By Chuk Hamilton, Director, Minnesota State Services for the Blind

(Editor’s Note: This presentation was given at the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota semiannual convention on May 3, 2008.)

Greetings Federationists!

Thank you for inviting me again to spend some time with you, and share some information regarding what’s happening at State Services for the Blind (SSB).

In 2007, some rather important results were achieved that positively impacted the lives of blind, visually impaired and DeafBlind Minnesotans. None of these were accomplished without the active support of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota (NFBM), the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind, staff, or other consumer groups and individuals.

• Success at the Minnesota State Legislature! SSB received a $900,000 appropriation to the Communication Center replacing Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) dollars that were needed to provide services to people preparing for employment, and a $100,000 increase to match future VR federal funds. SSB was also assured participation in the study of state electronic data development and storage (“Open Document Format”).
• A major marketing effort was reinstituted by once again having a booth at the Minnesota State Fair. SSB distributed 10,000 handheld fans with a message in braille and SSB contact information, braille alphabet cards to 120 teachers, 145 volunteer application packets, and thousands of other pieces of information regarding blindness.
• SSB monitored the Minnesota State Capitol restoration project to ensure continued and appropriate space for the Business Enterprises Program vendor—a site SSB has had since the 1940s.
• The Workforce Development Unit served 1,054 customers and assisted 81 customers to secure employment at an average hourly wage of $14.07.

 

• The Senior Services Unit served over 3,432 customers—the largest number ever.
• Donors contributed $210,554 in support of the Communication Center, including in-kind donations valued at $21,571 and a bequest for $5,181. The Communication Center would find it difficult to maintain, let alone expand services, without the support of these 1,806 donors.

So, what should you look for in 2008?

Well, the year has already started out with a bang thanks to the NFBM! Through your initiative and efforts, SF 3147 (Chapter 171) has become law. This action removes the “sunset” on funding from the Telecommunications Access Minnesota (TAM) Fund for NFB-NEWSLINE® and Dial-In News, two news services offered through SSB. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

And speaking of the Legislature, they are just weeks away from adjournment. One of their major tasks remaining is the passage of a Supplemental Appropriations bill. All of you know that there is a $935 million shortfall predicted for the year ending June 2009. The Governor’s original position would not require any cuts at SSB. The House and the Senate positions made some DEED or statewide cuts that conceivably could impact us. As of yesterday, everything is still on the table. By 5 pm last night, all the divisions were to turn in their proposed budget plans to Senator Cohen and Rep. Carlson. The targets that they were given were not negotiated with the governor. That may be problematic. I am hopeful they will find a pathway out of this that does not reduce our funding.

This year we are also blessed to be able to more permanently organize an outreach effort. We are concerned about getting the word out to schools, adults, seniors and their families about our services. For the last several years, we had a project, funded by gifts, to expand outreach primarily for the Communication Center. We have now expanded that formally to Senior Services and Workforce Development. Many of you have met Ed Lecher in this regard—more of you may get to meet him in the future.

I mentioned earlier that last year we legislatively became involved in what was termed an “open document format study.” Since that occurred, SSB has become involved in an additional process aimed at improving the electronic accessibility of public websites and application software. Other partners in this process include the Department of Administration, the STAR (System of Technology to Achieve Results) Program, the Office of Enterprise Technology (OET), and others. This may very well serve to open doors for access and employment in the future for you and other Minnesotans.

This week we completed work on a project to increase the availability of Radio Talking Book programming on the web. It’s called RTB Archived Programs. Users of our web-based service (RTB Live) can now access the most recent seven days of RTB programming. Simply go to www.mnssb.org/rtb and check out this new RTB product.

Another exciting activity we are pleased to be a partner in this spring is the FIRST annual Possibilities Fair for Seniors Who Are Losing Vision. This event, scheduled for this Monday, May 5, 2008 is sponsored by NFBM, in partnership with Blindness: Learning in New Dimensions (BLIND), Inc. The Possibilities Fair will provide seniors with a hands-on opportunity to learn methods for improving their lives.

Spring will also bring us the final steps in the conversion to digital audio recording, specifically in a “DAISY” format. Almost everything is in place, and we have been able to actually record and ship some books already. These truly accessible and structured recordings will allow our customers to be on equal footing with their sighted peers.

In previous addresses to this group, I have referenced our federal partner, the Rehabilitation Services Administration. They have notified us of a “monitoring” process here in Minnesota, commencing October 1, 2009, being completed by the following summer. As part of the advance work for that process, we will be looking at our rules this summer to determine any necessary steps in that regard.

Also, this summer we hope to send some staff to your national convention in Dallas. While budgets are tight and travel will be scrutinized heavily, I will make every effort to make this happen.

August will bring the State Fair, where we have expanded our space and will likely modify our activities. Members of the NFBM were volunteers this past summer and we look forward to your support continuing this year.

As the State Fair concludes, we are likely to be preparing for the arrival of our first shipment of the new Radio Talking Book Network digital receivers, and later, the National Library Service’s digital players. Both of these products have been a long time in coming!

I would like to end my remarks this morning by letting you know that for the first time in quite a while, SSB will be having an all-staff meeting in October. The theme that has been selected is “Celebrating Collaborations: Past, Present, Future.” We will be taking time to get acquainted with new staff, celebrating past accomplishments and partnerships, and thinking about what the future might hold for SSB.

On behalf of SSB staff, thank you again for your partnership, support and advocacy. Working together, we can make a positive, profound and life-long difference in the lives of blind, DeafBlind and visually impaired Minnesotans.