FFY 2018, Quarter 4 Report

July 2018 – September 2018

Quarterly Report presented to the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind

INDEPENDENT LIVING BLIND SKILLS SERVICES

OCTOBER 2017-SEPTEMBER 2018

CLIENT SERVICE SNAPSHOT –YOUNGER BLIND (YB) AND OLDER BLIND (OB) CLIENTS
Trend Total YB OB
Total Cases 1784 168 1617
Service Delivery to Hispanic or Latino Clients 63 18 45
Service Delivery to Asian Clients 58 9 49
Centenarians (age 100 or older) Served 22 - 22
Youth (24 or younger) Served 11 11 -
Homeless Clients (all clients 60 years old or younger) 13 7 6
Clients with Depression 306 32 275
Clients with Bone, Muscle, Skin, Joint, and Movement Disorders (includes Parkinson’s, arthritis, and osteoporosis) 1 676 43 633
Clients with Diabetes 2 382 54 328
Average Cost per Client - $530 $422
  1. More OB Clients have some sort of bone, muscle, skin, joint, and movement issue than any other medical issue.
  2. More YB Clients have diabetes than any other additional medical issue.

OUTREACH

In September, Margie Corier from Seagull Services met with a group of 10 people, 5 of who are visually impaired, at Olympia Senior Center. They discussed the IL program resources including WTBBL and Lions LVRC. They also demonstrated skills that may be covered at home visits including lens magnification, video magnification, telephone access, kitchen aids (tactile marking), and medical devices (BP monitor, talking scale).

RECENT IL SATISFACTION SURVEY COMMENTS

  • “The ability to read a variety of printed material, the confidence to sew again and also knit.”
  • “They were excellent. I encourage additional funding and support, and support to make additional services available so that I can remain a vital member of my community.”
  • “The couple that came to see us from Seagull rekindled our confidence that some of the things we were doing were correct. The also furnished us with what we didn't know where available. Audiobook player and audio clock, white cane, and self-confidence.”

BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM (BEP)

TRAINING PROGRAM UPDATE

  • In the previous issue of the SRC quarterly report, the BEP training program was discussed in regards to utilizing the Hadley Institute for the Visually Impaired as a part of the classroom portion of training. The purpose of this concept was to make the BEP more attractive to potential participants by removing the requirement to relocate while allowing for flexibility in timing for students, as the classroom training is online and at the participant’s own pace.
  • Three participants started the introductory stages of the pilot program which include an onsite assessment at a BEP facility and free Hadley online business courses that act as prerequisites to the training. Two of the participants completed these stages and became official BEP trainees in September, starting the paid for online Business Enterprise Program Licensee Training (BEPLT) courses through Hadley. The next steps after the BEPLT will be the on the job experience at a BEP facility combined with BEP staff doing supplemental training on the job site to ensure items unique to Washington’s restaurant industry are also described.

BEP EXPANSION

  • Although it is rare to find new viable opportunities for BEP sites, in April 2019 the BEP will take on a new Federal site in Seattle. The facility is a currently operating café in a Federal building. Because it is an active Federal building café, the equipment and any renovating costs will be largely the responsibility of the building, not of BEP, and therefore an affordable option. We are excited about this new opportunity because we believe this will be a great opportunity for a BEP operator to be successful. However, we continue to seek new opportunities in the other regions of the state in order to increase opportunities for blind vendors in other locations outside of the Seattle to Olympia corridor.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

SNAPSHOT OF PERFORMANCE COMPARISON: [Q4 FFY18 VS Q4 FFY17]

Increases in FFY2018 activity from previous year:

  • 396 New VR Applications (2017: 345)
  • 346 New Eligibility determinations (2017: 306)
  • 341 New VR Plans (2017: 274)
  • 1266 VR Customers served (2017: 1241)
  • 157 Competitive and integrated employment outcomes (2017: 133)
  • $24.07 Average Hourly Wage (2017: $19.31)

EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES:

A sample of successful placements:

