Members: Chris Kuell (co-chair), Richard Fairbanks (co-chair), Brian Sigman (Executive Director, Board of Education and Services for the Blind), Suzanne Westhaver, Helen Lech, Jay Kronfeld, George Dowaliby (State Department of Education), Kathy Guay (Office of Policy and Management), Sen. Mary Ann Handley, Rep. Peter Villano, Rep. Julia Wasserman, Sen. Joseph Crisco , Sen. John Kissel, Com. Patricia Wilson-Coker

Introduction: The Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB) is the oldest agency dedicated to serving the visually impaired in the United States. Currently, BESB has registered approximately 11,000 consumers. BESB strives to provide or secure the necessary services to allow every legally blind adult and legally blind or visually impaired child in Connecticut to become valuable, contributing members of society.

Background: Public Act 03-217 is an act implementing the recommendations of the Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee relative to the administration of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB).

The act established a 14-member BESB monitoring council which, in consultation with BESB, has established benchmarks concerning the agency's management, operations, and services. The council was to issue a report on BESB's progress in meeting these benchmarks by February 1, 2004, to the Human Services, Appropriations, and Education committees. The report was to also include legislative proposals and recommendations for proposed changes in BESB's organizational structure. Failure to meet specific benchmarks could result in a transfer of the agency's deficient programs and related funding to another state agency.

The initial fourteen-member Council did not meet until January 2004. In the 2004 legislative session, the General Assembly passed Public Act 04-90, which added 2 members to the council, and extended the Council for a year. In January, 2005, a Progress Report was submitted, and Public Act 05-5 extended the Council until September 2005.

Method: BESB provides a wide array of services for all legally-blind as well as persons with multiple-disabilities in Connecticut, and consists of four divisions, as well as administration. These are Children's Services, which services legally blind and visually impaired children from birth to age 21; Vocational Services, which serves working age consumers, as well as college students; Adult Services (Independent Living Services), which serves seniors and non-VR adults, and the Business Enterprise Program. The Council decided to analyze each division and discuss/propose improvements, benchmarks and recommendations.

Business Enterprise Program (BEP):

Under the Statutory Authority of Sections 10-303 and 10-304 of the Connecticut General Statutes, the Business Enterprise Program is responsible for the development of high quality business ventures for participants who desire to become entrepreneurs. Under permits with host agencies, entrepreneurs operate businesses that range from gift shops to full scale restaurants. The entrepreneurs derive the full profits from their operations.

BEP also manages a large vending machine operation, utilizing aspects of the Randolph-Sheppard Act to obtain funding from vending sales. These funds are intended to create and maintain independent employment opportunities and help grow the program. The BEP vending machine operations were reviewed by LPRIC in 2002, and recommendations reported in 2003 (Board of Education and Services for the Blind Vending Machine Operations, December 2002).

Benchmarks: 1. BESB will continually comply with LPRIC report on Vending operations (see above).
2. Starting in State Fiscal Year 2007, at least 35 percent of the program income received during the fiscal year will be applied for the direct benefit of Business Enterprise Program ventures at new and/or existing locations, for facility improvements, maintenance, expansion, and for the betterment of income and incentives to operators in the program. For Fiscal Year 2008, this amount will grow to 40 percent of program income for that year, increasing in 2010 to 45%.
3. A minimum of 8 legally blind people will be trained and placed in economically viable, full-time positions working in new or existing BEP locations, from April, 2004 through January 2006. These placements must be with people new to the BEP program, and do not include transfers. A minimum of 5 new placements of blind people into the Business Enterprise Program must follow annually through 2008.
4. Establish a business plan review committee in conjunction with the BEP Operators Committee.
5. Prepare and make available detailed financial information on the uses of BEP resources to BESB consumers and the public.

Evaluation: LPRIC reported only partial compliance with their recommendations regarding vending operations in March, 2004. BESB did better in the 2005 compliance report, but still needs to work on updating the BEP regulations and policies.
For the Business Enterprises Program, in fiscal year 2005, the total gross program income from all sources was $ 2,195,149. Of that amount, the gross Coca-Cola income was $ 1,461,491. Carry over funding from the prior fiscal year was $ 3,210,172, making $ 5,405,321 available during FY 05. Total expenses in the Program for FY 05 were $ 2,839,409 representing a deficit of $ 644,260 in FY 05 funds. This impacted carry over funding, leaving a balance of $ 2,565,912 at the end of the fiscal year.

