4185 lines
226 KiB
Plaintext
4185 lines
226 KiB
Plaintext
THE BRAILLE MONITOR
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May, 1995
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Barbara Pierce, Editor
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Published in inkprint, Braille, on talking-book disc,
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and cassette by
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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
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MARC MAURER, PRESIDENT
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National Office
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1800 Johnson Street
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Baltimore, Maryland 21230
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* * * *
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Letters to the President, address changes,
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subscription requests, orders for NFB literature,
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articles for the Monitor, and letters to the Editor
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should be sent to the National Office.
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* * * *
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Monitor subscriptions cost the Federation about twenty-five
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dollars per year. Members are invited, and non-members are
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requested, to cover the subscription cost. Donations should be
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made payable to National Federation of the Blind and sent to:
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National Federation of the Blind
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1800 Johnson Street
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Baltimore, Maryland 21230
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* * * *
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THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND IS NOT AN ORGANIZATION
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SPEAKING FOR THE BLIND--IT IS THE BLIND SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES
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ISSN 0006-8829 THE BRAILLE MONITOR
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A PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
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CONTENTS
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MAY, 1995
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PERSONAL COMMENTS AND AN OVERVIEW
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by Barbara Pierce
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THE FALL OF RICHARD UMSTED
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by Barbara Pierce
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THE PATTERN AND PRACTICE OF ABUSE
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by Barbara Pierce
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT BUT NOT FOR CONSUMPTION AT ISVI
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BEYOND THE FALL: AFTER-SHOCKS AND SIGNS OF PROMISE
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by Barbara Pierce
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UMSTED WITHDRAWS FROM ALABAMA INSTITUTE JOB SEARCH
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MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND ON THE HOT SEAT:
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ANOTHER NAC AGENCY IN SERIOUS TROUBLE
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by Barbara Pierce
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SIXTY-NINE MEMBERS AND FALLING: THE NAC COUNT-DOWN CONTINUES
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by Barbara Pierce
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RECIPES
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MONITOR MINIATURES
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The Braille Monitor copyright (c) 1995, National Federation of
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the Blind.
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[LEAD PAGE PHOTO: Caption: For well over a century the Illinois
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School for the Visually Impaired has educated the state's blind
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children. In recent months discoveries have been made of serious
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problems at the institution. This issue of the Braille Monitor is
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devoted in large part to an examination of these problems.
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Pictured here is the main administration building at ISVI.]
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PERSONAL COMMENTS AND AN OVERVIEW
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by Barbara Pierce
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For nearly seven years now I have been covering stories and
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writing about blindness issues and the problems of blind people
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for the Braille Monitor. Almost without exception the most
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personally painful of these have been the scandals at some of the
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nation's most prominent residential schools for the blind. The
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first was the repeated abuse and ultimate death by scalding of a
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multiply-handicapped blind child at the Florida School for the
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Deaf and Blind (March, 1989). Then came the series of shoddy
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practices uncovered at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and
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Blind (February, 1990). Most recently there were the spankings of
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staff and students at the Arkansas School for the Blind,
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underscored by the fact that Superintendent Leonard Ogburn did
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not even contest the truth of the charges.
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Both the distress and the anger many of us have felt at
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learning about such events arises from the very innocence and
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helplessness of the young victims of the outrages. And when
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instead of articulating similar outrage and absolute refusal to
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countenance such behavior, school officials attempt to hide it or
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explain it away, the patience of decent people snaps. The school
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personnel caught in these scandals seem bewildered by the outcry
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and furious that their mistakes and lapses in judgment could (as
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they see it) have been so badly misconstrued and misunderstood.
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They assure us that there have always been unpleasant
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problems at residential schools and that it is nearly impossible
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to hire conscientious, responsible staff members today at the low
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wages necessitated by tight budgets. There is undoubtedly some
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truth to both these statements. Few people would be naive enough
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to suppose that the incidents at the headline-making schools are
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the only problems that have occurred at the nation's residential
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schools in recent years.
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In fact, the Ohio State School for the Blind felt compelled
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to fire a teacher last summer when officials learned that a
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number of young women students had accused him of trapping one in
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a storage closet and inappropriately fondling all of them and
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bringing the lower part of his torso into firm contact with
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various portions of their bodies. This alleged behavior had
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continued over a number of years; but when it became known, the
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school moved as quickly as possible to distance itself from the
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teacher and his alleged actions and to do what it could to bring
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him to justice. Unfortunately, from the perspective of the blind
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community in Ohio, when the case came to trial, the teacher was
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found not guilty of the charges by a jury which had apparently
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been persuaded by the defense attorney's argument that blind
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students require closer and more intimate contact by their
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teachers in order to feel affirmed and accepted. An attempt is
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now afoot to force the school to rehire the teacher, but the
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school seems to be doing what it can to resist this effort. The
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point of this digression is to illustrate that, even though
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fallible human beings will continue to engage in morally
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reprehensible acts, many residential school officials are capable
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of demonstrating courage, of insisting that justice be done, and
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of working to protect their students.
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Now, yet another residential school for the blind is in the
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spotlight. This issue of the Monitor is devoted in large part to
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examining some of the deeply distressing incidents that have been
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reported to have occurred during almost two decades at the
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Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI). The reports
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have been painful and disturbing to research and difficult to
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write. They will undoubtedly be distressing to read as well. We
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must resist the temptation to write off the Illinois School as an
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evil place in which unspeakable things have happened to innocent
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disabled children. There are dedicated, compassionate members of
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the ISVI staff, some of whom have risked their jobs to talk with
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the Braille Monitor about what has happened. There are parents
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who are living through the nightmare of trying to help children
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who have been damaged by experiences of which they had had no
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knowledge. And there are blind children who continue to need a
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sound and healthy residential school in which to learn. There is
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plenty of blame and bad judgment to go around, and though some of
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those responsible have already lost their jobs, many close to the
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situation believe that a number of the people responsible for the
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suffering and cover-ups that have gone on for years are still
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employed and are still exerting pressure to keep their
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subordinates silent.
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The following pages are our best attempt comprehensibly and
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accurately to tell the story as people have told it to us. There
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are no easy or simple explanations for what has happened. Our
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hope is that, by opening the situation to the light of day, we
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can encourage the necessary reforms. By and large, with the
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exception of senior school and Department of Rehabilitation
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Services officials, we have chosen to identify the parents who
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appear in these stories by letters of the alphabet and the
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children by fictitious names. Those close to the ISVI situation
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may recognize the families involved, but we see no reason to
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cause more embarrassment and pain to the children and parents
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than have already occurred. We have followed this practice even
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in the cases of those who would have been happy to have their
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real names used. We have decided to use the name of the parent
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whose name has already been identified in published news stories,
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and we have used the names of lower-echelon staff members if
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there seems to be significant evidence of their misconduct or if
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they have been identified in documents already made public.
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Many people have made it possible for us to tell this story:
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employees and friends of the school who care deeply for the
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institution and want to see it healthy and able once more to
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serve the blind children of Illinois, parents who feel that their
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trust has been betrayed by school and rehabilitation officials,
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and public officials who have wanted help in seeing that justice
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is done. Federationist Harold Snider and his wife Linda spent
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nearly two weeks in down-state Illinois gathering evidence and
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working to unearth the truth. Without the effort and commitment
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of all these people and their eagerness to see the truth come out
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at last, there would have been no story and there would still be
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no hope. As it is, there are at least small signs that positive
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changes are occurring.
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[Photo #1 A fairly empty, cracked, concrete parking lot in front
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of a one story grocery store building. Caption: The IGA
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supermarket where Richard Umsted now works]
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THE FALL OF RICHARD UMSTED
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by Barbara Pierce
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On Friday, July 8, 1994, the Illinois Department of
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Rehabilitation Services (DORS) announced that Dr. Richard Umsted,
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Superintendent of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired
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(ISVI), had been placed on paid administrative leave following an
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internal DORS investigation which had uncovered irregularities in
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Umsted's management of an alleged incident in which a little boy
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was sexually assaulted by an older ISVI student. Both the
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internal investigation and the state police investigation which
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DORS had requested in early June indicated that the sixteen-year-
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old student had previously inappropriately touched two female
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students and assaulted as many as three other boys, plus the
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little boy already mentioned, who had been on campus in May of
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1994 for evaluation.
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By late August DORS officials were convinced that in a
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number of instances Dr. Umsted and his staff had failed to notify
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DORS, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
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(DCFS), or the parents of the children after incidents of sexual
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abuse. Then on Tuesday, August 23, Audrey McCrimon, Executive
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Director of DORS, fired Umsted and permanently reassigned Mary
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Kamnick, director of residential services, to duties at DORS in
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Springfield, away from the school. Michael Jacoby, assistant
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superintendent and senior public service administrator, had
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already been granted medical leave until June of 1995 because of
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long-standing psychiatric problems. At the end of his leave he
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will become eligible for early retirement.
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Though DORS did its best to keep the messy details quiet,
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the downfall of Richard Umsted sent shock waves through the
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community of Jacksonville and around the state. Dr. Umsted was a
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member of the local school board and a prominent member of area
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civic and religious organizations. In July of 1994 the minister
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of Umsted's church wrote a letter to the editor of the local
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Jacksonville newspaper protesting what had been done to his
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friend and parishioner and organized a letter-writing campaign to
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the Governor on Umsted's behalf. There are still many in
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Jacksonville who respect Umsted and maintain that he is, and
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always was, incapable of any such misdeed or lapse in moral
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judgment as the ones charged. Several past and present employees
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of ISVI also made it clear to the press that they could not
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credit reports of Umsted's malfeasance. Others, however, told
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reporters that Dr. Umsted frequently sought to protect the good
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name of the school by seeing that reports of student problems
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were not filed in the first place as required by law or were made
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to disappear. One employee estimated for the Braille Monitor that
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ninety percent of the school staff was relieved at Umsted's
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departure and that it had taken the work of many people to get
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the three senior ISVI officials removed but that there were more
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who needed to go if ISVI were ever to regain its integrity.
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So where does the truth lie? Let us begin by reporting, as
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best we can determine what actually happened on May 4, 1994, and
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in the weeks that followed.
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On May 2 a little boy we will call Timmy was brought by his
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mother, Mrs. A, to ISVI for ten days of evaluation. Timmy, who
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was nine, was blind and had, according to his mother, reached the
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developmental age of about two and a half. She says that the
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family had once before considered and then rejected placement at
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ISVI because they had not been impressed with either the physical
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facility or the level of stimulation and education they had
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observed in the class Timmy would have joined. But Timmy was
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continuing to fall further and further behind his age group, and
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his public school teachers had suggested that it might be time to
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consider ISVI again in the hope that the staff there could do
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more to stimulate Timmy than his local school was doing.
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Mrs. A later commented to the Braille Monitor that her only
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real fear at leaving her son alone in a strange setting had been
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that someone might hurt or molest him without his being able to
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tell her what had happened to him. But she left him, and the
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staff began his evaluation.
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At lunch time on Wednesday, May 4, a staff member took Timmy
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to the bathroom and placed him on the toilet, and then left him
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alone for what she later officially reported was no more than
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three or four minutes. During that time a sixteen-year-old
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student, whom we will call Bill, entered the rest room and,
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according to his statement afterwards, took down his own pants,
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put Timmy on the floor, and lay on top of him, placing his penis
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between Timmy's legs.
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According to the school's official anecdotal report of the
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incident, another student entered the room at this point and saw
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what was happening. He immediately ran to report it to the staff
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member who had left Timmy alone. When she entered the room, Timmy
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was back on the toilet, though he was shaking and obviously
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upset, and Bill was in another stall.
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Fortunately for Timmy, a child care worker almost
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immediately made the mandatory call to the Illinois Department of
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Children and Family Services hotline. This action was required by
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state law, but according to a number of sources close to the
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school, such calls were often not made at ISVI. Since the call
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had been made in this case, however, the DCFS-mandated procedure
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was carried out. Two staff members were fairly quickly assigned
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to take Timmy to the emergency room at Jacksonville's Passavant
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Hospital, where he was seen first by a male nurse and then by a
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physician. As noted in the ISVI social worker's written report,
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the hospital staff explained to him that in cases of possible
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sexual assault, they were required to collect several specimens
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but that in order to do so from a child they needed permission
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from the parents. One of the two ISVI staff members called the
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school and explained that someone there would have to call and
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inform Timmy's parents about what had happened and ask them to
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call the emergency room to give their permission for the medical
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procedures. Hours passed. It became clear, as the social worker's
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report indicates, that school officials wanted the test results
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in hand, or at least to have some more definitive medical
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information, before making the call to Mr. and Mrs. A.
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Eventually, at 5:55 p.m., according to a letter that the A's
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later wrote to Illinois Governor Jim Edgar, the nurse took the
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initiative and placed a call to the A's, explaining that the
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doctor was waiting for parental permission before completing the
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necessary medical procedures to collect samples for sexual
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assault testing. When the nurse realized that Mrs. A didn't know
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what he was talking about, he explained what had happened to
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Timmy and called the doctor to the phone to talk with the A's.
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Having given their permission for sample collection, the A's
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started the long drive to the school, and Timmy was soon allowed
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to return to his cottage to wait for them.
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Even though, as several people close to the situation later
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admitted, everyone at the school knew that Bill had engaged in a
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number of sexual attacks on other students in the past, the A's
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say that they were repeatedly assured that evening that nothing
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like this had ever before happened at the school. According to
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Mrs. A, the investigating police officer and a senior residential
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care worker both made a point of telling her that this was a
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first. Mrs. A reported that the school official, Polly Williams,
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described to the A's the way she had held Timmy while the blood
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sample was drawn and had comforted him, though in fact the social
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worker's official report of the incident shows that she had not
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been at the hospital at all. She also later told the Braille
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Monitor reporter that she had called both the A's and Mr. A's
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parents that afternoon. It is possible that a call was placed to
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the home of the A's after they left for Jacksonville. Mr. A
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confirmed that his parents were called after he and Mrs. A had
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left for ISVI, but both the A's maintain that the only call they
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themselves received was from the hospital almost four hours after
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Timmy had arrived in the emergency room. The A's were not
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reassured by what they heard and saw at the school. They packed
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Timmy's things and left, having talked with school officials and
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police and made clear their intention to press charges.
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In the following days the A's say they were dismayed to
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learn that school officials had made the decision not to test the
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samples collected from Timmy. The A's report that they were
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furious at this decision and were unclear about exactly who had
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made it. They were, of course, concerned about possible disease
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in Timmy as well as how deep the trauma he had suffered might be.
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They report that they tried on several occasions to contact DCFS
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to learn about the progress on the sexual assault investigation
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and were finally told that it had been closed and no charges were
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being brought.
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Before going further, we should say something about the
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calls that were and were not made on the afternoon of the
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incident. An ISVI staff member reports overhearing Polly Williams
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report the incident to Dr. Umsted fairly early that afternoon. He
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was involved with visitors on campus that day and was dividing
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his time between school business and the requirements of the
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institution's guests. According to this staff member, Umsted
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clearly instructed Williams to call DCFS. Mrs. Williams told the
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Braille Monitor that Mary Kamnick, who was at the time director
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of residential services and who, according to Umsted, was the
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official actually charged with seeing that in such cases both the
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parents and DCFS were notified, directly countermanded Umsted's
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order to her to report the incident to DCFS. Whether Kamnick also
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told Williams to postpone calling the parents until test results
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were available, or whether Williams simply dreaded doing the job
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and put it off until it was too late to catch them at home, is
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hard to tell. When asked to comment about the slowness of the
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school's response that day and the reported failure to do so in
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other cases, Richard Umsted explained that, while he was
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superintendent, the senior school official in each division was
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responsible for making such calls. He says that he himself did
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not make such calls. He went on to say that the staff member who
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was to have made the calls had, as far as he knew, never been
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reprimanded for failure to do so, and she was still employed. But
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whether this statement referred to Mary Kamnick or Polly Williams
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was not clear.
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Meanwhile, about two weeks after the attack on Timmy, the
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A's report that they received an anonymous call from a member of
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the residential staff at ISVI. The caller expressed fear of
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losing his or her job but said that a cover-up was going on and
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that the A's were not being told all the facts. The caller gave
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Mrs. A the names and phone numbers of two other parents and made
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the strong suggestion that she call them and learn what they
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could tell her. When Mrs. A made the calls, she reports that she
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learned of two previous incidents in which Bill had forced
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himself on students--one another boy and the other a teenage
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girl.
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According to the A's, they then decided to do what they
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could to see that what had happened to their son would not happen
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to anyone else because of a cover-up. Mrs. A said that all three
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families believed that, if proper steps had been taken in the
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earlier cases, Timmy would not have been hurt. The A's knew
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Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and his wife Brenda. They wrote a
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detailed letter to their friends the Edgars and asked that the
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Governor see that such a thing not happen at ISVI again. Members
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of the governor's staff later reported to the Braille Monitor
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that he was furious, both about what had happened to Timmy and
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about ISVI efforts to cover it up. He ordered that the Department
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of Rehabilitation Services undertake an investigation
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immediately.
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Shortly thereafter DORS officials told the A's that the
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decision had been made to have Timmy's samples tested after all
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and that the results indicated that the assault had not been
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completed. In talking to the Braille Monitor, the A's said that
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they were relieved to learn this information but that Timmy was
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still suffering the effects of his experience. When he returned
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to his school and walked into his class for the first time after
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the ISVI experience, his teacher reported to the A's that he
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said, "Timmy A is dead." For sometime after his return he also
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resisted entering the faculty rest room at school, the facility
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he had always used because of his need for teacher assistance.
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This year he is in a new class setting, and he is making some
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progress, but his parents have absolutely decided that he will
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remain at home until they can be certain that the Illinois School
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for the Visually Impaired has been completely cleaned up. To her
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everlasting credit, Mrs. A has agreed to serve as a member of the
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ISVI Advisory Council and is doing what she can to improve things
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for the blind students who attend the institution.
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There in summary is the proximate cause of Richard Umsted's
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firing. When news of what had happened and of the subsequent
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investigations began to leak out, the story was covered all over
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||
the state. Here is a representative sample which appeared in the
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July 16, 1994, edition of the Charleston, Illinois, Times-
|
||
Courier:
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State Police Probing Assault of Local Boy
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at ISVI Campus
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by Amy Carnes
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The handling of an alleged student-to-student sexual assault
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at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired has resulted in
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a state police probe and suspension of the school's top
|
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administrator.
