[NFBNJ] {Spam?} November 2016 Commission Edition
joe ruffalo
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
Tue Nov 22 03:18:42 UTC 2016
Greetings!
Pasted in the body is the November issue of the Commission Edition!
Take notice of the keynote speech delivered on November 3 to the NJ CBVI staff!
Belief is the theme of this address.
Please share this issue with others.
We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314
**
Commission Edition
The Monthly Newsletter of the NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
November 2016 – Volume 4, No. 11
Daniel B. Frye, J.D. Pamela Gaston
Executive Director Editor
>From the Director’s Desk
The season of Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday of the year) is again upon us this November. During the late autumn I generally try to find time to reflect on those achievements (both professional and personal) for which I am grateful. This year represents no exception to this practice on my part, and fortunately again this year we enjoy an abundance of accomplishment that may be celebrated by us all.
Instead of focusing, though, on the array of programmatic and strategic progress that we have realized at the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI or Commission) during this last year, I want to offer to our readership the text of the keynote address that Jonathan Mosen, owner of Mosen Consulting, respected international leader in the field of assistive technology, and recognized broadcaster and thought-leader among the world’s blindness community, delivered during CBVI’s second biannual Statewide Staff Development Seminar on Thursday, November 3, 2016. Jonathan’s focus on the concept of belief, and his charge to our professional community to lift up the consumers that we serve, represents the essence of why the Commission exists. This call, animated by his personal life experience, is at once a classic and definitive piece that describes our responsibility to our constituents and urges us to meet these professional obligations with a positive and transformative spirit. I am grateful to Jonathan for his insightful perspective, conveyed in a creative, entertaining, and inspirational fashion.
As we move forward with concerted momentum to fulfill our organizational mission and deliver high-quality services to our consumers, I feel confident that the text of his keynote address will remind us of our commitment and duty. For those of you who were privileged to be present for our Statewide Staff Development Seminar, I invite you to re-read and digest Jonathan’s message; for those of you who were not able to be with us, I am pleased to be able to share with you a remarkable and moving address. Here it is:
BELIEF
The keynote address delivered by Jonathan Mosen to the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired on November 3, 2016
“It’s an honor to be with you today, to be in the presence of so many people who are changing lives and facilitating opportunity.
I’m mindful that there’s a lot going on as I visit the United States this time. As I talk with taxi and Uber drivers, listen to the conversations at restaurants and spend quality time with friends, it’s clear that some have been experiencing very tense times of late. Some people who usually get on with one another are finding that their friendship is strained almost to breaking point. The process of finally determining the outcome seems to have been going on forever, but I’m confident that the wounds will heal and people will be able to move on and reunite, now that the World Series is over.
I promise not to talk about any contentious current events in the news during this address. Sadly, I’d have to sit down pretty quickly if this address were about baseball, since I have only fractionally more knowledge of baseball than I have sight. Instead, I want to say thank you for the difference you make.
I used to be a frequent international traveller. A long time ago, I sat next to a fellow passenger on a 12-hour flight, and we got talking about our work. It turned out that he was an executive for one of the most successful fast food chains in the world. He said to me, “What business do you consider us to be in?” I was beginning to wonder if I was sitting beside one of those people who conclude that because your eyes don’t work, you’re also cranially impaired, but I decided to play along and said that obviously the company was in the fast food business. His reply caught me off-guard. He told me that everyone says that, but in fact their primary business was real-estate. What made the company successful, he said, was the prime real-estate it owned around the world, and the fast food was a means to that end.
So it wouldn’t be an inaccurate statement for this executive to tell people he was in the fast food business, but he was looking deeper, perhaps searching for more meaning in his life given the harm a lot of fast food is causing.
When you provide education and rehabilitation services to blind people, it’s true that the practicalities of that involve assisting someone to travel safely, perform household tasks well, read using the priceless gift Louis Braille left us, and so much more. All of those things are worthy vocations in themselves. Every night, you can end another precious day on this planet knowing you did something to change a life for the better. Not every profession offers that satisfaction, but in my view, there’s one prerequisite without which none of these specific tasks would be possible. Belief. It may be that someone comes to you with a well-grounded sense of belief in themselves, perhaps due to positive parenting, the support of fellow blind people through a consumer organization, or simply because the person is inherently optimistic by nature, but self-belief is often hard-won, fragile, and easily lost. How you as blindness professionals deal with that challenge of instilling self-belief can fundamentally set the direction of someone’s life for better or worse.
When I was 12 years old, a group of blind students of which I was a part met with a vocational guidance counselor from our blindness agency in New Zealand. We were all asked to talk about what options we might be considering for a career. I didn’t hesitate. The answer was the same as it had been since the moment I could talk. I wanted a career in radio. This meeting predates the wide availability of the internet. We’re talking the early 80s, so networking with other blind people overseas who were in broadcasting was difficult. Yet I was determined to make my dream a reality, and I knew that there were indeed other blind people out there doing radio successfully.
To my disappointment, the counselor was discouraging. He told me he’d recently been into some radio stations, and that they were starting to move to systems that were visual and inaccessible in nature. Not only did this meeting take place before the internet, it took place even before computers were accessible for most jobs. Perhaps I was just an arrogant kid who wouldn’t accept reality from a grown-up who knew, or perhaps I was showing a determination to succeed at whatever I put my mind to, but I refused to be told it couldn’t be done. To help make sure it could be done, when I was 17, I set up a radio station staffed by blind people which broadcast for two weeks during one of our breaks from school. The station had city-wide coverage. We sold ads to pay for hiring the broadcast equipment and the construction of the tall AM transmitter mast. When it was up and running, I phoned the manager of every radio station, and all the popular radio personalities of the day, inviting them out to look at what we were doing. That way, I instantly established my own valuable network of contacts in the industry, and I helped change their expectations. Sure, you can wait for opportunity to knock, but there’s no harm in putting a neon sign on your door to make it harder for opportunity to miss you.
I was assisted in that endeavor by the principal of the school for the blind, who would take a bunch of us in his car to attend meetings. He’d encourage us, clearly taking pride in the initiative. I have never forgotten the attitude of the counselor who may have derailed my dream. Because had I not been as resilient, maybe the discouragement I received would have prompted me not to follow my dream, but I don’t think of him often. Instead, I think far more often, and with considerable affection and gratitude, of the principal who believed in me. The man who went out of his way, in his free time, to show me that I could do anything I put my mind to. The man who, as I navigated the bureaucratic minefield of obtaining a radio license, reminded me that investing in hard work pays dividends, and that few things worth having come easy.
It worked. I worked in commercial radio for a number of years. In that role, I frequently had to be my own advocate, assuring potential employers that I could work in their studio without sight.
