Safety Issues in the Community and Home

Improving Services for Persons with Visual Impairments – Examining Processes and Outcomes

Genesee Intermediate School District Erwin L. Davis Educational Center Michigan Chapter 2413 West Maple Avenue, Flint, MI 48507 (810) 591-4400

 Emergency preparedness is often left out of our services – weather alert (Radio Shack); put box together with water, radio, can openers, etc.  Transportation – Dial-A-Ride Service waited 1 hr. 20 min. for a bus at 14 years old – need to have more than one person to call – need a protocol  Self-Defense Class – “Without Fear” – judo, karate, local dojos are working well – USABA sport too!  Home Visits – don’t go into the home if the parent/guardian is not home (if a child/non-adult babysitter is there.  Go in pairs if warranted  Meet at a restaurant, public library or on the porch  Be careful about transporting students with out another person present – due to the possibility of false accusations  Bad neighborhood – when to serve/leave  Transporting students/clients for provision of services.  Hygiene and cleanliness in homes where services are provided.  Inappropriate walk-ins (office setting)  Safety issues in homes (family & client/student issues) o Mentally ill o Mood changes o Communicable diseases  Irate family members  Homebound living w/sex offenders  We are not issued cell phones.  Police – will ask rehab person to follow the procedures of their department before helping out.  Ask to meet in a public area  Drug infested areas where clients live  Hints – with cell phones, call someone and ask them to call you if you don’t check in at a certain time  Don’t go in  Take someone with you  Document issues  Gloves  Go home and change clothes  Car Liability Insurance  Liability Insurance  Choose where to go with the client and how close to stay (follow)  Let local police know you will be in the area  Go out in pairs – check out environment – code word to get out – have office call your cell phone at time intervals with code terms to determine safety  With clients of opposite gender – leave door open  Ask police officer badge number – they should instantly answer  What do you do if in a car accident? If bus breaks down?  Self-defense classes  Walkie Talkies  Fire drill – getting out of building Administrator Awareness of Visual Impairment Professions

 No money  Meetings ALL the time  Squeaky wheel gets the grease (parents)  Administration has no clue what we do  Multiple certifications is a plus for administration  Administration unaware of what qualifications a parapro needs – need to get input from professionals  Present your role or invite administration and board members (simulations, follow you around, etc.) to get them to know more about what you do  Administration appears to only be interested in what we do if it affects their families/friends  There are political issues at both the state and federal levels  Supervisor – getting better with trusting your judgment (most people at this table were satisfied with administration accepting our judgment  Administration does not understand the great amount of time and work it takes to learn new equipment/skills  Gone to board meetings to “Show & Tell”; people can’t understand the amount of training  Administration has been invited to spend day with us  Immediate supervisor doesn’t care how much time it takes to work with a student for a bus lesson  Other direct supervisors didn’t realize 11 employees did work directly with students o Ways to help: . 2 year review to come see what teachers do . Presentations to board . Ride along for a day . Providing detailed proposals and tie the reasons into professional goals  Professional development by administration often trained in other states (taking advantage of their position)  If the supervisors are in the field, they understand the need and how little is available in our field. Recruitment for Visually Impaired Professions

 Geographic inequality of services and jobs (metro vs. rural)  University programs closing – less money coming in  Specialized training within field (positive and negative)  Student grants available (positive and negative) and stipends  Distance education – more students, but what is quality? People skills?  Maturation and retirement of university professors and field specialists  Recruit by word of mouth  Need for transcriptionists  Expense & difficulty to get and maintain certification  Medicare!  High School Career Day/Fairs  Scout troops  Difficult to find people o Leaning toward dual certification TCVI & COMS  Only EMU has an undergraduate program  WMU has gone to a graduate program only  University curriculum  State level – regulations for teaching degree  Universities need to be more flexible  Need to get behind state to rethink regulations for teaching degrees (RTs)  Leader Dog Outreach  MCB – Outreach to doctors  Start going to conferences of other organizations for exposure & recruitment  The hoops that people have to jump through are increasing for both the university programs and for certification are increasing  Professionals teaching in the university are not as good  Programs are not geared toward what most of the teachers are doing  Dumbing down the programs – people do not feel the programs are at a high level  Awareness in-services for people not in field Data Collection and Assessment Techniques

 Rehabilitation Teachers o 2 people – Codes & Counties – Not working . 55 and under = Vision Rehab . 55 and over o Need closure = funding o Caseloads increase to ISO  Education – TC o Maximum (school/ISD) 25 students without waiver = no limit o Kids needs are so different o Who selects the caseload . Sometimes boss . Sometimes between staff members  Assessment tools – recording of the data seems to be the discrepancy o One district created a “shell” for O&M and TC reports that all persons in the district uses  Outcomes guides are helpful for transition from school to school  Carolina Assessment for Preschoolers (not specific to VI)  Post information on website  System log – info available to colleges  System 7  Severity Rating Scales VI, OM, SXI-VI; Outcomes; Oregon Project  Where In the World Am I? (O&M)  McDowell Vision Screening Kit  Perkins – Multiply Impaired  TAPS – Texas (O&M)  Hill/Cratty Checklist  Functional Vision Assessment  Learning Media Assessment  WMU Assessment (Rehab Teaching Assessment) o Interview application (have to prove client has “functional limitations” in order to get services through state. For students going to Rehab center – there is a checklist)  May college educated blind students (are they getting jobs?) – People in VR say kids don’t have social skills – lower standards – parents are not taking the responsibility to teach their blind child. Rehab teachers could help in the schools  Conscious effort to teach the blind child rather than the sighted child  Recommend hiring RT teacher for school  Not educationally necessary – worried about extra training for O&M  Parent needs the “Can-Do” attitude too  Performance Checklist Caseload Management

 Geographic input  Specialized skills input  Pretty much follow students through graduation unless you need a change  Caseloads often not manageable (some places)  Up to us to figure out  Less needy students are pushed back  Evaluations take up so much time  Supervisor directed – caseloads determined  Funding determines number of staff  Caseloads determined by TC still – area of expertise  Hiring freezes  Contracted positions  Number of Braille students needs to be a consideration  Number of direct vs. consult students  Improved services by more service time  More VI staff  Flexibility  Legal limits for TCs, O&M, etc.  Adult services overloaded – little administrative support until recently  State guidelines for TCVI – often overloaded  State guidelines for O&M – no limits  Commission (uses territories) o 180+ clients . See 3-5 clients per day . 16 client contact hours for a client benchmark per week o Not efficient o Huge travel time o Lack secretarial support o YLV – huge amount of paperwork o Seniors – average 4 referrals per week (10 counties) o Voc Rehab is responsible for vocations, not for daily living o Can not get O&M unless you go to Kalamazoo o WE NEED MEDIA professionals – 7 hours brailling is absurd