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A Charleston woman said her seven-year-old son was sexually
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assaulted by an older student in May while he was visiting the
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Jacksonville residential campus for a two-week evaluation. She
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believes the case was mishandled by school officials.
|
||
The Illinois Department of Rehabilitation in Springfield has
|
||
concluded an internal investigation of the matter, according to
|
||
spokeswoman Melissa Skilbeck. She said she could not release the
|
||
findings of the inquiry because a state police investigation is
|
||
pending as officials conduct interviews with school employees and
|
||
others.
|
||
"We are quite literally in the middle of a state police
|
||
investigation and are in a position where we are dealing with
|
||
minors," she said, explaining why she could not give out
|
||
additional information.
|
||
Skilbeck did not know when the police inquiry would be
|
||
completed.
|
||
Although no details of the department's investigation have
|
||
been made public, some action has been taken. Last week Audrey
|
||
McCrimon, Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Services,
|
||
placed the superintendent of the school, Richard Umsted, on paid
|
||
administrative leave.
|
||
In a press release, McCrimon said she made the decision "due
|
||
to a state police investigation of serious allegations concerning
|
||
his performance as superintendent of the ISVI. While Dr. Umsted
|
||
is on administrative leave, he will remain off campus and be
|
||
relieved of all his duties as superintendent."
|
||
The mother said she believes Umsted should be permanently
|
||
removed from the superintendent's position, which he has held for
|
||
more than twenty years.
|
||
"There needs to be some major changes in the administration
|
||
of the school," she said. "They are so accustomed to lying and
|
||
covering up--they're still doing it over there.
|
||
"We're not after the boy (who allegedly assaulted their
|
||
son)," she said. "We're upset with the system."
|
||
The ISVI would not discuss the matter and referred all
|
||
questions to the Department of Rehabilitation Services.
|
||
The mother said she first found out about the incident when
|
||
she received a call from the Jacksonville hospital seeking
|
||
permission to treat her son. She said ISVI officials never
|
||
contacted her.
|
||
The mother said she has since learned of three other
|
||
student-to-student sexual assaults at ISVI, two of which were
|
||
supposedly committed by the same youth she claims assaulted her
|
||
son.
|
||
An anonymous call from one of the school's residential care
|
||
workers led to her awareness of the other incidents.
|
||
The mother said the other alleged student-to-student sexual
|
||
assaults were covered up and not reported to medical or law
|
||
enforcement officials.
|
||
The boy who allegedly assaulted her son is a sixteen-year-
|
||
old visually impaired student with cerebral palsy.
|
||
ISVI has 130 students ranging in age from three to twenty-
|
||
one. In addition to visual problems, some of the residents have
|
||
other disabilities, said Harold Klopowitz of the Department of
|
||
Rehabilitation.
|
||
"Many people who are blind are mainstreamed (into public
|
||
schools)," he said. "Multiple disabilities is why they end up at
|
||
ISVI."
|
||
State Representative Mike Weaver, R-Ashmore, said he was not
|
||
aware of any student-to-student sexual assaults occurring at
|
||
ISVI.
|
||
"If that, in fact, is happening, the management of the
|
||
school and the agency are going to have to take some pretty harsh
|
||
steps," he said.
|
||
|
||
There you have the story as it was being reported
|
||
immediately following Richard Umsted's placement on
|
||
administrative leave, but events are almost always more complex
|
||
than they appear at first glance. Who is Dr. Richard Umsted? What
|
||
was the character of his administration at the Illinois School
|
||
for the Visually Impaired? And what is known of the management
|
||
team with which he surrounded himself? Information on all these
|
||
things is necessary to an understanding of what happened and
|
||
continues to happen at ISVI.
|
||
Richard Umsted taught in several schools for the blind
|
||
before enrolling in the Peabody doctoral program at Vanderbilt
|
||
University in Nashville, Tennessee. After earning his Ed.D., he
|
||
returned to teach at Northern Illinois University before assuming
|
||
the responsibilities of Superintendent at the Illinois School for
|
||
the Visually Impaired in 1976. He and his family have been part
|
||
of the Jacksonville community ever since.
|
||
Dr. Umsted's supporters cite his active participation in
|
||
community organizations as an indication of his value as a
|
||
citizen. According to a number of ISVI employees and supporters,
|
||
he has been a member of several area churches, an active Lion and
|
||
United Way volunteer, a member of the Jacksonville Chamber of
|
||
Commerce, and an elected member of the District 117 School Board.
|
||
He is the recipient of the Melvin Jones Award, said to be the
|
||
highest award in Lionism. According to one member of the local
|
||
Lions club, a club nominates its candidate for this award; and if
|
||
he is chosen, the club pays the $1,000 price of the award.
|
||
According to this source, Umsted approached his club's leadership
|
||
and offered to cover the cost of the award if the club would
|
||
nominate him. Dr. Umsted's explanation of this event when
|
||
questioned by the Braille Monitor was that his wife and children
|
||
wanted to do something to show their appreciation and devotion,
|
||
so they offered to reimburse the club for the cost of the award.
|
||
A member of the local Lions Club also complained that Dr.
|
||
Umsted's perfect attendance record at Lions meetings was achieved
|
||
by often dropping by the meeting for a cup of coffee during the
|
||
ten-minute period when the roll was taken.
|
||
In fact a number of those with whom we spoke commented in
|
||
various ways concerning Dr. Umsted's failure to participate in
|
||
ISVI campus events and said that he spent very little time at
|
||
extracurricular activities. A number of people commented that
|
||
Umsted did not know the students' names unless they were sports
|
||
stars or trouble-makers or unless their parents were active in
|
||
school affairs. When asked about these allegations, Dr. Umsted
|
||
explained that he had children of his own and a family life to
|
||
maintain, that a job like his could consume one if limits were
|
||
not drawn, and that he had looked in on as many school activities
|
||
as he could.
|
||
From the time of dismissal to the date of the writing of
|
||
this article, Richard Umsted has continued to receive
|
||
considerable personal and public support from a number of friends
|
||
and acquaintances in the Jacksonville community. Here is a story
|
||
that appeared in the Jacksonville Journal-Courier on July 12,
|
||
1994 just four days after Umsted was suspended:
|
||
|
||
Colleagues Defend ISVI Chief's Work
|
||
Many Express Disbelief at Suspension
|
||
by Lisa Kernek
|
||
|
||
The superintendent of the Illinois School for the Visually
|
||
Impaired has been a strong leader for a troubled school,
|
||
according to past and present colleagues.
|
||
Past and present employees reacted with disbelief to the
|
||
suspension Saturday of Richard Umsted, whose handling of alleged
|
||
student-to-student sexual contact is being investigated by State
|
||
Police. The employees credited Dr. Umsted with saving the school,
|
||
on more than one occasion, from closing, and with working long
|
||
hours and acting in the best interests of students.
|
||
One critic said he is a weak disciplinarian.
|
||
But, "No matter what he does, he's bound to run into
|
||
trouble," one defender, a former teacher who spoke on condition
|
||
of anonymity, said, "We're dealing with a very volatile
|
||
population of students."
|
||
Some students at the residential campus suffer mental
|
||
handicaps or behavioral problems as well as visual problems.
|
||
The investigation of Dr. Umsted centers on his handling of a
|
||
student's alleged sexual assault on a child visiting the campus
|
||
for an evaluation.
|
||
"These things go on and it's unfortunate, but it's life,"
|
||
Judy Williams, a social studies teacher, said. "I think this is
|
||
being unfairly put on (Dr. Umsted)."
|
||
Department of Rehabilitation Services spokeswoman Melissa
|
||
Skilbeck said the agency stands by the suspension.
|
||
During periods of declining enrollment at the School for the
|
||
Visually Impaired, as growing numbers of handicapped children
|
||
attended mainstream schools, state officials considered closing
|
||
the campus, said one retired employee who spoke on condition his
|
||
name not be used. Dr. Umsted organized letter-writing campaigns
|
||
that saved it, the employee said.
|
||
"In saving the school, he saved my pension," the employee
|
||
said.
|
||
But another former colleague, who also spoke on condition of
|
||
anonymity, said that Dr. Umsted was "weak on discipline."
|
||
"There was things that happened that he didn't report (to
|
||
the police) because he didn't want to put his name on the block,"
|
||
the employee said.
|
||
Dr. Umsted, reached at his home, referred all questions to
|
||
the Department of Rehabilitation Services.
|
||
However, a school employee speaking on condition of
|
||
anonymity said police may have investigated incidents without the
|
||
knowledge of everyone on campus. In the past police have sent
|
||
officers in plain clothes to the campus, the source said.
|
||
The Department of Rehabilitation Services has concluded an
|
||
internal investigation begun in May, Ms. Skilbeck said. State
|
||
Police, who began investigating last month, interviewed school
|
||
employees Monday, and state officials say they don't know how
|
||
long that phase of the investigation will take.
|
||
|
||
That is what the Jacksonville newspaper said. Yet it was far
|
||
from being all beer and skittles for Umsted and his supporters.
|
||
While the latter were organizing letter-writing campaigns and
|
||
letters to the editor, other people were beginning to consider
|
||
the implications of what was being revealed by the
|
||
investigations. On July 27, 1994, and again on August 31, 1994,
|
||
the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, which according to residents of
|
||
the community had been a strong supporter of ISVI and Richard
|
||
Umsted in the past, ran editorials that reflected a deep concern
|
||
for the school for the blind and for the community of
|
||
Jacksonville and its public schools. Here they are:
|
||
|
||
Umsted Should Take Leave From School Board
|
||
Results of Investigation Would Determine Return
|
||
|
||
Dr. Richard Umsted should ask the Jacksonville School Board
|
||
to excuse him from further service until the investigation of his
|
||
conduct as superintendent of the Illinois School for the Visually
|
||
Impaired is completed. As sad as is the situation Dr. Umsted
|
||
finds himself in, there really is no other logical course
|
||
available to him if our students are to be properly serviced.
|
||
We won't go into the details of the investigation here [the
|
||
editorial continues] except to say they revolved around some very
|
||
serious charges concerning care and protection of students and
|
||
visitors at ISVI. Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services
|
||
officials viewed the charges with such alarm that they called in
|
||
the state police to give the matter a complete review.
|
||
That said, and giving Dr. Umsted his due to a presumption of
|
||
innocence in all respects, it nonetheless appears that the best
|
||
course Dr. Umsted could take relative to his continued service on
|
||
the school board is to take a sort of leave of absence until the
|
||
air is clear. The work of school board members--and of the school
|
||
board as a whole--is too sensitive and too important to allow for
|
||
any questions of the sort being investigated to attach to either
|
||
individual board members or to the board as a whole.
|
||
We've known Dr. Umsted ever since he came to Jacksonville
|
||
and have watched with much approval as he's worked hard for his
|
||
school and as he's built it into a much finer institution than it
|
||
was when he took over. The last thing we want to see is his good
|
||
name impeached, but, as long as there are questions of the sort
|
||
described above being investigated, he must for the time being
|
||
step aside from his duties as a school board member.
|
||
Let's all hope the investigations are ended soon and that
|
||
Dr. Umsted is quickly restored to his post as ISVI superintendent
|
||
and then as a member of our hard-working school board. Until that
|
||
time, we trust he'll do what's right and will take a leave from
|
||
our school board.
|
||
|
||
The second editorial appeared a week after the DORS
|
||
announcement of Dr. Umsted's actual firing. Here is the August 31
|
||
editorial:
|
||
|
||
Dr. Umsted Should Quit School Board
|
||
District 117 Attorney Also Faces Conflict
|
||
|
||
Despite District 117 Superintendent Robert Freeman's efforts
|
||
to suggest otherwise, Dr. Richard Umsted's continued presence on
|
||
the school board constitutes a serious problem for the district.
|
||
Dr. Umsted was fired last week from his job as
|
||
superintendent of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired
|
||
after an investigation concluded that he had failed to report to
|
||
his superiors cases of repeated sexual abuse involving students.
|
||
Dr. Freeman said Dr. Umsted "has been a very effective
|
||
member of the board. I think he could continue to be."
|
||
Sorry, Dr. Freeman, but we disagree.
|
||
As we have written previously, this was not just some
|
||
bureaucratic oversight by Dr. Umsted, but a failure to carry out
|
||
the first duty of any educator, to protect students from harm.
|
||
Further, the parents of at least one student who was the victim
|
||
of what amounted to a sexual assault apparently were not notified
|
||
by the school about what had happened to their son.
|
||
Those failures forever compromise Dr. Umsted's role as a
|
||
maker and enforcer of sensible educational policy. How can
|
||
parents and students of the District 117 public schools have
|
||
faith that Dr. Umsted will act in their best interest when it is
|
||
clear that he failed to do so for the parents and students at
|
||
ISVI?
|
||
Clouding things further is this: Dr. Umsted is represented
|
||
by Jacksonville attorney Larry Kuster, who also provides legal
|
||
counsel for the District 117 Board of Education.
|
||
That creates a conflict for Mr. Kuster, who should have
|
||
declined to represent Dr. Umsted or given up--at least
|
||
temporarily--his position as counselor to the district.
|
||
It's a mess, isn't it?
|
||
The best advice we can offer Dr. Umsted is to do what is
|
||
right and resign his seat on the District 117 Board of Education
|
||
immediately. That would eliminate Mr. Kuster's looming conflict
|
||
of interest and reassure parents and students of the district
|
||
that the school board places their concerns above all others.
|
||
|
||
That is the August 31 editorial, and it indicates the
|
||
changing mood of the Jacksonville community. From information
|
||
provided by parents who were interviewed by the police during
|
||
July and August, 1994, it is now clear that by late August Audrey
|
||
McCrimon, Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Services,
|
||
was in possession of too much damaging evidence to do anything
|
||
but fire Richard Umsted. Through the years student-against-
|
||
student sexual attacks had occurred with disturbing frequency.
|
||
Moreover, there was evidence that reports of some of these
|
||
incidents had been destroyed and that others had never been filed
|
||
at all. Here is the press release that was circulated by DORS:
|
||
|
||
August 23, 1994
|
||
|
||
Audrey McCrimon, Director of the Department of
|
||
Rehabilitation Services (DORS), announced today that she has
|
||
terminated Dr. Richard Umsted, Superintendent of the Illinois
|
||
School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI) in Jacksonville.
|
||
McCrimon said Umsted was terminated for overall management
|
||
deficiencies, most specifically of which were his failing to take
|
||
proper protective action to safeguard students from a sexually
|
||
aggressive student, failing to respond appropriately to reports
|
||
of improper sexual contact between students, and failing to
|
||
consistently notify the Department of Children and Family
|
||
Services (DCFS), the parents of involved students, and his
|
||
superiors at DORS of the reported incidents.
|
||
"First and foremost of any school administrator's
|
||
responsibility is the safety and well-being of the children
|
||
entrusted to his or her care. That responsibility is non-
|
||
negotiable and non-discretionary," said Director McCrimon.
|
||
"Information obtained by the department establishes that Dr.
|
||
Umsted routinely failed to carry out this responsibility.
|
||
Therefore, in the best interest of the students of the Illinois
|
||
School for the Visually Impaired and the integrity of the school
|
||
itself, I have terminated Dr. Umsted effective immediately."
|
||
An investigation revealed that Umsted failed to
|
||
appropriately handle a series of instances involving a sexually
|
||
aggressive male student. The sixteen-year-old's aggressive
|
||
behavior was brought to DORS' attention in May when Umsted's
|
||
office reported that the student had attempted to sexually abuse
|
||
a nine-year-old boy visiting ISVI for an evaluation.
|
||
McCrimon ordered an internal review of the situation
|
||
involving the nine-year-old, and it revealed that several sexual
|
||
incidents involving the sixteen-year-old had gone unreported to
|
||
DORS, DCFS, and the parents of affected students. Among the
|
||
incidents not appropriately reported were the inappropriate and
|
||
unwelcome touching of two female students and the possible sexual
|
||
abuse of four male students, including the nine-year-old.
|
||
DORS' internal review was completed the end of May, and
|
||
McCrimon requested the Illinois State Police independently
|
||
investigate the situation in early June. Given the different
|
||
functioning levels of the children suspected of being abused,
|
||
DORS hired a sexual abuse counselor specially trained in
|
||
interviewing children with multiple disabilities to assist the
|
||
State Police.
|
||
The State Police investigation into the matter is
|
||
continuing.
|
||
|
||
There we have the McCrimon press release. The story of
|
||
Umsted's firing received even broader publicity across the state
|
||
than had the earlier ones, but it was in Jacksonville, where
|
||
Umsted's support was strongest, that the editor of the Journal-
|
||
Courier spoke out most clearly about the rights and wrongs of the
|
||
case. Here is what he had to say on August 24, 1994:
|
||
|
||
ISVI's Dr. Umsted Had to Go
|
||
Failure to Report Abuse Cases Warranted Dismissal
|
||
|
||
Dr. Richard Umsted deserved to be fired. From all evidence,
|
||
it appears that Dr. Umsted, who spent two decades as
|
||
superintendent of the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired,
|
||
made the unpardonable mistake of failing to report sexual abuse
|
||
cases involving students at the school.
|
||
Under both state law and the policies of the state
|
||
Department of Rehabilitation Services, Dr. Umsted's
|
||
responsibilities were clear.
|
||
He was supposed to inform both DORS, the Department of
|
||
Children and Family Services, and the students' families when
|
||
evidence indicates that a child has been sexually abused.
|
||
That Dr. Umsted failed to do so, as DORS alleged in
|
||
announcing his firing, is incomprehensible.
|
||
How could anyone think it prudent that parents not be told
|
||
that their child had been the victim of a sexual assault? How
|
||
could anyone expect to be able to keep other people, including
|
||
one's superiors, from finding out?
|
||
Some of the children at ISVI, a residential facility, face
|
||
multiple physical and mental disabilities, and it would be
|
||
unrealistic to think that sexual experimentation does not occur,
|
||
despite the most conscientious supervision.
|
||
However, when a student is sexually aggressive, he or she
|
||
constitutes a problem for other students and staff that cannot be
|
||
ignored or wished away. The incident must be reported immediately
|
||
and the student removed from campus so that he or she cannot
|
||
threaten others.
|
||
This is a sad way for a career to end, but the violation of
|
||
both policy and the rules of common sense appears to be so
|
||
serious that Dr. Umsted had to go.
|
||
|
||
That is what the Jacksonville newspaper said, and there in
|
||
plain language you have the story of what happened last summer at
|
||
ISVI. Charles Martin, DORS director of educational services and
|
||
for the final year and a half of Umsted's time at ISVI Umsted's
|
||
boss, was named to serve as interim superintendent until a
|
||
successor can be appointed. But it will be a long time before the
|
||
dust settles. Despite statements by the office of the state's
|
||
attorney to the press, including the Braille Monitor, as late as
|
||
mid-March that the state police investigation was still going on,
|
||
it actually appears to have ended a few weeks after Umsted's
|
||
firing and Mary Kamnick's permanent transfer in late August. No
|
||
charges of any kind were brought against Umsted, but there is
|
||
increasing talk of a civil suit against him and also against the
|
||
state by parents of children who were allegedly abused by ISVI
|
||
students and staff. Martin is working hard to try to rebuild
|
||
trust in the school, but everyone is treading very warily for
|
||
fear of stirring up more trouble or, as some ISVI employees
|
||
expressed it to the Braille Monitor, suffering reprisals from the
|
||
members of Umsted's management team who still have their jobs.
|
||
And what does Richard Umsted say about all of this? He is a
|
||
man whose world has clearly come crashing down around him. In
|
||
listening to the recording of his interview with the Braille
|
||
Monitor, one is struck by his obvious pain and dismay at what has
|
||
happened. When asked for his explanation of the events, Umsted
|
||
says that he was the most visible and effective proponent of
|
||
categorical services for the blind in Illinois. According to
|
||
Umsted, Audrey McCrimon and her DORS administration are
|
||
determined to do away with categorical services altogether, and
|
||
it was necessary to remove him in order to do so. Umsted predicts
|
||
that in the next few years we will see separate services for
|
||
blind Illinoisans disappear altogether.
