[Ohio-talk] Fw: Summary of our meeting and MAP Initiatives

[Dr. JW Smith]

This one too in case you missed it before.

jw

Dr. J. Webster Smith
President National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
P.O.BOX 458 Athens, Ohio, 45701-0458
Phone Number - 740-592-6326 
"Changing What it Means to be Blind"
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Connors, Daniel 
To: jwsmithnfb at frontier.com 
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 3:52 PM
Subject: Summary of our meeting and MAP Initiatives


Hi Dr. Smith!

Thank you for meeting with me a week ago. I really enjoyed our conversation and, as you saw, I am really excited about the next year and the initiatives that we are beginning. I wanted to give you a summary of what we discussed so that you can pass it along as you see appropriate. As we discussed, the MAP that we have put in place is essentially an implementation plan for our agency to move towards its strategic vision over the next 12 months. Here is a summary of the initiatives on our MAP with a brief explanation of each...

INITIATIVE I  

IMPROVE ACCESS AND CREATE A WELCOMING "FRONT DOOR" "EXPERIENCE"

Project 1: Hire Individuals with the Most Significant Disabilities to work for RSC as Customer Support Advocates

This particular initiative involves RSC hiring individuals with the Most Significant Disabilities to work in short-term work experiences at RSC. Their role while working at RSC is going to be to help us bridge access gaps with our consumers and help RSC learn what we can better do to meet the needs of our consumer base. In particular, this entire initiative is designed around helping us recognize and remove barriers that occur in the structure of our services so that our customers have a better experience in accessing our services. At this point, candidates have been identified for this position and they are slated to begin on October 17, 2010. Although final selections have not been made, consumers with Visual Impairment are well represented in the pool of candidates. 

Project 2: Ensure that applications for VR services are widely available throughout the State (eliminate the referral for services)

As we discussed Dr. Smith, this project is going to have a later roll out, so you wanted me to hold off on a description to focus on what to expect in the coming months. I just wanted to put it out there in this e-mail because it has been included on other communications around the Map.

Project 3: Implement a model of Eligibility and Order of Selection Counselor

As we discussed, RSC will be implementing a service delivery model that involves designating a small group of counselors that will be responsible for making eligibility and order of selection decisions for VR consumers. We are in a situation in Ohio where we have limited resources and the Rehabilitation Act states that, in these types of situations, we need to prioritize services for consumers with the Most Significant Disabilities. This is called order of selection. Designating counselors who specialize in the eligibility and order of selection determination will allows us to make these decisions fairly and ensure that we are serving individuals who have the most significant disabilities. As far as implementation, we are working on the development of this staffing model and it will be implemented on October 1st, 2010.


INITIATIVE II:

CREATE INDIVIDUALIZED AND CUSTOMIZED WORK EXPERIENCES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE OF ALL ABILITIES, AND IN PARTICULAR, INDIVIDUALS WITH THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DISABILITIES (MSD)

Project 1: Implement statewide training initiative and demonstration projects related to Customized Supported Self Employment

I am very excited about this project on the map and its potential for our consumers with Blindness and Visual Impairment. We have contracted with Griffin-Hammis and Associates on a statewide training initiative around creating customized self-employment opportunities for our consumers. This is not the same as BSVI's traditional self-employment services. This is a concept that is built around the reality that many consumers with the most significant disabilities struggle to find employment in the traditional way for a number of reasons (economic realities, stereotypes around disability, etc.). Customized supported employment seeks to find a new path to employment by creating ways to contract with employers and provide work opportunities. Every BSVI counselor will be trained in this model as well as our community rehabilitation facilities. The part of this initiative that is most exciting to me is that it introduces a new way of evaluating our consumers based on their assets. I think the result of this will be both a new employment possibility for some of our consumers, but also a shift in the way we evaluate employment possibilities for all of our consumers. This project is already underway, but will continue throughout the year. 

Project 2: Implement partnership with the Ohio Department of Development to increase the capacity of the Small Business Development Centers to provide services to RSC consumers with the most significant disabilities

This project is related to the first project in this initiative. We have entered into a partnership with the Department of Development in Ohio to work with their Small Business Development Centers to better serve our consumers involved in self-employment options. This would include both our traditional self-employment path and the customized supported self-employment in the first project. This will allow us to carry on the things that we learn through the Griffin-Hammis initiative after it has completed. This project is also underway now and will continue throughout the year. 

Project 3: Personal Computing Skill Development Service for Vocational Rehabilitation Customers

This third project involves a partnership we have entered into with Wright State University around exploring the possibilities of getting technology into the hands of our consumers and exploring the possibility of using this technology in creative ways. As you know, technology is a huge part of the work we do in BSVI and we will continue to work from a variety of angles to explore better ways to utilize technology to advance BSVI consumers' employment opportunities. This particular project is not exclusive to BSVI, but BSVI will certainly be included in it. It involves assessment, equipment, and training. I am particularly excited about the impact this initiative could have on helping us explore creative and forward thinking ways to utilize technology, such as social networking, to prepare our consumers for a 21st century job market. 

There are certainly other initiatives that you and others will see on the MAP in communications coming from RSC, but these are the ones that I think have the most direct impact to moving us toward our vision of being able assist individuals who have the Most Significant Disabilities toward independence and employment. As we discussed I would like to talk in a few months about using NFB to help us as an organization evaluate whether we are having and impact in these initiatives. Thank you again Dr. Smith for meeting with me. I very much value the relationship you are helping us to foster with your great organization. I look forward to giving you an update on how things are going in November!

Thanks Dr. Smith,

Dan