FFY 2022, Quarter 2 Report

Quarterly Reports are presented to the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind during their quarterly meetings.

Previous Quarterly Reports

Quarterly Report, FFY 2022, 2nd Quarter

January - March 2022

Presented to the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind
June 10, 2022

CONTENTS

 

INDEPENDENT LIVING BLIND SKILLS SERVICES

CLIENT SERVICES

FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR (FFY) 2021, QUARTER 2 VERSUS FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2022, QUARTER 2

In previous IL reports, client data was for a single year and information was provided for each program, both Younger Blind and Older Blind. Data will now show combined program totals and the report will compare the previous year’s data to the current year.

CLIENT AND CASE TRENDS

Trend FFY 2021, Q2 FFY 2022, Q2
All clients 207 194
Clients under age 24 0 0
Clients over age 100 4 1
Clients who identify as a minority 13% 14
Homeless Clients 4 0
Clients who have multiple disabilities 32% 40%
Clients with household incomes $30,000 or less 72% 57%
Cost per case average $675 $695

FFY 2022 PRELIMINARY OUTCOMES

Most popular Assistive Technology categories of devices provided:

  1. Handheld magnifiers
  2. Address books
  3. Writing guides
  4. Cell phone apps
  5. Digital handheld magnifiers

Clients who feel more independent and more confident in maintaining their current living situation:

Out of 243 clients closed in FFY 2022 to date, 217 reported being more confident in their current living situation and with the independent living skills.

Counties without clients served:

Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, San Juan, Skamania, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, and Yakima.

SUCCESS STORY VIGNETTE

Tim, a 72-year-old man living in a college town in Eastern Washington, has age-related macular degeneration. He lives alone in his home, having lost his wife a few years ago, but maintains an active social life. Tim loves to cook, bake, and smoke meats which he gives away to neighbors and friends. As a previous client of the IL Program, Cheryl at Lilac Services for the Blind helped him apply for and receive talking books from the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library. Tim loves reading the newsletter which the library sends out quarterly. A recent edition highlighted the newly launched CCTV Lending Program that WTBBL is helping with in collaboration with the IL Program. Tim just happened to read about the CCTV Lending Program in the newsletter and immediately contacted the IL Program to see if he might be able to receive a CCTV. Cheryl said yes, of course! They worked together to determine that the Acrobat HD Ultra would be the best fit. Cheryl made the request, and the machine was sent to her promptly.

Cheryl made the long drive from Spokane to see Tim in his college-town home and deliver the Acrobat. Once she arrived, she set it up for him and then the real fun began. She introduced the different buttons and settings; he practiced setting the various modes and changing the magnification. Once he mastered the controls, Cheryl taught him how to use it for reading. He read the newspaper, insurance statements, and mail. He was also excited to looked at photographs. Jim enjoys working on word search puzzles; he uses large print puzzles but still finds it difficult. So, Cheryl showed him that he could put a word search puzzle under the camera of the Acrobat, and he was pleased with how much easier it made it.

What Tim really wanted was to be able to use the Acrobat to read his recipe cards for all of the meals he makes for the many people in his life. So, Cheryl set up the machine in the kitchen, near Tim’s cooking space. She showed Tim how to use the “freeze” function of the Acrobat to keep the recipe handy until he’s done with it. He was so happy to have the recipe magnified so much to make it easier to follow.

Cheryl called to follow up with Tim a few weeks later and asked him how he was doing with the Acrobat. He said it was so helpful and that he uses it every day! He said that being able to continue preparing meals for others, using the recipe cards magnified by the Acrobat that the IL Program lent him, gives him purpose.

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BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM (BEP)

FACILITIES UPDATE

BEP continues to manage the program at a minimal pace with no major changes to report. We are now up to nine sites re-opened out of the 22. We were able to re-open the Dome Deli to provide limited services to the Legislative session with minimal options. In the fall we had re-opened LNI café and hoped for a good response. However, on site works are very sparse so the café is just barely holding on.

Another note of news is Dennis Noyes retired from BEP on Dec 31 from the Criminal Justice Training Center. It was awarded to Randy Tedrow, and we have been working with him to make a successful transition.

