[nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting
Maurice Mines
minesm at me.com
Mon Mar 9 15:44:55 UTC 2009
Dear List,
Everyone put on your fire retardant suite. Listen i don't believe
that the order of selection as horrible of a thing as you think it
would be, because out here in Colorado we have lived with that
decision for over six months now. I think that if times are hard
enough that you need to close the OTC, how sad, but so be it, because
9-5 rehab does not work for very many people "granted i am a graduate
of the CCB and the OTC center", so yes i have experienced both sides
of the fence. For most of the comments that i have heard, for those
individuals that live in Washington that are refusing to get training
out of their own state, i have to ask is this a real concern for
friends and family or is it a comfort zone check? Because my personal
feeling is that one needs to be challenged to grow and be a good blind
person 6-9 months away from home is not that tragic of a situation, I
know from some on this list that this is a bitter pill to swallow, but
i believe that freedom is worth sacrificing for.
I am going to have to agree with Dan on the order of selection issue
to a point. The point is this, if you close the OTC and go on an
order of selection, we want assurance that one day when the decision
is made to reopen the OTC can truly be a good center, i.e with the
philosophy of the NFB and that some of you in Washington State have
the skills and the talent that can run it properly. It means
absolutely nothing if we say we want the goals of the NFB but are not
willing to work there.
I want to make this clear that this is just a suggestion, you all
should be working tirelessly towards the goals that i listed above and
demand for assurance that we get a better OTC that really truly
challenge blind people and allow them to run successfully lives there
after. The views that i have expressed in this email are of my own
and not of those of the NFB of Colorado and its chapters or any of its
officers, board of directors, or employees, Greeley and the Colorado
association of blind students or its officers.
On Mar 9, 2009, at 1:10 AM, Kay Burrows wrote:
> Dear Mike and Dan and all Listers,
>
> I was shocked and confused when Denise McCauley said the view point
> of the
> WCB was to keep three apartments open and now I know why. That
> seems like a
> trickle of service, but it make keep the pump primed for
> economically more
> solvent times.
>
> During Louoma's remarks I kept wondering why order of selection was
> such a
> scary thing for them. I realize that it makes it difficult for
> those who
> could benefit from early training, such as my self, but with limited
> funding
> it would provide quality training to those with the most urgent
> needs. I
> kept thinking how wonderful it would be to have King Solomon here to
> sort
> things out.
>
> How could a three week program at the cottages provide the kind of
> intense
> and quality training for the newly blinded? Would it be used as a
> short
> term situation for those who have some blindness skills, or as a way
> to
> reach the underserved senior population with bare bones independent
> skills?
> I think it is wonderful that the school has offered, but seriously
> wonder if
> it is enough time to do quality training for life and work skills.
>
> Some have commented that things may be a done deal and I worry that
> they may
> be right. As a Community we definitely showed a passionate
> commitment to
> the residential training center, which hopefully will be
> communicated to the
> Governor and that she can fully realize the unique needs of the
> blind and
> that we have the right to be able to participate fully in life as
> employees,
> employers, parents, spouses, and individuals who are capable of
> independent
> lives. Good training is what is needed to make that happen. It is
> such
> false economy to the general funds of the state if access to proper
> training
> limits the blind from independent purposeful lives.
>
> KB
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-
> bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 9:28 PM
> To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting
>
> You have a point, Dan. I have always resisted Order of Selection but
> was
> beginning to wonder along the same line of reasoning as you outline
> below. For I believe that once the residential component of the OTC is
> no more, it will be but a short and almost inevitable step to closing
> the OTC altogether. Why DSB staff can't grock this is beyond my ken.
>
> However, to adopt this stand I would feel more comfortable getting
> intput from the rest of the NFBW Board of Directors. What say you,
> NFBW
> Board members? I'm deliberately doing this on-list as I have no
> objection if word of this discussion gets out. Perhaps it will make
> all
> of us think a bit and take off the rose-colored glasses.