  • Business Operations Specialists
  • Office and Administrative Support Workers
  • Legislators
  • Education, Training, and Library Workers
  • Graphic Designers
  • Computer Occupations
  • Registered Nurses
  • Dietetic Technicians
  • Patient Representatives
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Financial Analysts
  • Pediatricians, General
  • Public Relations Managers
  • Musical Instrument Repairers and Tuners
  • Mental Health Counselors
  • Personnel Recruiters

Average hourly wage all employment outcomes at Q4:

  • $24.07 per hour

Age ranges

  • Percentage of participants age 55 and older who exited with employment outcome: 35%
  • Eldest with employment outcome: Age 80: King County Assessor/Appraiser
  • Youngest with employment outcome: Age 19 (2 people): Stock clerk, and Food prep/server

YOUTH SERVICES

SPENDING TARGETS FOR PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION SERVICES SET ASIDE
Federal Grant Grant Amount Pre-ETS Set Aside Pre-ETS Spent Dollars Unspent Balance
FFY2016
​(ended 09-30-2017)		 $8,730,218 $1,309,532 $1,291,505 $18,027
FFY2017
​(ended 09-30-2018)		 $8,792,634 $1,318,895 $1,250,702 $68,193
FFY2018
(ends 09-30-2019)		 $11,454,960 $1,718,244 $0 $1,718,244

PRE-EMPLOYMENT TRANSITION SERVICES AND YOUTH SERVICES ACTIVITIES

VANCOUVER/WSSB AREA

  • DSB Contractor, Partners in Careers (PIC), began a 9-month curriculum again this school year, with 6 high school juniors and 4 seniors. Students participate in weekly classes on and off campus, learning a variety of job readiness skills and soft skills. PIC is developing a job shadow model for the juniors which includes informational interviews, work tasks and student-driven education about blindness skills for job shadow hosts.
  • Vancouver YSS has been collaborating with the LIFTT program to identify resources for work readiness skills training, career interest assessments, resume writing, and job search guidance. Also, referrals to community resources, WorkForce Southwest’s new youth program NEXT.
  • Community outreach has focused on program development with the ESD 112’s Summer Works, and Clark County to develop work training classes leading to paid internships.
  • Vancouver YSS and Lacey YSS partnered to provide a workshop in rural areas; and assisted at the NFB Youth Track convention in Olympia.

LACEY/SOUTHWEST AREA

  • Tacoma workshops included Zookeeper for a Day, a popular career exploration workshop; and Pizza & Games evening where youth learned to make pizza from scratch, use an industrial oven and tools found in a commercial kitchen. These workshops brought in several youth that had never participated in Pre-ETS workshops before. They learned and practiced self-advocacy, social skills and work place readiness.
  • Lacey YSS collaborated with the NFBW to include youth participation in their annual convention. Youth and their parents attended a mentoring session to learn about blind adults’ career journeys. Students also participated in an etiquette workshop and then practiced their new skills at the formal banquet Saturday night. This full day workshop covered the Pre-ETS required services of job exploration counseling, work place readiness and self-advocacy.
  • Rural area outreach continued with attendance at IEPs, VR intakes and meetings with TVI’s and schools on the Peninsula.

SEATTLE/NORTHWEST AREA

  • Several Pre-ETS workshops held in Issaquah, Everett, Mt Vernon, Seattle and Woodinville offered youth, ages 9 to 21, career exploration, workplace readiness and self-advocacy.
  • Seattle YSS collaborated with the WCB to offer a youth track to their annual convention at Sea-Tac. Parents and youth participated in the Rooted in Rights presentation where they created their own story to share on social media if they so desire. They also met and listened to adult mentors describe their careers as a blind employee.
  • YSS continues to consult with the Birth to 8 kiddos and regularly meets with Birth to 3 TVIs regarding activities for this age group and parents.