So sometimes, a professional may inadvertently discourage, when encouragement is appropriate, but it’s not as simple as that, because sometimes, blind people can stomp on the dreams of other blind people too. At that same meeting, when the counselor was going around the table asking the kids present what they were considering as career options, one of the kids said he wanted to be an astronomer. This comment was greeted by the rest of us 12-year-olds present with howls of derisive laughter, and I was laughing as hard as anyone. You’re blind! You can’t look at a telescope! How on earth do you expect to be an astronomer! And for weeks and weeks we laughed at this kid, we teased him mercilessly, about wanting to be an astronomer. Kids can be cruel sometimes.
I didn’t really think about this much after we’d all moved on to other things, until a few years ago, I met a blind man, Kent Kullers, who’d worked for NASA. Now obviously, he hadn’t been looking through telescopes, but he had worked in some fascinating areas including the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. He talked knowledgably and fascinatingly about stars and black holes and the wonders of the universe. I don’t know whether anyone ever laughed at him when he set out to be an astronomer, but it’s a cautionary tale, because sometimes, it’s other blind people who seek to stop one of their own from reaching for the stars.
When I was in my late teens and still determined to achieve my radio dream, someone told me about an ad in the paper they’d seen for a broadcasting course run by professional broadcasters. I thought that having a piece of paper to say I’d done the course might help me, so I did what the ad said and sent them a demo tape. They called me back in short order, offering me a place on the course. They also told me the price tag, which was way beyond my abilities as a penniless student. On that basis, I declined, but to my astonishment, they called me back again. The man from the course said that my tape was so good that they would offer me the course for half price, because it was in their interests to have me graduate from their course. They were sure I would be going places in radio, and they wanted to be able to say that Jonathan Mosen had graduated from their course. So I said, “Cool! I’ll pay half price, and can I come in a little early as I want to get familiar with the equipment and put braille labels on the media being used?” The attitude instantly changed.
He asked me what I was talking about. I told him that I was blind, so I’d just make a couple of simple modifications and I’d be up and running. He said, “Look really there’s no point doing the course since a blind person could never have a future in radio.” I never did the course, and a few years later, I became his boss.
I tell this story because this incident would have been enough to break some people, whose self-belief was at a low ebb, or non-existent. One of the saddest things I come across is someone who has had one setback too many, and is finding it hard to pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and keep trying. Blind people like me will face ignorance and discrimination, it goes with the territory when you’re a member of a minority. Where appropriate, of course we should fight it with litigation, but mentally, we need to fight it with determination, education, and belief. And it is never, never too late to give your attitude a software upgrade. It’s easy for us to become angry with the world, but anger is a choice. Viewing something as a setback or a challenging learning experience is a choice. Taking steps to become more employable, more presentable, more capable, is a choice. Thinking that opportunity will simply fall into our laps is a choice, albeit it a foolish one.
The praise and feedback we get influences our aptitude at something. If someone is told, or tells themselves, that they aren’t good at something, chances are they won’t be. If some event causes them to revisit that same thing with a different attitude, the results can be very different. Blind people are exposed to a lot of negativity. No doubt many of you have seen the literature indicating that more people fear becoming blind than acquiring any other disability. Sight is a dominant sense, so if you have it in full measure, of course it’s natural to use it and depend heavily on it, but that’s quite a different thing from concluding that one can’t function effectively without it, a conclusion many simply believe to be a truism. It’s a conclusion sometimes reinforced by people and organizations who should know better, making the work of rehabilitation and education professionals like you more difficult. Only recently, a U.S. organization raising funds to research cures for various eye conditions asked people to record videos of themselves performing common tasks while blindfolded, and upload them to YouTube. Now if you’re suddenly deprived of a valuable faculty on which you depend, and have had no instructions about how to perform tasks in an alternative way, you’re going to function as well without that faculty as I’m going to talk at length about baseball. So most people walk away from a simulation experience like that frightened about blindness, and misinformed about how a blind person who has received appropriate training can function in the world. It’s a serious matter, because some of those people will be employers who eventually encounter a blind job applicant. They’ll instantly recall their own experience of blindness, and that may contribute to their assessment of the blind job applicant’s skills.
Let me be clear, as someone whose blindness also comes with the added limited time bonus of a degenerative hearing condition included absolutely free, I understand the insidious nature of degenerative conditions. Something that was once easy gradually becomes tougher. It’s horrible and it’s demoralizing. Blindness has been my constant reality all my life. I’m used to it, and I personally have no desire for sight, although many other blind people feel differently, but I’d give anything to have my hearing restored to normality, and I know that’s exactly how many people with degenerative eye conditions feel about their sight. I strongly relate, but it’s foolish to put our lives on hold, or sabotage public perception, while we await a cure that may or may not ever come. That’s a recipe for a wasted life, full of missed opportunities and regrets.
There are little proverbs, aphorisms, clichés, that are so ingrained in our culture that few people seem to question them. My favorite is this little piece of absurdity, “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king”. This one was triumphantly proclaimed to me by a supposedly learned lawyer who was on a nationwide TV show with me back in New Zealand, to justify why no blind person should ever be allowed to serve on any jury. The origins of this phrase are unclear. Some attribute it to Erasmus of Rotterdam, a 16th-century Dutch Renaissance humanist, but there are variations of it in numerous languages. Another variation, translated from the French, is “When a blind man bares the standard, pity those who follow.”
These antiquated little pieces of ablest nonsense put forward the view that disability in and of itself makes you inferior, and further, the more disabled you are, the more inferior you are, but I sometimes find myself wondering, what would the kingdom of the blind actually look like? I mean if everyone were blind other than a single one-eyed person, or even a minority of one-eyed people, we’d have a very different world. So please accompany me for just a little while to the kingdom of the blind:
Welcome!
Vehicles provide a lot of auditory and tactile information here, so a blind person can drive them, we are the majority in this kingdom after all. Normal drivers, they being blind, are concerned about their safety because one-eyed people are being distracted from all the auditory and tactile feedback the vehicles are offering. On radio (there is no TV in the kingdom of the blind of course) debate is raging about whether it’s safe for one-eyed people to be given drivers’ licenses.
An organization has recently been formed, the National Federation of the One-eyed, to champion the rights of this minority.
Over a century ago, a new form of writing using symbols was developed by a clever one-eyed inventor. He says it’s more efficient for one-eyed people to use this new form of writing called print. A limited supply of print books is available, and recently, an agreement was reached to transcribe standard Braille books into print without first having to seek the permission of the copyright holder.
In recent years, computer and smartphone manufacturers in the kingdom of the blind have, as a matter of human rights, added a new accessibility feature to their devices, known as a screen. Sure, all the computers talk and come standard with full-page Braille displays, but the National Federation of the One-eyed have been fighting in the courts, where blind justice is practiced faithfully, for the rights of this minority to be accommodated. And this thing called a screen is seen to be essential assistive technology. Since the costs of production have to be spread across a very small user-base of one-eyed people, screens are hideously expensive. There’s a long way to go before screens are affordable to everyone and work equally well across platforms, but a start has been made, and the one-eyed just need to be patient and grateful for what they have.
