[blindkid] Elimination of BESB in CT
Carol Castellano
blindchildren at verizon.net
Thu Mar 3 13:09:19 UTC 2011
Hi Bo,
I'll be at my home number most of today, if that
works for you. I'll attach the Alert we just
sent out about our situation in NJ, in case it
helps. All are welcome to take a look at it,
especially if you are facing budget cuts in your state.
Carol
At 08:21 AM 3/2/2011, you wrote:
>Carol, Thank you for responding. Yes, I would
>greatly apprecaite if you could share
>strategies. When is a good time to call you?
>If anyone else in the CT is interested in
>getting involved, please write. Thanks, Bo Page
>Bristol, CT ________________________________
>From: Carol Castellano
><blindchildren at verizon.net> To: "NFBnet Blind
>Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind
>children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org> Sent: Wed,
>March 2, 2011 8:03:31 AM Subject: Re: [blindkid]
>Elimination of BESB in CT Is there someone there
>who can organize the parents? We are in the
>middle of it here in NJ and are in high gear for
>mobilization. I would be happy to share
>strategies. Carol Carol Castellano Director of
>Programs National Organization of Parents of
>Blind Children 973-377-0976
>carol_castellano at verizon.net www.nopbc.org At
>04:05 AM 3/2/2011, you wrote: > For anyone who's
>blind in Connecticut, this may mean no more
>services for our >kids. Concerned mom of an 18
>year old in high school   Information
>for >anyone interested in services for children
>with VI or Blindness  Appropriates >House
>Bill #6380 Elimination of BESB Move Children
>Services to the State >Department of Education
>Move the remainder of BESB services to the
>Department of >Social Services Public Hearing
>Testimony begins March 4th at 5:00 PM in room
>2C >at the Legislative Office Building
>  Appropriations Committee:
>SENATORS >HARP, (Chair), 10th District;Â
>PRAGUE, (Vice Chair) 19th; DUFF, 25th;
>GOMES, >23rd; HARTLEY, 15th; MAYNARD, 18th.
>SENATORS KANE (Ranking Member), 32nd >District;
>MARKLEY, 16th; WELCH, 31st. REPRESENTATIVES
>WALKER, (Chair), 93rd >District; ABERCROMBIE,
>(Vice Chair), 83rd; MILLER, (Vice Chair),
>145th;Â GENGA, >(Vice Chair), 10th;Â
>CANDELARIA, 95th; CLEMONS, 124th; DILLON, 92nd;
>FAWCETT, >133rd; FLEISCHMANN, 18th; GONZALEZ,
>3rd; HADDAD, 54th; HAMM, 34th; HEWETT,
>39th; >HOLDER-WINFIELD, 94th;Â HURLBURT,
>53rd;Â KIRKLEY-BEY, 5th;McCRORY, 7th;Â
>NAFIS, >27th; ORANGE, 48th; REYNOLDS, 42nd;
>RITTER, 38th;Â ROLDAN, 4th; RYAN,
>139th; >SAYERS, 60th; SCHOFIELD, 16th;Â
>TERCYAK, 26th; THOMPSON, 13th; URBAN,
>43rd;Â >VILLANO, 91st; WILLIS, 64th.
>REPRESENTATIVES MINER, (Ranking Member),
>66th >District, BETTS, 78th;Â CARPINO,
>32nd;GIULIANO, 23rd; HWANG, 134th;Â
>KLARIDES, >114th; LAVIELLE, 143rd; O’NEILL,
>69th;PERILLO, 113th; RIGBY, 63r63rd;
>SAMPSON, >80th; SAWYER, 55th, SIMANSKI, 62nd;
>WADSWORTH, 21st; WOOD, 141st. Senior >Committee
>Administrator: Susan A. Keane Room 2700, LOB
>860-240-0390  See >www.cga.ct.govfor
>information on the bill, committee members and
>hearings  >Future legislative bills:
> Implementation bill # H1102 Human
>Services >Committee Details not yet available
>  Here are some implications of
>the >proposed bill. If you are so inclined,
>contact members of the Appropriations >committee
>or your own Senator or Representative. You
>may wish to pick out 1 or >2 points that you
>feel are important to share with them. The
>more people that >they hear from, the more they
>will understand the implications. Remember,
>if >you call, you may only be given less than a
>minute to make your point.  On >paper, it
>looks like BESB will simply be divided and the
>parts assimilated into >other agencies. The
>proposed cost savings is that of 4 personnel at
>the >administrative level. Due to supportive
>federal dollars, this comes to about a >$288.000
>savings. In fact, there will be no cost
>savings; it will cost the >state more. Let
>me explain why.  By splitting the agency
>into two parts, >they will have to divide up its
>resources, resulting in the need to
>duplicate >services, equipment and
>personnel. Right now the agency shares a
>braille unit >which produces braille for adults
>and children; it shares a professional >library,
>specialized equipment and material for the
>blind, a low vision center, >and an assistive
>technology lab. In addition, special
>assistants and >braillists do work for multiple
>divisions. The cost of reproducing
>these >services is huge. For example, just
>the cost alone for a new braille embosser >that
>is currently used by the agency is
>$50,000. This is just one of
>multiple >expenses. The Low vision center is
>filled with Closed Circuit TVs and
>adaptive >equipment. One CCTV can run $3000
>while specialized software costs
>around >$1000. Braille note takers cost
>approximately $6000. To set up
>both >locations with this equipment and hire the
>personnel to support it will cost far >more than
>what is projected to be saved.  In addition,
>by splitting the agency >it results in reduced
>programing for their clients. BESB is well
>known for its >ability to work together between
>divisions to create high quality programs
>for >clients, parents, teachers,
>paraprofessionals and other districts
>personnel. >Programs include: parent,
>vocational, technology, student skills of
>daily >living, sports programs, weekend
>programs, summer programs, transition
>programs, >teacher in-services, OT, PT and PE
>teacher in-services,
>paraprofessional >in-services, CEU trainings,
>deafblind and multiple disability training as
>well >as others. BESB housed numerous
>training programs within their
>facility-with >the new model they will not only
>lose expertise for these events, they will
>lose >the training facilities as well.