|
||
In an interview with the Braille Monitor McCrimon denied
|
||
Umsted's allegation entirely . She pointed to her strong
|
||
commitment to building a new independent-living center on the
|
||
ISVI campus as dramatic indication of her belief in the
|
||
importance of categorical services for the blind. She said that,
|
||
if she had thought the school for the blind should be melded into
|
||
other facilities, she would not be demonstrating what she called
|
||
"a bricks-and-mortar commitment" to ISVI.
|
||
When asked how he accounted for the destruction of files and
|
||
the repeated failure of ISVI officials to report problems in
|
||
accordance with state mandates, Umsted told the Monitor that the
|
||
specific responsibility for fulfilling these requirements
|
||
belonged to the various department heads: Mary Kamnick, director
|
||
of residential services; Les Stevens, principal of the elementary
|
||
school; Michael Jacoby, assistant superintendent and senior
|
||
public service administrator; Bill Forney, director of student
|
||
services; and Kathy Hughes, director of education. He said that
|
||
he recognized that the buck stopped with him and that's why he
|
||
had taken the fall. But without actually accusing his
|
||
subordinates he left the Monitor reporter with the impression by
|
||
implication that decisions to suppress information or destroy
|
||
reports had been made without his knowledge. And indeed a
|
||
significant amount of document destruction seems to have taken
|
||
place following Umsted's suspension in early July while he was
|
||
prohibited from setting foot on the campus.
|
||
In the days following the suspension, a number of ISVI
|
||
employees report that several people who had never before been
|
||
seen to shred documents were engaged in a significant amount of
|
||
document destruction at the school. One said that last summer a
|
||
number of people (including Les Stevens, Kathy Hughes, and even
|
||
the superintendent's secretary on the one afternoon that the
|
||
acting superintendent was off campus) were observed shredding
|
||
documents. A visually impaired janitor later said that he had
|
||
carried out twelve bags of these documents, which he could
|
||
identify by color as yellow anecdotal reports and white log
|
||
sheets.
|
||
David Postle, an alumnus and current member of the ISVI
|
||
Advisory Council, heard about the document destruction almost
|
||
immediately. He says that he contacted the state police with the
|
||
information. Postle reports that they were furious at the news
|
||
and went directly to McCrimon, DORS Director, and told her to see
|
||
that the destruction stop, but he says that it took DORS three
|
||
weeks to get around to warning ISVI employees not to remove any
|
||
documents from the files. It is fair to say that David Postle is
|
||
extremely wary of DORS statements of their good intentions, and
|
||
it is equally fair to say that Postle is not the favorite person
|
||
of DORS officials. The same uneasy relationship has existed for
|
||
years between Postle and senior administrators at ISVI.
|
||
Umsted commented to the Braille Monitor that he simply could
|
||
not imagine why Postle had it in for him. Postle says that he
|
||
loves the school and that he is committed to seeing that it has a
|
||
chance to do the best it can for Illinois's blind children.
|
||
Regardless of why and where the grudges exist, one thing is
|
||
clear: David Postle has the confidence and respect of more
|
||
employees, alumni, and parents of ISVI students than any one else
|
||
seems to have. His commitment to the institution and the children
|
||
it serves is almost palpable, and there seems to be nothing for
|
||
him to gain and much to lose because of his involvement in this
|
||
painful situation. His wife is an orientation and mobility
|
||
teacher at the school. He is a retired DORS rehabilitation
|
||
counselor. The couple are certainly vulnerable to reprisals, but
|
||
at an institution in which there have been many alleged threats
|
||
of firings over the years, Postle has been unwavering in his
|
||
efforts to see that what he regards as justice is done.
|
||
Before concluding this recital of calamities, we must report
|
||
two more statements that Richard Umsted made to the Braille
|
||
Monitor. We asked him about reports we received from quite a
|
||
number of ISVI employees about a romantic attachment between him
|
||
and Nancy Ford, a supervisor of house parents. (Staffers report
|
||
observing them at a school dance during which for about forty-
|
||
five minutes Umsted was supposed to have had his arm around Ford.
|
||
The two were also often seen in very close, some say apparently
|
||
intimate, conversation at the school.) Umsted emphatically and
|
||
categorically denied the relationship. In fact, he pointed out
|
||
that such behavior would have been absurdly blatant for a man
|
||
with a wife and family to engage in. He also denied that he had
|
||
ever made a practice of threatening members of his staff with job
|
||
loss. His comment on this subject was that he would have been a
|
||
fool to say such things. He says that, considering the number of
|
||
unions on the campus, he would have faced grievances all over the
|
||
place if he had tried it.
|
||
Chronicles like the recent events at the Illinois School for
|
||
the Visually Impaired are rarely black and white. Certainly this
|
||
story has no winners. The most infuriating part of the debacle is
|
||
that the most helpless (the multiply handicapped blind children)
|
||
have been the most abused victims. But they are not the only
|
||
victims. A number of parents have also suffered serious,
|
||
continuing emotional pain. The school has suffered a tremendous
|
||
blow to its reputation in the community, the state, and the
|
||
blindness field. Michael Jacoby seems to be a broken man. Mary
|
||
Kamnick is still the subject of a personnel action, which may
|
||
ultimately cost her her employment. And Richard Umsted's career
|
||
in the blindness field would appear to be at an end. In the
|
||
months since his firing he has reportedly been working as a stock
|
||
boy in the produce department of the local Harmon IGA grocery
|
||
store in Jacksonville. Obviously he needs to support himself and
|
||
his family, but his recent efforts to find jobs in the blindness
|
||
field have had tragiccomic if not grotesque aspects. (See the
|
||
article, "Umsted Withdraws from Alabama Institute Job Search,"
|
||
elsewhere in this issue and "The Arkansas School for the Blind
|
||
Still Front-Page News" in the April, 1995, issue of the Braille
|
||
Monitor.)
|
||
In short, there are more than enough victims, fall guys, and
|
||
villains, to go around. But we must always return to the
|
||
children. They deserve commitment, integrity, compassion, and
|
||
love. There are still many employees at the Illinois School for
|
||
the Visually Impaired who have been unwavering in their
|
||
dedication to the children, but there are others who seem to have
|
||
lost sight of this fundamental and central commitment. The good
|
||
name of the school, the reputation of school officials, and the
|
||
impulse not to make waves seem too often to have gotten in the
|
||
way of doing what was in the best interest of the children.
|
||
Now that Umsted and two of his administrators are gone,
|
||
things may be beginning to change at the school. Does reform have
|
||
a chance? Maybe. Old patterns of thought and practice die hard,
|
||
and for several people still on the ISVI staff, papering over the
|
||
problems that have been revealed would be an attractive
|
||
resolution of the trouble. It is very difficult for entrenched
|
||
bureaucracy to bring about change, and change is what must occur
|
||
at ISVI if the past is to be dealt with responsibly. The best we
|
||
can say at the moment is that ISVI may have a chance. We have
|
||
been told by some that it is a new day at ISVI, and there are
|
||
possible indications that this may be so. But realistically one
|
||
must admit that the weight of history is against those seeking
|
||
change. They face long odds, but let us hope that the new day at
|
||
the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired will be a lucky
|
||
one. The school will need luck.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[Photo #2 A small, brick, windowless building marked with the
|
||
word gymnasium with a few pieces of pre-school playground
|
||
equipment. Caption: The gymnasium at the Illinois School for the
|
||
Visually Impaired.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE PATTERN AND PRACTICE OF ABUSE
|
||
by Barbara Pierce
|
||
|
||
Elsewhere in this issue we examined the incident which,
|
||
because of mismanagement, led directly to the firing,
|
||
reassignment, and retirement of three senior officials of the
|
||
Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI). But very little
|
||
occurs in a vacuum, and recent events at ISVI are no exception.
|
||
In our early days of trying to research this story, many people
|
||
explained their reluctance to be quoted, or even to talk to the
|
||
press off the record, by saying that the history of abuse of
|
||
various kinds was so consistent, and the pattern of retaliation
|
||
against those who attempted to complain so clear, that they
|
||
believed the risks too great and the possibility of change too
|
||
small for them to take the chance.
|
||
Jacksonville is a quiet and stable community of about
|
||
20,000. Though its industrial base is growing, state institutions
|
||
of various kinds provide much of the town's employment base and
|
||
economic strength. Even when people change jobs, they often move
|
||
from state institution to state institution rather than leaving
|
||
the area. So memories are long and grudges can be protracted.
|
||
Moreover, people are remarkably protective of institutions. For
|
||
example, months after the close of the police investigation of
|
||
the Umsted matter, the office of the state's attorney was still
|
||
assuring the Braille Monitor that it was continuing and that by
|
||
law he could therefore not release the report or even let anyone
|
||
read it. But even with the conspiracy of silence that seems to
|
||
keep any department of state government from saying anything
|
||
negative about another in Illinois, there would appear to be a
|
||
sort of undercurrent of dissatisfaction with ISVI in the
|
||
community.
|
||
For example, one morning when the Braille Monitor reporter
|
||
was at breakfast in his hotel, the server mentioned that she had
|
||
two sisters who were blind. He explained a little about the story
|
||
he was in town to research, and she told him that one of her
|
||
sisters had been raped at ISVI in 1977. She was clearly still
|
||
angry about the experience and the way it was handled, and she
|
||
was sure that her mother and sister would be happy to talk with
|
||
the Braille Monitor about what had happened. This is the story
|
||
that Mrs. B and her daughter, whom we will call Sandy, related.
|
||
In school Sandy was designated a slow learner. In 1977 she was
|
||
dating a student who was a star wrestler. When the rape occurred,
|
||
Sandy immediately told both her mother and school officials. Mrs.
|
||
B was dismayed and angry to learn that school personnel had not
|
||
bothered to arrange for either medical attention or rape
|
||
counseling for her daughter. When she taxed the relatively new
|
||
Superintendent, Richard Umsted, with these omissions, he told her
|
||
plainly that the school had no intention of reporting the rape to
|
||
authorities and, if she did so, school officials would deny that
|
||
it had occurred at all. Never mind that Sandy maintained that she
|
||
had been raped: the wrestling star said the encounter was
|
||
consensual and that was the way it was going to be. The family
|
||
recognized the inevitable: they were powerless to see that
|
||
justice was done. Eighteen years later those on campus who could
|
||
still remember the incident at all dismissed it in talking with
|
||
the Braille Monitor as a situation in which the boy said it was
|
||
consensual, and the girl claimed it was rape. According to the
|
||
B's, Sandy still feels betrayed, and the family is still angry at
|
||
what they perceive as the arrogance of power expressed by Richard
|
||
Umsted.
|
||
In his interview with the Braille Monitor Dr. Umsted
|
||
acknowledged that some sexual exploration among students went on
|
||
during his years at ISVI. He pointed out, however, that this is
|
||
inevitable in any residential school with a student body that
|
||
includes adolescents. When asked whether he remembered dealing
|
||
with Sandy B and her mother, Umsted said that he could not recall
|
||
anything about the case.
|
||
Perhaps what happened to Sandy B might be interpreted as
|
||
sexual exploration, though the school's response as described by
|
||
Mrs. B is difficult to credit. But the institution seems to have
|
||
experienced an even more questionable bout of so-called sexual
|
||
exploration in the early eighties when, according to school
|
||
employees, one rather large female high school student forced a
|
||
number of lower functioning girls to satisfy the thirst for
|
||
knowledge of some of the male students after hours at a nearby
|
||
lumber yard. The boys reportedly paid the organizer $2 a lesson.
|
||
ISVI employees at the time recall that the lumber yard used to
|
||
call the school regularly to inquire whether they wanted to
|
||
retrieve the ISVI blankets left at the site of the exploration.
|
||
Presumably, not being school property, the used condoms also
|
||
found in the area, according to ISVI staff, were not reclaimed
|
||
along with the blankets.
|
||
Amateur prostitution wasn't the only illegal and bizarre
|
||
behavior reportedly being practiced at ISVI in the early
|
||
eighties, according to those close to the school who recounted
|
||
the history of the institution to the Braille Monitor. A group of
|
||
high school boys reportedly began stealing small electronic
|
||
apparatus--tape recorders, radios, and the like. They allegedly
|
||
hid the stolen property in a suitcase and buried the case in the
|
||
middle of the running-track until the outcry calmed down. When
|
||
pressed for an explanation of why, if officials knew so much, the
|
||
officials didn't step in to stop what was going on, the comment
|
||
was made to the Braille Monitor that the administration was
|
||
afraid of the students. Hard as it seems to believe, those with
|
||
whom we spoke insisted that that was the way it happened.
|
||
One alumnus of ISVI who has continued to be closely
|
||
associated with the institution through the years told the
|
||
Braille Monitor reporter that he left the school in the middle of
|
||
his senior year because the drug scene there was too much for
|
||
him. He says that he went to Umsted to complain about the
|
||
situation. He says that Umsted said he wished he could clean it
|
||
up but that Springfield (in other words, his bosses at the
|
||
Department of Rehabilitation Services) wouldn't let him.
|
||
These anecdotes provide an indication of the general
|
||
atmosphere that existed at ISVI in the 1980's. According to a
|
||
written report now in the hands of a parent, one morning in 1984
|
||
Michael Jacoby, assistant superintendent, was called in to look
|
||
at a seven-year-old blind student who was profoundly mentally
|
||
retarded and who had cerebral palsy. The child, whom we will call
|
||
David, seemed to have been seriously sexually assaulted. Bruising
|
||
on the buttocks and in the anal cleft, noticeable irritation of
|
||
the foreskin, and scratches were all visible, according to the
|
||
report that was placed in the student's file. The residential
|
||
care worker said that she had noticed the marks when she dressed
|
||
David that morning, but she had not seen them the morning before,
|
||
according to the report. Despite the suggestive nature of the
|
||
injuries, Mr. Jacoby and the other staff members present decided,
|
||
according to the report in the parent's possession, not to have
|
||
the child examined by a physician and not to notify either the
|
||
Department of Children and Family Services or David's father, Ron
|
||
Stevens. (Mr. Stevens has decided to bring suit against the
|
||
school and has been quoted by name in news stories.)
|
||
Mr. Stevens told the Braille Monitor that he continued to be
|
||
unaware through the intervening ten years of other sexual
|
||
assaults made on his son. In fact, as he tells the story, it was
|
||
not until early July of 1994 that he first learned about the
|
||
attacks his son had been experiencing. When he called home from
|
||
work to check on David on the afternoon of the day in question,
|
||
he received a message from his baby-sitter that the state police
|
||
wished to talk with him. According to Mr. Stevens, he first
|
||
called the school to see what was going on, and Kathy Hughes,
|
||
director of education, told him that there had been a problem
|
||
with one student but that David had not been involved. According
|
||
to Mr. Stevens, he suggested that she go back and get her story
|
||
straight because the police would not be asking to speak with him
|
||
if David had not been involved with something. When he reached
|
||
the police officer, he says he was told that there was evidence
|
||
that several students, David among them, had been sexually
|
||
assaulted by a sixteen-year-old student, who in addition to
|
||
visual impairment and cerebral palsy functioned at the level of a
|
||
twelve-year-old. The police wanted to talk with David and were
|
||
prepared to bring an expert in interviewing special needs
|
||
students about sexual abuse with them to help.
|
||
Meantime Mr. Stevens demanded and received a copy of his
|
||
son's ISVI file. He says that much of the material between the
|
||
1984 report and 1990 was missing but that the rest made
|
||
disturbing reading to a father. He says he discovered that
|
||
David's recent encounter with the student, Bill, was not the
|
||
first. According to David's interview with the police, Bill had
|
||
attacked David three years earlier, holding his head under water
|
||
in a toilet until he was choking. In David's file there was a
|
||
report saying that a member of the staff had interrupted an
|
||
episode in which still another student had apparently taken off
|
||
David's pants in the rest room and was beginning some activity by
|
||
kneeling in front of David. In his interview with the police
|
||
David recounted an experience in which Bill had vomited into
|
||
David's mouth. His own poignant summary of Bill's behavior toward
|
||
him was, "Bill sexed me up."
|
||
One of the more disturbing aspects of reading David's file,
|
||
according to Mr. Stevens, was his discovery that there seemed to
|
||
be blanks. Reports were present of David's hitting other
|
||
students, but David (according to his father) is normally a very
|
||
mild, self-effacing boy who does not react with physical violence
|
||
unless there is some provocation. From talking with David Mr.
|
||
Stevens is convinced that David's actions were retaliation for
|
||
sexual attacks, the reports of which have been removed from the
|
||
file.
|
||
As soon as Ron Stevens realized the magnitude of what had
|
||
happened to his son at ISVI, he reports that he decided to remove
|
||
him from the school and enroll him in his local district. But
|
||
word of ISVI's alleged failure to notify him of problems was
|
||
spreading among other parents. According to Dave Postle (an
|
||
alumnus of ISVI, a member of the ISVI Advisory Council, and one
|
||
of the few people whom parents and disaffected ISVI staff members
|
||
seem to trust), in September of 1994 the President of Illinois
|
||
Parents of the Visually Impaired (IPVI), the Rev. Kenneth
|
||
Holtgrieve, called ISVI official Kathy Hughes to say that he
|
||
thought it would be a good idea for IPVI to move its mailing
|
||
address from ISVI to a post office box. Ms. Hughes was disturbed,
|
||
and Mr. Holtgrieve cited the Stevens case as a worry for parents
|
||
and a reason to distance IPVI from the school. As Mr. Postle and
|
||
Mr. Stevens report what was next said from conversations they
|
||
each had with the Rev. Holtgrieve, Ms. Hughes insisted that Ron
|
||
Stevens had in fact been told of every sexual assault on his son
|
||
and that he had decided not to do anything about them.
|
||
Following this conversation, the Rev. Holtgrieve called Ron
|
||
Stevens and the mother of the most recent child to be assaulted
|
||
by Bill and quoted Ms. Hughes to them both. Mr. Postle confirmed
|
||
the story in phone conversations with both Mr. Stevens and Mrs. A
|
||
and then talked with Mr. Holtgrieve, who again repeated what Ms.
|
||
Hughes had said to him in the earlier conversation. In a later
|
||
conversation with Charles Martin, the acting superintendent of
|
||
the school, Mr. Holtgrieve, however, apparently denied that he
|
||
had ever repeated such a statement from Ms. Hughes, according to
|
||
Mr. Postle, who spoke with Charles Martin about the matter. He
|
||
says that no one can tell what went on in that last conversation
|
||
between Martin and Holtgrieve, but at least no one at the school
|
||
has since made statements to the effect that they have always
|
||
notified parents of problems in the instances in which the
|
||
parents maintain that no contacts were made by the school.
|
||
At any rate, Ron Stevens and his son continue to pay a price
|
||
because of what happened to David at ISVI. According to Mr.
