Date: 08/19/2015
Final
Public Comment
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES FOR THE BLIND
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03:20 PM -- Public Comment
03:21 PM -- Jamie Principato, representing herself, spoke about her experiences. Ms. Principato is currently a student at Arapahoe Community College, where she is studying physics, and a tutor at the Colorado Center for the Blind. Ms. Principato spoke about her experience trying to work with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, their lack of services, and her discouraging experience working with her vocational rehabilitation counselor. Ms. Principato also discussed vocational rehabilitation counselors' incentives to close cases with employment, not further education, and their lack of experience working with blind individuals. Ms. Principato responded to questions from the committee regarding the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation's complaint system and how she has been able to adapt without services from the division after having her case closed after not complying with her counselor's suggestions.
03:35 PM -- Penny Hlavaty, student at the Colorado Center for the Blind, spoke about her history with vision loss and her experience working with a counselor from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Ms. Hlavary indicated that her counselor did not initially know how to work with a blind person, but they were able to work together to develop a plan for her to meet her goals to go back to work in an office environment and learn the skills she needs to live and work independently. Ms. Hlavaty also discussed her experience as a student at the Colorado Center for the Blind.
03:39 PM -- Zaina Braddy, student at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, spoke about her experience with vision loss and working with her counselor from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Ms. Braddy spoke about her experience having to explain her desire to go back to school and having to provide justification to the division in order to go back to school.
03:42 PM -- Kathleen Senn, representing herself, spoke about her experience with vocational rehabilitation services while living in Texas compared to her experiences working with the Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Ms. Senn responded to questions from the committee regarding the services she has received from the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
03:50 PM -- Scott LaBarre, representing the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, responded to a couple topics addressed during today's committee meeting, including the need to look into the transfer of older individuals who are blind. Mr. LaBarre also discussed that in 1992 the federal Rehabilitation Act was changed to revise the rehabilitation philosophy to place the focus on "informed choice" for each individual client and that vocational rehabilitation services should support the maximum that the individual can and wants to achieve.
The committee also received written testimony from Emily Romero (Attachment C).
15VocRehab0819AttachC.pdf
03:57 PM
The committee adjourned.