[Nfbf-l] nfbcenter in florida

Sun Apr 3 19:23:14 UTC 2011

Please read the following. This is for those who do not have MS word. Then please comment upon what you've read. 

National Federation of the Blind of Florida

RESOLUTION 2006-3

Concerning the Florida Orientation and Adjustment Center

          WHEREAS, 

The Orientation and Adjustment Center operated by the Florida Division of Blind Services is primarily for the purpose of assisting blind and visually impaired Floridians to adjust their attitudes about blindness; and

          WHEREAS, 

There are centuries old myths, misconceptions and stereotypes about blindness and the blind which have become generally accepted by the public and by the blind themselves; and

          WHEREAS, 

These myths, misconceptions and stereotypes result in limited expectations by both the public and the blind themselves; and

          WHEREAS, 

The teaching of the various skills of blindness such as Braille, cane travel, assistive technology, etcetera are only a part of the training necessary to overcome these myths, misconceptions and stereotypes; and

          WHEREAS, 

The acquisition of blindness skills alone will not adequately prepare blind Floridians to succeed in order to live a full and productive life as an active participant in society; and

          WHEREAS, 

It is essential to encourage blind Floridians to challenge the myths, misconceptions and stereotypes, gain confidence through activities that challenge their own beliefs and stretch their expectation; and

          WHEREAS, 

The Director of the Division of Blind Services, Craig Kaiser, has set forth new policies for the operation of the Orientation and Adjustment Center designed to focus on the adjustment to blindness aspect of the residential rehabilitation experience

Now therefore BE IT RESOLVED that 

the National Federation of the Blind of Florida assembled this 28th day of May, 2006, in the City of Orlando, Florida endorses and supports the changes being implemented by Director Kiser as embodied in the DBS document quoted below:

"Orientation and Adjustment Center

May 1, 2006

1.           Students enrolled in the Orientation and Adjustment Center (general Rehabilitation track) will be required to participate on a fulltime basis for an average period of six to nine months.  A six-month stay will represent the minimum period of time that any student will be expected to participate in this residential rehabilitation program.

2.           Students enrolled in the Orientation and Adjustment Center will participate in the full curriculum, and will not be permitted to customize their program by excluding specific courses in their Individualized Center Plan (ICP.)  All students will take core courses in: Braille; Orientation and Mobility; Key Boarding and Adaptive Technology; Home Management; Personal Management, and Seminar Class.  All students will be invited to select one optional course to take for their personal growth and training.  These optional courses will include:  Arts and Crafts, Horticulture, tailored Academic Instruction, or other course offerings that may be made available to students from time-to-time.

3.           Consideration will be given to expanding periods of course instruction for classes in Orientation and Mobility and Home Management.  These courses traditionally are better received with more time than the traditional 50-minute period.

4.           Class instructors and all center staff will emphasize problem solving, self-sufficiency, and independence in all interactions with students.  Students, when faced with a question or challenge, will be encouraged to engage in exploration and critical thinking to identify solutions to their situations.  Use of the Socratic method and basic principles of Structured Discovery theory will be effective tools for facilitating this objective.  In short, staff are not to immediately offer help when it is requested, but are to encourage students to seek answers to their own questions.

5.           All students in training at the Orientation and Adjustment Center are to carry the cane issued by the agency with them at all times during their residential rehabilitation program.  This practice will positively contribute to their increased independent travel skills and may also be useful in helping students to acknowledge and cope with public identification as a blind person and emotional acceptance of their limited sight.  Similarly, blind agency staff members are urged to carry a cane or use a dog when on duty.  In addition to being necessary for safe travel, it will serve as positive modeling for students who look to them for role guidance.

6.           Students enrolled in the Orientation and Adjustment Center who use a guide dog may keep and use their service animal during training, but will be expected to participate in cane travel during formal Orientation and mobility classes.  During these instances, the students guide dog will need to be resting and not in use.  Instructors at the Orientation and Adjustment Center are not trained to offer travel instruction with a service animal, and it is the policy of this program that the foundations of independent mobility must first be mastered with a cane before students exercise their option to use a guide dog for traveling.  Barring these qualifications, students with guide dogs will be welcome to attend the program with their service animal.

7.           No student enrolled at the orientation and Adjustment Center may use Sighted Guide" technique for traveling, either on or off campus in relation to all formally sponsored instruction, once they have been issued a cane and given a brief orientation to the training campus.

