Narrative: a. 1.

). The State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) meets at least bi-monthly to review and analyze reports, and activities within the division and advise the Maine Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI).   The SRC DBVI has been involved in Maine’s development of a Unified State Plan, including the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Portion, through:
- Participation in a visioning event to set the strategic vision, goals and objectives with the WIOA core partners and other stakeholders, ensuring that people with disabilities were represented;
- Review and identification of recommendations resulting from DBVI’s Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment FFY 2015-2017;

RSA recently changed the timeframe of data collection from a federal fiscal year to a Program Year.

The State Plan is due on March 2, 2020 this year. This leaves little time to read, review and provide meaningful comments on the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired VR portion of the State Plan. The SRC would have appreciated more time in which to provide useful and succinct comments.

The SRC looks forward to a continued partnership with DBVI.

Goals in the current plan were written prior to implementation of the new employment service delivery model.  How will this process change any/all goals?

How will VR ensure consistency across Regions 4/5 where no awards in those regions were granted in the new employment services model?

How is client choice being addressed in Region I, II and III where the new service delivery model is being implemented?

How will VR address the drop in successful employment outcomes for adults with disabilities given the new WIOA requirements for serving youth?

 (L) State Goals and Priorities

Goal 1: To stabilize DBVI’s financial situation, ensuring the expenditures are budgeted consistently within existing and available federal and state funds.

DBVI has worked diligently to meet and sustain this goal. They have established internal controls to ensure they are on track in budgeting and committing federal and state funds. The SRC feels this no longer needs to be a Goal in DBVI’s State Plan.

 (O) State's Strategies

Goal 1: To stabilize DBVI’s financial situation, ensuring the expenditures are budgeted consistently within existing and available federal and state funds.

DBVI has worked diligently to meet and sustain this goal. They have established internal controls to ensure they are on track in budgeting and committing federal and state funds. The SRC feels this no longer needs to be a Goal in DBVI’s State Plan.

The Objective under Goal 1 reads:

“DBVI’s operational expenses will be equal to its federal grant and matching state funds, allowing re-allotment funds to serve as a reserve in times of budget constraints, such as federal continuing resolutions, and a resource for one-time initiatives and will benefit people who are blind and visually impaired in Maine.”

While the SRC does not feel this needs to be a goal, it will recommend that DBVI continue to operate with this philosophy in mind.

Goal 2: To increase successful competitive integrated employment outcomes for DBVI clients.

The first Objective seems a little confusing. The SRC wonders how reducing the time it takes to achieve an outcome would help in attaining a successful competitive integrated employment outcome. The SRC recommends taking this objective out of the DBVI portion of the State Plan. Strategies a. and b. do seem like positive avenues of increasing successful competitive integrated employment outcomes.

The second objective seems a little confusing. The SRC wonders how increasing the number of successful competitive integrated outcomes in a year will help attain Goal 2, but instead, should be part of Goal 2. For example, Goal 2 could read “” To achieve successful competitive integrated employment outcomes for individuals who receive services from “x” in FFY20”x” to “x” in FFY20”x””. Strategies a. through d. provide great pathways to increasing successful competitive integrated employment outcomes.

Objective 3: Under WIOA, the “homemaker” successful closure is no longer an option. DBVI has made a transition from using this closure to following WIOA regulations. DBVI has worked hard to ensure each individual client has an IPE supported by WIOA regulations, beginning with blindness rehabilitation and attaining independent living skills, both of which are necessary to be successful in attaining, regaining and retaining successful competitive integrated employment outcomes. While Strategy c. should be a part of the DBVI portion of the State Plan, the SRC feels this objective no longer needed.

Goal 3: To deliver Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) to youth who are blind and visually impaired, assisting them to successfully live and work independently in the community.

DBVI has been on target with using 15% of federal funds to serve students who are blind and visually impaired. DBVI has established programs, such as College Prep, Living On Your Own, Life 101 and Life 201, to help students transition to competitive integrated employment or to post-secondary education. This is standard operating procedure for DBVI, thus the SRC does not feel this needs to be a goal in DBVI’s portion of the State Plan.

Goal 4: To ensure that a large number of individuals, with disabilities, who may be unserved or underserved or have minority status, have access to DBVI services.

The strategy for the first objective says that DBVI staff will provide input regarding accessibility of transportation for DBVI clients. The SRC wonders to whom will they provide this input? WIOA core partners? How will this help transportation needs? The CSNA done in 2018 show that transportation continues to be the number one barrier to employment.  Rural areas offer no alternative transportation methods besides family and friends and, in some areas, taxis are not an option. In areas where there is public transportation, they often stop running at 5:00pm which leaves some without transportation to their home after work. The SRC feels DBVI should continue to work with stakeholders to improve transportation options.

The second objective with strategies a. through d. should remain intact.

The third objective talks of cultivating communication for individuals who are dual sensory impaired, providing interpreters and Support Service Providers (SSP). The SRC thought the SSP program is no longer available so suggests that this be taken out of the objective, as well its strategies. DBVI can better report of the SSP program and the SRC defers to them.

The fourth objective and its strategy should remain in the DBVI portion of the State Plan.

Goal 5: To increase awareness to services and resources for individuals who are blind or have low vision.

The SRC, in partnership with DBVI, did work around making DBVI services and resources more visible to the public. The SRC suggests keeping the objectives and strategies in the DBVI portion of the State Plan. DBVI should continue to educate clients and the general public on available services and resources. The CSNA done in 2018 suggests that only 93% knew they were receiving services from DBVI; resources like AT are not well known; and the CSNA also indicates that DBVI needs to do more work on ensuring clients are aware of the Client Assistance Program. One strategy to add may be: for the SRC and DBVI to have a presence at the Maine Optometric Association conferences; for the SRC and DBVI to continue to work with “211” so that DBVI is the first hit; and to maximize the probability of DBVI being the first hit on internet searches.

Both the DVR and the DBVI Plans are well written, integrating into their Plans programs and partnerships they use/have.