SPOKANE/EASTERN & CENTRAL AREA

  • YSS partnered with NWABA to bring the Paralympics experience to the rural areas of Selah and Quincy. While learning how to adapt exercise and bring that information back to their school, the youth also learn about careers in related fields. They also experience and practice self-advocacy.
  • YSS is collaborating with an IL center to produce a Career Mentor Day for youth in Spokane. This is a pilot that we hope to offer in other cities, over time.
  • SSI Work Incentives for Youth training is scheduled for Nov 13-14. This includes professionals who serve youth with disabilities; blind youth and their parents/support system. There are plans to offer this training in two other regions of the state over the next 1.5 years.
  • YSS gave presentation to the eastern & central WA TVI’s at their annual round-up. Topics included WIOA, Pre-ETS, and how youth services works while DSB is in Order of Selection.
  • Referrals for next summer’s programs, SWAG & Bridge, have started already by word of mouth from former students!

ORIENTATION AND TRAINING CENTER HIGHLIGHTS

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1 – DSB STORY

GETTING MY DOTS IN A ROW

My name is Kathy Taylor and I have been taking the OTC's long-distance Braille training class for the past several months. This is, in fact, my second attempt at this class, and I can finally and happily say that not only is it sticking this go around, but I'm also having fun with it, despite the memory challenges of being 59!

I have Usher's Syndrome, and hence, Retinitis Pigmentosa plus moderate hearing loss. I have only a few degrees of vision left and I use hearing aids.

I work full-time as a Senior Linux Systems Administrator and have been in the engineering and IT fields for most of my adult life. I am also a long-time hospice volunteer who donates my skills as a licensed massage therapist.

My goal in learning braille is to stay literate and not have to solely rely upon audio and screen readers for daily tasks I do in both my work and personal life. I can use braille for labeling items in the house, reading and writing emails, writing notes to myself, reading books; the list goes on and on.

My 93 year old Aunt, who also has RP, once remarked to me long ago that she totally regrets not having learned braille. I have never forgotten that and it has helped convince me that it is a necessary skill for my future.

I recently bought myself a Perkins Braille Writer and love how easy it is to produce braille. The first night I got it I wrote out 4 pages of notes for my class! A new toy, and it is fantastic!

Being a tech geek, I've been enthusiastically researching and trying various software packages to render and translate existing documents into braille on a computer in order to send it to an embosser. I'll be looking to purchase an embosser at some point. I'm also researching braille displays and notebooks. I plan to get these as both working and learning tools very soon.

When I took braille in the past, it was before UEB and the class used different text books from what is now being used. I believe the new text book, coupled with a greater sense of urgency from within myself to learn braille due to continued sight loss, has made a huge difference in my success at learning braille skills. My teacher, Joy Iverson, has also been a big part of my success. She has been patient, is able to explain the subject matter in a way that helps me to remember, and she is readily available to me if I need help in any way. The biggest challenges in a remote distance program such as this is always finding the time and self-motivation to do the work daily and study what I've learned, as well as apply it. My commitment to doing these things has made a huge difference and I see myself only getting better at applying braille skills down the road. A lot of people I know do Sudoku puzzles to keep themselves mentally fit. I joke that I learn contracted braille instead!

I am very appreciative of Joy and the DSB for continuing to support me in my quest to learn braille.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 2 – DSB EXPERTISE

In August, the OTC was provided a very informative and useful presentation regarding Autism. The presenter was Kawena Begay, Ph.D., NCSP, Licensed Psychologist, IEE Specialist from the University of Washington Autism Center. Staff commented afterwards that the training significantly impacted their understanding of Autism. Dr. Begay later provided the OTC staff with numerous resources that we can investigate to better understand our participants with Autism.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 3 – EMPLOYMENT AT EVERY LAYER

There were no STEP internships completed during this quarter.

REGIONAL VR HIGHLIGHTS

PARTICIPANT STORIES

AERONAUTICS ENGINEER DREAM FULFILLED

Sheila Burkett-Luckey has been working with a young person since he was in high school. He is now 24 years old. He has always remained focused on achieving his goal as an aeronautics engineer. He got his undergraduate degree and looked for a job for a little over a year with no success. He then was accepted into the University of Washington’s MA program in Aeronautics and Astronautics. He completed an internship with Boeing this summer, receiving “exceeds expectations” on all parts of his performance evaluation. This along with recommendations from his supervisors, his skill, knowledge and work ethic provided him with a job offer from Boeing as a propulsion engineer.

