[Ohio-talk] Pertinent Recommendations from the OOD CSNA Final Report

Thu Nov 29 23:54:43 UTC 2018

Ali,

Good questions!

Shelley and I were fortunate enough to have worked at the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Dan Frye directed that agency. The message that came from the top down was, “say yes when you can and no only when you must. This was his expectation for when Commission staff interacted with consumers and each other. For those of you who have ever worked with a rehab counselor imagine what it would be like if the counselor was expected to say yes. Saying no required a greater justification than did saying yes.

We can get statistics that we need. Statistics are often a double edged sword, so we must be careful how we use them.

Eric 
> On Nov 29, 2018, at 6:29 PM, Ali Benmerzouga via Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Thanks for keeping us informed JW.
> 
> I have a small question please. I know you guys are experts in this matter
> since you have been serving in this Committee for years.  Is there anything
> like OOD in other states that is successful and blind individuals are happy
> with? If yes, it would be a good idea to contact them and see what they are
> doing and how they are doing it.
> 
> The other thing is that OOD has all the statistics and ratios, do we have
> our own statistics/measurements to agree/disagree  with OOD. Can we build
> our own data?
> 
> I will keep reading and get back to you if I'll find anything worth
> mentioning. 
> 
> Again, thanks a lot for all your time and efforts.
> 
> Ali
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Smith, JW via
> Ohio-Talk
> Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2018 3:57 PM
> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List (ohio-talk at nfbnet.org)
> <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Cc: Smith, JW <smithj at ohio.edu>
> Subject: [Ohio-talk] Pertinent Recommendations from the OOD CSNA Final
> Report
> 
> Dear NFB of Ohio Family, Friends, and Colleagues,
> 
> I know this is a holiday time for us, but I want to draw your attention to
> three of the recommendations from the OOD CSNA Final Report. We had a
> presentation about this report and these recommendations at our November
> 14th SRC meeting, and I just thought that the three that I am listing here
> are most important to us. As you might expect, it was admitted to us in the
> presentation on November 14th, that the population that OOD felt presented
> them with the most challenges to date was the Blind and Visually Impaired
> community. The acting BSVI Director admitted that this was a concern and
> that in the future he hoped to address it. I am listing the first three
> recommendations from the report itself, but please pay special attention to
> the first one.
> 
> 
> 1.       Increase outreach to individuals with hearing and visual
> impairments to increase services to these populations. As a result of
> recommendations made my Governor Kasich's Workforce Integration Taskforce,
> OOD has implemented a number of programs to expand services to individuals
> with hearing and visual impairments in the last three years. However,
> service rate: need ratios and balance ratios still highlight the need for
> additional engagement with these populations. OOD should engage the
> Community Centers for the Deaf, Sigh Centers, and other organizations
> focused on serving individuals with hearing and visual impairments to
> identify additional opportunities in this regard.
> 
> 2.       Explore opportunities to expand access to assistive technology
> resources to support individuals with disabilities to be more independent.
> OOD should consider allocation of resources for assistive technology
> resources for individuals with disabilities, particularly those disabilities
> with a lower service rate: need ratio (e.g. hearing, visual, and physical
> impairments). This could include expansion of BlindSquare installations at
> appropriate locations throughout the state and other resource allocations to
> support Ohio's Technology First Initiative.
> 
> 3.       Explore the potential causes of service deficits in counties with
> low balance ratios to identify strategies that might provide greater service
> delivery rates in those areas. The balance ratio analysis highlighted a
> number of counties with very low balance ratios, particularly with regard to
> services for individuals with communicative, hearing, physical, and visual
> impairments. OOD should explore the causes behind these service deficits and
> devise strategies to enhance service delivery where needed.
> I want to further point out that I served on that Governor Kasich Taskforce
> and we keep coming up with these recommendations and I know you join me in
> hoping that OOD will not only take them seriously, but will continue to find
> effective ways to address many of our concerns .I could not help but to ask
> the presenter what was meant by the word "engage" as listed in
> recommendation #1. I still do not know what that means, but I DO know that
> we have got to make more positive progress in the area of service delivery
> to blind and visually impaired Ohioans. I am not expecting you to read the
> entire 130+ pages of the report (which can be found at
> https://ood.ohio.gov/BVR-BSVI/Comprehensive-Statewide-Needs-Assessment-2018/
> Section-I-Introduction/Content-of-the-Needs-Assessment-Report), but I do
> think we need to pay close attention to these three recommendations from the
> report. Finally, I believe that this only makes it even clearer why we need
> to be on the council and present at the table for these reports and
> conversations.
> 
> 
> jw
> 
> Dr. jw Smith
> School of Communication Studies
> Scripps College of Communication
> Ohio University
> Schoonover Center
> 20 E. Union St,
> Athens, OH 45701
> smithj at ohio.edu<mailto:smithj at ohio.edu>
> T: 740-593-4838
> 
> One way to deal with the past is to change what you can...and can what you
> can't.
> 
> My Bio<https://www.ohiocommstudies.com/people/smith/>
> 
> Check out some of my music here<https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/JWSmith1>
> and here<https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jwsmith22>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-Talk mailing list
> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> Ohio-Talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/ali.benmerzouga%40hot
> mail.com
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Ohio-Talk mailing list
> Ohio-Talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Ohio-Talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/peduffy63%40gmail.com