Commission For Blind & Visually Handicapped

TO WEBCAST EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

RENSSELAER, NY (11/26/2008)(readMedia)-- The public will be able to listen in via the Internet to the Executive Board meeting of the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH) taking place at 8:30 am on Tuesday, December 2.

The meeting will take place in the Blue Room on the second floor of the New York State Capitol starting at 8:30 a.m. and run until approximately 4:00 p.m. The audio webcast will remain accessible on the Internet for 30 days. The webcast was arranged after numerous consumers from across the state expressed interest in attending electronically. Captions will be provided for the hearing impaired.

CBVH provides vocational rehabilitation and other direct services to legally blind New York State residents, including children, adults, and elderly persons. A primary objective is to assist consumers in achieving economic self-sufficiency and full integration into society.

The 15-member Executive Board was created by the state Legislature last year to examine services provided to legally blind New Yorkers by CBVH and other state agencies, and to make recommendations to enhance or improve services, where necessary. This will be the board's fourth meeting.

The December 2 meeting will include reports from the following committees, formed at the board's first meeting in January: Technology, Randolph Sheppard / Javits-Wagner-O'Day, Education, Vocational Rehabilitation, Social Services, Older Blind, and System Integration. Other agenda items include discussion of: licensure of orientation and mobility specialists, and vision rehabilitation therapists; review of pending legislation; and a public comment period.

The audio webcast will be available through Windows Media Player or Real Media at the links below:

Windows Media

http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/asxfiles-live/1c2winlive6814.asx

Real Media

http://interface.audiovideoweb.com/lnk/avweb2reallive2109/live.rm/play

The Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped is located within the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). A link to the audio webcast will also be accessible from its website at www.ocfs.state.ny.us . The audio webcast is made possible with assistance from the New York Network, part of the State University of New York.

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