensure individuals with disabilities can lead fulfilling lives. Join the conversation!
Episode Keywords:
support broker, person-centered planning, DDA budget, self-direction, IEP meetings, staff hiring, activity planning, fiscal management agency, employee handbook, termination process, time management, organizational skills, self-advocacy, community resources
Links:
Acronyms/Definitions (page)
Maryland (specific) Links/Supports:
Achieving Independent Support Services (site)
DDA Connection (page)
To download a copy of a transcript for this episode or any of our previous conversations, click here.
Also visit our Podcast webpage to find links to all of our other discussions; go to www.p2transition.com.
Additional information about post-secondary transition can be found at our website.
The Post-Secondary Transition Podcast Facebook page.
Visit our YouTube Channel to find additional video resources.
Intro/Outro music by AudioCoffee from Pixabay.
Transition music by Joseph McDade from Transistor.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Patrick Cadigan (00:01):
Welcome, this is the Postsecondary Transition
podcast where we haveconversations around the ins and
outs and everything in betweenof the transition process for
families of students withdisabilities. I'm one of the
hosts. My name is PatrickCadigan, and I am a public
school transition coordinator.
As always, I have a co host, andwho would that be?
Meghan Smallwood (00:19):
I am Meghan Smallwood, and I'm also a public
school transition coordinator.
Patrick Cadigan (00:23):
So we're back, and we are going to continue
with our discussion with supportbroker Jamie Brodnax. This will
be part two, and we are going tojump right into that discussion
already in progress.
Meghan Smallwood (00:38):
I was going to say, I know Jamie you mentioned
this before about helping youknow, if you're selected early
on in the process, you can beinvolved in some of the PCP or
person centered planningmeetings and writing them for
families. I think families getvery confused and, again,
overwhelmed. That seems to bethe, you know, the main word,
(00:59):
but not knowing what to expect.
So I'm sure having you there,you know that have seen these
before, and kind of know whatDDA is looking for and what to
expect can really help with theprocess as well. So I'm assuming
you you are involved in that?
Jamie Brodnax (01:16):
Yes; so you know, when it comes to developing the
PCP and writing the PCP that isthe CCS, that is their primary
role, is taking all of thisinformation from the family and
from the team and developing itin LTSS and creating the plan.
But I can assist withidentifying how some of the
(01:40):
things that the family shares orthat the individual shares can
be used to develop goals can beused to justify their services,
and then, in turn, help them seehow they can make their services
work for them to achieve thosegoals. And you know, not to
(02:01):
bring up the funding part again,but really, a lot of that is
through funding. Sometimes we'rehaving to make decisions on pay
rates or benefits to make surethat there's funding available
for the person to do the thingsthat they want or need with
their DDA budget.
Meghan Smallwood (02:17):
Yeah, and that's a great point too,
because if you are workingclosely with the family and you
kind of know what they'relooking for, and you are
attending IEP meetings or justgetting to know the student that
can really add in an extra setof eyes on what kind of services
might need to be included, orwhat needs to be looked at
(02:38):
moving forward, so...
Jamie Brodnax (02:39):
Absolutely, and it can also help me with
identifying Is this a person whomay want to get started early on
creating advertisements andbringing on staff, or maybe this
is a person who would do betterwith a vendor and, you know,
attending a program or vendoringservices, maybe they're not
(03:01):
comfortable with hiring theirstaff or going through that
process, and they would like totrust an agency to do that. All
of that information comes outthrough those early
conversations.
Meghan Smallwood (03:11):
That's a great point, too, because I think the
the default for a lot offamilies is, oh, well, I can
work as staff and, you know, tryto remind them, well, that's
great, but you need to have, youknow, plan B, C and D. You can't
just be the only one supportingyour individual, and it's not
good for the young adult either.
They need other people. So youdefinitely, I'm sure, providing
(03:33):
some resources on how to hireand help them to manage new
staff, right?
Jamie Brodnax (03:41):
Absolutely. And that is really a big part of my
role, is not only just helpingthem make that decision, but
then connecting them with theright resources to decide. You
know, maybe they want to go andinterview a few different CDS
programs, or maybe they want totalk to people who have hired
(04:03):
their own staff. I also helpwith identifying activities,
because one thing that I seeparents sometimes not fully
prepared for is the fact thatwhen school ends and you're
starting self direction, if yourchoice is to hire staff, what
are you going to do with yourday there's there is no one
(04:25):
that's going to sit there andcreate a program for you that's
the job of the staff person orthe day to day administrator, if
that's your choice. So anotherthing that I like to do for my
teams is send out quarterly orseasonally lists of activities,
a lot of times, free activitiesgroups. And I learned that
(04:47):
information from the internet,like most other people, just
doing search, but also talkingto the people that I support,
finding out the things thatthey're doing that they love.