Major expenses in FY05 were as follows:
1. Salaries and fringe benefits: $ 1,056,925
2. Purchases for existing locations: $ 638,395. (Of this amount $ 491,884 was spent in renovations for 4 of the locations. The remainder was used to update equipment and a myriad of other items and services for all locations).
3. BESB Industries liquidation of materials: $ 0
4. Purchases and build-outs for 9 new locations: $364,335
5. BESB Industries clients [new] placements: $ 138,724
6. Commissions and permits for BEP operators: $ 244,904
7. Low vision exams, aids and adaptive devices: $0
8. Maintenance services for BEP locations: $ 173,766
9. Set up of new operators in existing locations: $24,697
10. All other expenses: $ 197,665

Approximately 17 % of the total vending operations 2005 funding (gross revenue) was spent on establishing new locations, or 25 % of the 2005 Coca-Cola gross revenues. In terms of net monies, there were none, as expenditures for the program ran $ 664,260 greater than the $2,195,149 million brought in.

There were 31 operators at 39 sites in December, 2004. As of October, 2005, there are 36 operators working at 45 sites. This figure reflects a gain of 6 locations and 8 new operators, but also reflects the departure of 3 existing operators.

The Business Plan Review Committee shall be the Statewide Committee of Blind Vendors, who are all elected from among the membership of the Business Enterprise Program Operators. To date, there have not been business plans to review as the existing State Statutes do not authorize the expansion of entrepreneurial opportunities into private locations. However, the Statewide Committee of Blind Vendors has passed a motion authorizing such an expansion and the agency has subsequently written draft proposed legislation that would enable this expansion to occur.

Children's Services:

The objective of the Children's Services division of BESB is to provide specialized training, adaptive materials, and services to children who are legally blind, deaf-blind, or visually impaired, from birth through high school graduation or age 21. These specialized services should result in successful integration of the student into educational, social, recreational, and vocational settings.

Benchmarks: 1. Given average point value for an Ed consultant caseload of 47 in 2004, will reduce average point value of caseloads by at least 10% a year until achieving/maintaining 25 points.
2. Within statutory authority, develop incentive programs to facilitate paraprofessional participation in Braille training classes sponsored by BESB.
3. Pursue statutory language changes to increase the access of children who are blind or visually
impaired to mobility instruction, rehabilitation teaching and rehabilitation technology through the "Educational Aid for the Blind and Visually Handicapped Account"
4. Provide a standardized reading rate assessment tool for all school districts to utilize for documentation of annual student progress as part of the school district request for funding disbursements annually.
5. BESB will offer at least two Parent Education events per year, actively publicizing and
encouraging attendance.

Recommendations: The Council recommends that BESB establish a team to collect and analyze Connecticut standardized test scores (CMT and CAPT) the team should look for inconsistencies and weak areas and report them so that modifications/corrections to teaching methods/curriculum can be implemented. As part of this effort, the team should develop a method for obtaining hard statistics to evaluate the progress of BESB students, and compare with their sighted peers.

The Council recommends the Committee on Human Services establish a separate Task Force to make recommendations regarding improving the skills of the paraprofessionals that work with blind or visually impaired children in our state, particularly with those children that read and write in Braille. The members of the task force should include: 2 TVI's (an itinerant and an Ed consultant); Parent of a Braille reader; a Special Education director with a Braille reader in their district; a representative from the State Department of Education; a representative from the National Federation of the Blind (blind consumer group); a Paraprofessional that works with a Braille reader and A legislative liaison.

Areas to be considered should include
(1) Investigate current Para hiring practices
(2) determine what (if any) criteria are used when hiring a Para for a Braille reading student
(3) Research feasibility of establishing a certification requirement for paras working with Braille readers
(4) Propose methods for increasing training/professional opportunities for Paras, including obtaining release time from districts
(5) Recommend retention strategy(s)
(6) Establish criteria for evaluating paras who work with Braille readers

This new task force should report its findings/recommendations to the Committee on Human Services, Committee on Education, and the BESB Board of Directors.

Evaluation: BESB hired 8 new education consultants (TVI's) in FY 2005; 2 retired. The Total number of ed consultants as of Oct. 05 is 28, and the average caseload figure is 38. This represents a reduction of 19.1% from the original 47.

