Regarding DSB's transition services practices.
WHEREAS,
it is the practice of the Washington Department of Services for the Blind (DSB)
to refer blind youth to its vocational rehabilitation counselors only after
they have reached the age of 16 because that is the age they can legally work;
and
WHEREAS,
this current DSB practice means that no DSB vocational rehabilitation funds are
spent on individual blind youth under age 16 because no individualized plans
for employment (IPE) are written for youth who are under 16, and
WHEREAS,
our anecdotal experience is that even those youth 16 and older often do not
have IPEs in place, meaning no DSB vocational
rehabilitation money is spent on their individual needs; and
WHEREAS,
the National Federation of the Blind has demonstrated that residential
immersion experiences in blindness and employment skills grounded in a positive
philosophy of blindness provide the greatest chance for blind youth to become
confident, capable, independent, and productive blind adults; and
WHEREAS,
DSB cannot support blind youth in Washington to seek such comprehensive,
intensive experiences during times when they are not attending school, or any
other individualized skill building experiences, without creating an individualized
plan for each youth seeking such experiences; and
WHEREAS,
the Vocational Rehabilitation Program, rather than the educational system, is best
suited to support this type of comprehensive approach to blindness and
employment skills training: NOW, THEREFORE,
BE
IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Washington in convention
assembled this 21st day of October 2007 in the city of Olympia that we call
upon DSB to change its vocational rehabilitation practices to include the writing
of IPEs for transition-aged youths to ensure they
receive comprehensive, rigorous blindness and employment skills training
throughout their adolescence, and not forestall such opportunities to
positively influence and transform blind youths' lives until they are nearing
the end of their high school years.