Date: 08/27/2015

Final
Public Comment

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR THE BLIND

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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02:13 PM -- Public Comment

Mark Lasser, representing himself, came to the table. He described his experience losing his vision about one year ago. He stated that he was on the waitlist for DVR previously and is currently a client of DVR. He described the pain and difficulty of working with DVR. He stated that he was initially told that he would be on the waitlist for 12-18 months. He described how he could not function given his recent blindness and could not comprehend not getting services for so long. He described how he was able to enter a program at the Colorado Center for the Blind, but without DVR paying for his services. He described going back to school and the support he received from the University of Colorado-Denver. He discussed having to fund his own rehabilitation while on the waitlist. He described how he was taken off the waitlist, but then had to wait six months to get a minimal amount of training through DVR. Representative Primavera asked about what services he still needs. Mr. Lasser discussed the use of screen reading applications and stated that DVR told him to lower his employment expectations. Representative Primavera asked about the caseload of the witness' counselor and he stated that his counselor had a dedicated blind caseload.


02:42 PM

Brad Basta, president of the Association of Blind Merchants, came to the table to testify. He stated that he's been in the BEP for 10 years and it has allowed him to live the life he wanted and earn a living. He discussed the situation in other states and the benefit of having a separate program for the blind. He discussed the need to expand his business and the BEP given the declining populations at many existing business locations. He talked about providing good jobs for blind people and improving the program to do so. Representative Primavera asked about the type of support the program needs and Mr. Basta stated that the administration of the program needed to be more engaged. He discussed a relationship with Einstein Bagels and how there needs to be more of these opportunities for businesses in the program.


02:52 PM

Mike Hess, Director of the Blind Institute of Technology, came to the table. He stated that he was in vocational rehabilitation in 2008 and described his work with Ms. Dell as a counselor. He said that he was a success story for the program and described his experience getting a job. He described how he started the Blind Institute of Technology to help the blind community and how they work with private businesses on a fee for service basis. Mr. Hess discussed his organization's mission and provided a handout to the committee (Attachment A). Representative Primavera asked about legislative fixes for the program and hiring by state government. Mr. Hess stated that increasing disabled employment is an important goal and discussed his work with state agencies. Representative Windholz asked what DVR could have done better in his case. Mr. Hess discussed how the Blind Institute of Technology was a vendor for DVR that helped place clients. He stated that DVR should mirror the private sector and discussed how the placement fee structure is broken. He stated that the current incentives do not encourage vendors to efficiently make placements.

15VocRehab0827AttachA.pdf15VocRehab0827AttachA.pdf

03:04 PM

Julie Hunter, representing herself, came to the table. She asked some questions about the BEP. Mr. Scott Kess, a trainer with the BEP, came to the table. He stated that he was responsible for training BEP vendors. Mr. Kess stated that there were three individuals in the last training group several months ago and that two were successfully placed.


03:08 PM

Dan Burke, public relations specialist at Colorado Center for the Blind, came to the table. He described his background and discussed the prioritization of clients under DVR. He stated that clients with the most significant disabilities are to be served first under federal law. He noted that about half of states have a waitlist at any given time. He stated that Colorado used the waitlist across all disability categories, rather than a more nuanced approach. He said that the goal of rehabilitation counselors should be to provide the best services, not just to save taxpayers money. He described how many counselors seem ready to say "no" to clients, and that it is important for them to provide hope to clients. Representative Primavera asked where the blind fall on the disability prioritization scale, and Ms. Dell responded from the audience that they are usually in the most significant disability group.


03:17 PM

Mr. Scott LaBarre, representing the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado (NFB Colorado), came to the table. He expressed the need to improve placement services and discussed how the BEP program could be expanded. He stated that the DVR should explain why there was a waitlist when $8 million was returned to the federal government. He then discussed separate blind agencies and how they are effective at serving people with multiple disabilities. He stated that 24 states have separate agencies for the blind, and 15 have a separate office or administrative structure for the blind, resulting in 39 out of 50 states having some kind of separate organization for the blind. He discussed how the state government is required to purchase accessible technology, which is not always the case. Representative Primavera asked about what type of separate organization he is discussing. Mr. LaBarre, described how the state could create a separate designated agencies that directly pulls down federal funding. He then described having a separate unit within a larger designated agency. He stated that his preference is for a separate designated state agency. Representative Primavera asked to clarify what law he was discussing earlier concerning information technology purchases. Mr. LaBarre elaborated on the types of software that a blind person needs and that state technology should work with these standards. Discussion then ensued about the reason why this technology requirement is not always followed.


03:37 PM

Representative Danielson adjourned the meeting.