Partnerships for Change: How Texans Have Collaborated for Legislative Successes

1. Partnerships for Change: How Texans Have Collaborated for Legislative Successes Cyral Miller, Rona Pogrund, Nancy Allen, Susie Welch, Nancy Toelle AER International Conference- San Antonio – August 1, 2014

2. Why Advocacy? • Advocacy is a change agent to improve services, communication, laws, policies, and rights. • Unless there is a crisis occurring, most people do not act. Better to be proactive rather than reactive. • There is a direct connection between state and federal laws, policies, and funding and what happens in education, rehabilitation, and in social services on a daily basis.

3. Ways to Be an Advocate • One-on-one advocate • Advocate for a group of individuals • Advocating as part of a membership organization • Working in a coalition within the field of visual impairment • Working in a coalition with other groups outside field of visual impairment

4. Introduction There has been a long history of partnerships between consumer groups, vision professional organizations, the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Education Service Centers, the Division of Blind Services, and family organizations in Texas. AVIT, the Alliance of and for Visually Impaired Texans, a coalition of 28 organizations, has led these efforts. 

5. How AVIT Started • How AVIT got started in 1992, based on Joint Action Committee (JAC), a California Coalition that was started in 1981

6. “In a big world where an organization serving a low-incidence disability has a small voice, joint action works.”

7. Overview of Successes: What have we accomplished? Increased visibility - we started right after getting the Texas Braille Bill passed in 1991 with lots of enthusiasm • TEA's 1995 proposed rules changes averted;  • AVIT coordinated alert actions for Federal issues such as the Telecommunications Act of 1995, the Job Training Consolidation Act of 1995 and the Workforce Preparation and Development Act

8. Overview of Successes: What have we accomplished? • AVIT presented testimony in 1996 on ECI proposed changes for serving infants with visual impairments • 1997 electronic textbook access committee  

9. Overview of Successes: What have we accomplished? 2009-2011 TVI Certification rule change • Took two legislative sessions to pass • TVIs in Texas can no longer be certified by exam, as previously allowed. They now have to successfully complete an approved personnel preparation program as well as pass two state exams (braille and VI).

10. Overview of Successes: What have we accomplished? Deafblind Intervener Career Ladder and adding children to the Medicaid Waiver

11. Heading to the Capitol to speak with legislators

12. DBMAT Legislative Agenda 2008 We carried our DBMAT Legislative Agenda in our folders with our children's stories to the legislator’s offices when we visited them.  Also, we gave each member of the committees where we testified a folder.  We asked for the Intervener Career ladder and the change in the age for the DBMD Medicaid Waiver to include children, which was passed in two bills in 2009.   • Expand the scope of age in the Deafblind waiver: Rationale and Fiscal Impact • Changing the Definition and Qualifications of Intervener: Rationale and Fiscal Impact

13. MANY trips to the Capitol!

14. DBMAT Advocates in Austin

15. Jaceson’s story…..

16. The folder we gave to legislators with stories of our kids and a white paper justification of what we were asking for.

17. Changes needed to SB 7…2013 & asking for more slots for the DBMD waiver

18. The Format Used by DBMAT • This was a proposal of the things we asked DADS to change on our DBMD Waiver. This is all that we finally got passed in 2009.  This was presented to DADS and HHSC  in Sept. 2007. • What DBMAT is requesting • Reasons given by DADS for not lowering age and DBMAT response. • DBMAT questions the “Stakeholder Process” now in practice at DADS.

19. Our kids with the Governor on Bill Signing DayAugust 2008

20. Overview of Successes: What have we accomplished? • O&M Evaluation Bill O&M Evaluation bill began in 2009: it was introduced and passed in both Education Committees and then got stopped behind the voter ID bill on the House floor (chubbing) and died, and then finally passed in 2013.

21. Overview of Successes: What have we accomplished? • ECC Bill Introduced in 2013 session and passed ECC areas are now listed in Texas law as curriculum areas that need to be evaluated, and instruction is to be provided when needs are identified for all students with visual impairments.

