Public Meeting Notice  MCB Statutory Advisory Board (SAB) Meeting

SAB Attendees: Brian MacDonald, Blair Wong, Nancy Rumbolt-Trzcinski, and Kathy Petkauskos

MCB Staff Attendees: John Oliveira, Justine Muir, Nathan Skrocki, and Lucy Evangelidis

Meeting held via Zoom, recording available to the public on the MCB YouTube channel. Public invited to participate through Q&A at the end of the meeting.

Minutes

A quorum was reached. A motion to approve the November 4, 2025 minutes was made by Nancy and seconded by Blair. The motion passed unanimously. Board members confirmed that meeting recordings and minutes from May onward are now posted and up to date on the MCB website, with November minutes to be added following this meeting.

Commissioner Update – John Oliveira

Commissioner Oliveira reported on federal funding, grants, and outreach initiatives:

• Federal funding and continuing resolution
  • The recent federal government shutdown has ended; RSA staff have returned to work and layoff notices have been rescinded.
  • MCB has received approximately 33% of its FFY26 VR grant and 33% of its Older Independent Blind grant. A smaller supported employment/independent living grant (about $60,000 total) is expected shortly.
  • These FFY26 funds have been set up in the fiscal system. MCB will continue to use remaining FFY25 federal funds through the end of December (which currently cover staff and services) and then transition to FFY26 funds in January.
  • Congress has passed a continuing resolution through January 30, 2026. Until a full federal budget is approved, MCB will monitor spending closely and maximize use of state match funds to stretch federal dollars.
• RSA organizational status
  • RSA remains within the U.S. Department of Education; some federal agencies were reassigned during the shutdown, but RSA was not.
  • There is ongoing speculation that RSA may eventually move to the Department of Labor or Health and Human Services, but no official decision has been announced.
  • MCB has continued to meet all RSA reporting deadlines and submit required forms, including during the shutdown, ensuring the continuation of grant processing and data reporting.
• Earmark-funded training
  • Earmark funding for the Carroll Center and Mass Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI) is available and vendors are expected to be actively booking consumers.
  • Consumers can self-refer to the Carroll Center or MABVI for computer, independent living, and related training supported by the earmark; MCB staff may also refer consumers. Billing is drawn directly from the earmark funding rather than individual consumer case budgets.
• New in-home training earmark
  • A new, non-designated legislative earmark will fund a vendor to provide in-home training to consumers.
  • The earmark will also allow MCB to support consumers receiving training under multiple earmarks (Carroll, MABVI, and the new in-home training vendor).
  • MCB will develop and release an RFR in the near future, with the goal of having an in-home training provider in place in early 2026.
• National recruitment media campaign
  • Using reallotment federal dollars, MCB contracted with UMass last year to develop short promotional video “reels” highlighting careers in the blindness field (orientation and mobility, vision rehabilitation therapy, assistive technology, and teaching students with visual impairments).
  • MCB then issued an RFR and engaged a media firm to purchase and manage social media advertising.s
  • A new landing page on mass.gov/mcb hosts the videos and includes links to related training programs across the country, including UMass programs. Visitors can explore program websites for contact information and application details.
  • The campaign targets individuals ages 18-45, particularly college juniors/seniors and mid-career adults considering a career change, and will run on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Google.
  • Ads will be geo-targeted to Massachusetts and several other large states/metro areas (including California, Texas, and Illinois) to help address nationwide workforce shortages in blindness services.
  • The campaign is launching this week. MCB will receive monthly analytics (clicks, views, etc.) and plans to follow up with universities by late spring/early summer 2026 to determine whether inquiries and applications have increased.

Programs & Services Update – Justine Muir

Justine provided an update focused on transition-age (Pre-ETS) services:

• Visions of Collaborations conference (spring 2026)
  • Planning has begun for the annual Visions of Collaborations conference, which focuses on educators and professionals working with transition-age students (Pre-ETS youth ages 14-22 who are still in secondary education).
  • The internal MCB planning team is meeting this week; external partners (schools, collaboratives, and other agencies) will be brought into the planning process in the coming weeks.
  • The conference will highlight best practices in preparing students for post-secondary education, training, and employment.
• Pre-ETS program participation
  • MCB is seeing strong participation across Pre-ETS programming statewide.
  • Youth are engaging in activities such as job exploration, post-secondary preparation (college, training, certificate programs), workplace readiness, self-advocacy, and work-based learning experiences (job shadowing, work-based learning opportunities).
  • Programs are offered in a range of formats to provide flexibility for students and families: weekends, after-school, in-person, hybrid, and remote.

Dashboard Update – Nathan Skrocki

Nate shared updated consumer and registration metrics:

• Open cases
  • SR Children: approximately 900 open cases.
  • SR Adults: approximately 3,300 open cases.
  • VR Youth: 204 open cases.
  • VR Adults: 769 open cases.
  • Roughly 80% of all open cases are on the SR side.
• Closed cases (CY25 to date)
  • SR: Over 100 children and more than 200 adults closed so far this calendar year.
  • VR (since July 1): 60 successful and 39 unsuccessful closures.
• Demographics
  • VR age distribution remains stable. The largest age cohorts are: 19-29, followed by 30–39.
  • Notably, 48 individuals aged 70+ are currently receiving VR services.
• Registrations and documents
  • Nearly 7,800 Certificates of Blindness issued in 2025.
  • 1,026 MCB ID cards produced.
  • 1,673 new registrants year-to-date, with 40-45 new registrations per week the past several weeks; trends suggest total new registrations will be around 1,800 by year’s end.

