A lady from Rice Lake has found a way to turn the tragedies in her life into a life-long career of writing novels. As an avid fiction reader, Katie Kettner realized that she couldn't really relate to any of the characters in popular books, she she started writing her own. She has written 61 novels with 10 more on the way, and each book has a character with a disability. Her books can be found on Amazon.

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Share your thoughts for the next five years of the IRIS program

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is renewing the IRIS waiver. A waiver is a special set of rules that allows us to have Medicaid programs like the IRIS program. For IRIS, it includes the 1915(c) waiver. With it, we can fund services and supports to help IRIS participants stay in their homes and communities.

We must renew the waiver every five years. This is a chance for us to make the IRIS program better between 2026 and 2031. We can improve policy, services, and other things that can make the programs better for participants.

How can I get involved?

Take our survey!

The survey closes August 2.

Take the survey

We want IRIS participants, families and friends, caregivers and providers, IRIS contract staff, advocates, and other partners to share their thoughts.

We want to know how the IRIS program can better serve participants. This is a chance to share your ideas about services, supports, and other areas of care. It’s available in English, Hmong, and Spanish.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently overturned the previous ruling that banned the use of drop boxes for returning absentee ballots. The decision is especially important for people with disabilities because they are more likely to rely on absentee voting than the general public. 

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AccessiBe, a technology company working to solve challenges of web accessibility using artificial intelligence (AI), charted disability statistics in Wisconsin using the Census Bureau data. This is used to give a better idea of what types of accommodations are needed in the communities. 

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Google recently a lot of new accessibility features for people who have vision impairments, cognitive delays, and physical limitations. Product updates will include a new option for Lookout, an Android function that allows people who are blind or who have low vision to use their phone’s camera to find out about what’s in front of them..  The company is also launching a six-month fellowship program for influencers with disabilities and investing $5 million in a fund backing nonprofits making coding and computer science education more accessible to students with disabilities.

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Meet InControl Wisconsin board member, Cindy. She has been involved in self-determination in various ways for many years. She’s passionate about work that focuses on partnering and collaborating with people who receive services and community stakeholders. She loves seeing self-advocates speak up about what’s really going on. We’re so fortunate to have her as a member of the Network!

  What's your story?  Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Cindy currently works for AssuranceSD focusing on growth and development in the companies that are part of the AssuranceSD family. In Wisconsin, this includes LKiChoice and Premier.  Her approach to this work is centered on relationship building and partnering.

Before working at AssuranceSD, she worked at GT Independence where she was the Chief Talent Officer responsible for employee engagement, learning and development, language access, and culture and belonging; and at TMG, where she held a variety of roles from Director of the IRIS Consultant Agency to Senior Director of Organizational Performance and Development.   

“I am passionate about work that focuses on partnering and collaborating with individuals receiving services and community stakeholders,” she tells us.

How are you involved with self-determination? Why did you join the SD Network?

Cindy explains that she has been involved in self-determination through the work that she does, though more importantly, through the relationships she has developed over the years with self-advocates and families.  “I am deeply grateful for these relationships and feel passionate about continuing to have self-directed options for people,” she says.

Tell us some good news – what’s the most exciting thing happening for you (or in Wisconsin) in terms of self-determination?

The most exciting thing for Cindy is to see the power of the self-advocates. She’s inspired to see them speak truth to power in many settings.

What tip or resource would you like to share with people who want to be more self-determined?

Cindy shares that there is a resource that will be launched this fall by InControl and available on the InControl website.  The project is called Caring Across Cultures and was part of the ARPA funding that the State of WI provided. She explains that the focus of the resource is on the relationship between employers and their direct care staff, especially when there are cultural differences.  “I think this is a great resource for anyone who might be self-directing,” she says.

What are some of your hobbies?

Cindy enjoys time with her family, sitting around a fire in the backyard, hanging out with her granddaughter, reading a good novel, and brewing kombucha.

***We love hearing the views and opinions of Network members. We need to mention that the views and opinions expressed on this site are those of the person who is sharing them. They do not necessarily reflect InControl Wisconsin or any of our supporters and funders.

The Wisconsin Family and Caregiver Support Alliance wants to hear from YOU! Wisconsin Priorities for the National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers:

• Survey for Family Caregivers
• Survey for Professionals