I could go on, but let me try and sum up on this point, “In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king?” Seriously? Poppycock! It is society and its majority that disables us with attitudes and decisions, not the disability itself.
These outmoded and misinformed attitudes all make your job, as rehabilitation professionals and educators, more challenging. They eat away at the very core of what is required for success - belief. No one says it’s easy or that it doesn’t require some grit and determination, but plant the belief, and with the training provided by teams like this one, blindness is not the end of the story, it’s a new beginning.
In my view, exposing blind people to adult blind mentors from an early age is a must, but equally, I think parents of blind children need adult blind role models in their lives too. Many people have had little to no meaningful interaction with a blind person before, then they find themselves a parent of a blind child with the questions and grief that this often brings. What can I expect of a blind child? How should I treat them differently? What’s going to become of them when they’re grown?
As a father of four children myself, I know that it’s instinctual to try and keep our kids from harm, and for many, those emotions are super-charged when they have a blind child. I grew up with kids who were wrapped in cotton wool, mollycoddled, not allowed to just be a kid who happens not to see. It was done with love, yet some of them are still paying the price as adults. When I was a kid, I was fortunate. I had an older brother who was blind, and through him, had access to a lot of great blind role models. And also, my parents let me be a kid. I rode bikes and even a skateboard. I had more than my fair share of bruises, just like any other kid. So parents and children alike need to meet blind people who are just getting on with life and successfully doing what people do. It all fosters belief.
I don’t know whether this is a uniquely New Zealand thing, but when I was the Chairman of New Zealand’s blindness agency, I came across this term “Super Blind”. As far as I can tell, it seems to relate to any blind person who doesn’t conform to the expectations the user of the term has of what a blind person should do or how they should act. I gave an entire address to a group of parents in New Zealand about the importance of parents setting up mentoring programs both for their benefit and the benefit of their blind children. And when I checked in afterwards to find out how the speech was received, the president of the group said that one of the agency staff present said that I had set unrealistic expectations and that we can’t all be “Super Blind”. So I had to explain that blind people are a microcosm of society as a whole. You name it, we’ve got it! Blind people doing a wide range of professions, some of us nicer than others, some more ethical than others, and with a wide range of skills. In some cases, our professions or attributes will gain us more attention than others, but sighted people are no different. If someone eventually becomes Chief Executive of their company, or President of the United States, I’ve never heard them described as “Super Sighted”.
We must believe in our kids. In the United States, parents tell their children, “This is America, you can be anything you want to be, even President.” Blind kids need to believe that as well, because it’s true.
Incidentally, while we’re on the subject of parenting, when my first child, a daughter, was born, I had lots of people asking me, in sort of hushed, whispering tones, “Is she, you know, like you?” This was an odd question to me since I’m clearly male and she wasn’t dressed in pink to make any kind of political statement or anything, but then I realized that they wanted to know if she was blind. When I’d answer the question straight, that no, she was sighted, they’d sound relieved and say that was great and she’d be able to look after me. And of course, once I retire, I hope she will help keep me in the style to which I’ve become accustomed since she’s now an electrical engineering student and I hope will earn lots of lovely money, but I realized that if I could just find a way, there was an educational opportunity here. There had to be a way for me to gently point out that actually, blindness is OK. So I began answering the question by saying, “Actually she’s sighted, but we love her just the same,” and that seemed to make the point to most people.
We’ve come a long way. New Zealand, like the United States, now has legislation making discrimination on the grounds of disability illegal. The incident I described with the radio course couldn’t happen now. Of course, sometimes this causes the discrimination to go underground and it’s harder to prove, but for the most part, it’s great news. Yet such legislation is no panacea. It legally protects our right to equal consideration and reasonable accommodation, but in a difficult job market, we have to be prepared to put the work in. If we write poorly crafted job applications riddled with spelling mistakes because we haven’t used a spell checker, why are we surprised when nothing ever comes back? If we turn up to a job interview and we’re not well presented, we don’t make an effort to try and look at the person we’re talking to, we’re not ready to educate and try and put people at ease, our hygiene is poor, then we can’t expect jobs to fall into our lap and aren’t entitled to get frustrated at the world when nothing happens.
I’m sorry for the use of what is clearly a buzz word, but when you believe in yourself, it really does affect your personal brand. If you can imagine yourself in a role you really want, then you start to act the part. You write more professionally, you conduct yourself better. It’s hard to maintain that level of self-belief when the rejection letters keep on coming in, sometimes because you were legitimately beaten by a more suitable candidate, sometimes undoubtedly because you’re a victim of inaccurate stereotypes, but if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
People who live life boldly and daringly will fall short and make mistakes sometimes, but personally, I’d rather go to my grave having made mistakes and learned from them, than be tormented with a series of “what if” questions. The letter you don’t write, the chance you don’t take, the phone call you decide not to make could be the one that changes everything. The Beatles felt they were out of options, then an obscure record label took them on and the world changed forever. A penniless single mother wrote a book, sent it off, and was rejected by 12 publishers until one company finally took her on, and published the first Harry Potter book. Thomas Edison had many more failures than successes. What kept them going? Belief. A belief that they had something to offer, even if others couldn’t see it yet. And in the jobs that you do, you’re uniquely positioned not just to provide valued, essential blindness services - you make sense of the need for such services by fostering belief.
So when the admin seems unconquerable, you’re dealing with someone with whom you’re having difficulty establishing a rapport, and it all starts to feel like a daily grind, take some time to give yourself a pat on the back. You may sometimes feel like you’re knocking your head against a brick wall with all the bureaucracy and some difficult people, but you’re making a difference, and changing lives. It’s up to each individual blind person to make a go of their own life in the end. Agencies and the people who run them can only be facilitators, but when you believe in a client, and you demonstrate that belief, you can help plant the seed of self-belief, or re-enforce it when it’s at a low ebb. When you can have that kind of impact on the world, it’s a very special thing.
Thank you for all you do.”
In closing, please accept my best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
Daniel B. Frye
Executive Director
Learning Lunch Reminder:
As previously noted, these monthly sessions will see me meeting with five CBVI staff and a member of our Executive Management Team to receive feedback or suggestions on what the Commission might do that is new and exciting. Please indicate your interest in being part of such an up and coming forum by sending an email with the subject line “Learning Lunch” to my interim assistant, Christine Cooper, at Christine.Cooper at dhs.state.nj.us.