|
||
Stevens he had to sell his business in order to be home to take
|
||
care of his son during the remainder of the summer and after
|
||
school during the school year, and his own distress has required
|
||
professional counseling and medical care. Following the May,
|
||
1994, attack, ISVI announced that the school would pay for any
|
||
counseling that abused students or their parents required; but
|
||
except for a few counseling sessions that David received in the
|
||
first weeks after he came home, ISVI has refused to pay for the
|
||
Stevenses' medical and psychological expenses resulting from a
|
||
decade of attacks on David at the school.
|
||
According to what would seem to be incontrovertible
|
||
evidence, a truly disturbing incident took place in the small
|
||
hours of the morning at one of the residential cottages in
|
||
February of 1988. Thirteen little boys were asleep in their
|
||
rooms. A residential care worker, John Rhoades, was on duty along
|
||
with another staff member. Rhoades was the union steward, and,
|
||
according to several ISVI employees, it was common knowledge that
|
||
he often did his union work during the day and counted on
|
||
sleeping while he was on night duty in the cottage. It was ISVI
|
||
policy that bed checks be made every thirty minutes, but other
|
||
staff members report that Rhoades had been known to close his
|
||
door so that the sound of children crying in the night would not
|
||
disturb him while he was trying to sleep. Such an interruption
|
||
apparently occurred on the night of February 8, actually sometime
|
||
between 3:00 and 5:00 on the morning of February 9. The other
|
||
staff member later admitted to the mother of the child who was
|
||
hurt that she heard it, but she says she was busy on the floor
|
||
above and at the other end of the dormitory.
|
||
This is as good a place as any to say parenthetically that
|
||
some time later the then dean of students, David Marshall, told
|
||
the Braille Monitor that he found Rhoades asleep on the day room
|
||
couch one night while he was supposed to be on duty. The
|
||
telephone was ringing in the office when Marshall walked in, and
|
||
he picked up the instrument, only to hear the warning,
|
||
"Marshall's on campus." When he awakened Rhoades, the latter
|
||
acted as if nothing was amiss. According to several sources,
|
||
Rhoades later apparently embezzled $1,200 from the union, but the
|
||
books that showed the missing funds were consumed in a rather
|
||
mysterious car fire in a vehicle owned by his successor as union
|
||
steward according to Marshall. At about the time the money went
|
||
missing, several sources close to the situation report, that
|
||
Rhoades began sporting a new, clearly expensive toupee, and union
|
||
members expelled him from the organization. True or not, these
|
||
sources report that at the time it was widely assumed at the
|
||
school that it was appropriate to draw the obvious connections
|
||
among all these events.
|
||
But let us return to the early morning of February 9, 1988.
|
||
In one of the rooms were two five-year-olds. One was a child with
|
||
a history of biting. According to a source close to the
|
||
situation, there had been some discussion of having the
|
||
psychologist work with this child to stop biting, but it had not
|
||
been done. Instead he had been moved to a room with older
|
||
students, and the biting seemed to have ceased. Now he was back
|
||
with a roommate of his own age. The other roommate in the little
|
||
boys' cottage was a child we will call Paul C. Because of an
|
||
under-developed pituitary gland, Paul is both blind and very
|
||
small for his age. When he was three, he stopped talking and is
|
||
now almost completely nonverbal.
|
||
In the wake of the events of February 9, Mrs. C says that
|
||
she felt strongly that school officials had behaved irresponsibly
|
||
and then succeeded in covering up what happened. She set out to
|
||
collect the records and photographs of what happened, and in
|
||
January of 1989 she wrote a comprehensive letter to the Illinois
|
||
Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, Human Rights Authority,
|
||
which had finally agreed to investigate what had happened a year
|
||
earlier. Here is the letter that Mrs. C wrote. Some names and
|
||
several superfluous references have been omitted. Other
|
||
references have been retained. They refer to school records Mrs.
|
||
C enclosed with her letter. Here is the letter:
|
||
|
||
________, Illinois
|
||
January 6, 1989
|
||
|
||
Kathy Eddy/Britta Harris
|
||
Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission
|
||
Human Rights Authority Staff
|
||
Springfield, Illinois
|
||
|
||
Dear Ladies:
|
||
This letter concerns my son's injuries which he sustained
|
||
while a student at the ISVI and the circumstances surrounding the
|
||
episode.
|
||
I want to begin with the day of February 9, 1988. At 4:10
|
||
p.m. I received a call from Dennis Kelahan, a case worker at
|
||
ISVI. He told me Paul had gotten into a scuffle with another
|
||
student. I asked Mr. Kelahan what had happened. He said Paul was
|
||
apparently bitten by his roommate. (I didn't even know Paul had a
|
||
roommate.) He then said Paul had sustained two open wounds, some
|
||
bruising, and some redness from the bites and that Paul had been
|
||
seen by Dr. Kelly.
|
||
I asked when the incident occurred. Mr. Kelahan said it
|
||
happened between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. that morning. I then
|
||
asked who was on duty that night (monitoring the students). The
|
||
response was a Mr. John Rhoades was on duty. Mr. Kelahan also
|
||
said that apparently no one had heard Paul cry out when he was
|
||
attacked. I then said to Mr. Kelahan, "No one heard him cry?" I
|
||
further asked if, when the situation happened, maybe the school
|
||
personnel thought Paul was throwing a tantrum and did not go in
|
||
his room to check on him. Mr. Kelahan said that all he knew was
|
||
what he had on the paper in front of him (he was not a witness).
|
||
I then asked if Paul bit the other child or did anything to
|
||
upset the other child. Mr. Kelahan said, "No, the other child
|
||
crawled into bed with Paul and assaulted him." Further, the
|
||
assault was not discovered until Paul was dressed for school at
|
||
6:45 a.m., whereupon the school personnel took Paul to Dr. Kelly.
|
||
An antibiotic ointment was applied to the open wounds. I asked
|
||
Mr. Kelahan what the name of Paul's attacker was. I was told that
|
||
he could not divulge that information, but the offender was
|
||
removed from Paul's room and would not come into contact with
|
||
him.
|
||
At that time I was upset. I told Mr. Kelahan that my husband
|
||
would be angry about the situation. I also said I wanted Mr.
|
||
Kelahan to call me back when my husband got home at 5:15 p.m.
|
||
that evening. Mr. Kelahan said he would not be in at that time,
|
||
but would have Eleanor Vieira call. He also said that we were
|
||
welcome to come up to the ISVI but to call first. He told me Paul
|
||
seemed to be in no pain or danger at that time. I then informed
|
||
Mr. Kelahan that I and my other children were ill and had
|
||
doctor's appointments that week, and since my husband was at
|
||
work, I didn't think he would want to take off work because he
|
||
was to be laid off. I then said I would let Mr. Kelahan know but
|
||
was certain we would be coming to the ISVI on the 26th of
|
||
February (I believed that was a school break).
|
||
Now, if you would look at the copies of paperwork I have
|
||
sent you, I will explain.
|
||
|
||
Parent Contact Log, pages 1 and 2, February 9, 1988
|
||
This is what Mr. Kelahan had to say about our conversation.
|
||
I didn't think to ask at that time why it took so long for them
|
||
to call me--I was home all day.
|
||
|
||
Page 3: why was "welts are gone" crossed out? I was not told
|
||
about welts or scratches.
|
||
After talking to Mr. Kelahan on the 9th, I called my husband
|
||
at work to tell him about Paul.
|
||
Mrs. Vieira called at 6:00 p.m. on February 9. My husband
|
||
listened on one phone while I was conversing with Mrs. Vieira on
|
||
another phone. She said it was an unfortunate accident that
|
||
happened to Paul and that the boy who attacked Paul had been
|
||
moved and would not be in contact with Paul or the smaller boys.
|
||
She also told us that he was a five-year-old non-verbal blind
|
||
child who would bite the smaller boys. She said that the school
|
||
personnel put him back upstairs with the bigger boys.
|
||
I asked Mrs. Vieira, if she knew the child was a biter, why
|
||
did they put him in with Paul? She explained that he had been
|
||
good about not biting, so they thought he could be put with
|
||
students his own age. She also said that we were welcome to come
|
||
to the ISVI, but it was not necessary. She went on to say Paul
|
||
sustained two open bite marks, bruising, and redness. He seemed
|
||
to be doing fine, and he was receiving a lot of attention from
|
||
everyone on the staff. I asked to have Dr. Kelly call me in the
|
||
morning after he had seen Paul.
|
||
I called the ISVI at 10:30 p.m. on February 9 to see how
|
||
Paul was. The cottage parent said she had him on her lap at that
|
||
moment and was rocking him, that he seemed to be doing fine. Paul
|
||
was at that time about to go to sleep. I told her I was very
|
||
upset about the situation and that I would call back the next day
|
||
to see how Paul was. Cottage parent log, page 6, shows this call.
|
||
|
||
Injury report, page 19, shows Mrs. Vieira's note letting Dr.
|
||
Kelly know to call us. Under that note is Dr. Kelly's report of
|
||
contacting us. Dr. Kelly's conversation with me was short. He
|
||
said that Paul had three bites that were open wounds, bruising,
|
||
and redness but that Paul seemed to be a lot better that morning.
|
||
He was in good spirits and was in the doctor's office at that
|
||
time. I asked Dr. Kelly how the open bite marks looked to him and
|
||
if they were infected. He said they didn't look infected and he
|
||
was applying antibiotic ointment three times each day. I then
|
||
thanked him and asked him to call me if Paul got worse.
|
||
I received a call from Eleanor Vieira at about 10:00 a.m. on
|
||
February 10. She said Paul was fine and that the doctor had seen
|
||
him that morning. I told her I had already spoken with Dr. Kelly,
|
||
and she said Mr. Forney would like to talk to me. I asked who
|
||
this gentleman was. She said he was her boss. I then told her I
|
||
would call him. She then tried to connect me to Mr. Forney but
|
||
could not get through. I then called back to the ISVI and spoke
|
||
with Mr. Forney. He said he was very sorry for what had happened.
|
||
He had seen Paul the morning of the biting incident and had just
|
||
seen him again today. He said Paul seemed to be very happy and
|
||
was playing.
|
||
|
||
Wednesday, February 10, 1988
|
||
When my husband got home from work, I spoke with him about
|
||
the phone calls I had with ISVI. I told him that I felt the
|
||
situation was much worse than they were telling me. He said,
|
||
"They told you he was okay?" Maybe I was overreacting. My husband
|
||
said that they (ISVI) had assured me Paul was all right and he is
|
||
being taken care of, and they said it was just an accident.
|
||
I asked my husband why Mr. Forney himself wanted to reassure
|
||
me that Paul was all right. Why was I told by Dennis and Eleanor
|
||
that Paul had two open wounds when Dr. Kelly told me Paul had
|
||
three open wounds? Why did it take so long for the ISVI to call
|
||
me after the assault? My husband asked me if I felt we should go
|
||
see Paul. I said yes. We could go on Sunday. He asked if I was
|
||
going to call the ISVI and let them know we were coming. I said,
|
||
"Definitely not."
|
||
I called the next two days to ask about Paul and how he was.
|
||
I was told he was doing fine. See parent log, page 7; injury
|
||
report, page 19; and cottage parent log, page 28, on February 11,
|
||
1988. Why wasn't I told about Paul vomiting?
|
||
|
||
Sunday, February 14, 1988
|
||
We went to see Paul. As soon as we walked in, we were
|
||
approached by a woman whose name is, I think, Joan Fields. I know
|
||
I would recognize her if I saw her again. We hadn't seen Paul
|
||
yet, and the woman said to us, "We heard they talked you out of
|
||
coming."
|
||
I said that we were told Paul was just fine. She told us she
|
||
was there when Paul was found. She said Paul looked like a dog
|
||
had attacked him. She said she wanted to call us then but was
|
||
afraid she would lose her job.
|
||
As we walked into the office of the dormitory, another woman
|
||
was there. The first woman looked at the other and said, "You
|
||
heard Paul crying; tell her."
|
||
The second woman said, "Yes, I did hear someone crying at
|
||
about that time. I can't say if it was Paul--I was upstairs at
|
||
the other end of the dorm." She then walked out.
|
||
My husband went to get Paul when I was in the office. I then
|
||
went to Paul's room. As soon as I got there, I took off Paul's
|
||
shirt and T-shirt. What we observed and what the pictures show
|
||
are totally different from what is listed in the injury report,
|
||
page 13. Some of the bruising, scratches, welts, and redness had
|
||
gone by this day. [Five days after the attack.]
|
||
|
||
Injury Report, page 13
|
||
Upper right shoulder, open wound. Upper left shoulder blade,
|
||
open wound. There are three bruise marks going down the middle of
|
||
his back. Lower right side of back, open wound. Left elbow bruise
|
||
and left lower arm one open wound. Right arm is a bruise, right
|
||
hand open wound. When looking at the pictures, you will see Paul
|
||
lying on his right arm. His right hand is next to his face. The
|
||
black mark is the open wound on his right hand. Open wound under
|
||
left breast. Open wound on right front shoulder. Open wound on
|
||
right side of stomach. There is still bruising on all open
|
||
wounds. Other front areas were also bruised.
|
||
After looking at Paul, I went to the dorm office and asked
|
||
for a phone book. The woman who had said she saw Paul that
|
||
morning asked me why. I wanted to call Mr. Forney. I called him
|
||
at his home. I told him we were at the dorm with Paul. I also
|
||
said we were very upset. He said he would be there right away and
|
||
for us not to leave. While waiting, the woman in the office and I
|
||
talked more. I told her I was angry and was going to do something
|
||
about this. She said, "Oh no, you can't do anything to John
|
||
Rhoades--he is the president of our union." I told her I didn't
|
||
care who he was. I entrusted my child in his care, and something
|
||
like this happens. She also told me that she heard they took
|
||
pictures of Paul.
|
||
After telling me something that was of importance to this
|
||
case, she would imply that I was not to say anything about it or
|
||
she would lose her job. I walked down to the playroom where my
|
||
husband had taken Paul. Scott Hungerford told us "that if it were
|
||
him, he would nail John Rhoades's ass to the wall." He said no
|
||
one liked Mr. Rhoades anyway. He further stated that Mr. Rhoades
|
||
would let the students cry in their rooms, sometimes closing the
|
||
door to the room to deaden the sound of crying. He would do union
|
||
work during the day, come into the ISVI at night from 12:30 a.m.
|
||
to 8:30 a.m. and sleep. Mr. Hungerford also said that, if we told
|
||
anyone this, he would deny it all.
|
||
Mr. Hungerford was then called away. My husband and I
|
||
discussed taking Paul home. On my way to pack Paul's clothes, Mr.
|
||
Hungerford stopped me to ask if I would know what the red bumps
|
||
were that another student had all over him. I said that it looked
|
||
like he had chicken pox or measles.
|
||
Mr. Hungerford then made a phone call. I went back to the
|
||
playroom to tell my husband I didn't think we should take Paul
|
||
home because one of the students possibly had a communicable
|
||
disease. Mr. Hungerford returned and informed us that the child's
|
||
mother (whom he had called) said his sister had chicken pox when
|
||
he was last home and that it would make sense for him to have
|
||
them. We decided not to take Paul home that evening.
|
||
Mr. Forney came, and we went to Paul's room and closed the
|
||
door. I took Paul's shirts off and said to Mr. Forney, "You told
|
||
me you saw my son the morning this happened. You're going to tell
|
||
me that no one heard him cry?" He said that he was told no one
|
||
heard him cry.
|
||
I then said that one of the women workers just told me she
|
||
heard a child cry when the assault happened. He asked for the
|
||
name of the woman. I told him I didn't know her name. I then
|
||
counted the open bite marks on Paul. I said that I was told by
|
||
Dennis Kelahan and Eleanor Vieira there were only two wounds, and
|
||
Dr. Kelly gave me a count of three. I counted nine open bite
|
||
marks, with a total of thirteen [bite marks] still visible. "How
|
||
many more were there before we saw Paul?" Mr. Kelahan said he
|
||
didn't see that many open bite marks on Paul the morning of the
|
||
assault. I said that "Perhaps they were so swollen you could not
|
||
tell how deep they were."
|
||
He said, "That could be."
|
||
I further told Mr. Kelahan I would be calling the Illinois
|
||
Children and Family Services for an investigation. He said, "We
|
||
had one." But quickly added that he would start another the first
|
||
thing in the morning.
|
||
My husband and I thanked him for coming. We stayed a little
|
||
longer with Paul, then went home where I called Mrs. Aldrich
|
||
(Paul's school teacher). I was told by the woman in the office
|
||
that Mrs. Aldrich would know if pictures had been taken by the
|
||
staff at ISVI.
|
||
When I spoke with Mrs. Aldrich, she told me she was
|
||
surprised that I had not been informed of the early morning
|
||
assault until 4:10 that evening. She thought ISVI called me right
|
||
after Paul was found. She also said Paul's condition was very
|
||
bad, and he was in pain. He would lie on the floor, not crying,
|
||
but moving very slowly when he would stand (very unlike him.) I
|
||
asked her about any pictures ISVI had taken. She said, "I don't
|
||
know if there were any pictures." She told me to call Kathy
|
||
Beckelman [now Hughes], and I received her phone number.
|
||
The next morning (February 15) I called a hotline for
|
||
Children and Family Services. I was finally connected with a
|
||
worker in this area, Lana West. I told her of Paul's plight. She
|
||
went to Paul's school that same day.
|
||
I had not heard from Lana West for a few days after her
|
||
visiting ISVI, so I called her to find out what she thought. She
|
||
told me she had seen Paul and talked with the child care workers
|
||
on duty the night of the assault. She also said Paul did bite
|
||
himself on the wrist. I told her maybe, but I didn't think he
|
||
could have bitten himself on his back, chest, and stomach. I
|
||
asked her if she had seen ISVI's pictures of Paul. She said, "It
|
||
looks like he had been bitten." She told me she knew John Rhoades
|
||
and would entrust her children in his care. She said, "I could
|
||
not find any neglect on anyone's part," so the case would be
|
||
closed.
|
||
I said, "That's it?" She said she was sorry but that was all
|
||
she could do.
|
||
I was not sure if I could do any more myself, so we let the
|
||
assault go until this school year (1988-89).
|
||
I received a call from another ISVI student's parent asking
|
||
what I thought of the school. I told her what I thought. Her son
|
||
and Paul had been classmates at an elementary school in our town.
|
||
I had never talked with the woman before this. She told me about
|
||
an incident which happened to her son, and I told her about
|
||
Paul's assault.
|
||
Soon after this conversation I received a letter from Audrey
|
||
Williams, ISVI PTA President, about overseeing food and
|
||
nutrition. [See the following article.] I was alarmed at this
|
||
letter and called Paul's classmate's mother to ask if she had
|
||
received a copy. She had not, so I made her a copy. I also talked
|
||
with Mrs. Williams to ask about a scheduled meeting mentioned in
|
||
the letter. We also talked about the letter itself. (If you have
|
||
spoken to these two women, you know about this matter.)
|
||
By this time we had tried three times to see the ISVI
|
||
pictures of Paul. The ISVI Health Center, where the pictures were
|
||
kept, was closed whenever we visited.
