[nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting

Lauren Merryfield lauren1 at catliness.com
Mon Mar 9 06:57:57 UTC 2009


Hi,
Thanks for giving your testimony!  I sure hope they listened!
Thanks
Lauren
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alco Canfield" <amcanfield at comcast.net>
To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 4:05 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting


> Hi, Everyone,
>
> I want to commend K B, Jedi, Kris, and Dan Frye for their articulate
> testimony opposing the closure of the OTC apartments.  Reading over my 
> notes
> last night, it occurred to me from the stats that 126 people were served 
> by
> the residential program in the past six years and ninety-one were
> nonresidential.  This calculation came from Louoma['s number of 217 
> persons
> served in the past six years, with 21 a year being residential. 
> Obviously,
> the figures cited above should show that 126 people in the residential
> program more than justifies its continuance.  If you didn't do the math, 
> you
> might conclude that 21 people a year isn't very much.
>
> I wonder if Louoma submitted her strategic plan to OFM before yesterday's
> meeting.
>
> I am going to hope for the best.  Evidently the next several SRC meetings
> are going to be in the Seattle area.  I hope the community will be a 
> regular
> presence.  Michael (last name do not know) suggested that the SRC have
> another informal gathering with the community to continue to discuss 
> things.
> He is on the SRC.
>
> Yesterday felt like "Power to the People" all over again.  I am glad I had 
> a
> chance to give testimony supporting the residential program in solidarity
> with everyone else there.
>
> Alco
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jedi
> Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 1:59 PM
> To: nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Impressions of SRC Meeting
>
> Listers,
>
> Wow. That's intense. Thanks for posting this.
>
> I was there for public comment and for some of the discussion afterward. I
> know that Kay B was also there for a while, but I don't know if anyone 
> from
> the Federation arrived after we left, or if Alco stayed past noon. In any
> case, There was indeed an ton of positive support for the agency and the
> residential component of the OTC from community members of all types 
> ranging
> from consumer group participants, past and present OTC students, and those
> blind people who are simply concerned for the wellfare of the blind
> community. Those representing consumer groups and current/past 
> participants
> on the council were also in heavy support of the residential component.
>
> During the short time I was present at the meeting, I got many of the same
> impressions that Marlaina got. There was heavy emphasis on the part of DSB
> staff regarding how many lives Direct service Delivery staff touch (the
> number I heard was 100), and we heard a ton about avoiding order of
> selection. On one hand, the DSB staff who spoke yesterday morning also 
> spoke
> highly of their desire to keep OTC residences open. On the other hand, 
> they
> seemed to have more defined answers about how the OTC's residential
> component affects their budget and the affects of residential closing than
> on any other suggestion that was thrown out there. As a result, I got the
> impression that OTC residential closure was very close to, if not 
> entirely,
> a done deal.
>
>>From my perspective, it seems a fantastic idea to integrate DSB
> programs more with child and family. I can't figure out though, just how
> effective moving residential OTC programs to WSSB for a few weeks would 
> be.
> The whole program would have to migrate to WSSB for that time period in
> order for such a thing to work out. I'm guessing that's what they had in
> mind?
>
> Just as marlaina said, I don't intend to put words in anyone's mouth at 
> all.
> These are, however, the impressions I got. Thanks Mike for posting
> Marlaina's comments, and thanks to Marlaina for being an excellent 
> advocate.
>
> Also, I want to send a shout out to those on list who attended the meeting
> during public comment. Kay B, Alco, Kris, and Dan Frye all did an 
> excellent
> job of sharing their perspectives and experiences with the group.
> Original message:
>> 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!
>
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> --
> REspectfully,
> Jedi
>
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