As previously discussed, during the past two years the pandemic and slow recovery has impacted BEP operators and locations at a level never before experienced. The hospitality industry is grappling with side effects of a major magnitude from employee shortages, supply chain shortages, price increases weekly, fuel shortages, war impacts, limited logistics, and inflation at a level not seen for many years. These impacts across supply chain and logistics have brought record wholesale prices to the operators who in turn have to raise prices to limited customers or absorb the cost. These extra side effects shrink the small margin even further for the owners and creates more stress. Our suppliers tell us to expect these conditions well into late 2022 and there is not much anyone can do about it.

The feasibility study we have been sharing about is now at its last leg through the legislative process and we are very hopeful for a winning outcome. The opportunity to refresh our cafes and provide a more modern food service is needed, wanted, and demanded by today’s mobile workforce.

The BEP team continues to provide support remotely and, in the field, fairly often now for those who are open. Our time is still spent holding business coaching sessions and assisting vendors in any way possible. Regular Zoom calls with vendors continue every other week and are still received well by a majority.

TRAINING AND POTENTIAL NEW VENDOR UPDATE

Our trainee John Chang is on the home stretch to finish his training plan while operating the US Courthouse café facility in Seattle. We expect to approve his license by June.

STAFF UPDATE

The BEP team continues to explore new opportunities for revenue, training on new trends, and has begun plans for the remodel project. This project will not be easy by any stretch; it is very ambitious. We appreciate the E-team helping us make this a priority.

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CUSTOMER SERVICES

SNAPSHOT OF PERFORMANCE COMPARISON: [Q2 FFY22 VS Q2 FFY21]

  • New VR Applications [166 vs 144]
  • VR Customers Receiving Planned Services [850 vs 816]
  • VR Customers Added to Wait List [0 vs 0]
  • VR Customers Released from Wait List [0 vs 0] (All categories opened 5/5/20)
  • Students with a Disability served [361 vs 338]
  • Competitive Employment Outcomes [18 vs 17]
  • Average Hourly Wage FFY22 Q2 [$28.60 vs $26.82] [Year-to-date $26.92 vs $24.71]

EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES

Successful placements made this quarter:

Job Title Employer County / Region
Information Security Analysts Securitas Security Services North / King
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material
Movers, Hand		 Thermoforming Systems TSL East / Yakima
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners Normandy Park Senior Living North / King
Home Health Aides Bridge of Promise North / King
Demonstrators and Product Promoters Club Demonstration Services (CDS) East / Benton
Sales Managers Oneonta Starr Ranch Growers
Corporate Headquarters		 East / Chelan
Elementary School Teachers,
Except Special Education		 Evergreen Public Schools South / Clark
Teachers and Instructors, All Other Highline School District North / King
Medical Secretaries Clarus Eye Centre South / Thurston
Computer Occupations, All Other Bridge Town Tech LLC South / Clark
Radio Operators Gorge Country Media East / Klickitat
Managers, All Other Self-employment (except BEP) East / Kittitas
Project Management Specialists Sound Transit North / Kitsap
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Self-employment (except BEP) East / Franklin
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand Self-employment (except BEP) North / Snohomish
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material
Movers, Hand		 Olive Garden East / Douglas
Computer Network Support Specialists Seattle Public Schools North / King
Cashiers Safeway North / King

Wages

Average hourly wage all employment outcomes at Q2: $26.92

Age ranges

  • Percentage of participants age 55 and older who exited with employment outcome: 26%
  • Eldest with employment outcome:
    Age 67 – Cutter and Trimmer, Hand
  • Youngest with employment outcome:
    Age 22 – Medical Secretary

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YOUTH SERVICES

SPENDING TARGETS FOR PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION SERVICES SET ASIDE EXPENDITURES THROUGH MARCH 31, 20222 (IN THOUSANDS)

