ADVOCATES PROTEST RSA REORGANIZATION, WHILE CONGRESS CONSIDERS WIA REAUTHORIZATION

It is estimated that more than 1,000 supporters of public rehabilitation programs rallied in Washington, D.C., May 26, to protest efforts by the U. S. Department of Education to close all regional offices of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). Protesters demonstrated at the Department of Education building to call for a reversal of plans to shut down RSA regional offices and of other so-called "reorganization" steps which would further diminish the effectiveness of public rehabilitation programs throughout the country.

The Department's reorganization plan also eliminates the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Randolph-Sheppard Branch, and the Deafness and Communicative Disorders Branch. Under the reorganization plan, all future monitoring and technical assistance will be carried out by cross-cutting teams of generalists.

The National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB) reported that the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies approved, June 9, a FY 2006 appropriations bill. This bill will then move to the full Committee on Appropriations for approval and then to the full House for consideration. Final approval for the budget is not expected until late summer. NCSAB, the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA), the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) and other advocates continue to work to restore the 66 FTE's slated for elimination by closing the regional offices in the President's FY 06 budget request.

Congress continues to work on reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act and the federal Rehabilitation Act, which is Title IV of WIA. The U.S. House and Senate have advanced separate versions of the legislation, and differences in the House and Senate proposals will be hammered out in a conference committee. The House proposal is of particular concern to supporters of public rehabilitation programs throughout the country.

Under the House proposal, VR program funding could be redirected to the One-Stop Service Centers, referred to in Michigan as the Michigan Works! Service Centers. Job placement could also be consolidated under the One-Stop Centers, which, in the view of many advocates, lack the expertise to provide comprehensive and specialized services needed by persons with disabilities. Furthermore, the proposal would downgrade the position of the RSA Commissioner from a Presidential appointee to that of a department appointment, decreasing the agency's profile within the department and administration.

PARTNERSHIP FORUM

The first session of three Partnership Forums co-sponsored by DLEG's Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and Michigan Commission for the Blind is scheduled for June 21 at the Lansing Holiday Inn West and features Carl Suter, Executive Director of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation. Invitees will include disability advocacy agencies, centers for independent living, Department of Human Services, Michigan Works! Association, Department of Community Health, Developmental Disability Council, Commission on Disability Concerns, Michigan Rehabilitation Council, Department of Education-Special Education, MARO Employment and Training, Michigan Association of Centers for Independent Living, and Statewide Independent Living Council.

This partnership initiative will encompass one-day meetings on June 21, August 24, and October 20, 2005 and will focus on how to collaboratively maximize resources to address the employment needs of persons with disabilities. The partnership meetings will focus on four core initiatives: Create a resource map that outlines common services provided by different entities; identify duplication and gaps in state-level employment support systems; identify opportunities and challenges to reduce gaps and duplication; and develop a set of priority strategies to improve resource coordination. The overall objective is to map resources throughout the state to eliminate critical shortages and duplication of services in the provision of employment outcomes. All participants will be charged to work cooperatively with this objective fostering improved utilization of resources and enhancing greater opportunities for persons with disabilities to achieve employment outcomes.

GOVERNOR RECEIVES TASK FORCE REPORT, ISSUES EO

Governor Jennifer M. Granholm signed an Executive Order, June 9, that will immediately implement several recommendations from the Medicaid Long Term Care Task Force, fulfilling a promise to thousands of citizens that Michigan will improve its long term care system.

The Executive Order implements some of the top recommendations of the Task Force, vital first steps to ensure that Michigan's seniors and citizens with disabilities needing long term care services are protected and will have options in selecting services. Executive Order 2005-14 creates a Long Term Care Supports and Services Office to assist in the development and implementation of policy and strategies for the task force recommendations. The office also will coordinate Michigan's state-supported long term care supports and services efforts. The office will be part of the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), which is responsible for reviewing and implementing the task force recommendations.

The order also directs MDCH to immediately begin the process of identifying and selecting three demonstration projects to implement a key recommendation from the Long Term Care Task Force report: creation of a Long Term Care Single Point of Entry. The Single Point of Entry will ensure that Michigan citizens in need of long term care supports and services have a range of options, including home and community-based services and an easy way to access those services. Governor Granholm received the report and announced her Executive Order at a Capital rally attended by several hundred disability advocates.