He is currently on an educational leave of absence from Boeing and upon successfully completing his MA this June he will start work at Boeing in July. Due to his high performance etc., his starting salary was increased. This person’s focus, knowledge, skills and abilities provided a clear definition of what supports were needed from DSB.

GETTING PAST BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT

JB has been a participant with DSB, working with Ardell Burns in the Vancouver office, since Spring 2016. JB’s barriers to employment were his vision, anxiety/depression, and criminal history. His greatest barrier to overcome has been the criminal history. JB had been in job search for two years. He had repeatedly told his VRC that he is tired of hearing “no.” JB has an excellent resume and work history including management and supervisory skills.

Ardell coached JB on the use of the Employment Security Department Federal Bonding program. This program provides free bonds to workers who are denied coverage due to an arrest or conviction. His VRC showed JB how to use this tool during his interviews to provide a sense of ease to employers who may feel uneasy with his criminal history. They discussed ways to highlight his strengths and use this information to help eliminate his criminal history as a barrier. JB has become skilled at discussing the bonding program. Unfortunately, many employers in the area have zero tolerance policies.

A job posting from a local employer was sent to JB’s VRC by email. This was for a production assistant position part-time (30 hours per week) and a night shift. It seemed like a great fit for JB as he wanted part-time work, did not want to work around many people due to his anxiety, and there are advancement possibilities with this employer. The only concern was this employer states they do not hire individuals with criminal histories.

Ardell called the CRP who handles the hiring for this company and discussed JB as a candidate. She explained JB could be insured on the job through the ESD Federal Bonding program to mitigate any issues surrounding JB’s criminal past. The employer agreed to interview JB for the position. The job coach and VRC discussed the posting with JB and he was interested in applying. JB interviewed and participated in a site visit for all final candidates. The position was offered to JB and he accepted. He is thrilled to be working with a company that has room for advancement. JB was thankful for this opportunity. JB shared he has never had anyone support him or believe in him as he has experienced with DSB.

CHANGE IN ATTITUDE LED TO SUCCESS

KM came to the Spokane DSB office in July of 2015. He was employed as a janitor and felt he would lose his job soon as his vision was worsening. He came to DSB as an adult, with his parents, looking for options. At this meeting he appeared very disinterested, his parents doing most of the talking. When he did speak, he was very negative, stating he could not see what he could do anymore.

As services progressed, his VRC did not know if KM was lacking motivation or if having difficulties in getting through his initial plan goal was stalling progress. It was about this time that he expressed an interest in being an assistive technology specialist and actually started looking nationwide for this type of training. He located a program he was interested in, and his plan goal was changed.

After nine months of successful training, he has now found employment in Louisiana. The most remarkable thing about this case was his change of attitude and motivation: from someone slumped in his chair at the first meeting to a person who speaks confidently, clearly, and is taking responsibility for himself and his actions. The Spokane team is very proud and happy for him to have made this journey through much of his efforts and the support of DSB.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 1 – DSB STORY & OUTREACH

  • On September 13, the Spokane office moved to a new location. The new location has all the benefits of the previous one (on a bus route, centrally located, and in the downtown skywalk system). However, the new location has allowed the Spokane office to increase their low vision and assistive technology labs and add an education room. This new space will allow the Spokane office to expand and enrich the services they are able to provide to their participants.
  • On September 20, 2018, a group from the Seattle DSB office were invited to make a presentation about how Order of Selection will affect DSB customers at the Central Seattle DVR office.
  • Mario Eiland, Assistive Technology Specialist (ATS) in the DSB Vancouver office, has been providing ongoing accessible input to Department of Enterprise Services. He presented at the Learning Management System Administrators Meeting focused on accessibility. Showing different technologies, helping people understand why it is important to develop Accessible Content, and how applying accessibility at the foundation of a project is beneficial to everyone.
  • ROMER Maureen Reggie attended a meeting with SDOT & Limebike (bikeshare program) to offer input on accommodating & future planning concerning people with visual impairments.
  • VRCs Sheila Burkett-Luckey and Gil Cupat did a presentation to the medical aspects class of the Western Washington University Masters in Rehab Counseling program in July. The presentation was on vision loss and included causes of vision loss, psychosocial aspects of vision loss, DSB services, and etiquette when you meet and/or work with someone who has a vision loss. They also brought some low vision aids and electronic devices to demo.
  • John Sheahan, ATS and Harry Whiting, VRC in DSB’s Lacey office met some wonderful folks at Bainbridge Island Visually Impaired Persons (VIP) Support Group. DSB staff discussed iPhone accessibility, demonstrated Seeing AI app and ScanJig.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 2 – DSB EXPERTISE