And then you. Going back tothose conversations that I've
had and saying, you know, well,this person is loving this
horseback riding activity, and Iam now supporting another person
(05:10):
who said that they want to dosomething with animals. Maybe
this resource would be good forthem too. And that's one of the
things that I actually reallylove about this role, is
introducing people to all of thethings that are out there to
fill your day and to help youmeet your goals, and to really
give you the life that you'relooking for in self direction
through understanding that it'snot just services, it's a lot
(05:33):
more than that.
Meghan Smallwood (05:34):
Well, that's great that you can share those
activities and ideas amongstyour clients, because I think
that is one thing I the thesocial media groups has been
huge for certain groups morethan others, but I see
activities constantly listed,and I'm like, Oh, that's great
that it's getting out there. ButI also tell families, like, when
(05:54):
they're transitioning youth anddeciding it's going to do self
directed or traditional like,just go visit the programs,
because at the very least, youcan get an activity calendar to
get an idea of what they'redoing and kind of replicate it
if you go self directed.
Patrick Cadigan (06:05):
Jamie, one question that I have is you are
in a fairly unique position, inthe sense that you started in
the school system and then youtransitioned and you became a
Coordinator of CommunityService, and now you've
transitioned again into thesupport broker world. So in each
one of those individual roles,and we've had many
(06:27):
conversations, both online andoffline, about tensions that
exist in this new role as asupport broker, are those
tensions still there, or arethey different?
Jamie Brodnax (06:39):
I think any role is going to have some tensions,
but definitely different in thisrole. Mainly, the tensions are
related to the changes outsideof our control, and how those
are going to impact and, youknow, trying to get ahead and
making sure that we're preparedfor whatever comes. But not
(07:00):
knowing fully, would it thatwhatever is going to be, you
know, team by team, sometimesthere are tensions within the
team. Thankfully, that's notalways my position to have to
manage, but I'm definitely thereto assist if there is that inter
team tension or any issues thatcome up.
Patrick Cadigan (07:23):
So again, you continue to have to in, in some
ways, you may continue to haveto play the role of arbiter, or
trying to think of the rightword, but there, even now, as
you have...
Meghan Smallwood (07:36):
Mediator.
Patrick Cadigan (07:37):
...yeah, as you have moved into this new role,
they, like you said, there arestill factors that sometimes
these things can be it can leadto intense conversations.
Jamie Brodnax (07:48):
Yeah, I mean, I'll say, whenever you're
dealing with the services thatreally support someone's life,
and then also dealing withmoney, there's going to be
tensions. There. People havestrong feelings related to both
of those things, andparticularly in this role where
not everyone that I support isable to advocate for themselves,
(08:11):
you have different team memberswho may believe that they know
what's best, and it's a factorof us trying to all work
together to make sure that theperson is getting what's best.
You know, having differingopinions isn't always a bad
thing, but at the end of theday, we just have to focus on
making sure that the person isreceiving the support that they
(08:33):
need to have, the life that theywant to have.
Meghan Smallwood (08:37):
And you kind of answered a question that we
did have about how you can bestsupport those people, to
advocate and make sure thatthey're making informed
decision. Sounds like you makesure they know all the facts
before the decision is made.
Jamie Brodnax (08:49):
Yup and I think that that's so important, it's
really something that I'vechosen to focus my role around
is making sure that I am notmaking decisions for them, that
I am providing the team and theindividual with the information
that they need to make their ownchoice. I can, of course, make
suggestions, and sometimes do ifthey ask for that, but
(09:14):
primarily, I just want to makesure that they know what's going
on, what's required of them, andwhat their options are.
Meghan Smallwood (09:22):
And that kind of reminds me of our role too,
because we as transitionspecialists have to present all
the information. And when itcomes to some of those difficult
topics, like guardianship oralternatives, you know, they
they want to get or choosing aday program, they want to get
our opinions on it, and it'shard sometimes to stay neutral,
but I always tell them, you haveto do what's best for you and
(09:45):
your family. Most importantly,what for your young adult, what
would be a meaningful choice forthem?
Jamie Brodnax (09:50):
Yes, and thankfully, I have through
conversations and connectingwith different people, have
found some really fantastic.
Stick families who are open tohaving those conversations that
maybe in our roles we're notable to have. So one of the
things that I do is, if I have afamily who is really struggling
with making some decisions forthemselves or fully
(10:13):
understanding what differentsituations might look like for
their child, connecting thosefamilies with other families who
have been in similar situations,of course, with both families
being fully aware and agreeingto that connection.
Meghan Smallwood (10:30):
And understanding this is that what
they chose...
Yes.
...secure them up and make sureyou're making decisions based
off of what works for you.
Jamie Brodnax (10:38):
Absolutely
Meghan Smallwood (10:38):
Always a caveat.
Patrick Cadigan (10:39):
And then a kind of segueing a little bit,
because I do have a systemicquestion, and what I mean by
that...