Federal Grant Grant Amount Pre-ETS Set Aside Pre- ETS
Spent Dollars		 Unspent
Balance
FFY 2021
(ends 09/30/22)		 $ 12,026 $ 1,804 $ 508 $ 1,296
FFY 2022
(ended 09/30/23)		 $ 9,547 $ 1,432 $ 0 $ 1,432

DSB/WSSB PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION SERVICES AND YOUTH SERVICES ACTIVITIES

Job Class

Job Class is a 12-week soft skills training prerequisite to YES2 2022. Job Class started March 3rd and ends May 19th, 2022. Roughly 19 participants meet on Thursdays for 1.25 hours to discuss topics such as: time management and organization, self-esteem and confidence building, communication skills, social media and the workplace, professionalism, productivity, resume and cover letter writing, and preparation for interviews. As a part of Job Class, participants will also be taking part in mock interviews. We have invited their supervisors from their YES2 job assignment to participate in the mock interviews if possible.

Good Vibe Friday

Good Vibe Friday (GVF) is a space for youth ages 12-21 to hang out with intention. This social hour is facilitated by a contractor who works with three youth interns to prepare topics for each session. GVF takes place on the second Friday of the month. An average of eight participants take part regularly. Topics covered this quarter included ableism (from self and from family, friends, and community), and healthy relationship building including self-love, self-worth, and self-value. Pre-ETS skills practiced during these sessions include active listening, training in self-advocacy, and peer mentoring.

Skiing!

On March 13th DSB partnered with Outdoor for All to take ten DSB students, ages 12-21, downhill skiing and snowboarding at Snoqualmie Ski resort. Students of all abilities and experience levels were welcome to attend this event and we had students who had some experience and those without any. Each student was paired with a trained volunteer, or in some cases two volunteers, who guided and taught the students during the day. The students were challenged and encouraged to try something new, and all of the students left this day tired and exhausted but with huge smiles on their faces. They grew their confidence on the mountain and many of them found a new recreational activity that they look forward to participating in again in the future.

Financial Beginnings

DSB hosted two financial literacy training series this quarter for different age groups. One for students ages 9-13, and one for students 14-21. This workshop series was facilitated by trainers from Financial Beginnings and BECU in partnership with DSB Youth Services. Students learned about banking, investing, credit, ways to protect yourself financially, taxes, and so much more! This was a very popular series among our older students, and we had between 12-15 students attend every session. In our sessions for younger students, we had about three students attend regularly. Students came prepared with very good questions and even got to participate in stock market simulation games where they learned firsthand how different scenarios and events can impact the stocks that they chose to invest in.

Camp Spark Session 3

January 21-23, 2022 at Camp Ghormley, WA

A weekend of fun with Camp Spark, campers participated in a large variety of activities. They received intensive instruction in snowshoeing, broomball, yoga, and team games and activities by the Northwest Association of Blind Athletes (NWABA) staff who are professionals in the field. Youth learned and practiced self-advocacy through health, wellness, and physical education activities during the camp based on the expanded core curriculum.

Camp Spark Session 6

February 18-21, 2022 At Mt. Hood, OR

Kiwanis Camp youth campers participated in a large variety of activities. They received intensive instruction in snowshoeing, broomball, goalball, and team games and activities by NWABA staff. Youth learned and practiced self-advocacy, independent living including meal preparation and clean up, orientation and mobility, career skills, and recreation and leisure through health, wellness, and physical education activities.

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ORIENTATION AND TRAINING CENTER HIGHLIGHTS

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1 – TELLING THE DSB STORY

OTC Spotlight on Leah Thomas

We have all had two major experiences in life. The first is when everything is going incredibly well and you’re on top of the world! The other is when you suddenly take a huge fall from that mountain top, and it feels like everything is against you. We all know how to deal with, and actually enjoy, when we have the world on a string. But many of us don’t know how to pick ourselves up from a huge fall and move forward. Leah Thomas says she is an expert at dealing with both situations, especially handling big falls.

Leah was born and raised in Pt. Townsend, WA. Her adult life actually began at a rather young age. By the time she was nineteen, she was already married and had three little kids. From the beginning, Leah knew she had to and wanted to do everything she could so her kids could be happy and do well in life. She did all she could for her young family; however, married life was an obstacle for her happiness as she had to deal with domestic violence. In a twelve-year period, the domestic violence she endured had major consequences which gradually but ultimately ended her marriage and caused Leah’s blindness.