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Program Administration – John C. Walsh, Chief
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): #5 – Vision 2020
The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), the membership organization that represents all of the 80 state vocational rehabilitation agencies in the United States, is preparing to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program in 2020. The VR program has made significant advancements over the years to provide services and programs to assist a diverse array of individuals with disabilities to gain greater independence, community integration, and seek to achieve economic self-sufficiency. It is truly an auspicious occasion to celebrate 100 years of opening doors of opportunity for individuals with disabilities.
The early beginnings of the public vocational rehabilitation system occurred in response to the urgent need for coordinated sets of services to assist soldiers who acquired disabilities as a result of severe injuries incurred during their involvement in America’s role in World War I, with the goal of assisting these individuals to reenter the labor force. The Soldier Rehabilitation Act of 1918, earmarked federal funds to provide these services. The Smith-Fess Act of 1920, expanded those services to the public at large, and was the birth of the Federal/State partnership to provide an array of services to individuals with disabilities. The Social Security Act of 1935, made the Federal/State vocational rehabilitation program permanent, and throughout the ensuing years various iterations of federal legislation brought changes to the program, with sweeping changes occurring in 1973 with the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which still serves as the basis of this most valuable program. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in 2014, is Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
CSAVR has begun activities this year to implement a process of strategic planning to prepare for the next reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act in 2020, and to develop broad strategies to improve and strengthen our program that assists so many individuals with disabilities. One of the first activities undertaken by the staff of CSAVR is to disseminate a survey to staff within all 80 state vocational rehabilitation agencies and to perform an environmental scan of what practices are occurring throughout the country. The Commission’s administration will select a representative sample of 10% of our staff to participate in the survey, to ensure that our voice is heard by this national organization. The survey is due in mid-December, and will be disseminated to selected staff within the next two weeks.
As we enter this holiday season, I am thankful to be a part of an organization that employs so many exemplary, creative individuals who chose to dedicate their energies every day to impact positive change for those we serve.
Thank you for your dedication and service. I wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season.
Organizational Logistics – Ines Matos, Chief
New and Exciting News from Technology! – Submitted by Colleen Faupel: The Library Equal Access Program (LEAP) began last year as a pilot project, wherein CBVI and the NJ State Library Talking Book and Braille Center partnered to offer free assistive technology classes for vision-impaired adults over 55 at multiple libraries across the state. This year, new libraries have been added for a current total of 7 libraries that include Johnson Public Library in Hackensack, East Brunswick Public Library, Atlantic County Library in Mays Landing, Atlantic City Free Public Library, Cherry Hill Public Library, Ocean County Library in Toms River and the South Orange Public Library.
Classes successfully began in September at these locations and will finish up their current session in December. The instruction currently being offered includes the use of I-pads with accessibility as well as computers using speech or magnification software. No classes will be offered during the months of January and February, but the LEAP program will resume in March through June also the Toms River library will be piloting a few summer class options during the summer of 2017.
One aspect of this program that could be of benefit to both staff and consumers is that the equipment at each of these libraries is available for use when the classes are not in session. We recommend contacting libraries directly beforehand to be sure the equipment is not being used by a class. It’s a great way to work with consumers outside of their homes and work with them on using accessible systems to perform job searches and other tasks. Staff at each of the libraries has been given an introduction to the software so they can assist people with learning the programs, although they are not equipped to provide training on how to use the systems. However, consumers who have their own skills will be able to use the computers and maintain their skills through practice after training if they do not have access at home.
Local libraries continue to be a valuable resource for the community, offering not only reading materials, but also, information, training, and access to technology for patrons across all skill levels and needs. CBVI’s partnership with these libraries is a great way to get access into the communities’ across the state, while also encouraging our consumers to take advantage of local resources. The LEAP is another initiative that promotes self-sufficiency and independence.
The 90 minute classes are held once a week with a maximum of 4 students at each location. Depending on demand, additional classes may need to be scheduled.
Anyone eligible and interested in registering for LEAP should be encouraged to contact Advancing Opportunities at: 888-322-1918, extension 595.
Fiscal Services – Edward Szajdecki, Chief
As we approach the holiday season and the end of the calendar year 2016, it is worth mentioning two loyal Fiscal team members, Fred Kothe (retirement) and Pauline Prygrocki (job opportunity), who have left our agency in recent months. Although their efforts and contributions to our Fiscal team will be greatly missed, opportunities arise for others when staff move on. With that, we are very excited to welcome two talented Accountants to the Fiscal team. Marc Rezabala and Paola Machuca have recently been added to our staff, and are in the process of being trained in all aspects of Fiscal Operations. We are looking forward to the contributions of Marc and Paola to our existing team.
I also would like to personally acknowledge and thank each of the other Fiscal team members for their loyalty, commitment, and hard work during this difficult time of transition. With many challenges including, but not limited to, the necessity to take on additional duties, they have continued to dedicate themselves to completing their assignments with efficiency and professionalism. I applaud them for the valued work they do to support CBVI staff and ultimately serve our consumers.
Once the new staff members are fully trained, we will announce the primary responsibilities for each team member, with the goal of having them all being able to help in all areas of this unit’s operations. Until that time, please continue to contact Teresa, Jim, or myself if you have not received a specific communication from any team member regarding a previous issue.
For your reference, the contact information of each Fiscal team member is listed below:
Ed Szajdecki edward.szajdecki at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-2396
Jim Kopcho james.kopcho at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-2275
Teresa Weissert teresa.weissert at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-4798
Paola Machuca paola.machuca at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-2541
Marc Rezabala marc.rezabala at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-3126
Carmen Brown carmen.brown at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-2742
Luz Valverde luzdary.valverde at dhs.state.nj.us 973-648-4314
On behalf of our team, we wish you all a happy Thanksgiving and a healthy, safe and joyous holiday season!
Human Resources – Hugo Ruiz, Manager
WHAT IS TITLE VII?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the early civil rights movement, is the principal federal anti-discrimination law. It is codified at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-2000e (17) and covers the activities of employers (public and private sector), labor unions, and employment agencies.
The protected categories under Title VII are the following:
· Race
· Color
· Religion
· National origin
· Sex
In addition, five kinds of activities can constitute unlawful discrimination under Title VII. They are:
· Disparate Treatment: Overt or intentional classifications that disfavor employees or applicants on the basis of any of the above-listed protected categories. Example: Requiring three years’ experience to promote Whites in comparison to requiring five years’ experience to promote Non-Whites.
· Disparate Impact: A facially neutral practice, not necessarily adopted in order to discriminate but which nevertheless has an unfavorable effect on a group protected by Title VII. For instance, a lender’s requirement that borrowers demonstrate a certain length of employment history may seem reasonable and neutral on its face, but it might in fact have a disparate impact on people with disabilities whose full-time employment history could be limited, even though an individual with a disability may have enough income to cover loan payments. Another example would be a weight-carrying requirement for certain jobs (such as fire personnel) that has a disparate impact on women who cannot meet the same requirement.