Jamie Brodnax (10:46):
Ok.
Patrick Cadigan (10:46):
...is, what tools or systems do you use that
helps you track all of theinformation that you're bringing
So it soundslike in terms of a support in?
Jamie Brodnax (10:54):
Oh, there are so many, I will say so when it's
related to the budget and theindividuals teams. Thankfully, I
don't have to choose whichsystems to use. Each FMS has
their own system. It is arequirement to use their system
if you use them as your yourfiscal management agency. So we
(11:16):
won't get into all of those,because that could be a whole
other conversation. But relatedto monitoring, managing the
budget monitoring and managingtimesheets, each fiscal
management agency has their ownfor me. Personally, I use a lot
of different folders and appsprovided by my wonderful
(11:40):
Microsoft account to manage allof the information that I am
receiving. I'm also extremelyorganized when it comes to
emails and separating theinformation from the things
pertaining to specific clients,and I just keep track of things
as they come in, really throughreading them right away,
(12:03):
identifying the importantinformation and then grouping
them based off of what theirtopics are. And then I will go
back and re read everythingagain and put all of that
together to share with others.
When it comes to tracking thework that I do, I have an app
that I use that tracks down tothe second the person that I am
(12:26):
working for, what I am doing forthem. And is that billable work,
and that creates weeklytimesheets for myself, which has
been extremely helpful and timebroker, that time management is
a huge component?
saving in making sure that I amaccurately tracking all of the
work that I do. And then I alsohave trackers that I've designed
(12:51):
for myself that remind me tomonitor each person's budget if
something comes up like, forexample, there's been a recent
change in the DDA rates. Idevelop a tracker, put that
information in there and breakit down based off of, does it
apply to this person? What needsto be done? How you know the
(13:15):
conversations, and then, hasthat information been completed
by the deadline. So just lots ofdifferent tools to keep things
on track, keep things runningsmoothly, and making sure that
nothing is missed.
(13:36):
Very much so.
Meghan Smallwood (13:38):
And then do you have to submit any of those
reports that you're generatingfor yourself, or is that just
kept for you?
Jamie Brodnax (13:47):
A little bit of both. So the trackers is more so
for me to make sure that myteams are staying compliant.
Instead of putting thatresponsibility on them, it just
allows me to monitor have thesethings been done? Maybe some
teams need reminders. If there'sa special circumstance that
(14:08):
applies to someone, things likethat, the billing and reporting
regarding the work being donefor each client that does have
to be shared with the fiscalmanagement agencies whenever I
choose to bill which Ipersonally Bill monthly. So when
(14:28):
I do that, I have to share downto the minute, the exact time
that I worked for thatindividual and what was done
during that time.
Meghan Smallwood (14:37):
So you have a direct interaction with the FMS;
what about with DDA or evenDORS? Do you have any connection
directly with them?
Jamie Brodnax (14:47):
So DORS, not too often, unless there is a
specific referral that someone Isupport is asking me to help
with. A lot of times that willfollow on the CCS, but. So
communication with DDA varies.
There is some communication thatI have directly with them when
it comes to the appeal processor the IFDGS process, when it's
(15:09):
related to issues regardingbudgeting, or maybe a problem
with the FMS. I may take lead incontacting DDA, but a lot of
times it's going to be the CCSthat is doing that direct
communication with DDA, and thenI can, of course, be included in
that and provide any informationfrom the fiscal side, but a lot
(15:32):
of times that main communicationis coming from your CCS.
Yes.
Meghan Smallwood (15:41):
And IDFGS..?
For those who might not know.
Jamie Brodnax (15:46):
That is the Individual and Family Direct
Goods and Services. So that is,it encompasses a lot of
different things that a personcould use, again, the cost
savings in their budget to helpcover the cost of sometimes it
(16:07):
is things specific to a person'sdisability and maybe their
safety or sensory needs, butsometimes it's also activities
like gym memberships, horsebackriding, swim classes, things
like that, that maybe is adifficult cost for the
individual or their family totake one for themselves if they
(16:28):
have it in the budget, DDAallows you to submit a request
to use that extra money to coverthe cost of some of those items.
Meghan Smallwood (16:38):
And that's the part where I think families get
confused, because they know whatthe individual enjoys or would
like for them to do. They don'tknow where it fits in. And so I
always advise them talk to yourCCS, talk to your support
broker, because, for example,horseback riding, if the student
or individual is an avidhorseback rider, let them know
the activity, and they can helpto figure out where it would go
(17:00):
in the plan.
Jamie Brodnax (17:01):
Absolutely. And because horseback riding
specifically is such a popularactivity for individuals
receiving DDA services, a lot ofthe horseback riding providers
in the area are willing to bepaid directly from a person's
budget, so there's no cost tothe family. Of course, if it's
approved by DDA.