> Putting the teachers under SDE is a
>short >term plan. This is an agency that
>does not provide direct services or have
>any >knowledge of the education children who are
>blind. In fact it is in conflict >with what
>they do-that of evaluating and monitoring
>educational programs. They >are not prepared
>to implement the kind of programing BESB clients
>need. It is >a conflict of interest. The
>last time this was proposed, the SDE came out
>and >said they would simply give the money to
>towns and do away with state services- >a likely
>scenario again. Currently there is only a
>temporary commissioner of >the SDE; no one even
>knows who will be running the
>Department. The >implications of this are
>frightening to the BESB families and will cost
>the >towns much more in the long run. Towns
>are not in a position to hire their
>own >teachers for 1 or 2 students which will
>likely result in no services. Although >the
>intent might not be to impact services, the
>result will.  One concern >that arises
>with this consolidation is simply one of
>space. Will the SDE have >storage for the
>Braille and large print library currently
>housing 60,000 >volumes? How about space for
>volunteer braillists? We also need to
>think >about the 43 current Children's Services
>staff, the facilities for student >programs (use
>of kitchen facility for teaching ADL) and the
>facilities for >in-service training for district
>personnel. In addition, consideration
>of >storage of specialized materials for loan to
>students as well as space for the >professional
>library must be found.  With this
>consolidation, Children >Services would lose
>their purchasing function as it would go to DSS
>putting a >strain on the SDE̢۪s staff. In
>facfact, the purchasing may be eliminated
>and >become the responsibility of the
>towns. SDE will be responsible for managing
>a >group of highly trained teachers without the
>managerial knowledge or expertise >in
>blindness-they have little or no knowledge or
>understanding of the Expanded >Core Curriculum
>for the blind mandated by IDEA. Also lost
>will be the >consolidated client data. There
>will also be a cost of integrating
>Children >Services database with SDE.  BESB
>is a centralized center where constituents >can
>receive all services from birth to
>death. With such a low
>incidence >population, this is the most cost
>effective model. Asking towns to take
>this >over when they might have but one student
>this year and 4 the next is >unmanageable and
>cost ineffective. Being a low-incidence
>disability, blindness >cannot be administered in
>the same way that other disabilities
>are. The costs >to educate a child with
>blindness are huge. The needs of BESB’s
>clients are >uniquique and by having centralized
>services they are able to provide for them in
>a >cost effective/service delivery model that
>works. There is no cost savings or >program
>improvement resulting from the proposed changes.
> A constituent who >has a family member who
>is losing vision, a parent who has a baby born
>blind, a >school district with a student who
>qualifies as VI or an individual who has
>a >visual problem can simply pick up the phone
>and make one call to talk to many >service
>delivery persons. Once divided and
>incorporated into a larger agency >the process
>will become cumbersome. Reaching the head of
>the agency will no >longer be a simple task,
>layers of bureaucracy will stand in the way, and
>once >located, that person will know little
>about the needs of a person with >blindness.
>_______________________________________________
>blindkid mailing list >blindkid at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
> >To unsubscribe, change your list options or
>get your account info for
>blindkid: >http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/
>blindkid_nfbnet.org/blindchildren%40verizon.net >
> _______________________________________________
>_______________________________________________
>blindkid mailing list blindkid at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get
>your account info for blindkid:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/bo.page%40sbcglobal.net
>_______________________________________________
>blindkid mailing list blindkid at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindkid_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get
>your account info for blindkid:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindkid_nfbnet.org/blindchildren%40verizon.net
>
Carol Castellano
Director of Programs
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976
carol_castellano at verizon.net
www.nopbc.org
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Budget Alert 2011.doc
Type: application/msword
Size: 630784 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blindkid_nfbnet.org/attachments/20110303/e0c64ab6/attachment.doc>
More information about the BlindKid
mailing list