MCB Rehabilitation Council (RC) Meeting

For March 6, 2024

The quarterly Meeting of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind Rehabilitation Council was called to order by Chair Brian Switzer at 1:03 p.m. The meeting was held remotely using the Zoom conferencing platform.

Roll call

Members in Attendance: Brian Switzer Chair; Jerry Berrier.

MCB: Commissioner John Oliveira

Regrets: Rebecca Davis; Jennifer Harnish; Jennifer Whittemore.

Martha Daigle; Devon Meyer; Naomi Goldberg.

MCB: Priscilla Ngome

There were two voting members in attendance which is not considered a majority. So not enough to conduct official business.

December meeting minutes could not be approved due to absence of quorum.

Commissioner Report

The All-Consumer Report is now available. See below for details.

The annual pre-Ets conference will be held in person later in March 2024, with focus on providing opportunities for Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI) and Orientation and Mobility instructors who work with transition consumers to learn about pre-Ets services sponsored by MCB. Many vendors of such services will be in attendance to share about the programs they offer. The AIM library will also be there to share about its products that are available to school districts at TVIs’ requests. This event is enrolled at capacity.

Preparations have begun for the annual White Cane Day event to be held in October in person. More details to be shared in future meetings.

Budget: MCB agency testimony to be shared in Springfield on March 12, 2024. MCB is budgeted in the Governor’s budget with level funding at $28.3 million. This includes three positions under earmark funding that Have been rolled over into the 2025 budget. If there is additional funding and/or earmarks, these will be added on later. He reports MCB is in good shape. Federal funding is coming along although there is a delay due to continued budget resolutions occurring in Washington. MCB should be receiving remaining funds from the FY2024 grant by late march/early April. Active cash management by MCB continues to stretch out the FY2023 funds as long as possible. He reports that services continue to be provided, and the fiscal team is meeting regularly with managers to find out what funds need to be moved.

The Carroll Center, an MCB vendor, is doing well with its census and looking for more consumers; he notes that VR consumers interested in working should contact their VR counselor. The Commissioner visited CCB and talked with consumers and staff. He also spoke with students at Perkins and presented at a program there. Also visited the internet radio station there. He also met with Ashley Bloom , the current Digital Accessibility Manager for the Commonwealth. The Commissioner sits on the Digital Accessibility Committee for the Commonwealth and noted that they are looking for more members. Interested individuals can go to the MCB website and use the MCB info contact to express their interest. In reply to a question from the RC regarding Ashley Bloom’s background, he noted that she formerly worked for Fidelity including with their digital accessibility initiatives. She has experience in digital accessibility with other organizations for about 20 years. He said she is experienced and passionate about accessibility and also happens to be legally blind. She has lived in MA for a long time so is familiar with the Commonwealth. With the Governor signing the order and forming the Committee, this shows a commitment to making things accessible and putting people in place who have a solid background in the field. The Commissioner noted that it can take a while to begin to get things done in the State. It can also be complicated to make something accessible. He feels that her knowledge and commitment will move the process along. The Commissioner stated that forms had some accessibility issues for those applying to the Committee. This is being resolved and the application process will be expedited. These forms may be used for Statutory Advisory Board (SAB) and SRC applicants. He hopes that by the coming quarter RC applicants will be in place. The Commissioner also said that the Interviews for the Deputy Commissioner position are occurring

MCB All Consumer Survey

Nathan Skrocki and Molly O’Brian (new MCB Policy Coordinator) presented on this topic. MCB partnered with MassINC. In Spring 2023 to conduct the survey. Report was received in June 2023 and went through the vetting process. Goal of the survey was to gather data to Enhance independence and self-determination of MCB consumers. Sent out to 24,000 consumers using text, email, phone calls, regular mail, and in person events. The largest return was 1700 from email. Total of over 3,000 responses, over a 12% response rate. $20 gift cards were sent to the first 1,000 respondents. There were five major categories in the survey: visual function, MCB services, quality of life, living/working/getting around/technology, and demographics. Results were also compared to MCB’s consumer demographics.

Areas of success:

Consumers reported a high level of satisfaction with MCB services. Those receiving services reported a higher quality of life, better social relationships, and less difficulty participating in social activities. Those receiving Orientation and mobility, Rehabilitation teaching and Information Technology services had better outcomes.

Areas of opportunity:

Increase outreach to underrepresented communities. 57% of consumers use the internet once per month or more, with the greatest use in younger consumers. The result indicates a need to find the best ways to reach out. Most consumers are over 65 .

Better messaging on education services is also needed. Also, how to better check in with consumers. Also, how better to reach out to consumers who want to work to discuss available services. 13% of consumers want to work but are not currently working; 54% of those individuals have not received rehabilitation services. 38% were interested in technology training/support, transportation and mobility, vocational/employment support and training, and rehabilitation teaching. 8% asked for more information on services and some indicated not receiving any services for many years. Some also requested check-ins. Consumers requested social services supports in housing (3%),support groups (8%) and help with paperwork/legal aid/ financial benefits (6%). These are small numbers but still indicate a need.

32% of consumers participate in community groups. Fairly even across race, age, and income and education levels. It is fairly even across the board. Participation is though slightly higher in those with more education and/or more income. Good outcomes from participating in community groups. Still though there is a need to provide consumers with more information about community groups.