Meghan Smallwood (17:21):
Oh, that's good to know.
Patrick Cadigan (17:24):
One last question that I have, and this
is again, kind of going off on aside track. But what happens if
a staff member quits or doesn'tshow up? Do you help in those
situations?
Jamie Brodnax (17:35):
I definitely can, and a couple different ways. So
if it is that a staff memberisn't showing up, or if there's
any other problems with thestaff member, I can work with
the individual, theirrepresentative, and help them
identify a plan of action. Is itthat they are ready to move
forward with dismissing thatemployee? Or do we want to talk
(17:59):
about, you know, these are theconsequences. We're going to
share this information with theemployee let them know. You
know, this isn't acceptable.
These are our expectations, andyou know how we're going to
handle this now and again in thefuture, if it occurs, highly
recommend, before we even get tothat point, creating an employee
handbook at the beginning ofyour services, which is
(18:23):
something that I do assist allof my clients in doing, if
that's their choice, theemployee handbook will be very
straightforward in describingthe job role, the expectations,
the hours, the pay. You knowwhat is okay at work and what
isn't okay the needs of theindividual and and also the
(18:46):
expectations regarding theemployee themselves, maintaining
their training, takingadditional trainings if that
client needs that, and then alsolisting benefits, time off
expectations, and of course, therules regarding not showing up
(19:09):
on time, doing things that donot align with the expectations.
A big one right now is phoneusage. A lot of people are
choosing to put informationabout that in their their
employee handbooks to make sureyou know it's understood what
their expectation is regardingthat. So if you do the handbook,
it makes the conversation alittle bit easier when something
(19:33):
doesn't go as planned, becausethe expectations were already
laid out when that person washired, if there is not a
resolution or an ability to fixthe problems that are occurring,
at any point, an individual isable to choose to terminate the
employment of one of theiremployees that is due. Done by a
(19:58):
termination letter that we wouldsend to the employee that again,
I can help them in drafting. DDAalso provides templates and
samples on their website. Andthen we would move forward with
contacting the FMS, letting themknow that the individual has
(20:20):
made the decision not to moveforward with this employee. And
there's a form each FMS hastheir own form, but there's a
form that we would fill out tomake that termination final.
Patrick Cadigan (20:35):
All right then, well, originally, the plan was
to end on a on a positive note,which is to say, asking about,
you know, the rewarding part ofyour job, but you actually had
addressed that earlier. So yeah,one, one last question is, is
it, what skills or qualitieswould you think make a good
support broker?
Jamie Brodnax (20:56):
Whoa, that is a good question.
Meghan Smallwood (20:59):
Organization and time management definitely
came to mind when you weretalking about all you do.
Jamie Brodnax (21:05):
That is a very good question, because it's not
something that I feel like Ireally think about. It's more so
just something that I do, buttime management is a huge part
of it, also taking the time tofully understand everything
related to self direction. Youknow, there is a support broker
(21:28):
training that is given that wehave to pass now on a yearly
basis to be a support broker.
That training just touches onyou earlier about shameless self
promotion. But how can peoplethe important details, but
doesn't really get into all ofthe background information that
I feel makes a person a goodsupport broker. So I would say
putting in that time to informyourself, educate yourself,
(21:50):
attend those hearings and thosewebinars so that you are up to
date with what is going on,because today's rules might not
be tomorrow's rules, and yourteams are going to look at you
for that information. So youwant to make sure that you have
that information to give themfind you?
(22:18):
You can find me on social media.
I am on Facebook and Instagramunder my name, which is Jamie
Brodnax, or my company's name,Achieving Independent Support
Services. I also have a websitethat needs to be updated, so
don't judge me on that too hard.
Patrick Cadigan (22:37):
Oh no, oh no, no, there will be judging.
Meghan Smallwood (22:41):
I think we know someone who could help.
Patrick Cadigan (22:45):
There will be a lot of judging. Well, fantastic.
Meghan Smallwood (22:49):
Thank you so much, Jamie, that was very
informative, and I think so somuch needed to revisit for
families.
Jamie Brodnax (22:56):
Thank you. Well.
thank you for having me. I'malways happy to talk to you
guys...
We appreciate it.
...and share whatever I know.
Patrick Cadigan (23:03):
Awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And as always, Meghan and I willbe back again in two weeks time
with another fantasticconversation.
Meghan Smallwood (23:12):
Sure will.
As always, you'll find links tothe information from our
conversations in our show notes.
We would love for theinformation from this and all
our other discussions to reachas many families as possible,
and we need your help to dothat. You can find our
(23:33):
conversations atwww.p2transition.com, like,
follow, share out the podcast.
Our conversations are posted toall the major platforms,
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that's just naming a few. Soplease share and share often.
Patrick Cadigan (23:53):
Please check out our YouTube channel. We've
done some of the legwork for youby curating videos of topics
that revolve around transition.