|
||
We were told about a meeting on November 5, 1988. The woman
|
||
who told us said we should go and tell the assembled group of our
|
||
trials and tribulations. (I believe I spoke with you about this
|
||
meeting.) This meeting didn't seem to be useful for any reason.
|
||
My husband and I spoke with Mrs. Aldrich. Mrs. Beckelman [Hughes]
|
||
and Mr. Marshall joined in the conversation. We spoke with Mr.
|
||
Marshall about some complaints we had made about the terrible
|
||
odor in the dorms. The smell was a bit less this year because
|
||
they moved Paul to another dorm. We also told Mr. Marshall of how
|
||
my husband had walked into Paul's dorm and removed him from the
|
||
premises without any challenges from the personnel as to who he
|
||
was.
|
||
We found out that Mr. Marshall now has Mr. Forney's job. We
|
||
also told him how we felt about how Paul's assault was mishandled
|
||
and how the attempted cover-up failed. He told us they did not
|
||
try a cover-up and that he was in Dr. Kelly's office during
|
||
Paul's first post-assault visit. Page 18 of the injury reports
|
||
shows he was there. He also told us he had taken care of the
|
||
laxity of the personnel when a student is removed by an outsider-
|
||
-we were to sign in and sign out from now on. We were on our way
|
||
out of the ISVI with Paul when Mr. Marshall asked a woman in the
|
||
office for a sign-out sheet. The woman had no idea what he was
|
||
talking about. After we waited fifteen minutes, a sign-out sheet
|
||
was discovered and was signed by us. We took Paul out for his
|
||
break, and upon our return we asked to sign in. To our amazement,
|
||
our sign-out signature was the only one on the list--no one else
|
||
had been made to use it, And I know of at least one other student
|
||
who went home the same day Paul did.
|
||
After this we took Paul to the Health Center and asked Nurse
|
||
Pratt if I could see the pictures of Paul taken after the assault
|
||
because I had not seen them yet. She seemed to be very busy. She
|
||
pulled his records; and, as I was standing next to her, I too was
|
||
looking through the file. She kept saying the pictures were in
|
||
the file but that she could not find them. She then closed the
|
||
cabinet and said, "I have to call Mr. Kelahan before I can let
|
||
you see them." After twenty minutes or so, Mr. Kelahan came in.
|
||
He said he had to find Mr. Marshall before he could show the
|
||
pictures to us. I asked what Mr. Marshall had to do with this,
|
||
and he replied Mr. Marshall knew where the pictures were. After
|
||
an hour Mr. Marshall came in with the pictures.
|
||
After viewing the pictures, I felt sick. Sitting with his
|
||
arms crossed, leaning back in his chair, Mr. Marshall told us in
|
||
front of Nurse Pratt that, if there was any kind of cover-up, the
|
||
pictures could have been destroyed at any time. He also said we
|
||
could not have them because they were the only ones. We finally
|
||
went home.
|
||
The next day I called Mr. Umsted. I asked for an appointment
|
||
to see him, no one else. I also told him I wanted to see all of
|
||
Paul's records and anything else which had my son's name on it.
|
||
That is how all this information was received. I then spoke with
|
||
the two other mothers about you [the two women at the Human
|
||
Rights Authority].
|
||
I would like to thank you for taking the time to read what I
|
||
had to say. I know it is a long letter, but shortening it would
|
||
be doing the students of ISVI a disservice.
|
||
I hope I have made myself clear about how I feel about ISVI
|
||
and that you can help me, my family, and the ISVI students.
|
||
|
||
Many thanks,
|
||
Mrs. C
|
||
|
||
There you have in all of its heart-breaking eloquence Mrs.
|
||
C's letter to the Illinois Human Rights Authority. But the
|
||
investigation that resulted alleged that it did not reveal any
|
||
institutional neglect, and no charges were brought as a result.
|
||
Some recommendations were, however, made by the Human Rights
|
||
Authority in the final report of its so-called Investigation of
|
||
the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, which was released
|
||
on May 3, 1989. Here are the recommendations as they appeared in
|
||
the report:
|
||
|
||
1. The ISVI should establish a procedure whereby
|
||
the thirty-minute bed checks made by the Resident Care
|
||
Workers are documented.
|
||
2. A policy and procedure should be written
|
||
concerning notification of illnesses and injuries to
|
||
parents/guardians which includes the time-frame of
|
||
notification which would include immediate notification
|
||
of emergency medical treatment.
|
||
3. Parents/guardians at the time of their child's
|
||
enrollment should be provided with a list of the
|
||
incidents that would warrant their notification. In
|
||
addition, the parents/guardians should have the
|
||
opportunity to request notification of incidents not on
|
||
the list.
|
||
|
||
This is the lame and anemic list of recommendations which
|
||
hold themselves out as an answer to the grievous problems
|
||
outlined. On May 31, 1989, Bill Forney responded to the report in
|
||
a letter to the Human Rights Authority. He was the school
|
||
official who, according to his letter, had accompanied the Human
|
||
Rights Authority investigators on their tour of the ISVI campus.
|
||
In his letter Mr. Forney expressed his gratitude and
|
||
gratification that the school had not been found at fault in the
|
||
attack on Paul C. It is not difficult to understand why. Here in
|
||
his own words is what Forney had to say about the recommendations
|
||
made in the report:
|
||
|
||
Specific to the recommendations:
|
||
1. ISVI implemented a formalized thirty-minute bed
|
||
check system with documentation for overnights.
|
||
2. A staff handbook is being developed and will be
|
||
implemented by the beginning of the 1989-90 school
|
||
year. It will include written procedures and time
|
||
frames for parent notification of emergency medical
|
||
treatment.
|
||
3. In conjunction with the staff handbook a parent
|
||
handbook is being developed. Included in this document
|
||
will be a listing of incidents warranting parent
|
||
notification.
|
||
|
||
Currently, parents have the opportunity each year
|
||
at registration to note areas and the manner in which
|
||
they would like to be notified, especially in the
|
||
medical area. This approach will be clarified and
|
||
expanded for the opening of school this fall.
|
||
|
||
That is what Bill Forney promised would happen, and (though
|
||
in the circumstances it is bland and not commensurate with the
|
||
provocations) it sounds responsive. Yet several ISVI employees
|
||
assured the Braille Monitor that up to the present time
|
||
residential care workers are still not documenting thirty-minute
|
||
bed checks at night. They say there is still no way to determine
|
||
whether staff are even making the checks. Moreover, the staff and
|
||
parent handbooks that were so faithfully promised for the fall of
|
||
1989 never materialized, according to our staff sources. Our
|
||
sources say that, the promises were made to pacify the Human
|
||
Rights Authority and in the hope, one suspects, that no one would
|
||
come back and check to see if the school had in fact complied
|
||
with the recommendations. The gamble paid off, for no one from
|
||
HRA has, as far as we can tell, ever returned to ISVI.
|
||
Charles Martin, acting ISVI superintendent, has recently
|
||
declared that by the fall of 1995 the recommendations will be in
|
||
place as ISVI policy and that the handbooks will actually exist.
|
||
Who can tell if it will ever be done?
|
||
When asked to comment on this episode, Richard Umsted said
|
||
that, because it had happened so long ago, he could not recall
|
||
any of the details. Paul C continued to be a student at ISVI for
|
||
several more years after the attack on him in 1988. The C's were
|
||
made to feel, they say, that they had blown the February 9
|
||
incident out of proportion. After all, the Department of Children
|
||
and Family Service and the Human Rights Authority both found no
|
||
basis for the C's feeling that ISVI staff had not provided good
|
||
care to their son. But in 1993 and 1994 they began to worry again
|
||
for their son's safety. Mrs. C reports that Paul (in contemporary
|
||
jargon) began "acting out", especially with men he didn't know.
|
||
There were staff members at the school with whom he didn't want
|
||
to be left. Even his teacher expressed concern about a marked
|
||
change in his behavior in her written evaluation of his progress.
|
||
Mrs. C says she even entertained the idea that someone might be
|
||
sexually abusing Paul. But Paul was nonverbal and could not tell
|
||
her what was upsetting him. When she questioned school personnel,
|
||
even as late as the spring of 1994 about whether there were any
|
||
problems with staff or other students molesting students, she was
|
||
assured that there were no such problems at ISVI. Subsequent
|
||
events, of course, showed that at that time there were serious
|
||
problems on the campus. The C's have now withdrawn Paul from ISVI
|
||
and express delight at how much happier he is in his home town
|
||
classroom. But Mrs. C is angry at what she characterizes as the
|
||
lies and cover-ups that school officials engaged in to keep her
|
||
from knowing what was happening to her son.
|
||
During the 1990-91 academic year still another sort of abuse
|
||
at ISVI came to light. Several sources close to the incident have
|
||
described it to the Braille Monitor. It seems that a nonverbal,
|
||
mentally retarded child whom we will call Jim was placed by a
|
||
residential care worker, Don Miller, on a stationary bicycle in
|
||
an effort to calm him down after some sort of upset. Miller then
|
||
left the child alone with three other students. According to
|
||
David Postle, the students apparently decided to encourage Jim to
|
||
pedal faster by hitting him: one with a metal pipe, one with a
|
||
knotted sock stuffed in the toe of a long sock that could be
|
||
swung with some force, and one with his fists. Eventually Jim
|
||
fell off the bike, injuring his hip. Miller, who during all this
|
||
time (according to Postle) had been in his office about twenty
|
||
feet away, found Jim on the floor but apparently gave no
|
||
indication that he had heard any disturbance. Nothing official
|
||
was ever reported about this incident, and the child's mother was
|
||
not contacted until about two weeks after the attack, Postle
|
||
said. The three students who had beaten Jim each received three
|
||
days of detention. The incident would never have come to light at
|
||
all except that a supervisor noticed that Jim was dragging one
|
||
leg the next day and looked into the matter.
|
||
According to David Marshall, in 1991 he, along with several
|
||
members of the union went as a delegation representing seventy of
|
||
the 153 ISVI employees at the time to talk with Department of
|
||
Rehabilitation Services (DORS) officials about the problems and
|
||
cover-ups that were disturbing them at ISVI. The DORS personnel--
|
||
Darian Powell, Dee Showalter, and Marge Olsen--told the group
|
||
that most of the complaints were coming from disgruntled
|
||
employees and that everything was really all right at the school,
|
||
according to Marshall. After that abortive attempt to warn DORS
|
||
of what was happening at the school, he says his job became
|
||
intolerable. He had been the only non-union employee to attend
|
||
the meeting, and eventually (in September, 1991) Marshall was
|
||
fired. According to him, Mary Kamnick, Director of Residential
|
||
Services, and Richard Umsted himself were exerting the pressure
|
||
for dismissal. Marshall is still engaged in a grievance procedure
|
||
with DORS.
|
||
One of the students who was seriously damaged by his
|
||
experience at ISVI is a fourteen-year-old boy we will call Brian
|
||
D. According to his mother, Brian was molested by the troubled
|
||
student Bill in 1992. Mrs. D withdrew Brian from ISVI after that
|
||
happened, but according to her he has been hospitalized three
|
||
times in the years since because of the psychological damage he
|
||
sustained as a result of the attacks on him. Mrs. D is an angry
|
||
woman. She reports that her son once arrived home from ISVI with
|
||
a broken collar bone, which no one at the school could explain.
|
||
Another time Brian came home with several teeth broken off at the
|
||
gum line, and no one could tell her how the injury had happened.
|
||
Based on her son's behavior, Mrs. D says she is convinced that
|
||
adults as well as Bill abused her son while he was a student at
|
||
ISVI. She explains that her medical advisors have convinced her
|
||
that when Brian suddenly acts out, he is suffering a flash-back
|
||
to some painful experience in his past. She says that she is sure
|
||
that both a man and a woman abused Brian at ISVI because, since
|
||
he left the school, he has had behavior problems triggered by
|
||
meeting one woman and several men.
|
||
Mrs. D is also angry about the way in which Bill has been
|
||
treated by ISVI. She says that he is as much a victim of the
|
||
system as any of the children whom he attacked. She says that
|
||
ISVI staff members knew he was troubled, but they did nothing to
|
||
help him. Then, when trouble came that they couldn't cover up,
|
||
they tossed Bill out without any effort to help him. If parents
|
||
do unite to take part in a class-action law suit against the
|
||
school, she says she thinks Bill's family should be part of it,
|
||
for their son has been damaged by the institution as surely as
|
||
any other student.
|
||
In the spring of 1993 an event occurred on the night of the
|
||
school banquet which, if it has been accurately reported to us,
|
||
is indicative of some of the most distressing aspects of the
|
||
whole unfortunate history of the Umsted years. The primary source
|
||
for this story is a man who was a residential care worker (RCW)
|
||
at the time but who was later forced to leave the school under a
|
||
cloud. (See the article "Beyond the Fall: After-Shocks and Signs
|
||
of Promise" elsewhere in this issue.) For that reason one might
|
||
well be skeptical about its authenticity, but the information was
|
||
provided to us several months before the investigation that led
|
||
to the man's resignation. Moreover, some of the themes--
|
||
administrative eagerness to avoid publicity, institutional
|
||
prohibition against calling 911, and disappearance of troublesome
|
||
student reports--remind one of other incidents at the school
|
||
through the years of the Umsted superintendency.
|
||
As Don Miller, the RCW in question, reports what happened, a
|
||
supervisor and a teacher brought a student, who was clearly ill,
|
||
back to the cottage where Miller was on duty during the annual
|
||
banquet. The youngster had eaten shrimp, to which he was highly
|
||
allergic. Large hives had appeared on the child's body, and he
|
||
was having some trouble breathing. Miller is a licensed practical
|
||
nurse, and the others asked him what he thought of the child's
|
||
condition. He suggested that the boy be taken to the hospital,
|
||
but the supervisor said that they should put him to bed and see
|
||
how he was in the morning. The supervisor then returned to the
|
||
dinner, leaving the teacher and RCW to watch the student. Miller
|
||
says that the teacher did not seem happy with the decision that
|
||
had been made, but the child was put to bed, whereupon his
|
||
breathing became even more obstructed. He seemed to do better
|
||
sitting up, so he was taken back to the common room, and the
|
||
teacher then left.
|
||
Then, fairly suddenly, things got much worse. The child
|
||
stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. Miller says he
|
||
shouted for help and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation
|
||
immediately. The child vomited and began breathing again. Without
|
||
much cardiac compression, his heart began beating again as well.
|
||
Meantime another RCW came to help. Miller tried to reach someone
|
||
in authority to get permission to get medical help, but none of
|
||
the phone numbers he had been given raised anyone. Then one of
|
||
the students returned to the cottage, and he was sent back to get
|
||
help. Eventually the duty officer arrived and agreed to drive the
|
||
child to the hospital while Miller supported him in order to keep
|
||
the airway open.
|
||
As soon as they reached the emergency room, the staff on
|
||
duty recognized the problem and administered the proper care
|
||
before eventually admitting the child for observation. Miller
|
||
says he was told by Dr. Margaret Wilson, the pediatrician
|
||
substituting for Dr. Kelly, to write a report for DORS and the
|
||
hospital. She also asked why they had not called 911. The duty
|
||
officer who had driven Miller and the child to the hospital
|
||
answered that it was school policy not to make such calls. Miller
|
||
says that the hospital undoubtedly has a record of this event,
|
||
but neither his report of the emergency nor any other ever
|
||
appeared in the ISVI files so far as we can determine.
|
||
The final incident we will mention in this summary of
|
||
disturbing events prior to Bill's attack on Timmy A on May 4,
|
||
1994, is Bill's unwanted fondling of a female student in December
|
||
of 1993. This was one of the episodes cited in the police report
|
||
that led to Umsted's firing. Reports indicate that Bill and the
|
||
young woman were alone on an elevator at the end of the school
|
||
day. The girl was going to her bus when Bill stopped the cage
|
||
between floors and apparently grappled her out of her wheelchair
|
||
and onto the floor, where nothing very compromising, so far as we
|
||
can tell, went on in the short time before a staff member
|
||
realized that the elevator had been stopped between floors. The
|
||
staffer called to Bill to start the elevator again,and he did so.
|
||
So ended the encounter, but the young woman's parents were
|
||
understandably concerned about the incident.
|
||
What is one to make of this collection of charges ranging
|
||
from the bizarre to the shocking? Did everything happen as
|
||
reported here? Certainly we have done our best to repeat the
|
||
details as they were given to us. But as Audrey McCrimon,
|
||
Director of DORS, said in an interview with the Braille Monitor,
|
||
in a situation like this people are upset, and when that happens,
|
||
the axes come out, and all kinds of things get said for various
|
||
reasons. Richard Umsted said directly that the only way of
|
||
knowing the truth of what happened to any child at ISVI would be
|
||
to consult the official school record. As we have seen, a number
|
||
of these seem to have disappeared, which makes it hard to check
|
||
facts, even if school personnel were inclined to allow the press
|
||
to read confidential student files. We have done our best to
|
||
crosscheck information from our sources, but human nature being
|
||
what it is, some inaccuracies may well have crept into what we
|
||
have reported. It is clear that a number of dedicated,
|
||
compassionate people are employed at the Illinois School for the
|
||
Visually Impaired, but it is an institution which still has deep
|
||
problems.
|
||
It is comforting to know that even a man who was later
|
||
forced to leave the school because of allegations of grave
|
||
misconduct was willing in an emergency to fight to save a child's
|
||
life as Don Miller says that he did. But the picture that haunts
|
||
the memory as one tries to sleep at night is a story Paul C's
|
||
mother told the Monitor reporter in her interview. She said that
|
||
one winter day her family was coming to pick Paul up. It was very
|
||
cold and windy, and as they hurried toward the warmth of the
|
||
dining room, looking for Paul, she noticed a tiny child standing
|
||
outside the door in a short-sleeved shirt, shivering with cold
|
||
and crying to be let in. She snatched him up and wrapped her own
|
||
coat around him in order to give him the benefit of her body heat
|
||
while she ran into the building. Holding the child tightly, she
|
||
told a female cafeteria worker that she had found him all alone
|
||
outside. The woman looked at the child and explained that he had
|
||
been misbehaving and was sent outside as a punishment. At that
|
||
moment someone came up behind Mrs. C, she says, and grabbed the
|
||
child out of her arms and whisked him away before she could even
|
||
see who had taken him.
|
||
Surely no one in authority at ISVI at any time would have
|
||
condoned such a punishment for a small child. And yet. . . . With
|
||
the mounting charges and the accumulation of supporting evidence,
|
||
one has a queasy feeling. In any large facility instances of bad
|
||
judgment occur with disheartening frequency. But if the future is
|
||
to be different from the past at ISVI, those in charge must find
|
||
a way of weeding out cruel or perverted staff members and
|
||
establishing an atmosphere in which love and trust can flourish.
|
||
Despite the truth or falsity of this or that detail the broad
|
||
picture of abuse, neglect, incompetence, and bad judgment at ISVI
|
||
seems overwhelming and irrefutable. This is a state school for
|
||
the blind and visually impaired--and the state cannot duck its
|
||
responsibilities, but neither can the public or the press--and
|
||
for that matter neither can we who are blind or who are
|
||
professionals in the blindness field. This school is our school;
|
||
these children are our children; and this responsibility is our
|
||
responsibility. What are we prepared to do about it?