UPPER PENINSULA MINI-ADJUSTMENT WORKSHOP

The Michigan Commission for the Blind held its third Mini-adjustment Program for 2005 in Escanaba, May 15 through 20, at the Terrace Bay Inn. The 32 MCB clients who participated in the workshop were introduced to a variety of skills of blindness, such as cane travel, Braille, managing time and money, adaptive kitchen skills and other skills to enhance independence. MCB will conduct five Mini-Adjustment Programs in 2005, with the next, week-long workshop scheduled for August 28 through September 2, at the Holiday Inn in Jackson. The final workshop of the year will be held this fall in the Saginaw, Bay City, Midland area.

CONSUMER SERVICES REPORT

The Consumer Services staff continue to be involved in many activities relating to employment, vocational training and outreach. Several staff have been involved in the collaborative effort with Michigan Rehabilitation Services to map strategies to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities as part of the MI Partnership coalition.

Some staff attended "Denise's Top 12 Employment Tool: The Art of Creating Opportunities" that focused on job development and job placement. This training afforded many of the new staff opportunities to begin developing necessary skills to assist them in job placement as well as to provide a refreshing stimulant for seasoned staff. MCB will continue to look for opportunities to assist its professional staff in the techniques and marketing strategies to help them with improved job placement and employment outcomes.

The National Employment Network (NEN) conference was held June 1-3 in Atlanta, Georgia. MCB's representative Shawnese Laury-Johnson participated and shared the focus of the conference which was to establish techniques to identify Single Point of Contracts (SPOC) and how the SPOC's will be utilized in the employment arena. The conference also invited states to commit to the recommended suggestions that were agreed upon by the participants. They urged each state to commit to become a part of the NEN. It is anticipated that the benefits will be valuable to all participants in improving their business alliance with employers; thereby, increasing employment outcomes.

MI Connections continues to expand in several school districts. The latest school districts to participate in MI Connections include Ingham, Eaton, tri-county school districts of Bay, Midland and Saginaw, and discussions are on-going to include the districts of Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw. The next coordination meeting in July will focus on the Native American community of Hannahville, and Menominee and Delta counties. The West Region staff is working collaboratively with the Intermediate School Districts (ISD) to develop these sites for the MI Connections program. The involvement of the MCB staff, primarily the West Region staff, has been instrumental in assisting the expansion of this program.

The West Region has recently hired a new counselor, Ms. Christine Pada and the Consumer Services staff would like to welcome her to MCB. She will be working out of the Escanaba office.

The West Region held a staff meeting in Gaylord in early June. A variety of topics was discussed, including RSA standards and indicators, measuring client services, the MI Connections project, and a report from Tony Wong, Michigan Association of Centers for Independent Living, on the implementation of the Freedom to Work legislation. The staff expressed a concern regarding reports from MCBTC and referrals to the Center. A date will be established to further discuss these issues with the field and center staff. Two of the staff in the west, Rose Dunlap-Gist and Nancy Lapekas, participated in the Annual Wexford County Senior Expo and Employment event where many individuals received information regarding MCB's programs and services.

Staff continue to participate in the Mini-Adjustment programs that provide introduction to skills of blindness and independent living skills to newly blinded individuals. An Employment Readiness Seminar

(ERS) was held in connection with the mini and preparation is in process to invite service organizations to participate at the ERS in Jackson. The objective is to utilize these participants, as well as employers from the community, in the mock interview process.

The East Region staff continue to participate in outreach activities, including the Macomb County Library Vendor's Fair where a variety of community agencies displayed their services. The East Region continues to develop cash match agreements with CILs in Lansing, Bay City, and the Midland area. The cash matches will provide expanded opportunities for MCB consumers to receive additional vocational opportunities and job placement assistance.

The Vocational Rehabilitation program is working collaboratively with the Business Enterprise Program to provide work experience for young adults. Six students have been identified to participate in this summer internship. These students are from Grand Rapids, Detroit and Lansing.

The Youth Low Vision task force met with partners and stakeholders on May 13, 2005 to review a proposed draft policy and procedures for the program. There was excellent participation from MCB's partners and stakeholders. Thanks to the low vision providers, teacher consultants, parents and staff for a wonderful job collaborating to make this meeting successful. The YLV policy and procedures, along with the application, evaluation form and follow-up letter will all be included as a part of the proposed newly revised YLV program.

