joint finance committee hearing fiscal year 2015 daniel m. madrid division director
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Division for the Visually Impaired (DVI) " Working in partnership with Delawareans who are blind or visually impaired in empowering them to be self-sufficient”. Joint Finance Committee Hearing Fiscal Year 2015 Daniel M. Madrid Division Director February 25, 2014. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Joint Finance Committee HearingFiscal Year 2015
Daniel M. Madrid Division DirectorFebruary 25, 2014
Division for the Visually Impaired (DVI)
"Working in partnership with Delawareans who are blind or "Working in partnership with Delawareans who are blind or visually impaired in empowering them to be self-sufficient” visually impaired in empowering them to be self-sufficient”
Delaware Health and Social Services
Educational Educational ServicesServices
Vocational Vocational Rehabilitation Rehabilitation Consumer and Consumer and
Business ServicesBusiness Services
Delaware Delaware Industries for the Industries for the
BlindBlind
Business Business Enterprise Enterprise ProgramProgram
Independent Independent Living Living
Services Services
Materials CenterMaterials Center
Training CentersTraining CentersOrientation Orientation and Mobilityand Mobility
DVI as an Organization
Delaware Health and Social Services
Visual Impairments and Blindness in Delaware
Leading Causes of Blindness in Delaware Macular Degeneration (33%)
Glaucoma (8%)Diabetes Related Vision Loss (8%)
Visual Categories of Qualified Consumers Legally Blind (69%)
Severely Visually Impaired (26%) Totally Blind (4%)
Delaware Health and Social Services
Independent Living Services
FY 13 - 423 Persons Served• Adaptive skills training and techniques• Low Vision Services• Sensitivity/Vision Simulation training• Staffed by Certified Vision Rehabilitation
Therapists • Implemented group training sessions and assistive technology labs to augment one on one training
Delaware Health and Social Services
Education Services
FY 13 – 291 Students Served•8 DVI itinerant teachers•3 DOE District Resource Rooms•Coordinate with University of Delaware’s Center for Disability Studies’ Accessible Instructional Materials Program•Provides braille instruction, assistive technology, functional vision assessments, learning media assessments to ensure all students are able to access their needed curriculum
Delaware Health and Social Services
Vocational Rehabilitation Business Services
FY 13 – 276 Persons Served• Staffed by qualified vocational rehabilitation
counselors and business service specialists.• Serving our dual customers of persons with visual
impairments and the business community.• Services to young persons with visual impairments
begin at least four years prior to graduation through coordinated efforts with the Delaware Department of Education.
Delaware Health and Social Services
Orientation and Mobility Services
.
FY 13- 258 Persons ServedOngoing collaboration with DART and DELDOT to ensure Delaware’s roadways, crosswalks, and transportation systems are fully accessible.
Delaware Health and Social Services
Delaware Industries for the Blind www.promoplace.com/dib
• DIB provides a wide array of custom promotional products to our customers• FY 13 – Gross Sales – $1,399,615.00• Employment opportunities for the blind and visually impaired• Over 80% of the staff in this department are legally blind.• Average wage for a DIB employee is currently $10.50 per hour
Partner with other agencies that support the employment of persons with disabilities under the State Use Law.
Delaware Health and Social Services
Business Enterprise Program
Provides entrepreneurial opportunities for the blind and visually impaired: •Doubled the number of licensed business owners•FY 13 – Gross Sales – $1,778,973•Average Operator Income -$31,692
Delaware Health and Social Services
ChallengesThe growth of vision related
disabilities is expected to grow by 70% in the next decade.
The primary drivers behind this trend are the aging population/
workforce and the obesity epidemic in America.
Delaware Health and Social Services
Opportunities
There is a growing interest and awareness in hiring persons with disabilities on the heels of Governor
Markell’s National Governor’s Association Platform – A Better Bottom Line: Employment of People with
Disabilities.
Restructuring for K-12 services as national programs shift toward itinerant models with an increased emphasis on
inclusion for students with disabilities.
Delaware Health and Social Services
Thank You!
.