>
> Mike Freeman, President
> NFB of Washington
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dan Frye" <dfrye at nfb.org>
> To: "NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 7:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting
>
>
> Mike:
>
> Here's a thought that not many will be happy to hear or willing
> to tolerate, but which I think makes sense and should guide our
> future input. While the threat of Order of Selection is
> unpleasant, I'd rather see the agency adopt this budget-saving
> exercise than diminish the residential portion of the OTC. When
> such a policy is adopted, a conclusion about who gets service has
> to be made, and the Order of Selection exercise will most
> certainly require that the most severely disabled be served
> first. Within our community, this will mean generally totally
> blind and legally blind people needing training and employment;
> it will generally not refer to those who have lots of residual
> vision and are easier to place. I can't remember if DSB has a
> more liberal eligibility standard for service than is required by
> Federal Rehabilitation guidelines, but if it does, the Washington
> agency should narrow eligibility criteria to correspond with
> Federal minimums. If dollars have to be preserved in this way,
> so be it. Order of Selection sometimes results in a more
> concentrated degree of high-quality services being delivered to
> those who need it most. When this prospect is tossed around by
> agency administrators trying to frighten our community, I'd tell
> them to bring Order of Selection on if that's what it takes. DSB
> administrators think, perhaps, that we won't have enough resolve
> to say something this hard and potentially disadvantageous to
> some of our constituency; perhaps this degree of political
> resolve is required in this circumstance. I hope that we do
> possess this degree of principled commitment to the program.
> Please don't misunderstand. I do not relish this prospect, but I
> think that a lot of misinformation exists about Order of
> Selection, and it doesn't have to be as bad as some make it out
> to be. What agency administrators fail to understand is that it
> matters less about numbers served than the quality of service
> given to those who can be assisted. The foregoing is my personal
> opinion; it does not represent any endorsed view of the NFB at
> the national, affiliate, or local level.
>
> With Kind Regards,
>
> Daniel B. Frye
> Office: (410) 659-9314, Ext 2208
> Mobile: (410) 241-7006
> Note: This message has been issued remotely from the Braille
> Note.
>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Mike Freeman <k7uij at panix.com
>> To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:36:11 -0700
>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting
>
>> Fellow listers:
>
>> Technically, Marlaina Lieberg of WCB is the designated "consumer
> representative" on DSB's State Rehabilitation Council. Below are
> her impressions of yesterday's meeting.
>
>> Mike Freeman
>
>> ----- Forwarded Message -----
>> From: "Marlaina Lieberg" <1guidedog at gmail.com
>> To: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com
>> Date: Sunday, Mar 8, 2009 12:14:57
>> Subject: please forward to nfbw
>
>
>>> Hello all.
>>> I decided to wait a few hours before posting or even much
> discussing my
>>> impressions of the SRC meeting yesterday. So, here they are.
>>> during her report, Lou Oma Durand stressed repeatedly that she
> valued the
>>> residential aspect of the OTC. She said that she has been
> running in the
>>> baseball field at midnight with students in the past, and she
> sees the
>>> change the residential program can make in lives it touches.
> She indicated
>>> that she has had discussions with Dean Stenehjem at the School
> for the
>>> blind, and he has offered the possibility of using the school's
> cottages for
>>> 3 weeks or so in the summer as a residential training facility.
> DSB is
>>> considering that. Parenthetically, Cindy and I asked her during
> the days
>>> prior to the SRC meeting yesterday about partnering with the
> school to do
>>> child and family services work. I never thought we got a clear
> response to
>>> that suggestion, just as many other suggestions we raised seemed
> not to have
>>> a clear response for me.
>>> It was wonderful to see so many people present in the room for
> testimony or
>>> simply to be a presence. Many people, including OTC current
> students, gave
>>> great testimony regarding how impactful the OTC has been or is
> currently in
>>> their lives. We had a number of people calling in, and the
> Council felt
>>> that while we had an issue with one person having an inordinate
> amount of
>>> background noise, the system worked perfectly and we will look
> into
>>> expanding its use for future meetings.
>>> The stories we heard were from blind people who had either
> worked with other
>>> blind people in the OTC, or who themselves were changed because
> of the
>>> impact of the residential portion of the OTC. We heard from
> people who said
>>> they never would have made it with training in their home, or a
> 3-week
>>> training experience elsewhere.
>>> Throughout the day, we were reminded by DSB staff that if they
> could not
>>> find money to cut, DSB would go into order of selection to serve
> its
>>> customers. Order of selection means that decisions regarding
> the importance
>>> of one customer's need versus another will have to be made,
> thereby creating
>>> waiting lists.