The MCB staff will participate in the Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) that will be held the week of June 12-16 in the Lansing area. The YLF provides an opportunity for students with disabilities to acquire skills in the area of socialization, citizenship and to cultivate leadership. Sherry Gordon and Leamon Jones will participate in this program.

This is the second year that MCB has co-sponsored the Small Business Awards with MRS. This event will recognize individuals who have been successful as entrepreneurs and will be held on August 11, 2005 at the Lansing Community College Tech Center. The commission staff nominated four small business owners and three counselors were nominated to receive an award for promoting small business opportunity for their consumers.

TRAINING CENTER REPORT

MCB staff continue to plan for the Quest for Success program which will be held at Camp Tuhsmeheta from July 17-22. Currently, six referrals have been received, and the number that can be served is thirty-two. The program is designed to provide concentrated training in the following four areas: employment readiness, cooking, personal management and social awareness. These are the four areas that MCB Field teachers and counselors identified as being the weakest skills they see in many of the youth with whom they work. Flyers announcing the program and press releases about the Quest for Success activities have been distributed throughout the state.

At the April 19 meeting of the Service Delivery Design Team, MCBTC was invited to participate in a discussion of the college assessment instrument currently used at the Center. Mike Hudson from Michigan State University requested the discussion to explain the technological skills that are needed by students before they even enter college. He and another colleague from MSU made a few recommendations to enhance the technology component of the college assessment instrument. For example, it was recommended that students have a familiarity with navigating and posting to bulletin board systems. This meeting was very productive, and Center staff anticipate future dialog with university personnel to promote assessments that will be most effective in evaluating the skills of MCB consumers who want to go to college. Through the college assessment, it is the goal of MCBTC to identify skill areas that need to be addressed which will enhance the likelihood of success for MCB consumers who go to college.

At MCBTC, the Michigan Department of Transportation is conducting a construction project in which the driveways are being widened and the parking lots are being repaved. The estimated $120,000 cost for the project is fully funded by the Department of Transportation.

On May 24, approximately forty children from St. Mary's Catholic School in Charlotte toured MCBTC and participated in an educational activity in which interacting with blind people was the main topic. Lynne Hall did an excellent job in coordinating this event. The children had an opportunity to hear a story from a Braille book read to them by Betty Lujan-Roberts. They were also able to watch a video about what to do when you meet a blind person and tour the facility. Karen Cornell and Karen Harrington presented a skit in which they demonstrated various ways in which the general public talks and interacts with blind people. They then talked with the children about their observations of these interactions. It was a fun activity for MCBTC staff and consumers, as well as the children.

In outreach activities, Jim Baird assisted one of the MCBTC students in securing a 20-hour a week job at the Red Cross in Howell. The student wrote him a thank-you note in which she told him that, because of the training she had received at MCBTC, she was able to get to work independently, use her cane to travel with confidence and perform the duties associated with her position.

A request was also received to have Mr. Baird provide instruction in mobility and other areas in the community for a consumer in the Coldwater area.

On June 8 Mr. Baird was requested by Field staff to provide an in-home college assessment for a consumer in the U.P. This individual is leaving for college out-of-state before the end of June and was eager to learn about tools that would help him participate more effectively in the college environment.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES REPORT

All of MCB has now been moved to the DLEG network and computing environment. Network speed and outlook address book changes were the biggest obstacles. Staff are working through the issues and expect to have resolution shortly. In addition, MCB is in the process of interfacing the System6 accounting module with the State's MAIN accounting system. This move will eliminate duplication of effort entering client purchases in both systems. When the process is complete staff will only need to enter client payments in System6 which is accessible for the visually impaired and that information will be batched up and uploaded electronically in MAIN which is not accessible for MCB's blind staff. This change will be an added tool for MCB to reconcile its accounts with the MAIN accounting system.

MCB has also begun the initial testing of System7 which will allow online access for Case Management and the Business Enterprise System. Load testing is underway to make sure that the system can handle many users at one time and security and accessibility will also be tested. This system will interface directly with MCB's current database so there will be no disruption of data.