8.           In an effort to foster greater student independence and initiative, the cafeteria at the Orientation and Adjustment Center will only provide sandwich and salad bars every evening making it necessary that students wanting a full hot meal use their developing mobility skills to leave campus and acquire their evening meal.  Students will be encouraged to use this opportunity to practice bus or taxi travel, to function independently in a public restaurant, and to develop healthy relations by offering support to one another.  Additional maintenance will be provided to cover such costs.  Staff will not provide shopping trips for students.  Students will be provided information regarding public transportation and location of malls, stores, etc.

9.           Extracurricular programs will be established within fiscal constraints to stretch and challenge enrolled students at the Orientation and Adjustment Center.  Some of these programs may include camping, skiing, or other spontaneous events that require students to practice their skills and build their self-confidence by performing tasks that they traditionally believe a person cannot independently manage with non-visual techniques.

10.         All students will participate in regularly scheduled seminar" or "philosophy" classes calculated to stimulate student reflection and understanding of the emotional and social issues/barriers faced by blind people living in the everyday world.  Such sessions, at a minimum, should occur once a week, but gradually the frequency of these classes should increase to at least two days per week.

11.         All students with residual sight will participate in formal classes and organized extracurricular activities under Vision occluders.  Outside of the scheduled class day (8:00 AM-4:30 PM) and occasionally planned extracurricular activities, students may function without their Vision occluders.  This policy is designed to enable students of the Orientation and Adjustment Center to build confidence in performing daily activities using non-visual techniques.  It is not a policy calculated to minimize the value of ones residual vision where such sight can be efficiently used, but is instead used in training to create an optimal environment for practicing one's non-visual skill development.  Once it has been determined that a particular student has thoroughly mastered use of non-visual techniques, students with useful residual vision may spend their last several weeks in training without Vision occluders to practice low-vision techniques, e.g. use of Zoomtext, etc.  Every effort will be made to minimize student apprehension, which may arise when vision occluder use is originally introduced.  Minor exceptions to this policy may be adopted at the discretion of the Administrator of the Orientation and Adjustment Center to accommodate students with unique circumstances.  The intention, though, is that the vision occluder policy will be enforced with relative uniformity and consistency.  After an evaluation by the Administrator or his/her designee at the Orientation and Training Center, decisions will be reached as to the appropriate tool to use to achieve visual occlusion.  During the initial student evaluation, students may be assessed without Vision occluders, but if it is determined that their vision is sufficiently poor to remain in the program for training, these students will be advised of, and subject to, this vision occlusion policy.  Following sufficient training, class instructors should teach under Vision occluders to demonstrate the efficacy of non-visual approaches where this will encourage their students to embrace this training practice.

12.         In light of the extended enrollment obligation, eligible students will be afforded longer access to the four existing student apartments for practicing their independent living skills (e.g. cooking, cleaning, and other home management techniques) before graduating.

13.         New staff employed to work at the Orientation and Adjustment Center will undergo training as a fully immersed student for a period of at least three months before they commence their formal teaching responsibilities.  These new hires will take all courses and participate in training activities under the same terms and conditions required of all students, e.g. vision occlusion and cane usage.  A procedure for an abbreviated training of this nature will also be developed for new hires throughout the agency that are not specifically assigned to work in the Orientation and Adjustment Center.  Provision will also be made, on an on-going and staggered basis, to expose existing agency staff to such blindness orientation training.  The Administrator of the Orientation and Adjustment Center will possess the discretion to amend or implement this policy to take account of any unanticipated operational exigencies."

Now here are the changes which were made at the center.

Introduction:

The mission of the Rehabilitation Center  for the Blind and Visually Impaired is to empower individuals with varying degrees of vision loss to achieve independence. Below is a description of our referral process, our residential program, our Independent Living Skills program and our current vocational programs.  Included are contacts for the various categories.  We encourage you to call or email us with whatever questions you have.  We attempt to provide as individualized a program as possible for each of your clients and welcome your involvement in the process.

REFERRALS   

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To refer a client to any of our Center's programs, e-mail your referral memo to the attention of Mary Dixon.

The referral is to include student's name, program being referred, any past rehab training, any medical problems we should be aware of, and any psychological history or current treatment.  