While raising her family, Leah had a few interesting and fun jobs along the way, including doing some modeling work, being a mental health advocate, working as an Ombudsman on a panel of mental health advocates listening to and dealing with grievances, and working at a pregnancy crisis center.

Beginning in 2005, Leah noticed that there was something definitely wrong with her vision. In addition to working and providing for her kids, this was a new inconvenience. Time kept going and vision kept worsening. “I couldn’t let that stop me. I grieved, but I didn’t have time to sit around feeling sorry for myself. I had to provide for my kids, making sure all of us had a safe and stable future.”

In about 2009, Leah looked at receiving services from DVR. They, in turn, connected her with DSB, and Leah met her first VRC named Harry Whiting. Harry assured Leah that blindness would not be a hindrance once she learned the necessary skills she needed. Leah agreed. He also told her about the OTC, where she would eventually enroll as a student.

Aside from Harry, Leah met and worked with Beth Sutton on what she called “Intense cane travel training.” Leah recalls spending a lot of time with Beth, learning how to travel in all types of environments and using her cane at all times. “Beth even let me fall once. But I thought that was OK. I compared it to life. I had to pick myself up and learn from it. Now, I am super independent with my mobility skills!”

Leah was never afraid of blindness. She knew it would be a challenge, but she also knew that living life as a blind person was doable. Of course, there were times when she felt depressed, but much of that was more because of the domestic violence she’d endured. Leah had actually grown up with her grandfather who was blind because of macular degeneration. He went to a training center in California. Leah saw that he did everything everyone else did and thought nothing of it. She knew about Braille, the white cane, the books from the talking book library and more. She knew she’d be OK.

In 2010, the OTC was holding a self-defense program where three instructors came and worked with students and other DSB clients. Two of the instructors were former OTC students.

“That self-defense class was one of the best things I did for myself. Before, I had no confidence and never wanted to travel alone. That training broke me out of everything, especially my fears. I knew I could protect myself and I felt empowered. It was a major confidence builder. All blind students should take a class like that!”

In 2011, her youngest child had graduated from high school, and Leah became a student at the OTC. It was time for her to focus on herself and learn the skills she needed to move forward.

“I was on my own for the first time, and it was wonderful. I still consider it to be the most amazing year of growth for me. It took a lot to gain the confidence and independence I gained at the OTC, but it was so worth it!”

Leah enjoyed her classes. She loved the adventures she went on with David for Mobility, including learning about the ferry so as to be able to travel to Pt. Townsend. She loved learning Braille from Joy and knowing she’d be able to read whatever she wanted. She appreciated that Jim was a different kind of teacher in the computer class, very flexible and willing to help her learn in different ways. Home Ec and Shop were classes that helped her learn the skills to be able to continue doing what she already enjoyed and knew how to do, which involved cooking and working with her hands. In seminar, Leah really enjoyed discussing, thinking, and leading several discussions.

Life at the OTC was more than just classes. Leah and a few other students were born leaders, and they helped to organize an active student council and have extracurricular activities on evenings and weekends.

“We did so much both at the apartments and around Seattle. Just because we were blind didn’t mean we couldn’t do stuff and have fun. That’s why we were there, to learn the skills to live our lives. I wanted to include everyone and never wanted any of the other students to be left behind. I still feel that way when it comes to other blind people.”

Leah also got a lot out of the various OTC challenge activities. Aside from tandem biking and snow shoeing, Leah’s favorite activity was going kayaking. She had an unforgettable time there, because at the very beginning, she somehow managed to tip her kayak and fall in the cold water. In typical Leah fashion, she didn’t allow that to stop her from enjoying the rest of the event. Leah laughed as she recalled what had happened.

“It was like another fall. I had to get back up and into the kayak and learn from it so that it wouldn’t happen again. It is just like life!”

