Public Meeting Notice  MCB Rehabilitation Council (RC) Meeting

The quarterly Meeting of the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind Rehabilitation Council was called to order by Chair Brian Switzer at 1:05 PM. The meeting was held remotely using the Zoom conferencing platform.

Roll call:

Brian Switzer Chair

Jerry Berrier

Jennifer Harnish

Naomi Goldberg

Martha Daigle

Rebecca Davis

Minh Ha

MCB:

Commissioner John Oliveira

Priscilla Ngome

Regrets:

Jennifer Whittemore

Joseph Quintanilla

A quorum of nine out of 11 RC voting and non-voting members was present at the meeting. There were seven out of the 9 voting members present at that time. A vote could not be taken on the June meeting minutes due to their late completion.

Commissioner’s Update

Commissioner Oliveira said that the move of the MCB offices to Broad Street has gone well. The new phone system will be in use after one last change. RSA received THE DOCUMENTS NEEDED from MCB FOR THE FEDERAL GRANTS. MCB will get an additional 335,000 in reallotment funds for special projects. Ideas are being explored for how to use the funds.

This amount is lower than what was asked for which is how it was last year. MCB has one year to use the funds starting in October.

RC will be updated at next meeting. All proposed are pilot projects. Fiscal year for the State has ended so accounts are being balanced. Federal fiscal year ends Sept 30, so MCB is identifying places to use any funds not yet allocated. Money not spent goes back to RSA.

MCB is at full staff. No knowledge yet of any potential cuts in VR funds for federal fiscal year 2026. MCB will know by early October if the full amount of requested funds has been allotted. The budget process in Washington impacts RSA funds. The funds are typically released in two or three portions. The federal funds include the VR funds, Older Independent Blind and the Supportive Employment grant funds.

MCB continues to apply for SSA reimbursement funds for those clients meeting criteria when hired.

Federal FY 2024 funds remaining need to be spent by sept 30 2025 so those take priority for spending now. MCB will utilize all 22 percent of the VR funds that are matched by the State.

Deputy Commissioner’s Report

Deputy Commissioner Justine Muir shared that the 2025 internship program closing ceremonies were held at the State House in August. Strong partnerships with employers were highlighted and Google received the 2025 Employer Partnership Award. On Sept 10, the Visions of Employment webinar is being presented; this educates potential and current employees and employers will learn from and speak about having a blind employee. The Reverse Virtual job fair will be held in October. Candidates give an elevator pitch to all employers at once. A few more employer registrations are still being accepted. The White Cane Awareness event will be held on October 24 at the State House. The Annual College information session for high school seniors and their families/caregivers is also in October. Includes a student panel, assistive technology and O and M staff also presenting.

Reallotment Funds

Commissioner Oliveira explained that the RSA (Rehabilitation Services Administration) collects the funds from state agencies who have not been able to spend all of their allotment. The RSA then reallocates those funds to other states who have a use for them. The funds cannot be used to pay personnel and must be used within one year. The reallocated funds allow states to try pilot programs for example. Funds. Brian suggested using the reallotment funds to reach medical professionals to remind them to register people as legally blind. John noted that MA has a Central Registration unit that sends quarterly newsletters out with such a reminder. To educate eye doctors about this requirement. He welcomes other suggestions for future years.

Brian also asked about cost-of-living adjustments as they relate to the FY2026 budget. The Commissioner said that the proposed federal budget uses 2024 amounts so does not add in cost-of-living adjustments for staff and other increases like office space lease amounts. Consumer groups are lobbying to include the adjustments in the federal budget. The Commissioner noted that with MCB being a small agency, it is well equipped to handle a budget that does not include the cost of raises and other expenses. He said there will likely be a series of continuing resolutions that could include the COLA amounts before a final Federal budget is in place.

Dashboard Update

Nathan Skrocki reported that overall, numbers are steady.

Almost 900 SR children

Over 3000 SR adults

Over 200 VR youth

Over 700 VR adults registered.

Closed cases so far this calendar year:

• over 50 children’s cases (most of these closures are moved to pre-Ets)
• over 1700 SR adults
• 15 successful and 16 non-successful closures (latter two are fiscal year).
• 190 successful closures and just over 100 non-successful closures at end of state fiscal year (June 30, 2025)

There is consistency in demographics.

Certificates of blindness, ID’s and parking placards issued are consistent with the previous year.

July and August COB’s are higher than other months due to tax reasons.

Over 1200 new registrations.

Nathan noted that MA is doing well compared to other states in terms of successful VR closures.

Brian reported that there has been a long delay in his getting a slot to take the TVI licensure exam. He was told that was due to not enough computers available with Jaws and also because they do not allow Certificates of Blindness as proof of disability, so it took more time for a doctor to complete the required form. The concern he raised is that with such a need for TVI’s, including ones who can teach Braille, such delays negatively impact not just on the licensure applicant but also the students in need of TVI’s. Martha Daigle from DESE (Department of Special Education) offered to help with follow up to get a licensure specialist speaker to attend the RC meeting.

MCB Internship Program

DeAnn Elliott shared about her summer internship experience. For her mid-life career change, she found it harder to qualify for internships, many of which required a degree in the field of interest or were designed for current high school or college students. In her internship she worked one on one with a legally blind web accessibility business (Pedal Point Solutions). The owner helped her with some specific needs of establishing her accessibility consulting business, Insight Access. She reports that her business is much better developed since before the internship.

Carol Cullens of MCB shared that interns have to work a minimum of 120 hours during their placements. Interns who meet requirements receive a stipend of $1000. Soft skills training and attendance at opening and closing ceremonies are also required. Interns are encouraged to build their networks, experience a field of work they might have an interest in, and as well as to stretch their comfort zone by taking on new challenges. Internship opportunities are in a broad range of fields including human services, finance, engineering, technology, food service, customer service, health care and more.

New Business

None

Public Comments

None

The meeting was adjourned at 2:25 PM.

Next meeting: Wednesday, December 3, 2025, 1:00 - 3:00 PM. 

Held remotely, via Zoom Meeting

This meeting will be recorded

• Call to order
• Welcome and introductions
• Approval of June 4 Minutes
• Commissioner’s Update
• Budget update
• Programs And Services Update
• Dashboard Update
• Internship Panel Discussion
• MTEL Accommodation Process
• New Business
• Public Comments

Next meeting: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 1:00 - 3:00

If you need a reasonable accommodation, please submit your request at least two weeks in advance to MCB ADA Coordinator Shauntay King by email at  shauntay.m.king@state.ma.us or by phone at 617-210-5054. Requests made less than two weeks before the meeting will be considered but may not be possible to fill. Please inform the ADA Coordinator if you will need American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and/or Communication Access Real Time Transcription (CART) services.