  • Jonathan Utrera, VRC, and Alexis Clough, South Region Lead/Rehab Tech 2 in DSB Tacoma office attended a training with the One-Stop Partner Advisory Subcommittee. The purpose was to encourage using and training on how to use their referral system. This new referral system will allow Pierce County agencies to receive and send referrals from one another. The system is web-based which allows any agency to access it. This will help WIOA partners keep track of actual referrals being sent and received by Pierce County agencies.
  • Jennifer Scheel, Youth Services Specialist and Harry Whiting, VRC, both out of DSB’s Lacey office, met with three members of the Aberdeen Rotary and the chairperson of the Aberdeen Foundation. The foundation administers the Rosencrantz Fund, which provides enrichment, career, and educational opportunities for Grays Harbor youth who are blind, deafblind, and low vision. The meeting was fruitful in its discussion on how they could work together to identify youth in this community and provide youth workshops that are relevant to local students.
  • Jennifer Scheel and Harry Whiting met with DDA in Port Angeles. Outreach was done regarding the youth programs at DSB and discussed how they may refer youth to DSB should they have any blind or low vision clients under age 21. The two agencies also discussed doing outreach together at the school districts in the area.

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE 3 – EMPLOYMENT AT EVERY LAYER

  • Meredith Hardin, Regional Area Manager (RAM) of DSB South Region and Jonathan Whitby, VRC in the Vancouver office attended the Vancouver 2018 Tech Tour. WorkSource SW hosted the event.
  • VRC’s Juanessa Scott and Jonathan Utrera in DSB’s Tacoma office attended the Tribal & VR meeting.
  • Ardell Burns participated in, and worked on, the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council’s Barriers and Accessibility Solutions Committee (BASC), which meets quarterly in Vancouver, WA. The committee is currently developing an employer tool kit. The title of the tool kit is “Retain Your Workforce through Inclusion.” The tool kit will be on line managed by the SW WDC. The tool kit will have resources for the employers such as the Employers Assistance and Resource Network (EARN), Job Accommodation Network (JAN), NW ADA, hiring incentives, disability related information, access to VR professionals for consultation, and requests for employer outreach and education. BASC is hoping to have the Tool Kit up and running sometime after the first of the year.

AGENCY COMMUNICATIONS REPORT

PROGRESS TOWARDS STRATEGIC INITIATIVE #1 – DSB STORY

VIDEOS FEATURING DSB

YOUTH SERVICES EVENT PROMOTION

  • Sixteen (16) events promoted during this time.
  • Promotion included flyer/handout design, website updates, and posting to social media.

FY 2018 OUTCOMES

  • Handout completed
  • Posters for offices are on-order
  • Website updates in process

ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS (08/01/18 – 10/31/18)

WEBSITE

  • Users – Number of unique individuals who visited the site
    4,798
  • Page Views – Number of pages looked at
    17,182
  • Channels Used – How did people find the website
    • Direct (people typed in the URL) – 984 (21.68%)
    • Organic Search (people used Google, Bing, or other search engine to find the site) – 3,196 (70.43%)
    • Social (people connected to the site via LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social media outlet) – 23 (0.51%)
    • Referral (people clicked a link on a different website) – 335 (7.38%).
  • Online Referral Forms:
    • Self-referrals: 97
    • Physician referrals: 12

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Facebook
    • Total Likes: 129
    • Total Followers: 138
    • Total Reach: 1,268
  • LinkedIn
    • Total Followers: 72
    • Unique Impressions: 157
    • Total Impressions: 408

OTHER COMMUNICATION HAPPENINGS SINCE LAST SRCB MEETING

WASHINGTON COUNTS 2020

This is an effort by the state of Washington to get a full and accurate count of all people living in the state of Washington in the upcoming 2020 Census. As explained by David Schumacher, Director of OFM:

“Census Day is April 1, 2020. It is important that the U.S. census count every Washingtonian as a matter of fairness and equity. It is to the state’s benefit to help census officials assure people that it is safe to fill out a form or talk with a census worker because the information they provide will remain confidential and secure. Census data also helps allocate federal dollars that flow into Washington State to fund vital state services and determines the number of congressional seats for the state.”