|
||
|
||
[Photo #3 A large brick building with over fifteen concrete
|
||
columns as part of the front facade. Caption: The ISVI
|
||
administration building.]
|
||
|
||
|
||
FOOD FOR THOUGHT BUT NOT FOR CONSUMPTION AT ISVI
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: As we have already seen, early in the 1988-
|
||
89 academic year ISVI parents had a number of things to worry
|
||
about. Audrey Williams, the newly elected president of the PTA,
|
||
brought one of them to the attention of the organization's
|
||
members by writing each of them a letter. Apparently it had come
|
||
to her attention that problems had developed in storing and
|
||
preparing food in the ISVI kitchen. The Department of Public
|
||
Health had not conducted an inspection of the facility in eight
|
||
years, according to Mrs. Williams, and the resulting laxity in
|
||
food storage and preparation and in meal planning was deeply
|
||
disturbing to those who learned about it. Here is the letter she
|
||
sent to ISVI parents followed by the one she wrote at the same
|
||
time to the Director of the Department of Rehabilitation Services
|
||
(DORS):
|
||
|
||
Chicago, Illinois
|
||
September 13, 1988
|
||
|
||
Dear Parents:
|
||
The school year is well underway, and there is much to do. I
|
||
was disappointed at this year's turnout at the PTA meeting.
|
||
Officers were elected, and they are as follows: Audrey Williams,
|
||
President; Beverly McFarland, Vice President; and Jeanne Stevens,
|
||
Secretary/Treasurer.
|
||
In order to improve conditions, the PTA needs the support
|
||
and cooperation of all parents. You do make the difference. A
|
||
problem concerning the food that our children are being served
|
||
has come to my attention, and I have scheduled a meeting with Mr.
|
||
Bradley, Director of DORS, for Friday, September 30, 1988, at
|
||
2:00 p.m. in Springfield.
|
||
If at all possible, I encourage you to try and attend this
|
||
meeting. I am enclosing a copy of the letter submitted to Mr.
|
||
Bradley. Please feel free to call me or any of the other officers
|
||
at any time.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
Audrey L. Williams
|
||
|
||
********
|
||
|
||
Chicago, Illinois
|
||
September 13, 1988
|
||
|
||
Mr. Phillip C. Bradley
|
||
Director, Department of Rehabilitation Services
|
||
Springfield, Illinois
|
||
|
||
Mr. Bradley:
|
||
This letter will confirm a conversation that I had with your
|
||
assistant, Ms. Shara Saline, on September 12, 1988, regarding the
|
||
Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. It is my understanding
|
||
that Ms. Saline did share the concerns that I expressed to her
|
||
with you.
|
||
As president of the PTA of ISVI, it has come to my attention
|
||
that there are several unacceptable practices occurring at ISVI
|
||
in regard to nutrition. I have recently become aware of instances
|
||
where the children were served cereal with bugs in it, potatoes
|
||
with worms, and spoiled meats. It is difficult to believe that
|
||
the Superintendent is unaware of such practices, and if he is
|
||
aware of them, then certainly immediate action is required, for
|
||
not acting, in essence, condones the situation. Other stories
|
||
concerning practices of poor sanitation involving food
|
||
preparation and storage also indicate the need for immediate
|
||
investigation and attention.
|
||
As I am sure that you are aware, food poisoning (Salmonella
|
||
and Lysteria, to mention a few) can be fatal. Enclosed is an
|
||
article regarding food safety.
|
||
We the parents feel that the following changes should be
|
||
implemented:
|
||
1. Staff should be strongly encouraged to eat what our
|
||
children are served, as we are sure that the quality and
|
||
sanitation would improve two hundred percent.
|
||
2. We want periodic, annual, impromptu inspections by the
|
||
Department of Public Health. (We also would like dates of the
|
||
last inspection.)
|
||
3. A varied menu. How is the menu determined? Is there a
|
||
master menu for the State? Liver with onions, rice, cheese
|
||
sticks, and carrot sticks is hardly an appealing combination. On
|
||
Sunday, September 11, the dinner menu was bologna sandwiches,
|
||
carrot sticks, and grapes.
|
||
4. Condiments, such as jelly, should be offered more than
|
||
one time per week.
|
||
5. More fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables and less
|
||
canned.
|
||
6. More selection for children on special diets.
|
||
|
||
As this is a residential school, it does not seem
|
||
unreasonable to expect that the children be served meals that are
|
||
attractive, appealing, and nutritionally balanced. Our children
|
||
should not have to go to bed hungry because the food is unfit or
|
||
tainted. We hope that this matter will be investigated promptly
|
||
as we will take any legal action necessary to rectify this
|
||
problem as well as contact our legislators to protect our
|
||
children.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
Audrey L. Williams
|
||
|
||
That was the mailing received by ISVI parents in mid-
|
||
September, 1988, and the letter the director of DORS received as
|
||
well. One can imagine the consternation at the school when the
|
||
existence of this correspondence was discovered. Richard Umsted
|
||
swung into action. He scheduled a meeting with Mrs. Williams and
|
||
wrote his own letter to parents. Here is his letter:
|
||
|
||
Jacksonville, Illinois
|
||
September 22, 1988
|
||
|
||
Dear Parents:
|
||
Earlier this week it came to my attention that you received
|
||
a letter expressing various concerns about the quality of dietary
|
||
services at the ISVI. Believing you should know the facts of the
|
||
situation and wanting you to be confident in the overall program
|
||
of the school, I am writing to share the following information:
|
||
|
||
1. Dietary and residential care staff at the school are
|
||
served the very same menu as the students.
|
||
2. Evaluations by the National Accreditation Council [NAC]
|
||
and the North Central Association include inspections of the
|
||
Dietary Department. [We interrupt the Umsted letter to say that
|
||
as far as we can tell from looking at the NAC standards for
|
||
residential schools, there were no established NAC standards for
|
||
food service areas in 1988--but back to the Umsted letter.] In
|
||
addition, the Illinois Department of Public Health will be
|
||
invited to make an inspection. The philosophy and practice of the
|
||
ISVI is to welcome inspections by Illinois State Board of
|
||
Education, the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA), and
|
||
everyone else to ensure quality programs and services at our
|
||
school.
|
||
3. The menu for the school is established in compliance with
|
||
the most recent State master menu.
|
||
4. The school serves only Grade A government-inspected meat.
|
||
Anyone can unknowingly bring products home from the store that
|
||
have bugs or worms in them. Given the large quantities of food
|
||
products purchased by the school, this can also happen at the
|
||
ISVI. If there is any problem with a product, it is immediately
|
||
returned, disposed of, or otherwise handled in an appropriate
|
||
manner. An inspector from the Illinois Department of Central
|
||
Management Services visits the Dietary quarterly.
|
||
5. Members of the ISVI Advisory Council eat at the school
|
||
several times a year as do other dignitaries and guests. They are
|
||
served the same menu as the students.
|
||
6. Parents of prospective students and their local school
|
||
representatives are invited to eat lunch at the school, and many
|
||
do with positive comments.
|
||
7. Recognizing that improved dry storage and freezer
|
||
facilities are needed at the school, the Illinois Department of
|
||
Rehabilitation Services has worked very hard to obtain the
|
||
necessary approval and budget for the construction of a new
|
||
storage and freezer facility, which is scheduled for next year.
|
||
|
||
The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, Department of
|
||
Rehabilitation Services, and State of Illinois are committed to
|
||
providing the best possible school for visually impaired
|
||
students. This includes the dietary and all other services.
|
||
As the Superintendent of the ISVI, I invite all parents and
|
||
concerned citizens to visit the school and personally see the
|
||
quality of programs offered. As a parent you are also invited to
|
||
have lunch with us as a guest of the school.
|
||
Thank you for your support, and if you have any questions or
|
||
response you would like to share, please do not hesitate to
|
||
contact me.
|
||
|
||
Respectfully,
|
||
Richard G. Umsted, Ed.D.
|
||
Superintendent
|
||
|
||
cc: Director Bradley
|
||
Paul Galligos
|
||
Melissa Skilbeck
|
||
|
||
That is what Richard Umsted said to ISVI parents, and it is
|
||
a model of restraint and rationality--though one suspects he knew
|
||
full well that his mention of the two accrediting bodies as proof
|
||
of ISVI's high standards was largely a smokescreen. One of them
|
||
(the North Central Association) concentrates its attention on
|
||
elements of residential school activity more closely associated
|
||
with program delivery than food preparation. As to the other (the
|
||
National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and
|
||
Visually Handicapped--NAC) its accreditation is widely recognized
|
||
as nothing more than a bad joke. Most of the residential schools
|
||
for the blind in the United States won't permit their names to be
|
||
associated with NAC (see article elsewhere in this issue), and
|
||
many of those that do only use NAC as a shield for their
|
||
questionable practices.
|
||
Be that as it may, the minutes of the school's
|
||
administrative council for the meeting that took place on
|
||
September 29, 1988 reflect Umsted's real feelings, his irritation
|
||
at the problem Mrs. Williams and her concerns constituted for
|
||
him, as well as the atmosphere of distrust and intimidation that,
|
||
according to many members of the ISVI staff, permeated the school
|
||
during the Umsted administration. Notice the open suspicion of
|
||
certain unidentified staff members and the veiled threat that
|
||
they would be better off working somewhere else. Here in
|
||
pertinent part are the minutes of the September 29 Council
|
||
meeting:
|
||
|
||
September 29, 1988
|
||
|
||
Present: Dr. Umsted, Ms. Beckelman [now Hughes], Mrs. Cole,
|
||
Mr. Dobbs, Mrs. Ford, Mr. Forney, Mr. Hauck, Mrs. Hipkins, Mr.
|
||
Jackson, Mr. Jacoby, Mrs. Schneider, Mrs. Vieira, Mrs. Williams,
|
||
Mrs. Wood.
|
||
|
||
Dr. Umsted said that by now supervisors had heard about the
|
||
letter which Mrs. Audrey Williams, President of the Parent
|
||
Association, sent to all parents. Last week upon becoming aware
|
||
of it Dr. Umsted immediately wrote a response for the parents to
|
||
allay concerns they might have but was requested by Springfield
|
||
to not send the letter at that time until a meeting was held with
|
||
Mrs. Williams. Last Friday afternoon Dr. Umsted spent three hours
|
||
with her, which he thought was a good meeting. Then Monday
|
||
morning there was a three-page letter from her acknowledging what
|
||
she understood to be the responses or resolutions to questions
|
||
and concerns discussed. We then received a call from Springfield
|
||
acknowledging we could send out the letter, and Dr. Umsted wrote
|
||
another letter to go with it. Dr. Umsted shared these letters
|
||
with supervisors so they would know what is going on. The
|
||
contents of the letters are to be shared with staff, retained,
|
||
and read by supervisors. There is no reason for the letters to be
|
||
duplicated any more either.
|
||
Dr. Umsted requested the names of all parents who have
|
||
contacted any staff member with concerns about Mrs. Williams's
|
||
letter as he has begun making personal telephone calls. [thirteen
|
||
parent names listed]
|
||
. . . In Dr. Umsted's meeting with Mrs. Williams on Friday,
|
||
Ms. Beckelman [Hughes] sat in on part of it. Jeff Radcliffe also
|
||
attended relative to storekeeping procedures and the ordering of
|
||
foodstuffs. Mrs. Williams appeared to be caught right in the
|
||
middle of something. Some staff members had shared some erroneous
|
||
information and may have done so on their own, intending damage
|
||
to other staff members, such as Mrs. Cole and Dr. Umsted. If any
|
||
supervisors have any ideas as to who in fact is spreading lies,
|
||
we need to know.
|
||
. . . There was never any suggestion of a cover-up in terms
|
||
of cereal with bugs. We admitted this had happened and the cereal
|
||
properly disposed of. Individuals who initially called said they
|
||
have that happen at home. Mrs. Williams doesn't think we are
|
||
serving enough sausage or bacon. The menu was another concern to
|
||
her. In one particular week it had been changed almost every day.
|
||
Once we explained that, because of being short a cook or because
|
||
an item had not been received, certain menus might have to be
|
||
changed. Another suggestion was to use plastic gloves for people
|
||
on the serving line. We have provided a new supply to Mrs. Cole,
|
||
but they are not required by Public Health. Another question was
|
||
the shelf life of products. The majority of things we use have a
|
||
shelf life of several months that would surprise most lay people.
|
||
Howard Rogers, storekeeper, will be rechecking all items on hand.
|
||
. . . Any concerns or questions anyone has, they should let
|
||
Dr. Umsted know. His philosophy for those people spreading
|
||
untruths is to consider whether they would be happier working
|
||
elsewhere and take immediate action accordingly.
|
||
|
||
Despite Richard Umsted's attempt to explain away Mrs.
|
||
Williams's concerns about the quality of the food and the food
|
||
preparation at the school, the Illinois Department of Public
|
||
Health came to the school to make its first inspection in eight
|
||
years on October 6, 1988. Such on-site visits are bound to
|
||
uncover some violations, particularly if they are not expected.
|
||
In this case, however, the food-service personnel must surely
|
||
have suspected that an inspection was in the cards, given the
|
||
amount of parental concern that had recently been expressed in
|
||
high places. Some of the problems the inspectors found were
|
||
clearly due to old or poorly functioning equipment and work
|
||
space. There is some indication that following this entire
|
||
brouhaha the legislature allocated funds to upgrade the food-
|
||
service facilities at ISVI, though observers report that there
|
||
has not been a noticeable improvement in the quality of meals and
|
||
meal preparation in the intervening years. The state official now
|
||
responsible for making such arrangements, however, does report
|
||
that, as far as he can remember, DORS has requested annual
|
||
inspections of the food service area at ISVI every year since
|
||
1988. Following is a list of the infractions found in the food
|
||
service area at ISVI. They range in seriousness from the
|
||
relatively petty--pest-control products stored with cleaning
|
||
materials--to the extremely serious--poorly stored, moderately
|
||
warm ground meat and contaminated sugar and canned goods. We have
|
||
omitted explanatory material following some of the entries. Here
|
||
is the text of the survey:
|
||
|
||
Survey by the Illinois Department of Public Health
|
||
October 6, 1988
|
||
|
||
Lisa E. Sondag and Lesley R. Stevens conducted the survey,
|
||
which included interviews with Dr. Richard Umsted,
|
||
Superintendent; Mr. Jeff Radcliffe, Business Administrator; and
|
||
Mrs. Lois Cole, Dietary Manager.
|
||
At the request of the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation
|
||
Services, an Environmental Health and Safety survey was conducted
|
||
of the Food Service Department of the Illinois School for the
|
||
Visually Impaired on October 6, 1988.
|
||
The school currently has 115 students. Meals are served
|
||
seven days per week (three times a day).
|
||
The following are conditions and violations observed during
|
||
the October 6, 1988 survey. Violations cited are from the 1988
|
||
edition of the Illinois Food Service Sanitation Rules and
|
||
Regulations.
|
||
|
||
1. Three bulging cans of chili sauce were found within the
|
||
small storage room near the kitchen.
|
||
2. A small live worm was observed on top of white granulated
|
||
sugar in a bulk sugar bin located under the baker's table in the
|
||
bakery.
|
||
3. Chocolate frosting mix in a wet and discolored absorbent
|
||
paper package was observed on a shelf in the walk-in cooler in
|
||
the bakery.
|
||
4. Food in the walk-in freezer was not protected from
|
||
overhead leakage.
|
||
5. Two large pans of freshly prepared meat loaf were found
|
||
in the walk-in refrigerator near the bakery. The internal
|
||
temperature of the meat loaf was 50 degrees at 12:20 p.m. and at
|
||
1:10 p.m. . . .
|
||
6. Numerous flies were observed in the dining room of the
|
||
facility during the survey. Uncovered bowls of sliced pineapple
|
||
were found within the dining room prior to lunch service. Foods
|
||
must be protected from contamination at all times. Measures to
|
||
inhibit the presence of insects and rodents should be utilized,
|
||
which include, but are not limited to, the following:
|
||
a) The dumpster, outside the rear door to the
|
||
kitchen was not stored on or above a smooth surface of
|
||
non-absorbent material. . . . This dumpster should be
|
||
stored on a machine-laid asphalt or concrete surface to
|
||
provide for easy cleaning.
|
||
b) The dumpster was open at the time of the
|
||
survey. . . . The dumpster should be stored away from
|
||
the rear kitchen door, should be maintained in a clean
|
||
condition, and should be covered at all times.
|
||
c) The threshold of the rear kitchen door was in
|
||
poor repair, providing an entry way for insects and
|
||
rodents.
|
||
7. A can of Claire Brand Down and Out Flying and Crawling
|
||
Insect Killer was found stored with cleaning compounds normally
|
||
used in Dietary. All pesticides must be stored physically
|
||
separate from all cleaning compounds, food, and food-contact
|
||
surfaces.
|
||
8. A large block of dark green rodent bait was found on the
|
||
floor and behind the ductwork of the storeroom near the kitchen.
|
||
All poisonous compounds used within a food service establishment
|
||
must be properly labeled.
|
||
9. The concentration of the available chlorine in the
|
||
sanitizing solution used to sanitize dishes in the dishwashing
|
||
room was in excess of the 200 parts per million permitted under
|
||
21 CFR 178.1010. (F.S.750.820g).
|
||
10. The procedure for manual washing, rinsing, and
|
||
sanitizing of equipment and utensils in the pot and pan three-
|
||
compartment sink was not conducted in the correct sequence. The
|
||
employee observed on 10/6/88, reported that approximately one
|
||
tablespoon of bleach was added to the soapy wash water. She then
|
||
rinsed the equipment and utensils in the middle sink and drained
|
||
them in the third sink. All utensils must be washed, rinsed, and
|
||
sanitized.
|
||
11. An employee was observed towel drying knives and pans. A
|
||
Waring blender was stored wet with food debris in a nonself-
|
||
draining position with the lid in place. Utensils must be air
|
||
dried before being stored or stored in a self-draining position.
|
||
12. The dishwashing machine was not maintained in good
|
||
repair. The rinse cycle was reported to not be working correctly.
|
||
The rinse gauge did not move from 140 degrees during the various
|
||
cycles of the machine. The dishwashing machine should be
|
||
repaired, and the rinse gauge should be observed for proper
|
||
operation.
|
||
13. The blade of the can opener located near the three-
|
||
compartment sink, was soiled with food debris.
|
||
14. A large wood rolling pin on the baker's table was
|
||
observed with a crack in the food-contact surface.
|
||
15. Dispensing utensils (scoops) were stored in bulk foods
|
||
with the handles covered with or touching the food. This was
|
||
observed in the kitchen in several bulk bins.
|
||
16. Non-food-contact surfaces were not smooth, non-
|
||
absorbent, or in such repair as to be easily maintained in a
|
||
clean and sanitary condition.
|
||
17. The paint on the proof box in the bakery is in very poor
|
||
condition.