We have playlists forguardianship, alternatives to
guardianship, ABLE accounts, andthere's more to come. So please
be sure to subscribe there aswell. And finally, check out our
website, which is full ofinformation and links to
resources around the transitionprocess. Open your web browser
(24:14):
of choice and surf towww.postsecondarytransition.com
so we thank you so much for thetime that you've spent with us,
and look forward to talkingagain soon.
Welcome, this is the Postsecondary Transition
podcast where we haveconversations around the ins and
outs and everything in betweenof the transition process for
families of students withdisabilities. I'm one of the
hosts. My name is PatrickCadigan, and I am a public
school transition coordinator.
As always, I have a co host, andwho would that be?
Meghan Smallwood (00:19):
I am Meghan Smallwood, and I'm also a public
school transition coordinator.
Patrick Cadigan (00:23):
So we're back, and we are going to continue
with our discussion with supportbroker Jamie Brodnax. This will
be part two, and we are going tojump right into that discussion
already in progress.
Meghan Smallwood (00:38):
I was going to say, I know Jamie you mentioned
this before about helping youknow, if you're selected early
on in the process, you can beinvolved in some of the PCP or
person centered planningmeetings and writing them for
families. I think families getvery confused and, again,
overwhelmed. That seems to bethe, you know, the main word,
(00:59):
but not knowing what to expect.
So I'm sure having you there,you know that have seen these
before, and kind of know whatDDA is looking for and what to
expect can really help with theprocess as well. So I'm assuming
you you are involved in that?
Jamie Brodnax (01:16):
Yes; so you know, when it comes to developing the
PCP and writing the PCP that isthe CCS, that is their primary
role, is taking all of thisinformation from the family and
from the team and developing itin LTSS and creating the plan.
But I can assist withidentifying how some of the
(01:40):
things that the family shares orthat the individual shares can
be used to develop goals can beused to justify their services,
and then, in turn, help them seehow they can make their services
work for them to achieve thosegoals. And you know, not to
(02:01):
bring up the funding part again,but really, a lot of that is
through funding. Sometimes we'rehaving to make decisions on pay
rates or benefits to make surethat there's funding available
for the person to do the thingsthat they want or need with
their DDA budget.
Meghan Smallwood (02:17):
Yeah, and that's a great point too,
because if you are workingclosely with the family and you
kind of know what they'relooking for, and you are
attending IEP meetings or justgetting to know the student that
can really add in an extra setof eyes on what kind of services
might need to be included, orwhat needs to be looked at
(02:38):
moving forward, so...
Jamie Brodnax (02:39):
Absolutely, and it can also help me with
identifying Is this a person whomay want to get started early on
creating advertisements andbringing on staff, or maybe this
is a person who would do betterwith a vendor and, you know,
attending a program or vendoringservices, maybe they're not
(03:01):
comfortable with hiring theirstaff or going through that
process, and they would like totrust an agency to do that. All
of that information comes outthrough those early
conversations.
Meghan Smallwood (03:11):
That's a great point, too, because I think the
the default for a lot offamilies is, oh, well, I can
work as staff and, you know, tryto remind them, well, that's
great, but you need to have, youknow, plan B, C and D. You can't
just be the only one supportingyour individual, and it's not
good for the young adult either.
They need other people. So youdefinitely, I'm sure, providing
(03:33):
some resources on how to hireand help them to manage new
staff, right?
Jamie Brodnax (03:41):
Absolutely. And that is really a big part of my
role, is not only just helpingthem make that decision, but
then connecting them with theright resources to decide. You
know, maybe they want to go andinterview a few different CDS
programs, or maybe they want totalk to people who have hired
(04:03):
their own staff. I also helpwith identifying activities,
because one thing that I seeparents sometimes not fully
prepared for is the fact thatwhen school ends and you're
starting self direction, if yourchoice is to hire staff, what
are you going to do with yourday there's there is no one
(04:25):
that's going to sit there andcreate a program for you that's
the job of the staff person orthe day to day administrator, if
that's your choice. So anotherthing that I like to do for my
teams is send out quarterly orseasonally lists of activities,
a lot of times, free activitiesgroups. And I learned that
(04:47):
information from the internet,like most other people, just
doing search, but also talkingto the people that I support,
finding out the things thatthey're doing that they love.
And then you. Going back tothose conversations that I've
had and saying, you know, well,this person is loving this
horseback riding activity, and Iam now supporting another person
(05:10):
who said that they want to dosomething with animals. Maybe
this resource would be good forthem too. And that's one of the
things that I actually reallylove about this role, is
introducing people to all of thethings that are out there to
fill your day and to help youmeet your goals, and to really
give you the life that you'relooking for in self direction
through understanding that it'snot just services, it's a lot
(05:33):
more than that.