Those Under 60 are using internet at 80% with numbers falling from just over 60% to 24% for ages 60 to over 90. So given that most consumers fall into the 60-90 age range it is important to be aware of the need for other methods of communication. The number of consumers providing email addresses to MCB is increasing. 8 out of 10 consumers reported needing help with everyday activities. Of that 80%, 34% of those say they need a lot of help, 46% some, 18% none. Transportation availability was often noted as a support need. The number also indicates the importance of RT services to increasing independence in the home. These results overall indicate the need to explore further how to meet people’s needs.

Molly O’Brian reported on success areas from the survey. Consumers are very satisfied with mobility 59% very and 26% somewhat, social rehabilitation (54% very and 31% somewhat), assistive technology (51% very and 30% somewhat), rehab teaching (50%very and 29% somewhat) and vocational rehab (46% very and 25% somewhat, 15% did not reply). Numbers might be impacted by respondents being able to reply even if they had not received the services. Consumers who received MCB services reported having a higher quality of life; this was seen across all types of services provided, with greatest discrepancy for vocational rehab services (48% excellent or very good) but only 31% not receiving VR services reported excellent or very good quality of life.

Interaction with MCB strategic plan:

Using the data to show what MCB is doing well as well as where the gaps are; using the data to guide the next 3-5 years. For example, reaching out to identify underrepresented groups. Data can also be used for forecasting.

Replies to questions: survey not sent to those under 13 or 18, so fewer pre-Ets individuals were captured. What strategies might MCB use to capture this younger cohort when needed: email, schools, social media, with texting seeming to be the preferred choices as noted by MCB counselors. Because the survey replies were anonymous, MCB cannot follow-up with individuals unless a name was written on the survey. Tech training providers include Carroll Center, new England Low Vision (provides in-home services, so might be used for those living in the outer regions, although more expensive). Zoom and online training are also used. Education on services will be guided by Regional Directors input for figuring out where the specific needs are and for whom.

Request made to use screen share with screen reader in order to make slide presentations more accessible. The Chair noted that RC members did receive the slides by email prior to the meeting. The Commissioner noted that the results will soon be posted on the MCB website after one last EOHHS step. Once the entire report is posted, questions are welcome whether now or in the future at meetings or reaching out to Nate.

Question on how MCB might check in with seniors who do not have email or internet access. Nathan replied that this is part of the strategic plan. Question on number of individuals with multiple disabilities age 22 or under who are receiving services from other agencies, both VR and SR consumers. Nate will gather this information.

Update on Dashboard

Nate reported that there have not been many changes; preliminary meetings with the vendor for this project have been held. The plan is for it to be completed by June 30 although the vendor does have until September 30 to complete it. A screen share of the current Dashboard was summarized. Highlights include 370 new registrations this calendar year, none in process. Most processed same day. No big changes in SRC cases 859 active social rehab children’s consumers and 2219 active SR adults.1100 deaf Blind services consumers currently, 728 open VR consumers, 208 open pre-Ets consumers, Successful VR closures are up to 102 for the FY. Nonsuccessful closures up to 67.Successful closures have been consistent over the past three years, at 145 for the last two FY and trending in that direction this FY. Close to 500 this year being referred for support services such as O an M, tech and RT. Over the past 15 years or so, numbers of consumers coming in as children has decreased, likely due to medical advances. The majority of cases of children being referred over the past ten years have diagnosis of CVI (cerebral/cortical vision impairment).

New Brochures

Mike Ciccone reported new brochures have been created to replace the outdated ones. A vendor has been identified (True North) to produce the brochures. The timeline for getting the digital versions of the new brochures are targeted to be out by the end of June, then translations into other languages will be done. Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Haitian Creole, the most common spoken languages other than English in Massachusetts. When another language is needed, MCB would work to get the appropriate translation. For deaf-blind and ESOL consumers, MCB is meeting to discuss how to bring the information to a broader audience. MCB is in touch with the Perkins NLS library to identify accessible media format potentially more accessible to those who are newly visually impaired without technology or Braille skills yet.

What’s Your Vision Campaign

Mike Ciccone reported that the campaign Ran from June 2023 to December 2023. Targeting TV, streaming services, radio, social media and others. Targeting was primarily towards potential employers. It was not successful in the employer aspect however it did raise awareness of vocational rehabilitation services. There were 25 million impressions of the ads, call center got 14 phone calls. All of those calls were either current consumer seeking support as well as individuals/families who had expected to be registered by their provider. The marketing vendor surveyed 100 employers and found an increase in awareness of the MCB over the timeframe of the campaign. If the campaign were done again, Mike said that it would be redone from scratch and include far more emphasis on MCB services provided to VR consumers to educate potential employers of the ways in which MCB supports them during recruitment thru onboarding of employees with VI. The most recent campaign only skimmed the surface of this area. LinkedIn was most successful perhaps because it attracted potential consumers and employers to specific websites that included far more details on supports provided by MCB. Channel 4 in Boston also seemed to be viewed by more. Other media included Business Journal for Western MA and Boston area, Instagram, Facebook, Boston Globe. There were 22,000 visits to the two websites.

New Business

No new business.

Public Comments

No public comments.

Next RC meeting is June 5 at 1 P.M.

The meeting was adjourned at about 1:20 P.M.

1. Call to order
2. Welcome and introductions
3. Approval of December 6 Minutes
4. Commissioner’s Update
   1. Budget update
5. MCB survey Update
6. Dashboard Update
7. New Brochure
8. End of campaign report for  advertisement “What’s Your Vision”
9. New Business
10. Public Comments