· Perpetuation of past discrimination.
· Failure to make a reasonable accommodation to an employee’s religious needs, such as allowing an employee to get someone else to “cover” for work duties on the employee’s Sabbath would be a reasonable accommodation.
· Retaliation against employees who file charges or otherwise exercise their rights.
One area where employers are allowed to discriminate is when a “bona fide occupational qualification” (BFOQ) is required for the job, even when the BFOQ results in a disadvantage to one of the protected groups, except for race. A BFOQ, for instance, are mandatory retirement ages for bus drivers, airline pilots, or other employees involved in public safety occupations like police and fire personnel. This this impacts age, an area covered by the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which will be addressed in a future issue of the Commission Edition. A clothing company hiring only male models to advertise men’s clothing would be another BFOQ. However, BFOQs, as noted above, are never a defense to allegations of racial discrimination.
Title VII also encompasses the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, an amendment to Title VII requiring that women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions receive treatment equal to that of other employees. It prohibits sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
The important thing to remember is that in the area of employment, Title VII protects against discrimination of protected categories in all areas of the employment relationship, that is, hiring, job duties, compensation, training, promotion, and firing. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act under Title VII and the ADEA prohibit employment discrimination, as noted above, based on pregnancy and age.
One final point, these federal laws do not preempt state statutes that provide protection to employees based on additional protected categories, such as the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, which will also be the subject matter of a future Human Resources article.
As always, please bring any questions or concerns to our Human Resources Office. Our staff is here to provide you with all the assistance you need. My telephone number is (973) 648-2412 and fax number is (973) 648-3419.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Transition Services – Amanda Gerson, Coordinator
Youth Employment Solutions
The Youth Employment Solutions (YES) is a program currently being piloted in partnership with The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) to service selected individuals, who have previously attended the Work Skills Preparation Program (WSP) while in high school, and have since graduated. As per the new regulations of The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Commission's Customized Employment Initiative, TCNJ staff are continuing to work with former WSP participants (who we are referring to as "job seekers") to support them as they work toward their employment goals. Through Customized Employment approaches and person-centered planning provided by the YES Support Specialists, it is intended that the VR staff and partnered job coaching agencies will be better prepared with more resources to support job seekers in competitive, integrated employment settings.
The support specialist will engage the job seeker in the “discovery” process, using strategies that prove effective for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Under a 90-day contract, the support specialists lay the foundation of job development, ensuring deliverables are in place (i.e. the Person-Centered Planning Tool, visual resume, and list of potential job leads) to document progress during this time and facilitating the customized employment planning meeting. Additional milestones are created beyond this 90-day period for support specialists to continue the customized employment job development and retention to secure successful, gainful employment. Also, if significant support needs are identified around navigating and securing DDD, SSI, Medicaid, and other relevant non-CBVI services, TCNJ can help connect the job seeker and his/her family to a YES program social worker.
Most, if not all, WSP job seekers are suitable for Supported Employment (SE) services and should also be working with a job coach affiliated with a SE agency in partnership with CBVI. The goal is to work together since the support specialist does not supplant the efforts/work of the job coach from the SE agency at all. The goal is for the support specialist to do the discovery process to help support the job coach with job development and raise awareness of greater potential. The support specialist will also serve as a resource to the SE job coach, providing relevant information regarding the supports the consumer will need to be successful.
Working with CBVI VRCs to support their caseload and teaming up with the SE agency to support job development will hopefully lead to greater outcomes. If a consumer from a VR counselor’s caseload has been chosen to participate in this pilot program, TCNJ staff will send an email with a copy to their supervisor so the process can begin.
Submitted by Victoria Jarosz: The Deaf-Blind Specialists had the unique opportunity to attend the 2016 International Deaf-Blind Expo (IDBE) in Orlando, Florida, this past August. The event focused on community partnerships for deaf-blind individuals and professionals working with those consumers.
This is only the second time IDBE occurred; this event was *first presented in August 2014. The 2016 theme and focus - Community Partnerships Without Barriers. With the increased use of technology, social media, and awareness, deaf-blind individuals are seeking solutions to increasing their knowledge and education in these important and prevalent areas.
This four-day expo entailed deaf-blind speakers hosting extensive workshops regarding innovative technology, Federal programs, such as the I-Can Connect (ICC) program, and State programs, such as Support Service Provider (SSP). We were able to compare how deaf-blind services vary from state-to-state and found that New Jersey is one of a very few states in the country with an active SSP program for deaf-blind consumers.
The deaf-blind community and other invested individuals advocated for leaders within their community to help consumers access necessary supports and services; in fact, advocacy and communication access were of primary focus throughout each day. Participants had the opportunity to discuss communication and technology issues in groups and troubleshoot what solutions could be explored. Each day of the event, time was set aside for individuals to meet with vendors of different products to explore new technology that was tailored to the needs of the deaf-blind community. There were also different organizations and programs represented to ensure that each deaf-blind consumer had access to the information.
One of the unique aspects of this event was watching how communication was provided to each person, whether they needed tactile (touch) ASL, close range ASL, visual ASL, English, or large print closed-captioning. Another important factor is that this event brought together a community of people who are often isolated. Opportunities for accessible information gathering and socialization on the scale of this international expo are not often presented in the deaf-blind community. This rare, yet, hands-on expo, offered an educational and collaborative experience to both the deaf-blind consumers and the professionals working with those consumers.
On Saturday, October 29th, DB-Can hosted a deaf-blind technology expo at Montclair State University. CBVI’s Deaf-Blind Unit had the opportunity to represent the agency at a resource table demonstrating a variety of independent living and large print items. We also provided informational literature on CBVI services and programs and referral information for new clients.
*Editor’s Note: I know of at least one other International Deaf-Blind Expo which was hosted and presented by the Commission, at Montclair State University in 1985. More information on this chapter in CBVI’s history will be shared in a future issue.
Educational Services – Eva Scott, Director of Blindness Education
“To the world you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world.”
Dr. Seuss
Training for Para-Educators: In follow-up to Blindness Education’s Annual Teachers’ Symposium, our teachers presented two full-day workshops for school-based para-educators who provide in-class and in-school support to our Braille readers. These workshops were offered on October 26th and October 28th and were attended by 48 para-educators from across the state. These workshops offered a professional development opportunity focused on the full array of tasks necessary to ensure that Braille users/learners have accessible material and use their skills of independence. Anyone who has worked in Blindness Education understands the importance of well-trained para-educators because they are an integral part of implementing reasonable accommodations. The training of these individuals is regularly provided through consultation from our teachers within the school environment and annually during workshops such as those offered at the end of October.