Meghan Smallwood (05:34):
Well, that's great that you can share those
activities and ideas amongstyour clients, because I think
that is one thing I the thesocial media groups has been
huge for certain groups morethan others, but I see
activities constantly listed,and I'm like, Oh, that's great
that it's getting out there. ButI also tell families, like, when
(05:54):
they're transitioning youth anddeciding it's going to do self
directed or traditional like,just go visit the programs,
because at the very least, youcan get an activity calendar to
get an idea of what they'redoing and kind of replicate it
if you go self directed.
Patrick Cadigan (06:05):
Jamie, one question that I have is you are
in a fairly unique position, inthe sense that you started in
the school system and then youtransitioned and you became a
Coordinator of CommunityService, and now you've
transitioned again into thesupport broker world. So in each
one of those individual roles,and we've had many
(06:27):
conversations, both online andoffline, about tensions that
exist in this new role as asupport broker, are those
tensions still there, or arethey different?
Jamie Brodnax (06:39):
I think any role is going to have some tensions,
but definitely different in thisrole. Mainly, the tensions are
related to the changes outsideof our control, and how those
are going to impact and, youknow, trying to get ahead and
making sure that we're preparedfor whatever comes. But not
(07:00):
knowing fully, would it thatwhatever is going to be, you
know, team by team, sometimesthere are tensions within the
team. Thankfully, that's notalways my position to have to
manage, but I'm definitely thereto assist if there is that inter
team tension or any issues thatcome up.
Patrick Cadigan (07:23):
So again, you continue to have to in, in some
ways, you may continue to haveto play the role of arbiter, or
trying to think of the rightword, but there, even now, as
you have...
Meghan Smallwood (07:36):
Mediator.
Patrick Cadigan (07:37):
...yeah, as you have moved into this new role,
they, like you said, there arestill factors that sometimes
these things can be it can leadto intense conversations.
Jamie Brodnax (07:48):
Yeah, I mean, I'll say, whenever you're
dealing with the services thatreally support someone's life,
and then also dealing withmoney, there's going to be
tensions. There. People havestrong feelings related to both
of those things, andparticularly in this role where
not everyone that I support isable to advocate for themselves,
(08:11):
you have different team memberswho may believe that they know
what's best, and it's a factorof us trying to all work
together to make sure that theperson is getting what's best.
You know, having differingopinions isn't always a bad
thing, but at the end of theday, we just have to focus on
making sure that the person isreceiving the support that they
(08:33):
need to have, the life that theywant to have.
Meghan Smallwood (08:37):
And you kind of answered a question that we
did have about how you can bestsupport those people, to
advocate and make sure thatthey're making informed
decision. Sounds like you makesure they know all the facts
before the decision is made.
Jamie Brodnax (08:49):
Yup and I think that that's so important, it's
really something that I'vechosen to focus my role around
is making sure that I am notmaking decisions for them, that
I am providing the team and theindividual with the information
that they need to make their ownchoice. I can, of course, make
suggestions, and sometimes do ifthey ask for that, but
(09:14):
primarily, I just want to makesure that they know what's going
on, what's required of them, andwhat their options are.
Meghan Smallwood (09:22):
And that kind of reminds me of our role too,
because we as transitionspecialists have to present all
the information. And when itcomes to some of those difficult
topics, like guardianship oralternatives, you know, they
they want to get or choosing aday program, they want to get
our opinions on it, and it'shard sometimes to stay neutral,
but I always tell them, you haveto do what's best for you and
(09:45):
your family. Most importantly,what for your young adult, what
would be a meaningful choice forthem?
Jamie Brodnax (09:50):
Yes, and thankfully, I have through
conversations and connectingwith different people, have
found some really fantastic.
Stick families who are open tohaving those conversations that
maybe in our roles we're notable to have. So one of the
things that I do is, if I have afamily who is really struggling
with making some decisions forthemselves or fully
(10:13):
understanding what differentsituations might look like for
their child, connecting thosefamilies with other families who
have been in similar situations,of course, with both families
being fully aware and agreeingto that connection.
Meghan Smallwood (10:30):
And understanding this is that what
they chose...
Yes.
...secure them up and make sureyou're making decisions based
off of what works for you.
Jamie Brodnax (10:38):
Absolutely
Meghan Smallwood (10:38):
Always a caveat.
Patrick Cadigan (10:39):
And then a kind of segueing a little bit,
because I do have a systemicquestion, and what I mean by
that...
Jamie Brodnax (10:46):
Ok.
Patrick Cadigan (10:46):
...is, what tools or systems do you use that
helps you track all of theinformation that you're bringing
So it soundslike in terms of a support in?
