The New York State Commission for the Blind (NYSCB) is the state entity designated to provide services to New York residents who are legally blind. NYSCB has recognized the need for residential services programs that provide more intensive, around-the-clock services for participants who are legally blind and need more individualized attention and structure to make progress towards their goals of independence. Generally, residential services programs are limited to participants meeting one or more of the three criteria below: 1. The service is only available in a residential setting. 2. The counselor identifies something in the participant’s current environment that will make community-based vocational rehabilitation training ineffective. 3. The participant requires intensive services or needs to acquire skills in a very short period. (Note: The final clinical decision is always made by a licensed vocational rehabilitation counselor who holds a master’s degree and an advanced certificate in evaluating participant needs. These licensed vocational rehabilitation counselors are referred to hereafter as a counselor or NYSCB counselor.) NYSCB limits residential services to a small subset of the participant population as rehabilitation training should generally take place in the most integrated community setting available. New York State has a limited number of providers that offer a residential services program to individuals who are legally blind. To meet the diverse needs of the population of participants, NYSCB must utilize out-of-state service providers to expand its network of providers who offer new and/or different types of residential services. Any future award of a contract or agreement would be contingent upon one or more of the following factors: 1. NYSCB identifies a participant(s) who would best benefit from a residential program. 2. A NYSCB participant chooses a particular residential program per informed choice or a history of NYSCB participants choosing that particular residential program. 3. Estimated residential program costs that exceed the NYS discretionary spending limits and therefore, a need exists for a contract or agreement between the residential program and NYSCB.