Mentorship of Novice Teachers and Internship: Each academic year, the Blindness Education Unit files a plan for Novice Teacher Mentorship and Induction into the teaching profession. As one would expect, our mentorship and induction program at CBVI focuses exclusively on mentoring and inducting candidates for the standard certificate for Teacher of Blind or Visually Impaired Students. Mentorship and induction into the teaching profession is an important part of a novice teacher’s post graduate education. The program provides the novice teacher with an opportunity to be welcomed into the profession as he or she works with a competent and experienced mentor teacher who has been formally trained in a manner specified by the New Jersey Department of Education. Recently, two of our novice teachers from the Newark Service Center completed their formal mentorship as provisional Teachers of Blind or Visually Impaired Students. This formal mentorship program is the first step in earning the standard teaching certificate. Also, during the current semester, a Kutztown University student is completing her TVI internship with a cooperating teacher from our Freehold Service Center. This student’s internship will be completed sometime during January 2017.
We believe that the provision of internship opportunities within our CBVI Blindness Education Unit is important for several reasons. The interns benefit from a quality experience in the delivery of exemplary TVI services in a vibrant itinerant program such as ours. Also, as educators, we are able to contribute to the advancement of our profession by fostering in the interns, the full range of recognized competencies necessary to become an effective TVI within the itinerant framework of service delivery. Finally, when teaching positions become available within CBVI, we are expanding our existing pool of qualified candidates.
Farewell, Peggy and Welcome Back, Michael!: On October 28th, the Blindness Education Unit and many other CBVI staff bid farewell to Margaret “Peggy” Bruno on the milestone of her retirement from New Jersey state service. Peggy was an Education Supervisor in the Freehold Service Center, who began her work at CBVI ten years ago as a teacher. A few years later, she became one of two Education Supervisors for teachers serving Central New Jersey. She was a kind, talented, and capable supervisor, who will be missed. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Peggy for her years of excellent service to Blindness Education, and I wish her all the best in retirement. May she spend many precious hours of quality time with her husband, their children, and their grandchildren.
On October 31st Blindness Education welcomed back Michael Colucci, who has been an Education Supervisor in the Freehold Service Center, also serving our teachers in Central New Jersey for the past twelve years. We are very happy to have Michael back with us in Blindness Education.
The Statewide Staff Development Seminar – A Personal Perspective: On November 3rd, I had the opportunity to attend my first CBVI Statewide Staff Development Seminar. For me this was a wonderful and worthwhile event. On a day-to-day basis I am able to hear about and witness much of the amazing work that goes on at CBVI, but when the entire staff is gathered together, as it was on November 3rd, my understanding of what we do is solidified and reinforced. Our agency may be small in size, but it is enormous in terms of the impact upon our consumers. The care and dedication of everyone at CBVI is evident both in our separate locations, within our service units and also when we are gathered together in the larger group. Everyone has an important role to play in serving our consumers. As I listened to my colleagues during the activities on November 3rd, once again I am reminded of how thankful I am to know and work with such a wonderful group of people.
George F. Meyer Instructional Resource Center – Submitted by Christine Hinton, Deputy Director of Blindness Education: The Blindness Education Unit is happy to introduce two new employees assigned to the Braille Department of the Meyer Center:
Lauren Atari is an in-house transcriber for the education unit and has many years of experience working with students who use braille as a reading and writing medium. Lauren is a graduate of Rutgers University and has knowledge of Microsoft Office, Duxbury Braille Translation System, Kurzweil, Scientific Notebook, creating tactual drawings and is now learning Braille 2000 and tactual drawings creation using the Everest Embosser.
Kevon Smith who has worked with CBVI for the last few years, started with CBVI as an Aide. Kevon is currently studying to obtain an engineering degree and has strong computer and organizational skills that have proved to be a great contribution to the Meyer Center Team’s ability to process and troubleshoot braille book orders.
To meet the needs of students served by CBVI, the Meyer Center Team is working to improve services with the following initiatives:
· A Braille Embossing Station where multiple braille projects can be embossed simultaneously.
· The Meyer Center Electronic Library with the help of MIS teachers will be able to view the electronic book files both large print and Braille that have been compiled both by the Braille and large print departments. There are over 1000 book files. This library will debut in the beginning of the year.
· In-House Braille Curriculums (Start Tall, Discovering Braille and others) will soon be available in UEB.
Lastly during this season of Thanksgiving I would like to personally thank and applaud the entire Meyer Center team for all of their hard work and dedication. It is their work that supports both CBVI teachers and the students served by CBVI helping students to become successful in school and in their community.
Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes for a joyous holiday season!
Independent Living & Clinical Services – Elizabeth DeShields, Coordinator
The Assistive Support Programs for Independence, Renewal and Education (ASPIRE) held its second annual group facilitators’ workshops on November 16th and 17th at two separate locations to accommodate those from the Northern and Southern Regions. These trainings, titled “Keeping Your Support Group Positive” were led by Susan Vanino, Support Program Coordinator, and I had the pleasure of assisting her.
In attendance were 35 group facilitators of the 42 peer support groups currently meeting in 20 counties throughout the state. CBVI Executive Director, Dan Frye, addressed the facilitators, expressing the value of peer support groups and the important role that the facilitators have in leading these groups in a positive direction.
The facilitators participated in a full day that was devoted to networking and learning new skills and techniques for leading positive peer support groups. Throughout the day the workshop concentrated on ASPIRE Network goals:
· Positivity: How to keep the groups moving in a forward motion; how to handle those who want to monopolize the group
· Support: Leaning on other group members who are encouraging and can share their experiences
· Educational Resources: Inviting speakers, searching the internet; reaching out to established national organizations
· Enhancing Independence: Empowering group participants as role models; referring to CBVI; becoming self- advocates
· Socializing: Ideas for planning additional opportunities for socializing; trips, touch tours, group meetings, shopping centers
· Networking: Combining groups; having facilitator meetings.
This interactive workshop included peer group simulation activities that provided opportunities for the facilitators to network, troubleshoot group issues, and learn from one another to enhance their leadership skills.
For information about groups listed in the ASPIRE Network, the ASPIRE directory is now on our Intranet. You can search for a group by region or county. After choosing the desired group, more information about that group is listed such as meeting dates, times, and contact information.
For additional information about ASPIRE please contact Susan Vanino at 973-648-2821 or email
susan.vanino at dhs.state.nj.us .
I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.