Jamie Brodnax (10:54):
Oh, there are so many, I will say so when it's
related to the budget and theindividuals teams. Thankfully, I
don't have to choose whichsystems to use. Each FMS has
their own system. It is arequirement to use their system
if you use them as your yourfiscal management agency. So we
(11:16):
won't get into all of those,because that could be a whole
other conversation. But relatedto monitoring, managing the
budget monitoring and managingtimesheets, each fiscal
management agency has their ownfor me. Personally, I use a lot
of different folders and appsprovided by my wonderful
(11:40):
Microsoft account to manage allof the information that I am
receiving. I'm also extremelyorganized when it comes to
emails and separating theinformation from the things
pertaining to specific clients,and I just keep track of things
as they come in, really throughreading them right away,
(12:03):
identifying the importantinformation and then grouping
them based off of what theirtopics are. And then I will go
back and re read everythingagain and put all of that
together to share with others.
When it comes to tracking thework that I do, I have an app
that I use that tracks down tothe second the person that I am
(12:26):
working for, what I am doing forthem. And is that billable work,
and that creates weeklytimesheets for myself, which has
been extremely helpful and timebroker, that time management is
a huge component?
saving in making sure that I amaccurately tracking all of the
work that I do. And then I alsohave trackers that I've designed
(12:51):
for myself that remind me tomonitor each person's budget if
something comes up like, forexample, there's been a recent
change in the DDA rates. Idevelop a tracker, put that
information in there and breakit down based off of, does it
apply to this person? What needsto be done? How you know the
(13:15):
conversations, and then, hasthat information been completed
by the deadline. So just lots ofdifferent tools to keep things
on track, keep things runningsmoothly, and making sure that
nothing is missed.
(13:36):
Very much so.
Meghan Smallwood (13:38):
And then do you have to submit any of those
reports that you're generatingfor yourself, or is that just
kept for you?
Jamie Brodnax (13:47):
A little bit of both. So the trackers is more so
for me to make sure that myteams are staying compliant.
Instead of putting thatresponsibility on them, it just
allows me to monitor have thesethings been done? Maybe some
teams need reminders. If there'sa special circumstance that
(14:08):
applies to someone, things likethat, the billing and reporting
regarding the work being donefor each client that does have
to be shared with the fiscalmanagement agencies whenever I
choose to bill which Ipersonally Bill monthly. So when
(14:28):
I do that, I have to share downto the minute, the exact time
that I worked for thatindividual and what was done
during that time.
Meghan Smallwood (14:37):
So you have a direct interaction with the FMS;
what about with DDA or evenDORS? Do you have any connection
directly with them?
Jamie Brodnax (14:47):
So DORS, not too often, unless there is a
specific referral that someone Isupport is asking me to help
with. A lot of times that willfollow on the CCS, but. So
communication with DDA varies.
There is some communication thatI have directly with them when
it comes to the appeal processor the IFDGS process, when it's
(15:09):
related to issues regardingbudgeting, or maybe a problem
with the FMS. I may take lead incontacting DDA, but a lot of
times it's going to be the CCSthat is doing that direct
communication with DDA, and thenI can, of course, be included in
that and provide any informationfrom the fiscal side, but a lot
(15:32):
of times that main communicationis coming from your CCS.
Yes.
Meghan Smallwood (15:41):
And IDFGS..?
For those who might not know.
Jamie Brodnax (15:46):
That is the Individual and Family Direct
Goods and Services. So that is,it encompasses a lot of
different things that a personcould use, again, the cost
savings in their budget to helpcover the cost of sometimes it
(16:07):
is things specific to a person'sdisability and maybe their
safety or sensory needs, butsometimes it's also activities
like gym memberships, horsebackriding, swim classes, things
like that, that maybe is adifficult cost for the
individual or their family totake one for themselves if they
(16:28):
have it in the budget, DDAallows you to submit a request
to use that extra money to coverthe cost of some of those items.
Meghan Smallwood (16:38):
And that's the part where I think families get
confused, because they know whatthe individual enjoys or would
like for them to do. They don'tknow where it fits in. And so I
always advise them talk to yourCCS, talk to your support
broker, because, for example,horseback riding, if the student
or individual is an avidhorseback rider, let them know
the activity, and they can helpto figure out where it would go
(17:00):
in the plan.
Jamie Brodnax (17:01):
Absolutely. And because horseback riding
specifically is such a popularactivity for individuals
receiving DDA services, a lot ofthe horseback riding providers
in the area are willing to bepaid directly from a person's
budget, so there's no cost tothe family. Of course, if it's
approved by DDA.
Meghan Smallwood (17:21):
Oh, that's good to know.
Patrick Cadigan (17:24):
One last question that I have, and this
is again, kind of going off on aside track. But what happens if
a staff member quits or doesn'tshow up? Do you help in those
situations?
Jamie Brodnax (17:35):
I definitely can, and a couple different ways. So
if it is that a staff memberisn't showing up, or if there's
any other problems with thestaff member, I can work with
the individual, theirrepresentative, and help them
identify a plan of action. Is itthat they are ready to move
forward with dismissing thatemployee? Or do we want to talk
(17:59):
about, you know, these are theconsequences. We're going to
share this information with theemployee let them know. You
know, this isn't acceptable.