For all programs, the following is needed:

1.  Referral memo

2.  The following reports on AWARE:  Client Application, Education History, Eye Exam, and IPE with the following codes included:

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation is necessary regardless of the program, even if clients are coming only for a short assessment or if they plan to arrive/depart via private transportation.  The reason the transportation code is needed is that they may have to take a taxi to/from Greyhound and other destinations while they are here .  

Common Carrier Transportation Code  071060 is what we use.

MEDICAL

The medical code is needed for all students regardless of the program or the expected duration of their stay.  We use their insurance whenever possible, but unexpected situations can arise suddenly in a residential program and we have to be prepared.

We recommend Medical Incidental 98999 to cover any medical issue without a cost attached.

MAINTENANCE

All students who are here for more than an assessment are given $100.00/month.  We ask the students to use this money to interact and recreate in the community.  The referring VR counselor provides the first maintenance check and the Rehab Center provides the rest.

Training Maintenance Code 061000 is needed to cover all maintenance.

The following codes are often included, or can be added to the plan as needed.  When you amend a plan for a client attending the center, we review the amendments with your client, print off the last page of the plan from AWARE, have the client sign the new plan and mail you the hard copy.  

LOW VISION

Low vision screening and evaluation are again being offered while your client is here.  The Center will pay for the evaluation, but the codes must be included in the plan.  An advantage of having this screening done here is that the staff can work with your clients in learning to use their low vision aides in a variety of settings.  The first two codes that are necessary to have the evaluation are:

Initial Exam   192370     $170.00

Refraction     92015        $50.00

If your student needs low vision aides, we will contact you with the recommendations.  If you approve the recommendations, you can amend the plan accordingly to include:

Low vision Aids under $600.00   039920

Low vision Aids over $600.00    039925

VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT

For clients to receive a vocational assessment at the center, codes are not needed.  We do the assessment as part of the program.  However, we anticipate vocational assessments will primarily be done in the home area.  There may be times when it is better to do the assessments here such as if  transportation in the home area is difficult.  Also, if you have a client who needs a more comprehensive assessment, including observation of the client in a wider variety of settings, you may want us to provide the assessment.

This is not all inclusive.  These are the more frequently used codes.  Other situations and evaluations which call for additional codes can be worked out with the client, the VR counselor and our case managers.

When we receive your referral memo, we will send your client an inform packet which will contain a copy of the Center's Student Handbook, Medical Insurance Questionnaire Form and a stamped, self-addressed envelope for the client to return the signed Handbook signature form and completed Medical Questionnaire.  We  also enclose the Center's Physician's Statement of Client's Health Form which the personal physician is requested to complete with medical information no more than one year old and fax to the number conveniently noted at the bottom of the form.  Once the medical report is received, we will then send the entire file over to our medical staff for review.  

It should be emphasized that no referral is added to the waiting list UNTIL the medical form is completed and sent to us.  Referrals are generally put on the list in the order the medical is received, regardless of how long it has been since you have referred the client.

For specific questions, please contact Mary Dixon directly: 386.254.3838

CASE MANAGEMENT    

Students are assigned to case managers based on the program.  One case manager has responsibility for the Independent Living Skills (ILS) program, the other for the Vocational programs

The primary role of the case manager is to coordinate all aspects of the student's training, as well as to maintain involvement with the referring counselor.

Clients are assigned a center case manager before they start the program.  The case manager calls the student at home shortly after they are invited.  The case manager talks with the student, gaining information about their background and center expectations.  The information gathered is distributed to staff who will be working with the student.  

On the first Monday the student is here, the case manager meets with him or her to orient the student to what will happen during the first two weeks and to complete a thorough social history. 

The case manager works with the student throughout their training program to plan, link and monitor the delivery of services, to conduct and facilitate staff meetings with the student and referring counselor and to help direct the focus of the training so that everyone is working together to help the student reach his or her goals.

For specific information, please contact Renea Keough 386.254.3843

RESIDENTIAL FACILITY:

The Residential Training Facility at the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired is located at 1132 Willis Avenue, Daytona Beach FL  32114. The facility offers dormitory suite-style living and is offered to students who do not live in the Daytona Beach area and plan to attend the school for rehabilitation. The facility also serves as a training site for apartment living.  