Joseph Kohn Training Center – Del Basha, Manager
The staff of the JKTC periodically offers tours and presentations to outside groups. At times, they also get an opportunity to interact with different organizations that work with CBVI consumers. Recently some JKTC professionals were able to participate in this type of useful collaboration:
Spreading the Word About JKTC and O & M - Submitted by Melissa Durnan, JKTC Orientation & Mobility Specialist: On November 7th, the JKTC hosted a group of job coaches and job developers from CVR (Center for Vocational Rehabilitation) and Project HIRE. These two organizations connect individuals with disabilities to employment opportunities in their communities. Five JKTC staff from five different disciplines (O&M, Braille, Technology, Activities of Daily Living, and Career Counseling), presented information about their specific areas of expertise to visitors from CVR and Project HIRE. The presentation was designed to give the visitors a better understanding of the types of skills taught at the JKTC and how those skills can transfer to a workplace environment. In addition, the visitors learned how they as job coaches can contribute to the success of clients with vision impairments, when supporting them at job sites. Specific attention was given to the area of O&M, as some CVR and Project HIRE employees had never worked with vision-impaired individuals, and therefore had never been exposed to O&M instruction.
The presenting O&M specialist gave a brief history of the O&M profession and provided examples of the different types of consumers, young and old, who might work with an O&M instructor. She also demonstrated proper human guide technique, to better prepare the job coaches for situations when they may need to assist clients in accessing and navigating their worksites. At the same time, the instructor emphasized the importance of using descriptive language when orienting someone to a new area (i.e. specifying “left” and “right,” as opposed to “over there” and “that way”), to help that person build his or her mental map. Finally, the mobility specialist spent time discussing two possible mobility aids a person might use: a long cane and a guide dog. During this discussion, a folding cane by Ambutech was passed around. This offered the job coaches an idea of what the cane felt like and the instructor then provided an overview of how a client might use it for surface preview and obstacle detection. The O & M specialist also explained how to appropriately interact with a guide dog on harness, to ensure it is not distracted from the task at hand.
Although the above-described O&M presentation was brief and certainly not all-inclusive, it made the audience more aware of a specialized practice that is unknown to many. Even attendees who had worked with vision-impaired people in the past indicated that they learned at least one new piece of information, which they can now share with colleagues and potential job sites, as they continue to open doors for the individuals they serve.
Schedule A Hiring Initiative - Submitted by Ed Kawalec, JKTC VR Counselor: On November 9th, I accompanied a current JKTC student to a workshop regarding the process of pursuing employment with a Federal agency or Federal contractor, through the Schedule A hiring initiative. The workshop took place at the DVRS office in Camden, and it included guidance on constructing a Federal resume, interviewing tips, the importance of having official college transcripts, the Schedule A certification letter, and hearing about the successful Schedule A experience of a DVRS consumer. The workshop served as an example of the valuable partnership between DVRS and CBVI, which can benefit both consumers and the employment community.
“Playing” it Forward – Submitted by Ragan Van Campen and Alyssa Goldman, JKTC Braille Instructors: Learning is easiest when it is fun. You can avoid a stale Braille situation by incorporating smartphones of consumers into their Braille code study. When balanced with tactile discrimination exercises and Braille writing instruction, it can enhance the overall Braille learning experience.
A recent JKTC graduate, Kimberley, has led many fellow students with low vision to use their technology in a new way. Instead of hunting for Pokemon, she has inspired a new Braille study option. On an independent quest to augment her own study, Kim discovered one of several Braille code tutoring applications available through Google Play. She plans on sharing her skills that she has learned at the JKTC with others in the future in the best spirit of “paying it forward.”
The Braille Tutor application that she chose is simple to use, able to be customized to the level of study, and has clear bold graphics. It can be set to contracted or un-contracted, and includes UEB contractions. It is a fun additional practice for persons with some residual vision learning the Literary Braille code. There are several different applications like this one available through the Appstore for iPhone users and Google Play for Android users.
Kim, who had no experience with the Braille code prior to her work at the JKTC, has encouraged many of her current adult age peer students to experience the game on a smartphone. She herself has logged over 130,000 turns and counting. She has mastered the un-contracted Literary EBAE Braille Code, including numbers and all punctuation and basic literary indicator signs. She is currently learning the contracted code.
Business Enterprises of New Jersey – Deacon Truesdale, Manager
The Food and Drug Administration’s concern about everyone being better informed on the food choices that they make has initiated a new requirement. Beginning on December 1, 2016, any BENJ Manager responsible for the operation of 20 or more vending machines must comply with the new FDA Calorie Disclosure Rule. Any article of food sold from a vending machine automatically meets the rule, but is exempt from other means of disclosure if the prospective customer can view the calories, serving size, and servings per container listed in the Nutrition Facts label without any obstruction. This will require that the information be displayed in clear and conspicuously in close proximity to the article of food or selection button. Vending operators may make electronic reproductions of the Nutrition Facts labels, the information can be displayed on a sign adjacent to the vending machine, front of a package, or an electronic display.
Regional Updates
Northern Service Region – John Reiff, Manager
We want to acknowledge, EHN Lisa Venezia who just retired after 10 years with CBVI. Her many friends honored her with a farewell gathering and light refreshments here on the fifth floor on October 31st. We also want to recognize long time O&M Instructor, Claire Piasecki, who will be retiring this month. She has been a mobility mainstay in the Newark office for 31 years and will be missed by all.
A manager’s perspective on case reviews: A case review is something that a case manager and supervisor should conduct together. It may involve looking at every case on a caseload or selected cases. It leads to the identification of the health of a caseload and how well it is being managed. Some key evaluative measures that may be considered include time in status, date of last face-to-face contact as well as most recent date of other types of contact, timeliness and regularity of documentation, the number of cases for whom services have been completed but who have yet to be closed and the actions that need to be taken for each case. The case review process also affords an opportunity for the service providing professional and supervisor to brainstorm challenging cases. It is an invaluable tool, sort of like looking at the forest and the individual trees at the same time.
Southern Region – Jack Thompson, Manager
Journey to Independence – Submitted by Laurel Leigh: When assessing a school-aged student for O&M, the long term goal of future independence drives the development of the program necessary to reach the ultimate goal beyond high school, whether the student is moving on to work or college. The following are two examples of O&M instruction targeting the future independence of the students involved. Both examples are descriptions of O&M instruction that took place during the summer of 2016:
In August, two middle school students both cane users, had an opportunity for exposure to various forms of public transportation and urban travel during a one day trip to Philadelphia. Prior to the trip each student had the opportunity to participate in the planning. One student chose Philadelphia as the destination and the other chose where to have lunch. The student who made the choice for the lunch location was given the names and websites for 3 locations and was asked to research them and make a choice. With her mother’s help, she reviewed the 3 and chose a burger place inside the Reading Terminal Market. The trip involved travel to Philadelphia via NJ Transit Regional Rail to Lindenwold and then Light Rail on PATCO into Center City. The students were accompanied by their mothers and one grandmother. On the platform they used the ticket vending machines, previewed the train platform, and reviewed safety skills before the train arrived. Once on the train, they were reminded of the name of the destination station and then they were able to enjoy the ride. As various teachable moments came up I explained things like how to listen to the announcements, the names of the various towns, and I also answered their questions.