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) formed a state agency Complete Count Committee to identify ways in which the state can help promote a complete and accurate count with efficient, no-cost, or low-cost activities, including:

  • Public information efforts to encourage cooperation with the census count.
  • Use of existing agency communication channels to get the word out about the importance of the census.
  • Assistance from local state government offices in getting information to "hard-to-count" populations around the state.

The Complete Count is a priority project for Governor Inslee and has bi-partisan support in the legislature. The project is funded through FY 2019 and FY 2020 funding is expected by OFM. Meetings will be held regularly throughout 2019 and early 2020.

EVENTS/MEETINGS/TRAININGS

  • Quarterly Communications Directors Meeting, Olympia (via phone), August 1
    Meeting to discuss communications issues and events across the state. Includes discussion of the communications strategic agenda for the Office of the Governor.
  • Social Media Workgroup Quarterly Meeting, Olympia (via phone), August 16
    Meeting to discuss issues related to managing social media for a state agency. Discussions of techniques and best practices for managing accounts on a daily basis.
  • ADA Center Accessibility and WCAG 2.1 Updates, Webinar, August 21
    Online training explaining the changes and updates to the WCAG electronic accessibility standards.
  • State Accessibility Coordinator WCAG 2.1 Meeting, Olympia (via phone), August 28
    Meeting of Washington State Accessibility Coordinators to react to the new WCAG 2.1 electronic accessibility standards.
  • RespectAbility Op-Eds for People with Disabilities, Webinar, September 30
    Online training to discuss techniques to write op-eds (letters to the editor) for local media outlets.
  • Veterans Affairs Resource Fair (exhibits), Seattle, October 4
    Free table at part one of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System’s NDEAM events to provide vocational rehabilitation and other resources to veterans. Included a panel discussion and Q&A with DSB, DVR, WorkSource, WTTBL, and Therapeutic and Supported Employment Services. Approximately 20 visitors to the table.
  • Foundation Fighting Blindness Washington Vision Walk (exhibits), Seattle, October 6
    Free table at 8th annual event. Approximately 15 – 20 visitors to the table.
  • Census 2020 Complete Count Committee Kick-off Meeting, Seattle, October 8
    Meeting of all of the major entities involved in the Census 2020 Complete Count, chaired by former Governor Locke. Committee includes (but not limited to) state businesses, major philanthropies, NGOs, First Nations, state government, and other community organizations. Remarks by Governor Inslee.
  • National Federation of the Blind of Washington Convention (exhibits), October 26
    Paid table in exhibit area of annual convention. Approximately 15-20 visitors to the table.
  • Veterans Administration Resource Fair (exhibits), Tacoma, October 30
    Free table at part 2 of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System’s NDEAM events to provide vocational rehabilitation and other resources to veterans. Included a panel discussion and Q&A with DSB, DVR, WorkSource, WTTBL, and Therapeutic and Supported Employment Services. Approximately 40 visitors to the table.
  • Washington Council of the Blind Convention (exhibits), November 2
    Paid table in exhibit area of annual convention. Approximately 75 visitors to the table.
  • Washington Counts 2020 State Agency Meeting, Olympia (via phone), November 6
    State Agency Sub-committee meeting to discuss overall planning and next steps in developing state agency efforts to encourage participation in the 2020 Census. 