Immediately after completing the OTC, Leah enrolled at and got degrees from Peninsula College. She first received a culinary degree in 2014. She then received an AA degree in accounting in 2016, followed by her BA in Business Management in 2019. She is currently working on her MA degree in order to be a teacher of the visually impaired (TVI). She’ll receive that degree in June of 2023, from the University of Northern Colorado. She’d also like to become O&M certified. In addition to her studies, she is also employed as Guardian ad litem in Pt. Townsend.

When Leah was asked what made her want to obtain several degrees, she said the following: “There are many blind kids who need to learn skills, so they don’t get left behind in life. I can teach them how to cook, or I can teach them how to learn to budget their money. I can teach them to read and write or use a computer or be independent when they walk. Who better to teach them all of this stuff than me, who is also blind and doing these things on a daily basis? I want to push them to do everything they want to do in life.”

Leah’s life is full. She loves spending time with her kids and five grandchildren. She is also raising and home schooling her eight-year-old identical twin granddaughters. She is teaching them importance of being strong and independent women who can care for themselves while encouraging them to enjoy their childhood. Blindness is not a big deal to Leah’s granddaughters. “They handle and work with blindness better than many adults I know.”

Leah is very happy these days. The falls she has taken in life have done nothing but made her stronger and more empowered. She will continue finding ways to make a difference, especially in the lives of other blind people.

When asked about an immediate goal after finishing school and being a successful teacher, she said, “My goal is to get my own kayak and go kayaking whenever I want!”

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 2 – DSB EXPERTISE

The OTC staff wants to continue to grow in their knowledge of working with and serving people’s needs. Ron Jasmer organized a training dealing with Diversity and Inclusion. We learned more about LGBTQ+ and gender differences. We also learned about better and more inclusive language. The staff appreciated learning more about different cross-sections of people since we work with all of them.

The OTC’s blind staff have also been involved in obtaining training, updating their skills on Office 365 with JAWS. The comprehensive training is being provided by Jack Mendez, of Miles Access Training. The training will continue into the summer.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 3 – EMPLOYMENT AT EVERY LAYER

The OTC Careers team has been partnering with Carl Peterson (DSB’s Business Engagement Manager) to continue providing workshops and classes to our students. It is a pleasure working with Carl and giving OTC students new and helpful resources.

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REGIONAL VR HIGHLIGHTS

PARTICIPANT STORIES

  • Former participant Donna Elkins was appointed as the new Assistive Technology Specialist for the DSB Spokane Office. Donna brings to DSB her wealth of experience working with students from diverse backgrounds as a Student Success Coach for the Community Colleges of Spokane. The interview team was also impressed with her work providing Apple and Mac training to those with vision loss in the community.
  • Spokane VRC Taurus Richardson has reported that their participant CJ was hired on with Lucid Software Inc. on December 13, 2021. CJ’s official title is Software Engineer, and his job duties also include developing a large enterprise web application. He will work full time at an hourly wage of $44.00 per hour and receive employment benefits. CJ will obtain his bachelor’s degree and work in South Jordan, Utah.
  • Gil shared the happy news of JC’s successful closure of his DSB case. He’s doing well at his new job at Apple and is no longer requesting additional VR services from DSB now that he’s achieved stability at work. A copy of JC’s last email is included below.
“Noooo! I do not accept your goodbye! Haha, kidding. Thank you all so very much for helping me come so far since our very first interaction with each other. I will certainly reach out if I need anything, but you all have given me the tools to succeed in anything I want to do! I am forever indebted to everyone at OTC and DSB. Thank you so, so very much.”