BESB submitted language to the Human Services Committee in 2005; Public Act 05-156 passed, and the following statements address Benchmarks 2 and 3 above.
"The agency may also provide vision-related professional development and training to all school districts, and cover the actual cost for paraprofessionals from school districts to participate in agency sponsored Braille training programs…Said funds in this account may also be utilized to employ rehabilitation teachers, rehabilitation technologists and orientation and mobility teachers in numbers sufficient to provide compensatory skills evaluations and training to children who are blind or visually impaired."

BESB held 2 parent education events during the 2004/2005 school year. The first event for the 05/06 school year was held on October 22 (transition school to work event for parents and their children.).

All education consultants employed by BESB use the Jerry Johns Basic Reading Inventory. Information has been dispersed to itinerant towns on where to obtain this tool and instruction has been given to itinerant teachers in the State in how to use it.

BESB requested and was granted Memorandums of Understanding from the Attorney General's office, which allowed the Department of Education to compile CMT/CAP/T test scores for BESB to study. Unfortunately, the number of test scores was too low for a significant statistical analysis (for example, there were only a total of 10 Braille exams for the state). There does appear to be a general trend of test scores paralleling socio-economic settings.

Adult Services (Independent Living):

The mission of the Adult Services Division is to improve the overall quality of life for adults who are legally blind and children who are legally blind or visually impaired. BESB does this by implementing specialized social, educational, and rehabilitation teaching services. These services assist clients in achieving and maintaining their highest level of independence and productivity.

Benchmarks: 1. Increase number of "Eye Opener" programs from 1 in 2004 to 3 in 2005
2. Authorization for low vision aides to be issued by BESB within 2 weeks of receipt
3. Maximum time frame from new referral to completed intake for services not to exceed one month.
4. Register 100 consumers for newsline in 2005
5. By January, 2006, deliver Independent Living Skills Training programs in a minimum of 10 towns around the state, 3 of which must be in towns where the service has not been previously provided.
6. BESB will develop an Adult Services Policy Manual and put it on the web page by January 2006.
7. The agency will commit adequate resources to carry out a campaign for the purpose of informing doctors and the public about registering and receiving services from BESB.

Recommendations: The Council believes that since medical/life situations are in a continual flux for this segment of the population, follow-up discussions with social workers/counselors are important. BESB should implement a procedure to keep up with changes that may affect consumer needs.

Evaluation: The Eye Openers conferences are designed to train staff and volunteers of elderly service provider agencies. They are co-sponsored by the Area Agencies on Aging, and BESB is dependent upon them for mailing lists, registration assistance, etc. The first conference was held in East Hartford (NC region) in September of 2004. The second conference was held in North Haven in March, 2005(SC region); the third was held in Mystic CT in September, 2005 (Eastern region). The fourth conference scheduled for the Southwest Region in November was postponed until March-April 2006.

Three mini-Eye Opener conferences are now in the works; one will take place at BESB in December, 2005, for staff and volunteers. A mini-seminar is planned in Hartford in November, and a mini-conference is being planned for the Hispanic/Latino provider community and consumers.

Benchmarks 2 and 3 deal with timeliness of services, and may be impacted by the DAS consolidation of business functions of smaller agencies (including BESB) in October, 2005. As of this writing, the extent of the impact is still uncertain, and benchmarks 2 and 3 may need to be revisited and modified.

BESB utilized Lean Team, a DOL process improvement group, to make recommendations to decrease time spent waiting for low vision aides. The recommendations were implemented, but resulted only in minor improvement. BESB created a Low Vision Committee, which is seeking to find other ways of improving timeliness and consumer satisfaction.

Data over the last three months indicates the average time is 20 days from new referral to intake completion.

As of this writing, over 100 blind consumers have signed up for Newsline.

For calendar year 2005, seven independent living skills groups were held or are still in progress; two are starting in November and one on December 1st for a total of ten. These programs run for either one day a week for ten weeks or twice a week for five weeks. The sites for this year include: Waterbury, Bloomfield, New Haven (new), Milford (new), Manchester, Danbury (new), and Waterford (new). The "newest" sites with start dates in November and December include Newington, Portland, and Glastonbury. These sites are all regional sites, and include smaller towns around the central location.

The Adult Services Policy Manual is being revised, and is partially available on the BESB web page. Staff are still working on changes, and will post when completed.