These are our expectations, andyou know how we're going to
handle this now and again in thefuture, if it occurs, highly
recommend, before we even get tothat point, creating an employee
handbook at the beginning ofyour services, which is
(18:23):
something that I do assist allof my clients in doing, if
that's their choice, theemployee handbook will be very
straightforward in describingthe job role, the expectations,
the hours, the pay. You knowwhat is okay at work and what
isn't okay the needs of theindividual and and also the
(18:46):
expectations regarding theemployee themselves, maintaining
their training, takingadditional trainings if that
client needs that, and then alsolisting benefits, time off
expectations, and of course, therules regarding not showing up
(19:09):
on time, doing things that donot align with the expectations.
A big one right now is phoneusage. A lot of people are
choosing to put informationabout that in their their
employee handbooks to make sureyou know it's understood what
their expectation is regardingthat. So if you do the handbook,
it makes the conversation alittle bit easier when something
(19:33):
doesn't go as planned, becausethe expectations were already
laid out when that person washired, if there is not a
resolution or an ability to fixthe problems that are occurring,
at any point, an individual isable to choose to terminate the
employment of one of theiremployees that is due. Done by a
(19:58):
termination letter that we wouldsend to the employee that again,
I can help them in drafting. DDAalso provides templates and
samples on their website. Andthen we would move forward with
contacting the FMS, letting themknow that the individual has
(20:20):
made the decision not to moveforward with this employee. And
there's a form each FMS hastheir own form, but there's a
form that we would fill out tomake that termination final.
Patrick Cadigan (20:35):
All right then, well, originally, the plan was
to end on a on a positive note,which is to say, asking about,
you know, the rewarding part ofyour job, but you actually had
addressed that earlier. So yeah,one, one last question is, is
it, what skills or qualitieswould you think make a good
support broker?
Jamie Brodnax (20:56):
Whoa, that is a good question.
Meghan Smallwood (20:59):
Organization and time management definitely
came to mind when you weretalking about all you do.
Jamie Brodnax (21:05):
That is a very good question, because it's not
something that I feel like Ireally think about. It's more so
just something that I do, buttime management is a huge part
of it, also taking the time tofully understand everything
related to self direction. Youknow, there is a support broker
(21:28):
training that is given that wehave to pass now on a yearly
basis to be a support broker.
That training just touches onyou earlier about shameless self
promotion. But how can peoplethe important details, but
doesn't really get into all ofthe background information that
I feel makes a person a goodsupport broker. So I would say
putting in that time to informyourself, educate yourself,
(21:50):
attend those hearings and thosewebinars so that you are up to
date with what is going on,because today's rules might not
be tomorrow's rules, and yourteams are going to look at you
for that information. So youwant to make sure that you have
that information to give themfind you?
(22:18):
You can find me on social media.
I am on Facebook and Instagramunder my name, which is Jamie
Brodnax, or my company's name,Achieving Independent Support
Services. I also have a websitethat needs to be updated, so
don't judge me on that too hard.
Patrick Cadigan (22:37):
Oh no, oh no, no, there will be judging.
Meghan Smallwood (22:41):
I think we know someone who could help.
Patrick Cadigan (22:45):
There will be a lot of judging. Well, fantastic.
Meghan Smallwood (22:49):
Thank you so much, Jamie, that was very
informative, and I think so somuch needed to revisit for
families.
Jamie Brodnax (22:56):
Thank you. Well.
thank you for having me. I'malways happy to talk to you
guys...
We appreciate it.
...and share whatever I know.
Patrick Cadigan (23:03):
Awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
And as always, Meghan and I willbe back again in two weeks time
with another fantasticconversation.
Meghan Smallwood (23:12):
Sure will.
As always, you'll find links tothe information from our
conversations in our show notes.
We would love for theinformation from this and all
our other discussions to reachas many families as possible,
and we need your help to dothat. You can find our
(23:33):
conversations atwww.p2transition.com, like,
follow, share out the podcast.
Our conversations are posted toall the major platforms,
including Apple podcasts,Spotify, YouTube music, and
that's just naming a few. Soplease share and share often.
Patrick Cadigan (23:53):
Please check out our YouTube channel. We've
done some of the legwork for youby curating videos of topics
that revolve around transition.
We have playlists forguardianship, alternatives to
guardianship, ABLE accounts, andthere's more to come. So please
be sure to subscribe there aswell. And finally, check out our
website, which is full ofinformation and links to
resources around the transitionprocess. Open your web browser
(24:14):
of choice and surf towww.postsecondarytransition.com
so we thank you so much for thetime that you've spent with us,
and look forward to talkingagain soon.
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