|
RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY
THE 60TH BLINDED VETERANS ASSOCIATION
NATIONAL CONVENTION
ON AUGUST 20, 2005 IN MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA,
AND THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS’
RESPONSES THERETO
RESOLUTION 34-05
RESOLVED, that BVA urge the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop a more effective method of identifying severely visually impaired and blinded service members returning from Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), ensuring that these severely disabled service members receive the most appropriate information and support available.
VA Comment:
VA concurs with this resolution. VA will work closely with DoD and BVA to develop procedures which ensure the identification of returning OEF/OIF service members who have significant vision loss. To assist in this process, VA’s Blind Rehabilitation Service (BRS) will hire a Blind Rehabilitation Outpatient Specialist who will be assigned to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center.
Additionally, VA will establish procedures to ensure that all visually impaired active duty personnel receive the most appropriate information and support available. Upon receipt of such injured service members from Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs), BRS will coordinate immediate intervention.
Currently, VA Social Work Liaisons and Veterans Service Representatives placed at the eight MTFs continue to assist with the coordination of their benefits and services. In addition, Military Service Coordinators (MSCs) and Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) Coordinators ensure that benefits and services are provided as quickly and as efficiently as possible. These personnel work closely with blinded and other severely injured service members, social workers, and DoD personnel at the MTFs.
RESOLVED, that BVA be notified and directly involved in the “Seamless Transition process.
VA Comment:
VA concurs with this resolution. BRS and VA’s office of Seamless Transition continually seek to involve all VSOs, including BVA, in seamless transition issues.
RESOLUTION 36-05
RESOLVED, that BVA urge VA to require certification through the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals (ACVREP) as a condition of employment.
VA Comment:
VA agrees that ACVREP is an appropriate credential for BRS professionals. ACVREP provides national certification programs for blindness and low vision professionals according to the standards of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies. Additionally, ACVREP administers three certifications that are registered with the National Certification Commission: Orientation and Mobility Specialists, Low Vision Therapists, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapists (formerly Rehabilitation Teachers).
BRS professionals are transitioning from Title 5 to Hybrid Title 38. A committee of subject matter experts has been appointed to work with VA’s Office of Human Resource Management and Labor Relations and with the Recruitment and Placement Policy Service to develop qualification standards.
The BRS committee, tasked with the responsibility of developing qualification standards, will conduct a careful job analysis and consider the importance of ACVREP certification for blindness and low vision rehabilitation professionals. The final qualification standards will be the result of a collaborative process involving VA personnel and the unions.
RESOLVED, that VA provides a suitable time period for new, uncertified employees to obtain certification.
VA Comment:
In order to facilitate BRS professionals’ transition from Title 5 to Hybrid Title 38, a committee of subject matter experts was charged with generating ACVREP program recommendations related to qualification standards. Upon receipt of any recommendations related to ACVREP certification of BRS professionals, VA will determine a time period for new, uncertified employees to retain certification.
RESOLUTION 37-05
RESOLVED, that BVA urge the Secretary to require BRS to implement policies and procedures to ensure that accurate training hours and reported and that such training hours clearly reflect the time a veteran has received actual face-to-face training from a qualified Computer Access Training (CAT) instructor. Additionally, the training hours cannot include the time a veteran has spent independently, practicing and doing homework assignments without supervision.
VA Comment:
VA concurs with the resolution. BRS is working with the Office of Information to modify its new blind rehabilitation database to capture training hours for CAT training. This project is expected to be implemented in the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2007. When implementation is completed, BRS will establish policies and procedures in which training time for individuals receiving service will be reported, as will face-to-face training.
In the Blind Rehabilitation Center’s (BRC’s) programs, training hours will be recorded on each veteran’s final training summary. Training hours for CAT provided by contract vendors will be reported for each contracted episode of care.
|