Draft informational posters have been reviewed in the Low Vision Committee. There are two in the development phase, one that would go in the waiting rooms of doctors offices for patients and their families, and one that would go to the doctors.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR):

BESB serves Connecticut's blind and deaf-blind adults through ongoing educational, vocational and living skills programs in order to empower them to achieve employment success and to enhance their self-sufficiency. The services offered are vast, and include post-secondary school tuition subsidies, accessible technology and training, orientation and mobility instruction, Braille instruction, job coaching and mentoring.

Benchmarks: 1. VR counselors, Rehab teachers, rehab technologists, and education project coordinator will participate in at least 2 trainings on assistive technology each year.
2. Seek approval to establish 1 new rehab teacher position that specializes in assistive technology training in speech, large print and refreshable Braille.
3. Implement a formalized mentoring program that includes a training seminar on "how to be a Mentor". One activity for the mentors planned each year, beginning in 2006.
4. BESB will achieve 100 competitive (non-homemaker) status 26 closures for FY 2006, increasing to 107 for FY 2007, and 112 for FY 2008.

Evaluation: Since VR runs on a federal cycle, benchmarks began on October 1, 2005.

BESB VR/technology staff (not all) have attended training on Braille Readers in the Math Classroom, and the Parrot Voice Mate. Travel requests already submitted and approval obtained for VR staff to attend the Region 1 Counselor's for the Blind conference in November, 2005. Also in November, Rehab Technologists attended a training on JAWS (computer speech output software) in Boston.

Request for approval for a new Rehab specialist position is on hold until BESB hears about state waiver of indirect costs. Historically, the state has waived this cost, which then frees up funding for needed positions (see discussion in Comments section).

BESB is participating in a mentoring grant with the State Department of Education and the Bureau of Rehab Services. This pilot program involves the city of New Haven and students with disabilities in their schools. So far 4 students with legal blindness have been identified as participants. The mentors have also been identified and a training was held for mentors in October, 2005.

In Federal Year 2003: 94 consumers were placed in competitive labor market, 114 consumers were Homemakers, and 2 consumers were placed in non-competitive supported employment.

In FY 04: 88 consumers were placed in competitive labor market, 50 consumers were Homemakers, and 7 consumers were placed in non-competitive supported employment.

In FY 05: 94 consumers were placed in competitive labor market, 52 consumers were Homemakers, and 2 consumers were placed in non-competitive supported employment.

Administration: The Council is in full agreement with the LPRIC recommendation that BESB develop and implement a Strategic Plan. In spring, 2004, BESB formed a Strategic Planning Committee, which has set a goal, established objectives, and is working on the resulting action steps.

Goal: To lead in securing or providing appropriate, quality services in a timely and effective manner for adults who are legally blind or deaf-blind, and children who are legally blind, visually impaired or deaf-blind.

OBJECTIVE 1: Define scope of agency services.
OBJECTIVE 2: Obtain feedback from consumers currently on the agency data base regarding services that are provided and desired.
OBJECTIVE 3: Obtain staff feedback regarding services that are provided and desired.
OBJECTIVE 4: Align services with consumer and staff recommendations.
OBJECTIVE 5: Ensure timeliness (outcome) of service delivery.
OBJECTIVE 6: Ensure effectiveness of service delivery.
OBJECTIVE 7: Agency management to analyze results and report to the Board of Directors one year from the date of implementation.
As of November 2005, the first three objectives have been completed, and the committee is working through the results of the surveys.

BESB has a seven-member Board which acts in an advisory fashion. The Council believes that a Board of Directors composed of people with expertise and a vested interest in the success of BESB, with the mission of monitoring and updating the benchmarks and recommendations made by this Council, will better serve to ensure BESB continues to strive to become America's model agency. We have submitted the following proposed substitute language for Public Act 05-156.

A Board is established to monitor the activities of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB) in carrying out its mission to provide quality educational and rehabilitative services to all people who are legally blind or deaf-blind, and children who are visually impaired in Connecticut. The Board shall consist of seven members, two of whom shall be appointed by the Governor. One shall be the President of the Connecticut Institute for the Blind, or a designee. One of the members shall be appointed by the Senate Minority Leader, and shall be the parent of a child who receives services provided by BESB. One shall be appointed by the Senate Majority Leader, and shall be a representative of a blind consumer group. One shall be appointed by the House Minority Leader, and shall be an adult who has received services from BESB, and one shall be appointed by the House Majority Leader, and shall have a background in special education. The chairperson of the board will be elected by the members. Members shall serve for a maximum of three years, and may be re-appointed after sitting out a term. (need to stagger) Any appointed member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or fifty percent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned. A majority of the members in office shall constitute a quorum.