FINANCIAL REPORT

Federal Fiscal Year Q4 2018, Through September 2018

2019 STATE FISCAL YEAR – REVIEW AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 (IN THOUSANDS)
Source Allotment Expenditures Balance
General Fund – State 2,651 26 2,625
General Fund – Federal 12,812 3,023 9,789
Information Tech. Investment Fund
​ (two year allotment) 		3,244 1,713 1,531
Local 30 4 26
Pension Funding Stabilization Act 87 0 87
Total 18,824 4,766 14,058
2019 STATE FISCAL YEAR – FEDERAL GRANT FUNDS ONLY AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 (IN THOUSANDS)
Grant Grant Amount SFY 17 Federal Expenditures SFY 18 Federal Expenditures SFY 19 Federal Expenditures Balance
2017 Voc Rehab Basic Services (balance is Pre-ETS set aside) 8,793 5,307 2,799 619 68
2018 Voc Rehab Basic Services ($1.7 million of the balance is for Pre-ETS set aside) 11,455 0 6,547 2,256 2,652
2017 Supported Employment 61 6 10 0 45
2018 Supported Employment 46 0 7 0 39
2017 Independent Living Part B 58 0 48 10 0
2018 Independent Living Part B 64 0 34 11 19
2017 IL Older Blind 668 518 150 0 0
2018 IL Older Blind 681 0 497 130 54
Total 21,826 5,831 10,092 3,026 2,877
2019 STATE FISCAL YEAR – TOTAL EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2018 (IN THOUSANDS)
Program Grant Funds State Other Total
Voc Rehab Services Adults 2,422 0 0 2,422
Voc Rehab Pre-ETS 452 0 0 452
Supported Employment 0 0 0 0
Independent Living Part B 21 7 0 28
IL Older Blind 130 2 0 132
Birth Through 8 (Not Grant Funded) 0 0 4 4
Social Security Revenue 0 0 0 0
Business Enterprise Program 0 0 165 165
Business Management System 0 0 324 324
Total 3,025 9 493 3,527

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

  • The Department of Services for the Blind (DSB) does not have sufficient funds to serve all eligible individuals requiring services. To manage within existing resources and to meet federal requirements, the Order of Selection wait list was implemented on October 1, 2018. DSB is continuing to refine projections to ensure sufficient funds are available to fund existing employment plans and to determine eligibility for everyone who applies for VR services.
  • In September 2018, DSB requested and received $2 million in federal reallotment funds. These additional grant funds allowed DSB to bridge the funding gap thru September 2018.
  • The 19-21 biennial budget request was submitted to the Governor’s Office on September 12, 2018. DSB requested $2.2 million in general fund state dollars to maintain current levels of service and to ensure the state match and federal maintenance of effort requirements are met. The following are key dates for the 19-21 biennial budget:
    • Oct/Nov 2018 – OFM reviews budget requests and makes recommendations to the Governor.
    • November 2018 – November General Fund State revenue forecast and budget outlook.
    • December 2018 - Governor’s 19-21 biennial budget proposal is submitted to the legislature.
    • January 2019 thru June 2019 – DSB will work with the Governor’s office, House Appropriations Committee, and the Senate Ways and Means on the details of the DSB budget request. During this time a budget is passed.
    • July 1, 2019 – New biennial budget begins.

HUMAN RESOURCES UPDATE

NEW HIRES/PROMOTIONS
Personnel Job Title Team Duty Station Effective Date
Elizabeth Jurco Rehab Teacher 3/O&M Specialist CS/North Region Seattle 10/01/2018
Annie Ives Rehab Teacher 3/O&M CS/South Region Vancouver 11/01/2018
Esther Walker Rehab Technician 2 CS/East Region Yakima 12/03/2018
DEPARTURES/RESIGNATIONS/RETIREMENTS
Personnel Job Title Team Duty Station Effective Date
Patty Eaton Rehab Teacher 3 CS/OTC Seattle 9/30/2018
Anna Marrs Rehab Technician 2 CS/East Region Yakima 10/31/2018
Donna Ritenburgh Rehab Technician 2 CS/South Region Vancouver 11/15/2018
CURRENT AND FUTURE OPENINGS
Personnel Job Title Team Duty Station Effective Date
Recruiting Rehab Teacher 2 CS/South Region Vancouver 10/20/2018
Vacant Chief Financial Officer Business Services Lacey TBA
Vacant Accounting Manager Business Services Lacey TBA