The Residential Training Facility consists of three stories. The second and third floors are student rooms/suites with the second floor designated for the ladies and the third floor designated for the men. There are 10 double occupancy rooms, 16 single occupancy rooms and 4 apartments. One single suite, as well as one apartment suite is designated as ADA. All suites include a bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchenette area, but not set up for cooking. Also located on the second floor, are the training apartments which also include a bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchenette area and are equipped with a fully functional oven/stove, microwave oven and a full size refrigerator for training purposes. Only the Independent Living Skills students are eligible for the apartment program.  Students are graduated into these apartments only after they have demonstrated the skills through their Home and Personal Management classes. The instructors for these classes determine when the student is ready for apartment training. Once the student enters the apartment training program, he/she will work with the instructor(s) on the overall experience, to include addressing any outstanding needs areas.

The first floor includes staff administration and lobby areas, as well as a student common area which offers: a theatre, fitness room (treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, nautilus, and free weights), common/reading room, & small café which offer students continental breakfast on weekends and simple snacks 24 hours per day. In addition, there are soda and snack machines located in each elevator lobby on the second and third floors. Students are issued a key card which will gain them access to their assigned room/suites, all campus gates and the main doors of the dormitory after hours. There is a smoking patio out behind the dormitory with picnic tables throughout the area for student time off and recreation. Students have access to these areas 24 hours a day. 

Residential staff are available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week. A nurse is available on-site for students Monday through Friday, 7a-11p with on-call coverage provided for overnight and weekend coverage. The purpose of the nurse is to provide assessment for the student and determine whether or not the student requires emergency care.  If the student requires emergency care, he/she is transported to Halifax Hospital Emergency Room which is located near the Center. The nurse will then follow up with the student's primary care physician, if applicable.

The Dining Facility is located just North of the Dormitory and connected by a covered walkway. All meals are served cafeteria style. There is a beverage counter available which offers coffee, hot tea, iced tea, juice, ice and water. Students are offered three meals per day, Monday through Friday with lunch and dinner service offered on Saturday and Sunday. Breakfast on these days is served continental style in the Dormitory Café. Fruit and snacks are available to students 24 hours per day with an additional snack time nightly at 8:30p.

Recreation and shopping trips are scheduled throughout the week with residential staff. A weekly trip to Wal-Mart is built into the schedule on Wednesday nights. This trip is provided, so that the student may purchase any personal need items. A trip to DeLeon Springs is scheduled twice per year usually in late May and early September where students can enjoy swimming in the springs, canoe and paddle boat rides. Other trips are scheduled as permitted.  

For specific information, please contact:  Deb Dirmeir, Residential Supervisor 386.254.3860

INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS (ILS):

When a student comes to the center for ILS training, they first participate in a two week evaluation in the core curriculum areas.  When the two week evaluation is completed, center staff meet with the student to discuss what we see as their needs to reach their goals.  The student's agreement with the recommendations and estimated time in the program constitutes the Individualized Center Plan (ICP).  The student does not have to return home to wait for a start date.  They begin their training on the following Monday.  Progress staffings are held every six weeks after that to review the progress over the past six weeks, to make sure the goals are still clear to all of us and to more closely estimate how long the student will be here.  An exit staffing is held at the end of the program to review progress and to help direct the student toward their next step.  Whenever possible, the home counselor joins the staffings via telephone.

The Independent Living Skills Program's core curriculum of classes include Home and Personal Management, Mobility, Employment Skills and Adaptive Technology.  Classes including Braille, Crafts, Effective Communications, College Prep, Home Maintenance, Devices, Handwriting, Talking Calculator, and Life Skills are offered as electives; however, these classes may be recommended for students by instructors.  As students complete areas, they are allowed an independent study hour.  During that time, students may enroll in personal enrichment courses available through Hadley School for the Blind.  These courses could involve students signing up for the Hadley High School Diploma program, or Adult Continuing Education program.  Hadley's adult Continuing Education Program offers classes relevant to visually impaired and blind adults and their families.  

The Access Technology Program, also known as Adaptive Technology is two-fold:  First, it is available to clients who either have immediate vocational or educational goals.  Second, this program is available to clients/students interested in learning to use the computer (and adaptive software) for personal use or in preparation for a vocation.  This class involves a full day of computer classes and with a time-frame of one week to three months or above.  This program requires a separate referral.  

For more details, please contact Doug Hall at  386.254.3846

ADAPTIVE TECHNOLOGY or ACCESS TECHNOLOGY  PROGRAM (AT)

The approach to Adaptive Technology training at the center has been modified to accommodate more individuals.  When a student finishes their core classes in the ILS Program, they can now stay for computer training.  Also, a client can be referred just for computer training. Please keep in mind the following priorities:  The top priority is for a student who is currently working or in school.  The second priority is for a student who has been promised a job or is accepted to school.  The last priority is for computer knowledge for personal enrichment.  

