June 28, 2002

Immediate Effect

CAUSE Board of Directors:

With sad hearts and profound regret, we formally resign from our elected and appointed positions within the CAUSE Board of Directors, and from the Board of Directors itself.

We each came to the CAUSE Board with enthusiasm and a shared commitment to supporting children and youth with disabilities/special needs and their families.  In coming together (as parents of children with disabilities/special needs, adult persons with disabilities and/or representatives of organizations supporting children with disabilities/special needs), we believed CAUSE had become a mature, dynamic coalition dedicated to building the parent-professional partnerships at the core of IDEA in support of children/youth from early infancy through transition into the adult world.  We felt this direction demonstrated CAUSE’s recognition of the changing circumstances in advocacy today, and showed logical growth, given CAUSE’s early extensive focus on parents training parents.

While honoring the CAUSE roots by providing targeted parent information access and IEP advocacy support at the individual student level, the current executive director, Deborah Canja, has devoted significant effort to advocate for and participate in the systems change needed to produce meaningful student outcomes.  CAUSE, under her leadership, has set the standard for providing a forum for networking and bridge building between individuals and organizations who have divergent views about service delivery to children with disabilities.  This revitalized CAUSE has emerged as a primary partner in the advocacy arena working to change outcomes for all children/young adults who have special needs.  The executive director has secured significant funding streams to allow CAUSE to provide a wider range of services and CAUSE has been recruited by funding agencies to provide specific services because of knowledge n the field and community that “CAUSE produces good results.”  CAUSE’s new website, listservs, publications etc. have been lauded throughout the state for providing comprehensive, current access to information and resources and the website has received national praise as a source of significant information for parents and educators.

Over the past several months, CAUSE’s progress in its mission, and its basic ability to exist has been challenged from within.  The controversy’s focus has been the Executive Director’s performance and role, but we believe the problem is more basic.  The CAUSE Board of Directors has not been able to recognize its proper functions and has allowed its focus to be diverted from its policy role into day-to-day operations.  In the midst of this struggle, the Board as an operating unit has not recognized the deeper issues that are represented by the public struggle with the Executive Director.  A core question for the Board is whether CAUSE should move forward into applying its expertise and public reputation to the benefit of children/young adults with disabilities/special needs into all service areas or should it confine its activities to issues only specifically related to special education.  Should all stakeholders be welcome at the table or should the focus be limited to parents?  Is the CAUSE service focus on parents or children/youth?  We all have diligently tried to focus the Board on the core questions, and have worked faithfully to create a process that would allow the Board, the Executive Director, CAUSE employees/volunteers and the families we serve to work together to form a firm future vision for CAUSE that we all could embrace and support.  Instead, we have found a Board reluctant to actively address its own outdated practices and admit that its own performance is in serious need of review and major revision.  Throughout this controversy the Board has had no meaningful guide to assist it in confining its activities to its legal role and responsibilities.  The Board has not performed the majority of its work nor made the majority of its decisions in harmony with the open board concept that CAUSE families and supporters have expected. 

While we have continued our effort to direct Board attention to its organizational and policy shortcomings, we have felt rebuffed at every effort.  To us, it appears that the Board’s recent operating practice has been to focus not on the important policy issues, but rather on the “crisis of the day.”  We fear that this practice would be happening regardless of who was filling the role of Executive Director.  We can no longer expend this type of effort here which diverts our strength, ability and resources to provide the needed services to children and young adults.

It is often said that all politics is local.  We respect the views of others and expect similar respect for ours.  However, there comes a point when it is no longer productive to continue on a given path and, in the interest of all parties, another course must be chosen.  We do not believe the present Board is ready or able to confront CAUSE’s future, and regret that we have not been able to assist the Board in overcoming its current practices.  We feel that our continued involvement will only fuel the present controversy and deflect from CAUSE’s core need to chart its future direction.  We therefore choose to continue our commitment to our children with disabilities/special needs in other venues, and reluctantly leave the present Board to its own measures and vision.

We direct our resignation to the Board as a whole because the bylaws do not define whom these resignations should be submitted in light of the resignation of the Board president contained herein.

Regretfully but respectfully,

(actual image of signatures below - click here)

Elected Executive Committee Members:

Dorothy Beardmore

Board President and Parent of two children with disabilities, Bylaws Committee member, State Board of Education (retired)

Drucilla Daniels

Elected Member-at-large, Parent of 7 children with disabilities

Individual Members:

Dr. Ingrid Draper

Executive Director of Student Specialized Services – City of Detroit (retired)

Dr. Bernie Travnikar

Lamphere Public Schools Director of Special Education (retired)

Organizational Members:

Ken Smith

CHADD (Children and Adults with ADD/HD), Person with ADHD and Parent of a child with ADHD

Herb Yamanishi

Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan (LDA), Bylaws Committee chair

Brunhilde Merk-Adam

Parents of Blind Children in Michigan (PBOC/MI), Parent of a child with a disability, Grant-Review Committee chair, Bylaws Committee member