22. Mother and Daughter Giving Testimony .

23. ….for the House O&M Bill Sponsored by Elliott Naishtat .

24. Testifying for the O&M Bill sponsored by Senator Judith Zaffirini .

25. Parents, consumers, and professionals working together .

26. Never missing an opportunity to drop in on legislators and their aides. .

27. More Successes: What have we accomplished? • Money for VI services –Getting state money for Teacher Preparation Funds (initially ESC 11 and now to TSBVI) • Saved the DARS-DBS Children's Program • 2012 Blindness Summit with the adult community

28. Our latest advocacy opportunity .

29. AVIT IS…. • The Alliance of and for Visually Impaired Texans is an inter-organizational coalition committed to speak on behalf of Texas’ children and adults with visual impairments.   AVIT is organized for charitable and educational purposes as provided for in the Internal Revenue Code. 

30. Purposes of AVIT AVIT works to accomplish the following for individuals with visual impairments: • the advancement and protection of their human and civil rights, • the improvement of their social welfare and economic conditions, • the education of the public with respect to their special concerns, and • the promotion of inter-organizational cooperation, support, and communication on issues impacting them

31. AVIT: OUR MISSION • Provide a forum of discussion for individuals with diverse backgrounds who have a common interest in the quality of life for children and adults with visual impairments. • Maintain a communication “Network Alert System.” • Collect and distribute information to member organizations and individuals regarding legislative and other issues. • Provide information to public policymakers concerning important issues related to improving the quality of life of persons with visual impairments. • Promote growth and awareness among member organizations. • Prepare and distribute a Master Calendar listing meetings, conferences, hearings, seminars, and special events that are sponsored by or are of interest to AVIT members.

32. AVIT MEMBERS: 28 Membership Organizations • American Council of the Blind of Texas (ACBT) • American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) • Austin Council of the Blind • Austin Junior Women’s Federation • Austin Lighthouse (TAB) • Blind Ambitions Group • Braille and Cane Club –SFASU

33. AVIT MEMBERS • Central Texas Professionals for the Visually Impaired • C.L. Productions • Dallas Lighthouse for the Blind, Inc. • Deaf-Blind Multihandicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT) • East Texas Lighthouse for the Blind • Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) • Houston Council of the Blind( HCB)

34. AVIT MEMBERS • Learning Ally • Lighthouse for the Blind of Ft. Worth • Lighthouse of Houston • North Texas Professionals in Visual Impairment • Reading and Radio Resource • Texas Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (TAER) • Texas Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired- O&M Division

35. AVIT MEMBERS • Texas Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments (TAPVI) • Texas Chargers, Inc. • Texas Ophthalmological Association • Texas Optometric Association • Texas University Professors in Visual Impairment (TUPVI) • San Antonio Lighthouse • West Texas Professionals

38. Advocacy Processes Used • Organizing, working outside the VI community • Texas Parent to Parent • Coalition of Texans with Disabilities • Finding leaders to head up committees or take responsibility for key actions • Find many people to go visit legislators and their aides by asking for suggestions and calling to explain the need. • Bring children and adult consumers to testify – they are the magic ingredient to getting lawmakers’ attention!

39. Organize your efforts to seek help from parents and individuals

40. Remember to say “thank you” to legislators….

41. And to those who testify….

42. It’s great to get a “thank you” from your sponsoring legislators and others

43. For Advocacy Efforts to Pay Off • Need to believe deeply in whatever you are advocating for – need passion and commitment • Need a focus • Need more coalitions with consumers, families, and professionals and with other disability groups, when appropriate • Need persistence, skills of negotiation, and follow-through

44. Contact Information • Cyral Miller- AVIT Secretary- cyralm@gmail.com • Rona Pogrund- TUPVI representative to AVIT rpogrund1@austin.rr.com • Susie Welch- parent- DBMAT- pwelch@usaonline.net • Nancy Allen- parent- allennancy4@yahoo.com • Nancy Toelle- AVIT Chair- nmt10@sbcglobal.net