N.J. Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NJCBVI)

MEETING MINUTES FOR
December 3, 2010

N.J. Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (NJCBVI)

State Rehabilitation Council (SRC)

JosephKohnRehabilitationCenter

130 Livingston Avenue

New Brunswick, NJ

Chair person– Kathy Wood

This meeting is held in compliance with Section 105 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act 1973, as amended. This meeting is also in compliance with the N.J. Public Meeting Act, NJSA 10:4-6.

Present: Jim Dougherty, Titus Massey, Al Glasgow, James Jasey, Heather Smith-Bermudez, Chrysoula Fantousakis, Ginger Kutsch, Nicole Pratt, Kathy Wood, Heather Klauser, Carolyn Wade,

Ex Officio: Annemarie Cooke, Vito Desantis, Dr. Bruce Kastner, Greg Patty,Edward Sroczynski, John Walsh, Ed Kawalec, Rob Paige and Mike Kosec

Member of the Public: Carol Castellano

Kathy called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.and asked that the October and June minutes be approved ; Jim D. made the motion which was seconded by Carolyn. There had not been a quorum at the October meeting to approve the June minutes.

Past SRC chair Chris Fossel was unable to attend the meeting so a plaque commending his service will be sent to him at home.

Federal and State Update: Vito Desantis

Vito said he is pleased with the way SRC is being fully constituted; and thinks our SRC might consider requesting a co-training through TACE with the SRC from the state Department of Labor’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services’s (DVRS)- SRC.

The two VR agencies in New Jersey (CBVI and DVRS) will have no problem making its 20 percent state match to federal funding comprising 80 percent of total funds. This year, funding totaled $54 million, with CBVI receiving 20 percent and DVRS receiving 80 percent. Many other states this year had to return federal monies as they were unable to match them with state dollars.

There followed a brief explanation of the Randolph-Shepherd Act, its history and its current status as an entrepreneurial program.

Vito also noted that federal VR monies will not increase based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI)VR will not see an increase unless it is reauthorized by Congress.

100th Anniversary Celebration: The CBVI is oldest NJ state agency and third oldest blindness agency in the US. Vito commended the hard work of staff andconsumers in success of celebrations in September at Newark’s PerformingArtsCenter and in October at the Woodbridge Hilton.

These events were conducted not with public money but with funding from the NJ Fund for the Blind, a nonprofit organization that provides grants for blindness-related projects. Vito invited SRC members to contact his office with any project ideas for funding consideration by this group.

VR Update: Greg Patty

The JKRC has been somewhat underutilized and the CBVI is working on refocusing the facility toward employment-related outcomes. Among the changes being considered are:

To increase awareness of what the JKRC can offer, all clients, with few exceptions, will participate in a two-day orientation to the facility;

A complete redesign of the curriculum, including the services of a job developer to facilitate local job sampling and similar employment opportunities for clients;

Enhanced evening program through courses from the HadleySchool for the Blind;

A two to three week employment component after the regular 16-week program.

In response to questions from SRC members, Vito noted that Allan Harris, former head of the Iowa Commission for the Blind, will serve as consultant for the curriculum re-design. This is expected to take eight or nine months for completion of the re-design.

Heather Smith-Bermudez said she is a member of the Northern NJ Disability Network and offered to serve as an employment opportunity resource.

Carol offered to connect Annemarie, the new JKRC job developer, with job developers at the three NFB training centers in the US.

Vito stressed that the outcome for each client is expected to be employment and the curriculum for each person will be tailored toward that goal.

As an action item, Kathy said the Policy Subcommittee of the SRC will be resurrected to review the new program at the JKRC.

Heather K. noted clients at JKRC should also learn about the Client Assistance Program, by Disability Rights NJ in Trenton, to ensure each person gets what they need.

In the area of standards and indicators set by the Rehabilitation Services Administration, Greg noted that CBVI met all seven which is extraordinary. These include:

-- Successful closures (meaning employment) totaled 288, nine more than last year;

-- seventy percent of clients with Individual Plans for Employment reached employment, above the standard of 68.9 percent;

-- Ninety percent of employed clients earn more than minimum wage; far surpassing the standard of 34 percent which Greg said was too low;

-- Ratio of minority representation among clients is eight percent which is the standard.

Other standards and indicators will be cited in the SRC annual report.

Annual Report: John Walsh

A draft of the SRC annual report is due to RSA by December 31. The SRC members informally agreed to John’s request that the publication continue to be not only a report but an educational and marketing tool.

Old and New Business:

Annemarie reminded those who attended the October meeting to sign the October attendance sheet which was inadvertently omittedat that time.

Heather S-B said NJTransit conducted an orientation of Newark Penn Station with orientation and mobility instructors from CBVI. A similar event will take place in March at the Trenton Transit Station. Other orientations were conducted with AccessLink riders at Harrison and at the NJ Talking Book and BrailleCenter.

She said so many calls to AccessLink checking ride status affects the ability to take new reservations so NJTransit will make confirmation calls the night before a scheduled ride pickup.

Vito said the NJPerformingArtsCenter in Newark will offer audio description next year for Broadway performances.

According to Rob Paige, (RSA) Commissioner Rutledge will visit NJ under DVRS sponsorship within the next few months. He invited CBVI to co-sponsor the visit.There have been some staff changes with Brian Fitzgibbons now in charge of 18 field offices and David Frye to head programs.

Adjournment:

Jim D. made the motion to adjourn seconded by Lauren at 11:31 a.m.

Next meeting:

The next SRC meeting is set for Friday, February 4, 2011 at the JKRC.