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1 – TELLING THE DSB STORY

  • Kristi Akers, VRC Vancouver and Jen Scheel, YSS, presented to the Evergreen School District in March. In attendance were teachers of the visually impaired (TVI), Braillists, special education teachers and transition teachers. The different programming that Youth Services offers was discussed and shared. A video that DSB youth produced with Jack Straw was also shown. The Vocational Rehab process, ages served, and benefits were overviewed. As a group we had time to discuss school staff challenges, how to connect youth and families to DSB services, and answer questions.
  • Kristi Akers, VRC Vancouver, presented at an information session for Washington State School for the Blind (WSSB) students. There were about 15 students in total. Kristi shared information about DSB youth programs and the VR program. Services offered and how students can apply for services was discussed. There were some great conversations about transitioning from high school to adulthood and how DSB can help. The students were engaged and asked great questions. Kristi provided brochures, business cards, and handouts about Youth Services and the VR process.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 2 – DSB EXPERTISE

  • Laura Ozios-Townsend, AT Specialist, provided some quick accessibility checks using Jaws and ZoomText using the online-virtual platform for HIRE Pierce County Virtual Job event.
  • Beth Sutton, O&M/Rehab Teacher & Kara Thompson, VRC, Tacoma office has worked several months with a participant (job retention) working for Amazon. Sutton has provided extensive orientation to site and mobility training, and Amazon has been very supportive of our participant in terms of making sure the participant has all their reasonable accommodations in place before she officially starts work, without her Amazon Trainer. This has led to Amazon making changes overall to open spaces and other parts of the site the participant works in, to also be accessible for future hires that may have a visual disability. This is a much-needed partnership, to continue DSB and Amazon collaboration on future cases.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 3 – EMPLOYMENT AT EVERY LEVEL

  • Spokane VRC Taurus Richardson, and others at DSB who participate on interview panels, have recently attended the Mitigating Implicit Bias in the Hiring Process workshop. The workshops gave an outline of why implicit bias can be harmful to applicants, our agencies and institutions, our community and why a diverse and representative state workforce is beneficial for the people of Washington. Attendees learned how to experience discomfort and listen for understanding in the workshop and in breakout sessions; and about the impact of implicit bias and the seven insidious hiring biases (the Halo Effect, Expectation, Confirmation, Anchoring, Social Comparison, Ingroup, and Shared Information Bias). They worked on how to identify writing an inclusive job description, resume screening, and structured interview questions to provide candidates with equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and qualifications for the job.
  • Regional Area Managers Bianca K., Sothea O., and Damiana H. represented DSB at the WA Health Care Authority monthly webinar “Strengthen your Organizational and Client Outcomes“, as the spotlight guest to network with Foundational Community Support providers and present on DSB’s mission, process, and scope of services.
  • Kristi Akers, VRC -Vancouver Office, attended a job fair hosted by Val Ogden Center. A variety of employers where there; Amazon, Fred Meyers, Mod Pizza, Frito Lay Packing, Safeway, Dollar Tree distribution center, Church and Dwight and Goodwill Job Connections. Kristi took 3 her participants to this, and observed their excitement to speak with employers, face-to-face, ask their questions. The group left with many employment leads.
  • Kara Thompson, VRC Tacoma office, has been connecting with WorkForce Staff, in Pierce County. She has met with them on numerous occasions though the months of January and February for discussion around connecting our participants to employers. She also attended the Hire Pierce County Virtual Job Fair where she met with actual employers and obtained information about positions and open job opportunities.

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AGENCY COMMUNICATIONS REPORT

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #1.1 – GATHERING THE DSB STORY

Youth Services Quarterly Newsletter

Student interns gather stories for and by young people for the website and promotion through agency social media.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #1.2 – TARGETING THE DSB MESSAGE

Youth Services Strategic Communications Plan

Working with Youth Services team to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that targets specific, defined audiences.

  • Presentation at PNWAER
    • 70-minute general session presentation.
  • Registered to exhibit at AWSP/WASA Annual Conference June 26-28
    • Developing poster presentation for exhibit area

Spring Community Forum Promotions Plan

Communications activities to announce Forum

  • Online Promotions
  • Stake holder sharing
    • NFBW
    • WCB / Newsline
  • Press Release Distribution
    Network TV statewide, large/regional newspapers, audience specific outlets
    • 16 TV stations
    • 10 Newspapers
    • 62 Radio Stations
  • Calendar of Events Submissions
    Online website submissions
    • 11 TV Stations
    • 42 Newspapers
    • 15 Radio Stations
    • Vancouver EVVNT Network – 31 thousand monthly Unique Visitors from 31 online publishers.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #2.1 ENHANCE AGENCY CAPACITY AND CORE COMPETENCIES

Data Governance Team

  • Developing training and communications to inform staff on the improving the Agency’s Records Retention efforts.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #2.2 ENHANCE RECRUITMENT, RETENTION AND SUCCESSION

Communications Office Knowledge Transfer

  • Ongoing updates to Communications “How-To” Desk Manual to share and preserve knowledge of office duties and activities.

ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS (01/01/2022 – 03/31/22)

Website Analytics

Website usage overview:

Metric Definition Current Change
Users Number of unique individuals who visited the site 5,689 +323
New Users Individuals visiting the site for the first time 5,439
(95.6%)		 +324
Sessions Number of times a user is active engaged with the website. 7,846 +1,035
Page Views Number of pages looked at 19,167 +4,512

Channels

How people found the website:

Type Definition Users Percent Change
Organic Search Used Google, Bing, or another search engine to find the site. 3,256 55.9% +479
Direct Typed in the URL. 2,143 38.18% -295
Referral Clicked a link on a different website. 274 4.71% +111
Social Clicked on a link from a social media platform. 149 2.59% +65
Email Clicked on a link embedded in an email message. 0 0 -1

Technology

Type of device used to view the website (per session):

Technology Used Users Percent Change
Desktop 3,634 63.87% +145
Mobile Phone 1,913 33.62% +139
Tablet 143 2.51% +45

Online Referral Forms

Type Users Change
Self-referrals 129 +79
Physician referrals 33 +12

Facebook

Analytics

Metric Definition Current Change
Total Likes Number of people that "liked" any post 78 -329
Total Followers The number of people/pages that follow the page 481 +53
Total Reach The number of people who had any content from or
about the page enter their screen through unpaid
distribution		 2,658 -655

Top Five Facebook Posts

Topic Date Reach
We're Hiring! AT Specialist, Spokane February 10 488
DSB is Hiring Youth Services Specialists,
Spokane and Vancouver		 March 18 249
Do you want to join an agency... Youth
Services Specialist		 January 14 173
Youth Services Career Clusters Workshops February 15 116
External Link: A new language has been
born in the Northwest (Protactile)		 January 5 99

LinkedIn

Analytics

Metric Definition Current Change
Total Followers Number of people that follows the account 210 +26
Unique Impressions The number of people/pages that follow the page 535 -1,216

Engagement Rate
Calculated as: (Clicks + Likes + Comments + Shares + Follows) / Impressions

  Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar
Rate 26.77% 7.49% 6.61% 6.44% 9.14% 13.03%
Increase
over previous month		 +54% -68% -12% -3% +42% +43%

Top Five LinkedIn Posts

Topic Date Reach
State Scoop 50 Awards Nomination - Mary Craig March 18 172
Youth Services Specialist job posting March 10 135
Reshare: JAWS is able to speak content of slides
in Teams		 February 2 87
Health and Wellness Instructor job posting March 30 78
Youth Program Assistant Coordinator March 24 78

OTHER COMMUNICATIONS EVENTS / MEETINGS / TRAININGS

  • Communications Directors Meetings – ongoing, bi-weekly
  • March 17 – PNW AER Spring Conference Presentation
  • March 2 – DSB Spring Community Forum

2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION

The 2022 Regular Legislative Session began on Monday, January 10, 2022, and continued for 60 days. Regular Session cutoff dates were established in SCR 8404 and adopted by the House & Senate.

Legislators approved 303 bills during the 60-day session. March 10, 2022 was the last day allowed for regular session under state constitution and the 2022 Regular Session of the Sixty-seventh Legislature adjourned sine die.

Tracked bills Signed by Governor

Fiscal Notes

The agency was asked to analyze and provide legislative fiscal notes on following bills.

