Date: 08/19/2015

Final
Youth Transitions from Education to Employment

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR THE BLIND

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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02:36 PM -- Youth Transitions from Education to Employment

Dr. Tanni Anthony, Director of the Access, Learning, and Literacy (ALL) Team within the Exceptional Student Services Unit and the State Consultant on Blindness and Visual Impairment at the Colorado Department of Education, spoke to the committee about her work and experience. Dr. Anthony discussed the resources that are available in Colorado that help to identify blind children very early on, with most blind or visually impaired children being identified by the age of three when they enter the public school system. According to the "December 1 count" that is submitted to the federal government and quantifies the number of students in each of the 13 primary disability labels, there are approximately 350 students age 3 to 21 in Colorado with a primary disability of visual impairment. Many others have an additional disability and so are classified in the multiple disabilities category. According to data provided by the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB), there are approximately 1,065 kids age 3 to 21 with visual impairment. The three main conditions that cause youth blindness have a high correlation with additional disabilities, explaining the discrepancy between these numbers. According to the Colorado Instructional Materials Center (CIMC), there are approximately 258 children in Colorado at the secondary transition age (age 15 or older) with visual impairment.

Across Colorado's 178 school districts there are 62 administrative units to serve students with visual impairments. Across these 62 administrative units, there are approximately 90 teachers who are trained in blindness. Many of these 90 teachers have graduated from the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), which has the only training program in the state for teachers who are working with children who are visually impaired. Dr. Anthony explained her role in helping school districts with the recruitment, training, and retention of these teachers. Dr. Anthony explained that these teachers who are trained in visual impairment (TVI) are typically not the primary educator for visually impaired children, they are typically consultants for general education teachers and provide support to the personnel in the district who provide secondary transition services.

The Colorado Department of Education is responsible for the oversight of all things required by federal and state law. The department is also responsible for measuring post-school outcomes, which measures how many graduates are competitively employed or enrolled in university or trade school programs. Dr. Anthony also discussed the state Bridges to Life program, which is specifically designed to provide post-school transition support for students with sensory disabilities at CSDB.

Dr. Anthony provided two handouts to the committee (Attachments A and B).

15VocRehab0819AttachA.pdf15VocRehab0819AttachA.pdf 15VocRehab0819AttachB.pdf15VocRehab0819AttachB.pdf

02:49 PM

Dr. Anthony responded to questions from the committee regarding TVI teachers, including what percentage of a visually impaired student's education is provided by a non-TVI teacher. Dr. Anthony explained that TVI teachers work to ensure visually impaired students have good access to the content (technology, specially designed instruction), and they work closely with student's general education teachers. An exception to this is students who attend CSDB, whose primary teachers are TVI teachers. Dr. Anthony was also asked by the committee to provide data on the percentage of instruction students receive that is provided in a general education classroom. Dr. Anthony explained that approximately 55 to 60 visually impaired students attend CSDB, and that a majority of the rest of visually impaired students in Colorado are attending school at the local neighborhood schools in general education classrooms.


02:56 PM

Brent Batron, Assistant Director at the Colorado Center for the Blind, Director of Youth Programs at the Colorado Center for the Blind, president-elect of the Colorado Association for Education Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired, and appointed to the board of trustees of CSDB, spoke to the committee about importance of transition services for visually impaired students. He stated that the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation can provide services that augment transition services provided by school teachers and school districts. The division is able to provide additional blindness skills training and help understanding how to move from an educational setting to an employment setting, including helping students set expectations.

Mr. Batron spoke about his experience with the School to Work Alliance Program (SWAP), which is a program designed to help students with disabilities, and how he has often had blind students turned away from that program because of their extensive needs. Mr. Batron also discussed his personal experience and his students' experiences with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and being told that students under the age of 18 are too young to access their services, and that they must wait until they have graduated high school to contact the division.

Mr. Batron discussed the variety of pre-vocational skills that are needed, including developing a resume, learning how to look appropriate and have good hygiene, when to talk about blindness in the interview process, how to believe you can do the job, how to use braille and assistive technology, how to budget time and money, and how to travel independently. Mr. Batron discussed how the Colorado Center for the Blind's Earn to Learn Program helps blind students gain job experience. He also explained that a majority of the students in this program have come from states other than Colorado in recent years, and are often fully-funded to attend by their state's vocational rehabilitation program. The Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation does not typically provide funding for blind Colorado high school students to attend this training. Mr. Batron suggested that the committee look into the Rehabilitation Services of Arizona, which fully funds transition services for students beginning at the age of 14 at a variety of centers across the country.


03:09 PM

Mr. Batron responded to questions from the committee and was asked to provide data from Arizona on the state's employment rates compared to Colorado. Mr. Batron also responded to questions regarding the funding of transition services for students through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the history of this funding.

Dr. Anthony also responded to committee questions regarding SWAP, and discussed how the program is for students who qualify, which includes students who are eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, within specific school districts that provide SWAP. A decision is then made based on the extensiveness of the services the student needs, and the program is designed for students who have mild or moderate employment needs. Blindness is typically considered a more significant disability because their require more extensive services which would be provided through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The committee asked about the history of the SWAP policy regarding disability level and help to understand the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation's responsibilities versus the responsibility of the school districts in developing a transition plan for a student and ways to include all concerned agencies.