For more details, please call Cynthia Slater, supervisor of instruction 386.254.3833 

BUREAU OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES PROGRAM (BBE)

The BBE (Bureau of Business Enterprises) Program relies on field counselors to identify likely candidates who have the interest, basic skills and drive to independently manage a food service facility.  

Once the client, who is interested in becoming a successful Business Enterprise manager,  completes the necessary documentation and one-week work experience,  the General Services Manager (GSM) in the BBE state office, approves referral to the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Daytona Beach for a two to three week assessment and evaluation.  Upon receipt of the referral from the GSM and/or Home Counselor, The Center's Rehabilitation Technician (RT) sends the candidate a packet of forms to complete and information about the Center.  Once the completed forms are returned and reviewed, the Center's Referral Committee schedules a start date and the candidate is invited by the RT.  

While at the Center, the candidate is given a battery of tests, including vocational interest, aptitude and psychological assessment, and the person's independent living (Home and Personal Management), mobility, communications and adaptive technology skills are assessed.      

At the end of the evaluation period, an exit/transfer staffing is held, with the candidate, Center case manager, instructors and Home Counselor, to review and discuss needs and plans.  This information is then provided to the Bureau of Business Enterprise which will make the final determination on the candidate's request to enter the training program.

If significant needs are indicated, the student may enroll in a program of remedial instruction, either at the Center or in his/her home area.  

BBE class:

Generally, no more than five students are accepted and scheduled into each session of BBE training classes.  The course consists of six modules (Vending Machines; Food Safety and Sanitation; Food Service and Cafeteria; Record Keeping and Business Forms; Business Start Up; and Business Management), Excel and Computer Instruction, and Business Math. At the end of each of the six modules, the student's knowledge and understanding is tested. (Note: the student has two tries to achieve a passing score, but if he/she fails to obtain at least a 75, he/she is out of the program.)  Once the client successfully completes the BBE coursework, he/she participates in an on-the-job training to obtain advanced skills, prior to receiving a food service license and applying for a food service facility.

For more details, please contact Harry McEwen, MA, CVE, CRC at 386.254.3853

CONTRACT MANAGEMENT (CM)

Lighthouse Central Florida (LHCF) has received funding to establish a program to assess and provide basic training for candidates who wish to become Contract Managers.  Counselors who have clients who wish to enroll in this program, should contact Light House Central Florida (LHCF) with inquiries and referrals.  If LHCF wishes, The Rehabilitation Center may provide an approximate two-week assessment and evaluation for candidates for that project.   Areas of assessment include vocational interest, aptitude and psychological testing, in addition to the Center's usual Adaptive Technology (computer skills), Orientation and Mobility, Communications and Independent Living (Personal and Home Management) Skills.  At the end of the two-week evaluation, an evaluation staffing is held to review the student's performance in the necessary areas. Attending the staffing (in addition to the client) are Center staff, the client's home counselor and representatives from LHCF. The student may be accepted to advance to the next phase of the training at LHCF or be enrolled for additional training at the Center to obtain necessary basic skills.  When the student and Center's instructors feel that the student has obtained sufficient skills, another staffing is held to acquaint LHCF with the progress.

Conclusion:

All our programs are designed to help the client become as independent as possible in their living, learning and working environments.  To achieve this goal, we work with not only the client, but also with their available support, which includes their family whenever possible and always their home or referring DBS counselor.  If we can provide more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Now, here's the resulution I am proposing.

                Resolution concerning the creation of an NFB center in Florida

                Where as in 2006, Craig Kiser, former director implemented positive changes at the rehabilitation center in Daytona beach in order to foster independence, and where as these policies have been discontinued by the corrent director, and where as the national federation  of the blind of Florida was not consulted concerning these proposed changes in policy by the courent director, Now Therefor Be it resolved by the National federation of the Blind of Florida That the President of this organization along with Craig Kiser former director of the Florida division of blind services shall consult with the directors of the three NFB training centers concerning the creation of an NFB center, and how to go about establishing an NFB center in this state and be it further resolved, that Craig Kiser, shall be involved in all meetings concerning its creation.

 RJ