The Board will meet a minimum of 4 times annually, and may meet at any other time upon the call of the chairperson, or the request of two members.

The Board shall:
(1) Monitor agency compliance with Benchmarks and Recommendations set by the BESB Monitoring Council, established by Public Act 03-217, adjusting benchmarks when necessary. (2) Submit an annual report to the Governor's office; the Human Services Committee; the Education Committee; and the Office of Policy Management. (3) Make appointment recommendations to the Governor's office regarding the Executive Director of the Board of Education and Services for the Blind.

Comments:

The Business Enterprise Program was established in the 1940's in an effort to provide blind and visually impaired persons with a means for self-employment. In the late 1990's, BESB signed a contract with Coca-Cola to manage their vending machines operations, which resulted in a large money stream into the program and agency. Previous directors have tapped into this money stream to subsidize non-BEP programs, as well as to subsidize employment for workers laid-off by the closing of the Industries program.

The Council feels that the BEP program is under-utilized, and provides an excellent resource for reducing the large unemployment figures of blind working-aged people in Connecticut. We have identified several trouble areas, such as operator turn-over and unviable locations. We discussed alternatives that could increase the number of operators making a living wage, such as franchising, vending routes and non-traditional entrepreneurial ventures. We hope the challenging benchmarks set for BEP will expand the program extensively in the next few years, and provide many unemployed blind people with a means for making a living.

Children's Services at BESB has undergone a lot of change in the last few years, and overall, does an excellent job. A lack of contact time of Teachers of the Visually Impaired with their students (especially Braille readers) is the Councils largest concern. We spent a lot of time discussing testing, with the desire that blind/VI students score at the same level as their sighted peers. However, BESB can only be held partly responsible for scores, as the primary education component lies with the classroom teachers. The Council identified some inequities with standardized tests, and BESB is working with SDE to rectify these. The Council concluded that, as with sighted children, parental involvement is critical to a student's success. We also discussed the nature of the relationship between the blind/VI student and Paraprofessionals, and have made recommendations to improve the quality of these interactions. The benchmarks set by the Council will provide more contact time with TVIs, more independent living instruction (mobility and orientation, technology, expanded core curriculum), better trained Paraprofessionals and educational opportunities for parents.

The Adult (Independent Living) Services division serves the greatest number of blind consumers, and is the fastest growing segment of the blind population. BESB strives to reach out to these consumers through group and individual independent living skills training, but is limited by funding and staff. The total budget for BESB in state fiscal year 2005 was $19.1 million. The total federal funding (grants) + state funding for Adult Services division was $2,352,622, or 12% of BESB's total budget.

The process from intake to services/ special equipment received by consumer has several bottlenecks, which BESB continues to address. In October 2005, the Department of Administrative Services began the consolidation of business functions within 23 of the smaller state agencies. Since some of these business functions play a role in the timeliness of service/equipment delivery for BESB, it will prove challenging to advance further in this area.

BESB has one bilingual VR counselor, but needs to improve efforts to reach out to Hispanic groups, a population that is under-informed about BESB and its services.

In 2005, BESB rolled out a new model in the Vocational Rehabilitation division, which organizes VR counselors into teams (based on territories) and focuses on job development and relationship building with potential employers. This approach has been implemented successfully in other states (MA, FL, TX, KY, NE).

The Council feels it is imperative that BESB partner with consumer groups and other service providers to give job seekers the skills and positive attitude that is essential to obtain and retain employment.

Historically, OPM has waived VR's indirect costs, freeing upwards of $750,000 for training and adaptive equipment for consumers. If this waiver is removed, BESB may have to shift to a Federal (Rehab Act) order of selection, where the agency must serve people with most significant disabilities first. This move would undoubtedly be deleterious to the overall employment outlook for the blind.

The Council wants to thank the Executive Director of BESB for the spirit of cooperation he brought to our 25 meetings. Change is hard in any organization, and the Council believes that the Board of Education and Services for the Blind is on track for achieving its mission to provide quality educational and rehabilitative services to all people who are legally blind or deaf-blind, and children who are visually impaired in Connecticut.

For more information, E-mail us at: info@nfbct.org