|
||
18. Employees were not all wearing effective hair restraints
|
||
in the kitchen on 10/6/88.
|
||
19. A test kit to measure the concentration of chemical
|
||
sanitizing solutions was not available.
|
||
20. There were no thermometers available for the milk
|
||
coolers located in the dining room.
|
||
21. A pair of employee's eye glasses were noted on the meat
|
||
slicer, and an employee's drinking glass was next to several
|
||
uncovered bowls of pineapple. Employees may consume food only in
|
||
designated areas.
|
||
22. In the dry storage area, food items are stored beneath
|
||
sewer lines.
|
||
23. The walls of the dry storage area were found to be
|
||
excessively peeling. Wall surfaces should be smooth and easily
|
||
cleanable.
|
||
24. An active leak was observed in the ceiling of the pipe
|
||
chase between the employees' rest rooms in the basement. The area
|
||
within this pipe chase had an accumulation of debris and water.
|
||
|
||
Additional Recommendations:
|
||
1. The temperature of the hot water at the hand sinks
|
||
located within the students' rest rooms in the dining area
|
||
measured 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot water temperatures at
|
||
student-access locations should not exceed 120 degrees.
|
||
2. The chemical storage closets near the dining room were
|
||
open and easily accessible to the students. It is recommended
|
||
that these doors be closed and locked to insure the safety of the
|
||
students.
|
||
3. The soiled and clean linen tubs used in the dining area
|
||
were not labeled and easily identifiable. These containers should
|
||
be labeled and kept clean at all times.
|
||
|
||
That is what the Department of Public Health found, and if
|
||
Richard Umsted thought everyone was now satisfied, he was
|
||
certainly mistaken. After all the excitement and upset of the
|
||
fall, Audrey Williams decided that ISVI was no longer the right
|
||
placement for her child; so, because she was no longer an ISVI
|
||
parent, she resigned as president of the ISVI PTA. Early in the
|
||
new year (1989) she wrote one last letter to the ISVI parents and
|
||
enclosed the report she was sending at the same time to the
|
||
Director of DORS. Here are both documents:
|
||
|
||
Chicago, Illinois
|
||
January 15, 1989
|
||
|
||
Dear Parents:
|
||
I wish to take this opportunity to thank those of you who
|
||
supported the PTA's concerns regarding the dietary issues at ISVI
|
||
in September. I believe that it was your support that caused
|
||
immediate action and investigation to be undertaken.
|
||
An inspection was done in October by the Department of
|
||
Public Health, and twenty-four violations were found, and three
|
||
additional recommendations were made.
|
||
You can obtain a copy of this report by contacting DORS or
|
||
ISVI in writing.
|
||
Enclosed you will find a copy of my recommendations
|
||
addressed to Mr. Bradley, Director of DORS.
|
||
Please stay involved, because you do make the difference. As
|
||
my son no longer attends ISVI, please contact your officers for
|
||
future concerns.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely,
|
||
Audrey L. Williams
|
||
|
||
********
|
||
|
||
Chicago, Illinois
|
||
January 15, 1989
|
||
|
||
Phillip C. Bradley
|
||
Director, Department of Rehabilitation Services
|
||
Springfield, Illinois
|
||
|
||
Dear Mr. Bradley:
|
||
You may recall a letter written to you dated September 13,
|
||
1988, in which I stated that there were several unacceptable
|
||
practices involving ISVI in regard to poor sanitation, food
|
||
handling, and nutrition. I requested on behalf of the PTA that an
|
||
investigation be done and immediate action be taken. Below is a
|
||
summary of events that transpired after the September 13 letter.
|
||
|
||
September 23
|
||
Meeting with Dr. Umsted concerning these concerns.
|
||
Kathy Beckelman [Hughes], Mr. Radcliffe in attendance.
|
||
Meeting lasted in excess of three hours. Dr. Umsted
|
||
suggested that my allegations were unfounded. Some
|
||
expressed concern that a member or members of ISVI were
|
||
trying to sabotage the school or the dietary manager.
|
||
Dr. Umsted expressed that he held Mrs. Lois Cole in his
|
||
highest esteem. Dr. Umsted was confident that he could
|
||
reassure parents that ISVI students are provided with
|
||
well-balanced meals in a sanitary environment. His
|
||
concern was with reaching those parents who may have
|
||
heard of my letter but whose children do not attend
|
||
ISVI. Dr. Umsted invited any concerned parent to eat at
|
||
ISVI as well as inviting me to tour the storage room.
|
||
|
||
After visiting the storage room, to my surprise, I found
|
||
several expired canned goods and spices. Some dated as far back
|
||
as 1978. After talking with the storekeeper, it was revealed that
|
||
1) If the dietary staff requested the item, he would issue it and
|
||
tell them to "look at it" because it is old. 2) That he did not
|
||
have a copy of the storekeeper's manual, which determines the
|
||
shelf life of food. His estimation was eighteen months for the
|
||
shelf life of most canned goods. 3) He could discard expired
|
||
goods but would be required to fill out a form indicating what
|
||
happened to the goods. Discussed with Mr. Radcliffe that warning
|
||
dietary staff to "look at old foods" was unacceptable, and I was
|
||
assured that the storekeeper would be provided with appropriate
|
||
manual and expired foods would be discarded.
|
||
|
||
September 27, 1988
|
||
I received a letter from Dr. Umsted acknowledging
|
||
that Mr. Radcliffe did share a copy of the
|
||
storekeeper's manual with him and that the storekeeper
|
||
would be reviewing the manual for compliance with
|
||
established standards and practices.
|
||
In the same letter Dr. Umsted acknowledges a
|
||
September 26 incident where more cereal and bad rice
|
||
were found and discarded.
|
||
|
||
October 2, 1988
|
||
I met with Lynn Dohtery concerning these issues
|
||
and trying to better understand budgetary cutbacks
|
||
affecting ISVI. Lynn verbalized that she held Dr.
|
||
Umsted and ISVI in her highest esteem. Evaluations done
|
||
by the National Accreditation Council every four years
|
||
included Dietary. (Dr. Umsted is part of the
|
||
committee.) Budgetary cutbacks are the primary reason
|
||
for why the Department of Public Health has not been
|
||
out to do inspections.
|
||
|
||
This all brings me to several questions: On October 6, 1988,
|
||
an inspection was done by the Department of Public Health in
|
||
which twenty-four violations plus three additional
|
||
recommendations were made. (Again a live worm was found in the
|
||
bulk sugar. I received a copy of this inspection on December 15,
|
||
even though it was requested much earlier.)
|
||
1. Why, Mr. Bradley, did the Department of Public Health
|
||
cite twenty-four violations if my allegations were unfounded?
|
||
2. Why has it been eight years since an inspection has been
|
||
done by the Department of Public Health? After speaking with Lisa
|
||
Sondag, Supervisor of Environmental Health and Safety Section,
|
||
she informed me that while there have been budgetary cutbacks, if
|
||
DORS had requested an inspection, then the inspection would have
|
||
been done. Why has an inspection not been done in eight years?
|
||
3. Who, Mr. Bradley, is responsible for overseeing these
|
||
crucial dietary matters?
|
||
4. What are the qualifications needed for assuming this
|
||
responsibility if being a registered dietitian is not one of
|
||
them?
|
||
5. If Dietary is an area that the National Accreditation
|
||
Council and North Central Association inspections cover every
|
||
four years, what are they actually inspecting?
|
||
6. If the dietary manager is not responsible for enforcing
|
||
compliance standards set by the State of Illinois, then who, Mr.
|
||
Bradley, is responsible?
|
||
As one parent so eloquently put it, "To deliberately
|
||
jeopardize the health of our children is despicable. The
|
||
responsible person should be dismissed and all privileges as a
|
||
state employee be terminated." Not only is it despicable, Mr.
|
||
Bradley, but it is a violation of our children's civil rights,
|
||
and that is a criminal offense.
|
||
As you may be aware, I have taken my child out of ISVI, and
|
||
need I remind you that there is only an ISVI because of our
|
||
children? This incident has been an unnecessary violation of my
|
||
trust and is a crime if my child or any other child suffers
|
||
educationally because of this incident or other unrelated
|
||
incidents occurring at ISVI that may require further
|
||
investigation.
|
||
I think some answers are in order.
|
||
|
||
That is what Mrs. Williams wrote to Dr. Umsted's superiors,
|
||
and answers certainly were in order. But no one has yet provided
|
||
them. And with Mrs. Williams conveniently out of the way, the
|
||
pressure for doing so seems to have disappeared. Institutional
|
||
food will always have its critics. Food service personnel will
|
||
always try to cut corners when they are in a hurry or short of
|
||
funds or convinced that no one is holding them accountable. Yet,
|
||
none of these explanations is sufficient to account for the
|
||
cumulative problems and abuses. Now that a new era may possibly
|
||
be opening at the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired, let
|
||
us hope that a new chapter will also be opening concerning the
|
||
food service.
|
||
|
||
[Photo #4 A park-like area in front of a large brick two-story
|
||
building with many windows. Caption: A classroom building on the
|
||
ISVI campus]
|
||
|
||
BEYOND THE FALL:
|
||
AFTER-SHOCKS AND SIGNS OF PROMISE
|
||
by Barbara Pierce
|
||
|
||
After reading the preceding stories, it is reasonable to ask
|
||
what has happened in the months since Richard Umsted's firing
|
||
from his job as superintendent of the Illinois School for the
|
||
Visually Impaired (ISVI) on August 23, 1994. Charlie Martin,
|
||
Umsted's boss during his final year and a half as superintendent,
|
||
was asked temporarily to leave his post as director of
|
||
educational services at the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation
|
||
Services (DORS) and to serve as acting superintendent at ISVI
|
||
until a search could be conducted for Umsted's permanent
|
||
replacement. By most accounts Martin is an affable man with a
|
||
hands-on style of administering programs. For example, he gave
|
||
the Braille Monitor reporter a personal tour of the campus and
|
||
talked knowledgeably about the institution. It was clear from his
|
||
interactions with the students and staff during this tour that he
|
||
knew everyone and called each by name. The students were watching
|
||
a videotape of a recent talent show in which Martin had performed
|
||
along with the students.
|
||
From the start Martin let it be known that his door was open
|
||
and that he intended for things to change. On the very day of
|
||
Umsted's firing Audrey McCrimon, DORS director, contacted the
|
||
parents of ISVI students from the year before to tell them
|
||
something of what had happened and assure them that every effort
|
||
would be made to see that their children were safe. Here is the
|
||
text of the letter that was sent:
|
||
|
||
Springfield, Illinois
|
||
August 23, 1994
|
||
|
||
Dear Parent or Guardian,
|
||
Earlier this summer I promised I would keep you apprised of
|
||
the developments of the Illinois State Police (ISP) investigation
|
||
of student-to-student sexual conduct at the ISVI.
|
||
I have received an interim report from the Illinois State
|
||
Police; and, based on the information uncovered by both the ISP
|
||
investigation and DORS internal investigation, I have terminated
|
||
Dr. Richard Umsted as superintendent of ISVI effective August 23,
|
||
1994.
|
||
So that you can fully understand the facts of the situation
|
||
and the basis for my decision, I have enclosed a copy of DORS'
|
||
news release on the matter. I'm sure upon reading it you will
|
||
agree that, given the severity of the situation, any lesser
|
||
action would have been a betrayal of the trust I believe you and
|
||
your children have placed in the Department of Rehabilitation
|
||
Services and the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired.
|
||
To ensure that no such situation is ever permitted to occur
|
||
at ISVI again, the start of this school year will bring increased
|
||
sexual abuse education to both ISVI students and staff as well as
|
||
a new policy of reporting unusual incidents. Additionally, as you
|
||
are aware, the family style living arrangement previously
|
||
utilized in the dorms will be discontinued.
|
||
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to
|
||
contact Acting Superintendent Charles Martin at 217-479-4401.
|
||
|
||
Sincerely yours,
|
||
Audrey L. McCrimon
|
||
Director
|
||
|
||
Ninety families had sufficient faith in what they read and
|
||
heard to send their youngsters back for the '94-95 school year.
|
||
According to school officials, the student mix is 55 percent
|
||
cognitively impaired, developmentally delayed, or mentally
|
||
retarded and 45 percent with behavioral or emotional
|
||
disabilities. All students are either blind or visually impaired,
|
||
although vision loss may not be the primary disability. A staff
|
||
of 145 works with the students on a twelve-acre campus, bordered
|
||
on two sides by railroad tracks but containing a number of
|
||
winding walks and rustic benches from which to enjoy the lawns.
|
||
Several of the buildings are in poor repair, and anticipation of
|
||
the changes the new independent living center will bring seems to
|
||
be universal.
|
||
Preparations were made for a new beginning with eagerness to
|
||
put the past behind everyone still associated with ISVI, but the
|
||
beginning of the school year was not without incident. On Friday,
|
||
August 19, 1994, the secretary in the business office and Polly
|
||
Williams, who had earlier replaced Mary Kamnick as director of
|
||
residential services, had occasion to enter Kamnick's old office
|
||
in search of something. They found a file drawer filled with an
|
||
undetermined amount of cash, some in envelopes and some in banded
|
||
rolls of bills. By some reports this was money kept on hand to
|
||
purchase items for needy students; Richard Umsted told the
|
||
Braille Monitor it was probably the funds for the independent
|
||
living program. But the school has established very strict
|
||
procedures for dealing both with cash coming in and money needed
|
||
for payments of various kinds. David Postle, the outspoken school
|
||
advocate and member of the ISVI Advisory Council, says that, as
|
||
far as he has ever known, cash has not been left lying around at
|
||
ISVI. Reportedly the two women immediately notified Martin of
|
||
their find, and he locked the drawer and the office for the
|
||
weekend.
|
||
Sunday, August 21, was the day the students returned to
|
||
campus, so the weekend was filled with confusion. Sunday
|
||
afternoon one member of the staff says that he looked across
|
||
campus and noticed Mary Kamnick. He commented at the time that he
|
||
wondered what she was doing at school when she had been relocated
|
||
and instructed to stay away from the campus. When the door was
|
||
unlocked, the cash had reportedly vanished. According to one
|
||
observer, no one seemed to know what had happened to it or
|
||
appeared to be much upset at its disappearance.
|
||
When the students arrived on campus there was a flurry of
|
||
trouble with the arrival of two pellet guns as well. There was
|
||
also one of those extremely realistic toy guns that are now
|
||
popular with children. This last had made its first appearance on
|
||
campus the previous academic year and had been sent home. The
|
||
high school student who owned it returned with it again in the
|
||
fall, and it and the two pellet guns were confiscated and the
|
||
three students given five-day suspensions.
|
||
Sources also tell us that early in the school year several
|
||
boys were identified as having committed phone fraud in the
|
||
amount of $1,400, using third-party billing on phone cards. The
|
||
telephone company insisted that the parents pay back the money,
|
||
and each student was given a three-day suspension.
|
||
The one student who was implicated in both of these
|
||
activities was also involved in an incident that occurred in
|
||
January of 1995. According to sources close to the situation, the
|
||
student and a young female house parent, whose marriage was
|
||
reportedly in trouble, were found by several other staff members
|
||
inappropriately fondling each other. The employee lost her job
|
||
immediately, though because she was not given a chance to
|
||
confront her accusers, as the regulations governing employment at
|
||
the school required, she may in fact eventually be reinstated.
|
||
In today's environment of heightened awareness of what is
|
||
and is not appropriate sexual behavior between colleagues and
|
||
between those holding unequal positions in organizations of all
|
||
kinds, such conduct between an employee and a minor is clearly
|
||
seriously inappropriate. But a situation has come to light at
|
||
ISVI this year that is considerably more problematic since it
|
||
involves the ongoing conduct of a member of the faculty with at
|
||
least five female staff members and present and past students,
|
||
all of whom say they were unwilling objects of his physical
|
||
gestures.
|
||
David Hauck is the director of the computer lab and Student
|
||
Transition Employment Program at ISVI. He is a blind man whom
|
||
Umsted hired away from the Hadley School for the Blind, according
|
||
to sources at ISVI. In some quarters at ISVI there is significant
|
||
skepticism about Hauck's competence as a teacher of computer
|
||
skills. Several people with reason to know commented that, not
|
||
only was Hauck unlikely to give good information about computer
|
||
matters, but upon occasion has actually compounded the problem
|
||
with his advice. A temporary employee who worked for two months
|
||
as his assistant and whom we will call Ms. E said in passing, and
|
||
with some embarrassment, that it became obvious to her early on
|
||
in their association that she knew much more about computers than
|
||
he did.
|
||
During the current academic year several women have begun to
|
||
speak cautiously of the problems they have had with this teacher.
|
||
Several sighted female colleagues have reported that, when they
|
||
have been acting as sighted guides for him off campus, he has
|
||
grasped their arms in such a way as to bring his hand or forearm
|
||
in contact with a breast. He has also been known to bump into
|
||
certain students and staff members in the hall, apparently
|
||
because of his blindness, but they are convinced that it is
|
||
really with the intention of making as much physical contact as
|
||
possible. People have noticed that he is much less likely to bump
|
||
into men than women. Until told firmly not to touch them, he has
|
||
also reportedly run his hands uninvited through several women's
|
||
hair and put his arm around them when the contact clearly made
|
||
them uncomfortable. One woman, who had the courage and self-
|
||
possession to tell him firmly to stop such invasions of her
|
||
person, told the Braille Monitor that the rebuke acted as only a
|
||
temporary restraint on his behavior.
|
||
When asked by the Braille Monitor in a telephone interview
|
||
to comment on these allegations, Hauck seemed almost speechless.
|
||
He denied ever engaging in any sexually harassing behavior toward
|
||
anyone and demanded several times why he was even being asked
|
||
such questions. Nevertheless, the questions should not have been
|
||
quite the bolt from the blue that his response might have
|
||
suggested since, according to Ms. E, he had told her in February
|
||
that sexual harassment charges were then being brought against
|
||
him because of problems with a female student. In fact, as this
|
||
issue went to press in mid-April, a spokeswoman for DORS told the
|
||
Braille Monitor that the decision has now been made to conduct an
|
||
internal DORS investigation of the allegations of harassment made
|
||
by women staff, alumnae, and students against David Hauck.
|
||
In addition to these accusations, Hauck was accused by Ms. E
|
||
of other kinds of harassment. When she began working with him, he
|
||
demanded her unlisted phone number so that, according to her, in
|
||
an emergency--like not being able to find a file on a disc she
|
||
had prepared for him during the day--he would be able to reach
|
||
her at home. Knowing nothing about blindness and the competence
|
||
of blind people at the time, she assumed that this might be a
|
||
legitimate problem for a blind person, so she gave him her
|
||
number. She says he then began calling her home so frequently--
|
||
sometimes three or four times a night--that her young son began
|
||
asking who that man was and why he kept calling.
|
||
When Ms. E talked with the temping service that had supplied
|
||
her services to the school about the problems she was having with
|
||
Hauck, her supervisor called the school to discuss the situation
|
||
with Hauck's supervisor. Almost immediately, she says, Hauck came
|
||
to her to criticize her for complaining. Whenever her
|
||
difficulties reached his ears by any route, she says, he took his
|
||
anger out on her. Moreover, she says, he made every effort to
|
||
prevent her from having any contact with the other female
|
||
employees who had had trouble with him in the past.