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FINANCIAL REPORT

Federal Fiscal Year Q1 2022, through December 31, 2021

2022 STATE FISCAL YEAR – REVIEW THROUGH MARCH 31, 2021 (IN THOUSANDS)

Source Allotment
Authority		 Expenditures Balance
General Fund - State $ 3,826 $ 1,269 $ 2,557
General Fund - Federal $ 12,657 $ 9,256 $ 3,401
Donations $ 30 $ 12 $ 18
BEP $ 1,245 $ 805 $ 440
Statewide Tech Pool $ 323 $ 63 $ 260
Total $ 18,081 $ 11,405 $ 6,676

2022 STATE FISCAL YEAR – FEDERAL GRANT FUNDS THROUGH MARCH 31, 2022 (IN THOUSANDS)

Grant Grant
Amount		 SFY 20 & SFY 21
Federal
Expenditures		 SFY 22
Federal
Expenditures		 Balance
2021 Voc. Rehab Basic Services -
$1.8 million is for Pre-ETS set aside		 $ 12,026 $ 101 $ 7725 $ 4,200
2022 Voc. Rehab Basic Services -
$1.4 million is for Pre-ETS set aside		 $ 9,547 $ 0 $ 2 $ 9,545
2021 Supported Employment $ 46 $ 4 $ 8 $ 34
2022 Supported Employment $ 18 $ 0 $ 4 $ 14
2021 IL Older Blind $ 677 $ 0 $ 564 $ 113
2022 IL Older Blind $ 677 $ 0 $ 0 $ 667
Total $ 22,991 $ 105 $ 8,303 $ 14,583

2022 STATE FISCAL YEAR – TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM AS OF MARCH 31, 2022 (IN THOUSANDS)

Program Grant Funds State Other Total
Voc. Rehab Services Adults $ 7,552 $ 1,308 $ 0 $ 8,860
Voc. Rehab Pre-ETS $ 1,010 $ 0 $ 0 $ 1010
Supported Employment $ 12 $ 0 $ 0 $ 12
Independent Living Part B $ 0 $ 28 $ 0 $ 28
IL Older Blind $ 693 $ 0 $ 0 $ 693
Birth through 8
(Not Grant Funded)		 $ 0 $ 0 $ 15 $ 15
Social Security Revenue $ 0 $ 0 $ 18 $ 18
Business Enterprise Program $ 0 $ 30 $ 776 $ 806
Total $ 9,267 $ 1,366 $ 809 $ 11,442

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF DSB BUSINESS AND FINANCE?

  • Reallotment: DSB was successful in receiving $2.4 million of federal reallotment funds for FFY 2021.
  • FFY 2021 VR grant: DSB state spend strategies in FFY 2021 allowed DSB to carryover approximately $9.8 million of the 2021 FFY VR grant into FFY 2022. We anticipate not needing to spend on the FFY2022 VR grant until May 2022.

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HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE

NEW HIRES/PROMOTIONS/TRANSFERS

Personnel Job Title Team Duty Station Effective Date
Elkins, Donna IT - Business Analyst Journey Level
AT Specialist		 Field Services Spokane 03/21/2022
Hiebert, Bryan FA4 Fiscal Analyst Fiscal Lacey HQ 04/01/2022
Hines, Matthew PS3 Youth Services Specialist Youth Services Vancouver 05/01/2022
Klein, Alice PS3 OTC Health and Wellness
Instructor		 Customer Services Seattle 05/16/2022
Newman, Richard Reader/Driver (Community Worker) CS / Admin Spokane 04/11/2022
Scott, Ryan PS3 Youth Services Specialist Youth Services Spokane 05/23/2022

CURRENT AND FUTURE OPENINGS

Status Job Title Team Duty Station Effective Date
Recruiting Youth Program Assistant Coordinator
(Non-Perm / Part-Time)		 Youth Services Seattle Open until filled

END OF SERVICE

Personnel Job Title Team Duty Station Effective Date
Lee-Rossow, Eun-Gyong Non-Perm / Part-Time OTC
Braille Instructor		 Customer Services Seattle 05/02/2022
Perry-Amos, Michelle Non-Perm AA3 Admin Assistant Admin Seattle 03/02/2022

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Previous Quarterly Reports

Fiscal Year 2022

Fiscal Year 2021

Fiscal Year 2020

Fiscal Year 2019

Fiscal Year 2018

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