Nate invited board members to contact him if they are interested in additional or more detailed data beyond what is presented at meetings.

Follow-Up on Prior Questions: Lobbying, Fundraising, and Legislative Information

Commissioner Oliveira reported back on several questions raised at previous meetings:

• Autonomous vehicles and advocacy
  • MCB cannot lobby for or endorse specific autonomous vehicle services or companies.
  • The agency may provide neutral information to legislators upon request and can host informational events, but must invite multiple companies/services so as not to appear to favor any particular vendor.
• Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) and fundraising
  • RACs are advisory bodies that assist Regional Directors and are not established by statute. Their primary role is to provide feedback on regional services and issues.
  • If RACs were to raise or manage funds directly under MCB, complex financial and audit requirements (e.g., state comptroller oversight, bank account management) would apply, making the arrangement impractical.
  • Individual advisory council members could form or partner with an independent nonprofit to conduct fundraising, but may not represent such activities as “on behalf of MCB.”
• Legislative awareness page
  • MCB plans to develop a webpage tentatively titled along the lines of “Legislative Issues of Interest to the Blind Community.”
  • Consumer organizations and MCB’s legislative liaison will be able to send information for posting. The page will:
    • Share bill information and links when available.
    • Present content in an informational, neutral manner (not for or against specific legislation).
  • Commissioner Oliveira encouraged consumers interested in advocacy and lobbying to connect with organizations such as NFB, ACB, and other consumer groups that lead those efforts.

Board Discussion

White Cane Awareness Day and regional events

• Blair:
  • Praised the staff videos and the recruitment initiative, noting the importance of attracting new professionals to MCB and the blindness field.
  • Referenced media articles about potential state employee buyout/early retirement programs and asked whether such initiatives could affect MCB staff. John indicated he has no information beyond what is publicly reported and emphasized that the recruitment campaign predates those discussions.
  • Observed that White Cane Awareness Day at the State House appeared to be at or near capacity and raised the possibility of regional White Cane events across MCB’s five regions in 2026 to increase local participation and connection among consumers and staff.
• John:
  • Confirmed that the State House event is consistently well attended and sometimes appears more crowded because attendees tend to sit on aisle seats, leaving blocks of seats in the middle of rows open.
  • Noted that staff are assigned to entrances and assist with seating, breakfast, and wayfinding.
  • Highlighted the significant planning and staffing required to run the State House event and expressed openness to exploring partnerships with local organizations (e.g., in Worcester, Springfield, New Bedford, Fall River, Brockton, Lowell) that already host white cane events, rather than MCB alone coordinating multiple full-scale events.
  • Agreed that regional collaboration could extend MCB’s reach while balancing staff workload.
• Kathy:
  • Shared that she attended the event in the overflow room, where acoustics and captions were strong and many seats remained available.
  • Suggested exploring livestreaming (beyond radio reading services) to reach more people statewide who cannot travel to Boston.
• John:
  • Confirmed that the event is currently streamed multiple times on livestream services.
  • Agreed to investigate technical and logistical options for broader video livestreaming from the State House.

Reverse Job Fairs and regional focus

• Nona (Region 2 – Worcester) requested consideration of a regional Reverse Job Fair for central Massachusetts.
• John:
  • Explained that statewide virtual Reverse Job Fairs help maximize employer participation and candidate match, as employers often prefer events with a larger pool of candidates.
  • Noted the challenge of ensuring enough local candidates whose interests match participating employers if events are highly region-specific.
  • Agreed to bring the suggestion to the employment team and explore ways to incorporate more regional focus within the existing Reverse Job Fair model (for example, highlighting regional candidates or inviting certain employers to focus on specific areas).

Public Comment & Questions

• Accessibility of recruitment videos – Jerry Barrier
  • Jerry reported that the audio of the recruitment reels sounded muffled during the Zoom playback and asked whether transcripts or audio description would be available.
  • John and Justine:
    • Explained that the original videos (developed with UMass) have clear audio and that the muffling was likely due to Zoom playback.
    • Noted that the short length of the reels (about 30 seconds) leaves little room for separate audio description, but that text descriptions were created as part of the production process.
    • Indicated they will review how those accessibility features appear on the social media platforms once the campaign is live and can provide transcripts as needed.

Next Meeting

The next SAB meeting is scheduled for January 6, 2026. Meeting adjourned.

1. Opening requirements:   
   1. Notification and Confirmation: This meeting is being held via Zoom under a law signed by Governor Baker on July 16^th, 2022 granting authority for virtual meetings. It was extended by Governor Healey through June 30, 2027.
   2. Confirmation that MCB records SAB meetings, allows for local recordings and makes such recordings available to the public.
   3. Welcome to members of the public attending the meeting and instruction about Q&A period.
2. Vote to accept minutes of the SAB meeting: November 4, 2025
3. Commissioner Report :  John Oliveira
4. Deputy Commissioner Update: Justine Muir
5. Program Updates: Nathan Skrocki
   1. Review of Dashboard on Registrations, Process, and Outcomes.
6. SAB Members additional questions or comments.
7. Comments or Questions from the public

Public Meeting Adjournment