At PATCO, they had to swipe their tickets for entry and exit through the turn styles, use escalators, navigate a platform located between 2 tracks as well as a different layout inside the trains. They were quite surprised when they found themselves traveling backward and both said they felt like they were on a roller coaster. At the Reading Terminal Market they ordered, paid and enjoyed their lunches. We then took a city bus to a famous ice cream parlor where they ordered and purchased their ice cream before heading back to the train.
While traveling in the city they experienced supervised street crossings and walking parallel to noisy traffic, something relatively new to both of them, especially since they were expected to walk on their own using their canes with little to no guiding. Although neither student will be actively using public transportation independently for another couple of years, this trip certainly helped each of them better understand how people get around when they don’t have someone to drive them, and they are both more motivated to learn to use para-transit and their local bus system.
Also during August, I spent several weeks with a recent high school graduate on familiarization to their local community college campus. Despite having been fairly independent in high school, this student expressed a high level of anxiety when faced with this new environment. We worked on the basic routes to two classes and back to the transportation drop-off/pick-up location. Despite many days of frustration, this student’s comment to me at the end of the first week of classes was “Mobility is fine for me…I really hate college though. I’m sick of the math.” By week two, the student reported that even the problems with adjusting to college math were working out! This student is currently doing well in the first semester of college and also has a paid job in the college disabilities office.
In describing the O&M instruction provided to these three students I believe that although the details may vary, the overall instructional experience base is crucial to each stage of educational development. The middle school students are both traveling independently in their schools and both have begun community-based instruction after school. The college student now loves college and no longer wishes to return to the secure world of high school. Also, this college student would not have been ready to face this major milestone if not for a solid base in literacy and academics as well as the ongoing hours of O&M instruction along with the high expectations of the family and teachers who set realistic expectations. All of these factors together have prepared this student to move forward and not back away from the future.
New or Noteworthy
Lions Clubs International is the world’s largest service club association with over 1.35 million male and female members in over 46,000 clubs in over 200 countries and geographic areas.
Founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1917, by businessman Melvin Jones, the members have always dedicated themselves to community-services and meeting humanitarian needs. In 1925, at their international convention in Ohio, Helen Keller challenged the members to be "The Knights of the Blind”. Since then the Lions have worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for people who are blind and vision-impaired.
In 1920, the first New Jersey Lions Club was chartered in Camden and "We Serve" became the association's official motto in 1954.
Through the SightFirst initiative launched in 1990, the Lions have applied over $346 million to sight preservation in many countries by targeting and treating the world’s major causes of blindness: trachoma, river blindness, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and cataracts.
It is however important to note that the Lions Clubs of New Jersey began working with the NJ Commission for the Blind on the prevention of blindness in the 1940s when the Commission’s Eye Health Service Unit was formally established under the supervision of the late Emma Howe. Shortly thereafter the nation’s first traveling eye unit and glaucoma registry were organized here in NJ. These services have continued to grow over the years and currently Project BEST uses the most sophisticated tools available to detect sight-threatening conditions, promote sight conservation, and save sight when it is medically possible.
Project BEST services include: vision screening for preschool and school-age children; monthly or semi-monthly eye screenings at more than 28 fixed sites all over the state; on-site screening at institutions and in communities; special diabetic detection and awareness programs; and other specialized eye screening programs which target historically underserved sectors of the population (i.e. low income, minorities, the elderly, migrant farm workers, and individuals with special needs).
(Photo of The Commission’s Mobile Eye Screening Unit – 1950s)
comments
The Last Words
“At times our own light goes out and needs to be rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have helped re-light the flame within us.” Albert Schweitzer
Please send items or suggestions for the next issue of the Commission Edition by or before 11 a.m., Wednesday, December 14, 2016:
Pamela.Gaston at dhs.state.nj.us and Bernice.Davis at dhs.state.nj.us
From: joe ruffalo [mailto:nfbnj1 at verizon.net]
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2016 8:17 PM
To: Brian Mackey <bmackey88 at gmail.com>; joe ruffalo <nfbnj1 at verizon.net>
Subject: need in the body Fw: November 2016 Commission Edition
Brian, need in the body.
We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking
www.carshelpingtheblind.org
or call 855 659 9314
From: Daniel.Frye at dhs.state.nj.us
Sent: Monday, November 21, 2016 6:13 PM
To: CBVI.AllUsers at dhs.state.nj.us
Cc: Dawn.Apgar at dhs.state.nj.us ; Patricia.Guyton at dhs.state.nj.us ; Nicole.Brossoie at dhs.state.nj.us ; Ellen.Lovejoy at dhs.state.nj.us ; Elizabeth.Connolly at dhs.state.nj.us ; Valerie.J.Harr at dhs.state.nj.us ; Joseph.Amoroso at dhs.state.nj.us ; Christopher.Bailey at dhs.state.nj.us ; David.Alexander at dhs.state.nj.us ; Nancy.Day at dhs.state.nj.us
Subject: November 2016 Commission Edition
Colleagues:
Please find attached the November 2016 issue of the Commission Edition, the monthly newsletter of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI or Commission). This Thanksgiving release of our internal publication conveys, in so many ways, an array of items for which we at CBVI should feel considerable pride and substantial gratitude. A review of this month’s content demonstrates that the Commission is a vibrant and engaged organization, working hard to achieve our mission for the benefit of our blind, vision-impaired, and deaf-blind consumers and New Jersey’s community of potential employers.
I invite and encourage all of you to carefully read the text of the keynote address that was delivered by Jonathan Mosen during our biannual Statewide Staff Development Seminar on Thursday, November 3, 2016; his address captures the very essence of why CBVI operates and exists.
As always, I owe a debt of gratitude to Pamela Gaston and Bernice Davis for their assistance with editing, proofing, and formatting our newsletter. Staff are again encouraged to submit your own ideas and writing for potential inclusion in future issues of the Commission Edition; your creative thoughts will add meaning and substance to our publication, as we chronicle our work.
IN closing, please accept my best wishes for an excellent and relaxing Thanksgiving. May this holiday prove to be a meaningful time of reflection, reunion, and rejuvenation for us all. Please know that I am appreciative of our entire staff for the hard work that you each undertake on behalf of those we serve; thank you.
With Kind Regards,
Daniel B. Frye, J.D.
Executive Director
State of New Jersey
Department of Human Services
COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED
153 Halsey Street, 6th Floor, P.O. Box 47017
Newark, NJ 07101
Office: (973) 648-2324 ● Mobile: 973-951-1156 ● Fax: (973) 648-7364
Email: Daniel.Frye at dhs.state.nj.us
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