>>> Since most of you are most concerned about the OTC, let me stay
> focused on
>>> that issue. Keiko Namekata, OTC Director, reported on average
> numbers of
>>> students the OTC has served for 4 years prior to apartment
> living, and the
>>> first 4 years after the apartments became a part of the
> residential
>>> experience. Cindy asked Keiko for some annual statistics, a
> thing I might
>>> add we've been trying to get from other DSB staff all week, and
> Keiko said
>>> she'd be glad to provide them. She shared that the OTC is open
> from 8 to 5,
>>> and students migrate in and out as they go for the various
> classes they
>>> need. She mentioned keyboarding and computer skills as two
> separate
>>> classes. I asked her why those were separated, and she said
> that in order
>>> for some students to really grasp the keyboard shortcuts
> necessary to be a
>>> successful computer user, plus the fact that it is not uncommon
> for students
>>> to have reach range issues, keyboarding really must be separate
> from
>>> computer skills training.
>>> We had a fair amount of discussion about the budget, and Jim
> Lochner, DSB's
>>> budget analyst, along with others in management positions,
> indicated that
>>> the senate budget could require even more cuts. Nobody knows.
>>> Toward the end of the day, I initially attempted a motion
> requesting DSB to
>>> share with the Council the justification they use for retaining
>>> state-funded, non direct service delivery positions. Throughout
> the day we
>>> heard that each staff person doing direct service touches the
> lives of an
>>> average of 100 persons. It was a hard motion to make, but I did
> so to get
>>> discussion back to the issue about which the blind community is
> most
>>> concerned, preserving the residential portion of the OTC. After
> the motion
>>> was seconded, Don Alveshere spoke up and said when the positions
> are
>>> transferred in July, there would be no state funded direct
> service
>>> positions. At that point, I'm afraid I was tired and my head
> spinning, so I
>>> said, "Don, I've been trying to behave and be respectful all
> day. Now I
>>> have to say this. What you are essentially saying is that this
> is a done
>>> deal. Let's just get it out on the table." Debbie Cook then
> explained that
>>> the issue isn't about jobs, and she reiterated again that if
> something isn't
>>> done, DSB will go to order of selection, and as other DSB
> personnel said
>>> throughout the day, order of selection is the first step toward
> melding DSB
>>> into general VR. Cindy responded that my motion, she believed,
> stemmed from
>>> frustration that the Council has no information, or very little
> information,
>>> yet DSB continues to say they are listening to our ideas. I
> withdrew my
>>> motion after discussion, and simply requested information
> (again) to help
>>> the Council understand how DSB arrived at its current decision.
>>> So, my impression is that we might get to keep 2 apartments,
> since Lou Oma
>>> mentioned that as something they are considering. However, I
> wouldn't take
>>> it to the bank. As the consumer representative on the Council,
> I will share
>>> what I know as I learn it, and I know Cindy will do the same.
> Frankly, I
>>> came away feeling that if we get 2 apartments, we'll be lucky.
> The SRC
>>> members did agree that we needed conference calls between
> face-to-face
>>> meetings so that we can remain informed and in communication
> with the
>>> Agency.
>>> I think people can and should feel some comfort in the fact that
> without
>>> exception, each member of the SRC felt concerned that the
> Council was not
>>> involved in any way shape or form until after a decision had
> been made. One
>>> member even came straight out and said that when it comes to an
> agency job
>>> or serving blind people in the most appropriate manner, he
> didn't care who
>>> had to go.
>>> Another thing we discussed is the possibility of streaming
> council meetings
>>> live on ACB Radio. Stay tuned, we'll see what happens.
>>> Thank you for reading this; these are my personal observations,
> and should
>>> no way be misconstrued to be representative of actual approved
> minutes from
>>> yesterday's meeting. This is simply how Marlaina Lieberg saw
> things, and
>>> how she reacted in the best way she knew how.
>>> Warmly,
>>> Marlaina
>>> I use to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure!
>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfbwatlk mailing list
>> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
> for nfbwatlk:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/dfrye%4
> 0nfb.org
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbwatlk mailing list
> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nfbwatlk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbwatlk mailing list
> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> nfbwatlk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/theladykathryn4one
> %40juno.com
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> Click to replace your roof - modern technology.
> http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/BLSrjpTJr9DCxqtlXe4rL7c1IMn761n85EOj0DYo1cvo5qGtfqr4WzU07R2/
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbwatlk mailing list
> nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
> for nfbwatlk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbwatlk_nfbnet.org/minesm%40me.com
More information about the NFBWATlk
mailing list