Regarding budget, as of May 31st, which is sixty-six percent of the fiscal year, expenditures and encumbrances are at fifty-nine percent. The following factors have impacted the current surplus: restraints on purchases due to the executive order by the Governor; remodeling and construction within BEP that are in the budget but will be completed later this summer; and the recent filling of positions that have been vacant all year. One hot spending area has been Information Technology as MCB has had to make some major purchases and pay for services for all of the upgrades going on in the agency. In addition, MCB is currently setting well with match for this year due in part to a DMB error in calculating the prior years Cadillac Place rent for BEP. This should allow MCB to match all federal funds so that any unspent funds can be carried forward to next year's budget.

Regarding personnel, MCB is in the process of hiring a Secretary 8 for the Detroit office. Interviews will be completed during the next few weeks. This is a position made vacant by the promotion of Aliyamma Lukose to a Secretary 9.

Empowerment Training is scheduled for June 29-30 at MCBTC. This program is being presented by the Region V Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program (RCEP) staff and is open to all employees. The purpose of this training will be to provide staff with methods and techniques to assist consumers and staff with employment issues and other barriers that affect employment outcomes.

The 2nd session of Resilience Training is scheduled for July 12-14 in Lansing for field counselors and counselor/teachers. It is being presented by staff from SIU Region V RCEP. A number of staff participated in the first session of Resilience training in May. This training was provided to assist staff in dealing with the complexities of job demands that professional staff deal with as they work with consumers. The training provided strategies for counselors and teachers to utilize in minimizing the stresses of day to day management of caseloads.

The Walking in Two Worlds seminar at Hannahville is scheduled for June 23-24 and is being co-sponsored by the RCEP and MRS. Seven MCB staff are attending this diversity training program designed to increase understanding of the Native American culture and and improve relationships and employment initiatives within that community.

Once the case review guide is finalized, a copy will be going out to all field staff in preparation of doing at least four case reviews by the end of this calendar year. This document will show counselors, teachers, and supervisors the kinds of things that will be looked at in each review.

Finally, Sherri Heibeck has been selected as the new Administrative Services Manager, effective June 20. Her duties will focus on budget, purchasing, and assistive technology as well as oversight of MCB's Business Enterprise Program. Sherri has been with the Commisison for 19 years, serving as a Departmental Analyst and Information Technology Analyst.

Business Enterprise Program Report

The Annual Workshop for the Business Enterprise Program was held the weekend of April 8 - 10, at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing. The workshop was deemed to be a success once again. The workshop was well attended with three commissioners in attendance, in addition to 84 operators and their guests. Thanks to the commissioners for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the workshop and become better acquainted with BEP's program and operators.

The classroom training segment of the vending stand training for potential operators concluded on June 3. All 7 students who started the program in March graduated this portion of the training, the largest graduating class in quite some time. After a week of vacation, the students will commence participation in on-the job experience. Each student will spend 4 weeks working with the operator of a vending machine facility, as well as 4 weeks working with the operator of a snack bar. This is the first vending stand training coordinated by John McEntee, the new BEP trainer. The curriculum was developed utilizing the standard lesson plans developed last year, as well as input from the EOC and last year's vending stand training students. BEP has requested that the EOC participate in another after action review once this class has completed the final segment of their training.

Keeping in the plan-do-study-act mode, BEP staff, in consultation with the Elected Operators Committee and MCBTC staff, are reviewing the current Vending Stand Training (VST) Assessment. The focus of this review cycle is two fold. First, it is hoped to identify a practical standard for reading. Vending Stand Training students are finding that the amount of required reading may be difficult to accomplish given either their level of vision or Braille proficiency. BEP staff propose revising the assessment, to help the student understand the volume of reading required, and to identify students who need to either improve their ability to read written material, or learn an alternative method of reading the material. The second focus of the review is to identify the physical requirements of operating a vending facility. Both the vending stand training and operating a BEP vending facility are physically exacting. Potential operators must not only understand the physical rigors, but be physically able to meet the demands of training and the job. As this component of the evaluation is developed, it is recognized that it must be balanced with the Americans with Disabilities Act. BEP staff believe that the resulting revised assessment will identify those VR consumers who have the skills to successfully operate a small business under the BEP.