|
||
According to Ms. E on a number of occasions Hauck did not
|
||
appear when his students arrived for class, and Ms. E says she
|
||
was expected to supervise the youngsters until his return. This
|
||
was not listed as part of her job responsibilities, even though
|
||
she says she was equipped to carry out the task. But she believed
|
||
that, if she was to do this kind of work on top of her other
|
||
duties, she should have been paid accordingly. She says that all
|
||
she got for her inquiries about the matter was more
|
||
recriminations from Hauck. Finally, Ms. E reports that she was
|
||
forced to terminate her association with the school.
|
||
The most recent event which we will discuss in this series
|
||
of what Audrey McCrimon, Director of DORS, characterized as
|
||
"after-shocks" of the Umsted investigation occurred in February
|
||
when a Department of Children and Family Services investigator
|
||
was called to the ISVI campus to look into the activities of one
|
||
of the house parents, Don Miller, the brother-in-law of Nancy
|
||
Ford, a house parent supervisor. Miller is a licensed practical
|
||
nurse who, according to sources close to the school, suddenly
|
||
left his employment at a local hospital and found a place at ISVI
|
||
almost immediately. Not many details of the DCFS investigation
|
||
are known, but on February 23, 1995 several staff members were
|
||
closely questioned about Miller's conduct with the boys in his
|
||
care, and on February 25 he was allowed to resign from ISVI.
|
||
Those close to the situation report that as many as five young,
|
||
non-verbal boys may well have been sexually abused by Miller.
|
||
It is clearly a distressing subject for all concerned, and
|
||
several of the parents involved say that they are angry because
|
||
they were not told what had been discovered as soon as it was
|
||
known on campus. Their distrust of the ISVI and its senior
|
||
administration is now towering, and they are prepared to condemn
|
||
Charlie Martin for this lapse as thoroughly as Richard Umsted for
|
||
all the troubles that went before. Whatever the extent of the
|
||
abuse and wherever the rights and wrongs in the situation lie,
|
||
this entire cluster of allegations has compounded the
|
||
difficulties for those who hope to rebuild public faith in ISVI.
|
||
Foremost in this group is Charles Martin. One source
|
||
described him as "a bureaucrat with a conscience, but still a
|
||
bureaucrat." He seems to be working hard to change the way things
|
||
are done at ISVI and the way in which they are seen to be done,
|
||
but his task would undoubtedly be considerably easier if he could
|
||
manage his senior staff with firmness and still get help from
|
||
them.
|
||
For example, when Ms. E concluded that she had taken all she
|
||
could and gave notice that she was leaving her position as David
|
||
Hauck's assistant, she had just suffered a nasty fall in the hall
|
||
at the school. She says that she felt her foot slip on something
|
||
wet, and in fact she and another person went back the following
|
||
day to look at the place where the accident had occurred and
|
||
could actually see the spots where something had dried on the
|
||
floor. But as soon as Kathy Hughes, director of education, heard
|
||
the fall, Ms. E says she rushed out of her office into the hall
|
||
and announced loudly that she couldn't see anything on the floor
|
||
that might have caused the accident. No one in authority offered
|
||
to assist Ms. E or instructed anyone to accompany her, so Ms. E
|
||
drove herself to the hospital for medical attention for what was
|
||
first identified as a sprain but later turned out to be a
|
||
fracture. She returned to the school after a long ordeal at the
|
||
hospital emergency room and completed some work that had to be
|
||
done, even though she was in an air cast and using crutches. She
|
||
was back at school the next day, on strong medication for pain,
|
||
and it was then that she says she finally realized that she had
|
||
had enough. She says that Hauck insisted that she do errands for
|
||
him that would take her across campus despite doctor's orders
|
||
that she stay off the injured foot for seventy-two hours.
|
||
On her way out of Charlie Martin's office, she says she had
|
||
a brief conversation with another female member of the staff who
|
||
told her that Tom Norris, the ISVI Business Manager, had decided
|
||
that she should not be paid for the time she had spent the day
|
||
before in the emergency room. Ms. E says she told her that it
|
||
didn't really matter because she was leaving. At that Ms. E says
|
||
the woman looked up at her and said with tears in her eyes, "That
|
||
means they've won again." Ms. E acknowledged that she simply
|
||
couldn't take any more, so she agreed that they had indeed won
|
||
again.
|
||
According to Ms. E, a member of the staff went to Charlie
|
||
Martin and told him about Norris's decision. To his credit, when
|
||
Martin heard that, he immediately reversed the decision and has
|
||
also insisted that Ms. E send all her medical bills connected
|
||
with the fall to the school for payment. But Ms. E freely admits
|
||
that the impression left on her by Kathy Hughes and Tom Norris
|
||
was that their job was to protect the school from any appearance
|
||
of responsibility for the accident.
|
||
An even more disconcerting instance of the differences
|
||
between Martin's attitudes and those of other senior members of
|
||
his staff occurred quite recently. A meeting of house parents was
|
||
called by DORS official Dee Showalter for March 30. Several staff
|
||
members reported that rumor had it that the group was to be
|
||
dressed down because some house parents had spoken with the
|
||
Braille Monitor. Throughout the week Bill Forney, director of
|
||
student services, was reported to have said repeatedly in the
|
||
hearing of people who quoted him to David Postle that he intended
|
||
to see that anyone who had spoken to the Monitor was fired.
|
||
Postle reports that the tension among the house parents was
|
||
extremely high as that Thursday and its meeting approached.
|
||
But when the meeting came, it could hardly have been more
|
||
different from what the staff had anticipated. According to
|
||
reports of several who attended, a new DORS investigator was
|
||
introduced, and the house parents were told about a special phone
|
||
line that would be in place for two weeks for their express use
|
||
to report anything they could remember from the past that they
|
||
thought should be investigated. Showalter told them that without
|
||
the help of the ISVI employees DORS could not hope to put the
|
||
past to rest and begin afresh. She said that she would be meeting
|
||
with the other ISVI employees in other gatherings, and she
|
||
trusted that they would all do their best to assist DORS
|
||
officials in starting over.
|
||
Postle says that there is still a healthy amount of
|
||
skepticism among ISVI staff because many still remember the
|
||
effort in 1991 to warn DORS of trouble at the school and the way
|
||
in which the employees were brushed off. But in general people
|
||
seem to be willing to give DORS officials another chance to do
|
||
what needs to be done. If the reports of Forney's threats are
|
||
accurate, one might doubt whether the entire ISVI senior
|
||
administration is as serious as Martin and his DORS bosses seem
|
||
to be about changing old patterns.
|
||
Martin reportedly continues to make substantive plans for
|
||
new procedures and policies; and, while there have clearly been
|
||
snags in implementing some of these, the public's very awareness
|
||
of some of the problems that have arisen this year would suggest
|
||
that there really is some increase in openness at the school. The
|
||
committee charged with searching for a new superintendent is hard
|
||
at work. David Postle is one of its members. The mother of one of
|
||
the children who was sexually abused by the student called Bill
|
||
is serving on the school's advisory council. These people are
|
||
unlikely to settle for second best or pat answers.
|
||
It is clearly in the best interests of the blind children of
|
||
Illinois for this institution to solve its problems and put the
|
||
more unsavory elements of its past to rest. The school has a long
|
||
history of educating blind students, many of whom have gone on to
|
||
lead full and productive lives. Let us hope that in the complex
|
||
and dangerous years ahead the institution can find its way to
|
||
solid ground, where committed and highly trained adults will have
|
||
a chance to work to educate and care for the blind children in
|
||
their charge.
|
||
|
||
|
||
UMSTED WITHDRAWS FROM ALABAMA INSTITUTE JOB SEARCH
|
||
|
||
From the Editor: When all is said and done, the residential
|
||
school administrators in the blindness field comprise a pretty
|
||
small community. Everyone knows where job openings are and even,
|
||
to some extent, who is applying. Perhaps it's my imagination, but
|
||
this year seems to have been a fairly volatile one for senior
|
||
level administrators at schools for the blind. Alabama, Arkansas,
|
||
Arizona, California, Illinois, Iowa, and Kentucky all come to
|
||
mind immediately. We have been reporting the circumstances that
|
||
led to the job opening at the Arkansas School for the Blind (see
|
||
the November, 1994, and March and April, 1995, issues of the
|
||
Braille Monitor). As we reported last month, Dr. Richard Umsted
|
||
was one of the four finalists for that position, but Ivan
|
||
Terzieff from Iowa was actually chosen. Terzieff was a strong
|
||
candidate in his own right, but Umsted's candidacy was
|
||
considerably weakened by the front-page story in the Arkansas
|
||
Democrat-Gazette which appeared the weekend that the finalists
|
||
were in town for interviews with the search committee and the
|
||
school's board of trustees.
|
||
All of that occurred in February. In April it was the turn
|
||
of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind to search for a
|
||
principal at the school for the blind. This time Richard Umsted
|
||
was one of three finalists. It wasn't long before that news got
|
||
back to the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, Umsted's hometown
|
||
newspaper, already on record in favor of Umsted's having nothing
|
||
more to do with the education of children in the light of the
|
||
DORS and state police investigation findings of what had happened
|
||
during his administration at ISVI. (See "The Fall of Richard
|
||
Umsted" elsewhere in this issue.) The resulting Journal-Courier
|
||
story appeared on Thursday, April 6. Here it is:
|
||
|
||
Umsted in Line for School Job
|
||
by William Dennis
|
||
|
||
The former superintendent of Illinois School for the
|
||
Visually Impaired, who was fired from the position, is a finalist
|
||
for a post in Alabama.
|
||
An official at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind
|
||
said Richard Umsted was made a finalist even though the institute
|
||
knew he was dismissed from ISVI for failure to report allegations
|
||
of student-on-student sexual abuse.
|
||
"I am aware of the background of all our candidates," said
|
||
Joseph Busta, Jr., President of the AIDB. "Richard has a very
|
||
strong national reputation in the field. We are willing to take a
|
||
look at him and many others."
|
||
Dr. Umsted is one of at least three finalists for the
|
||
position of principal of the Alabama School for the Blind in
|
||
Talladega, one of four schools operated by the AIDB, Dr. Busta
|
||
said. Finalists will visit the school over the next month for
|
||
interviews.
|
||
Dr. Busta hopes the position will be filled before the start
|
||
of the fall 1995 semester, he said. The AIDB is operated by a
|
||
board of trustees, but the final hiring decision will be Dr.
|
||
Busta's.
|
||
Dr. Umsted did not apply for the job, Dr. Busta said. He was
|
||
nominated for the post by professionals in the field who were
|
||
aware of the vacancy.
|
||
The Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services fired Dr.
|
||
Umsted in August, 1994. DORS claimed he failed to report to the
|
||
agency and the Illinois Department of Children and Family
|
||
Services that a sixteen-year-old male student had abused a nine-
|
||
year-old boy in May, 1994.
|
||
A DORS press release said Dr. Umsted also failed to report
|
||
the inappropriate touching of two female students and the
|
||
possible sexual abuse of four male students, including the nine-
|
||
year-old boy.
|
||
Dr. Umsted had denied that charge. He could not be reached
|
||
for comment Wednesday.
|
||
The Illinois State Police investigated the incidents and
|
||
gave the report to Morgan County State Attorney Charles Colburn,
|
||
who said the report did not recommend criminal charges be filed.
|
||
|
||
It didn't take the reporters in Birmingham, Alabama, long to
|
||
get wind of the Jacksonville story. They began making their own
|
||
inquiries, and it is anybody's guess exactly what happened. All
|
||
we know for certain is that Richard Umsted decided "for personal
|
||
and professional reasons" to withdraw his name from consideration
|
||
for the position of principal of the Alabama School for the
|
||
Blind.
|
||
One can understand why Dr. Umsted would prefer to remain in
|
||
residential school administration. It has been his field for
|
||
almost twenty years, but it is hard to believe that, knowing the
|
||
unfortunate history at the Illinois School for the Visually
|
||
Impaired under Dr. Umsted's administration, any parents would be
|
||
content to have him placed in charge of their children. Even if
|
||
his subordinates were responsible for some of the problems that
|
||
occurred, Dr. Umsted set the tone and was responsible for seeing
|
||
that his policies were carried out to his satisfaction. A number
|
||
of those close to the situation maintain that he did exactly
|
||
that, but even if his intention was that student safety and well-
|
||
being and professional integrity be more important than the
|
||
school's reputation, he somehow failed to communicate these
|
||
standards to some of his staff. Perhaps Dr. Umsted would be well
|
||
advised to follow Leonard Ogburn's example and look for a
|
||
position in higher education. Sources close to the University of
|
||
Arkansas at Little Rock report that Ogburn has applied for a
|
||
position in the visual impairment program at that institution.
|
||
Perhaps Northern Illinois University could be persuaded to be
|
||
helpful to Dr. Umsted and the entire blindness field by finding a
|
||
place for him.
|
||
|
||
[Photo #5 Portrait Caption: Lou Tutt]
|
||
|
||
MARYLAND SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND ON THE HOT SEAT:
|
||
ANOTHER NAC AGENCY IN SERIOUS TROUBLE
|
||
by Barbara Pierce
|
||
|
||
For many years the Maryland School for the Blind (MSB) has
|
||
been a passionate supporter of the National Accreditation Council
|
||
for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped (NAC).
|
||
From 1979 to 1990 Dr. Richard Welsh, the current President of the
|
||
NAC Board, was the superintendent at MSB. Not only did he hotly
|
||
defend NAC wherever and whenever he could, but he did his best
|
||
whenever possible to smother the consumer voice and to ignore the
|
||
organized blind movement in matters affecting his institution in
|
||
particular and blind people in general. When the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind of Maryland went to the legislature in
|
||
the mid eighties to advocate for the nation's first Braille bill
|
||
to protect the right of blind students to learn Braille, he
|
||
organized MSB employees to speak against the idea, and took blind
|
||
children to the capitol to assure the legislators that they
|
||
didn't want to learn to read Braille. After MSB administrators
|
||
realized that the Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest was
|
||
conducted by the National Federation of the Blind and that NFB
|
||
representatives came to campus to honor MSB winners, no more
|
||
students took part in the contest until Welsh's departure from
|
||
the school.
|
||
In fact, the atmosphere at the Maryland School seems to have
|
||
been generally repressive during the Welsh years. Some who knew
|
||
the school well during the period say that teacher
|
||
recommendations about students were frequently ignored when they
|
||
conflicted with administrative convenience. So there was
|
||
something of a general sigh of relief when Welsh moved on to head
|
||
the Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania,
|
||
in 1990.
|
||
The ensuing search for a new superintendent ended with the
|
||
selection of Louis Tutt, who until then had been superintendent
|
||
at the Missouri School for the Blind. Tutt was a clear NAC
|
||
supporter--considering the siege mentality of all NAC member
|
||
agencies during those years, nothing less would have been
|
||
tolerated by MSB officials. But Lou Tutt appears to fancy himself
|
||
a politician and a diplomat. In dealing with the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind he has tried steadily to have things both
|
||
ways. For example, he has never been willing to discuss the
|
||
school's decision to maintain NAC accreditation despite NAC's
|
||
obviously moribund condition, the school's increasing financial
|
||
pressures, and the growing number of residential schools severing
|
||
their ties with NAC in recent years. Yet he has allowed MSB
|
||
students to participate once more in the NFB's Braille Readers
|
||
are Leaders contest.
|
||
In fact, Tutt seems to have given cautious permission for
|
||
some superficial contact between the organized blind movement and
|
||
the school. Barbara Cheadle, President of the National
|
||
Organization of Parents of Blind Children, a division of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind, was invited to speak to MSB
|
||
parent organizations and advisory groups; but offers by NFB
|
||
officials to conduct workshops or symposia for school employees
|
||
have been firmly, if bureaucratically, discouraged. After the
|
||
Maryland Braille bill was passed, the school agreed to nominal
|
||
participation in the implementation process, but MSB
|
||
representatives have done little to assist the process. Rather,
|
||
when given an opportunity to do so, they unsuccessfully argued
|
||
for passage of weakening amendments.
|
||
Until the 1994 convention of the NFB of Maryland, Tutt
|
||
seemed happy enough to accept invitations to address the largest
|
||
organization of blind citizens in the state and even appeared on
|
||
the National Convention agenda. Yet, when he was fighting for his
|
||
budgetary life before the state legislature, he made no move to
|
||
ask for Federation help in opposing cuts in his annual budget. In
|
||
short, Lou Tutt's rules for dealing with the NFB seemed to be:
|
||
Make nice as long as the activities are superficial. Don't let
|
||
the blind in at any significant level of school policymaking, and
|
||
certainly don't forge any alliances with consumers. Then came the
|
||
1994 Maryland convention. Once again Lou Tutt accepted an
|
||
invitation to speak, but he didn't bother to turn up to do so,
|
||
and he didn't send a member of his staff to take his place. He
|
||
simply didn't come, and he didn't apologize for not doing so.
|
||
In many ways that act of social rudeness and administrative
|
||
irresponsibility was the last straw. The NFB of Maryland had
|
||
become increasingly concerned about the quality of the education
|
||
and care blind children had been receiving at the MSB for several
|
||
years. Budget cuts had resulted in reduction of staff, and there
|
||
were signs that as usual the children were the ultimate losers.
|
||
We are most familiar with one case because it involved a
|
||
member of the Federation family. In the spring of 1991 Niki
|
||
White, daughter of Maryland Parents Division President Loretta
|
||
White, was injured in an accident at the school, where she was a
|
||
student at the time. According to her mother, the little finger
|
||
on her right hand was caught in a door and nearly severed. It was
|
||
a heavy oak rest-room door that snapped closed at the end of its
|
||
swing. Niki's finger was in the way because, at two-and-a-half,
|
||
she was sliding her hand along the wall as she walked. After what
|
||
we have learned about the behavior of officials at the Illinois
|
||
School for the Visually Impaired, perhaps we should be grateful
|
||
that the MSB nurse who treated Niki instructed a teacher to
|
||
inform her mother about the accident and insist that she take
|
||
Niki to get proper medical help. According to Loretta White, she
|
||
was taking care of other children when the call came, and she was
|
||
told simply that Niki had pinched her finger in a door and was
|
||
upset. Having no notion of the extent of the injury, Loretta
|
||
pointed out that, if Niki came home on her bus, she would be home
|
||
before Loretta could get her crowd of children fed and to the
|
||
school. But the teacher insisted that she come anyway.
|
||
Loretta says that Niki was being rocked by a woman staff
|
||
member when she got to the school and was wearing a large bandage
|
||
on her hand. She asked to see the damage but was told not to
|
||
remove the bandage. She asked if there had been bleeding. Yes,
|
||
and you should go to the emergency room was the rather
|
||
disconcerting answer she was given. She says that she still had
|
||
no idea what she was dealing with because the staff kept
|
||
referring to the problem as a pinched finger.
|
||
When they got to the emergency room, it was busy, and
|
||
Loretta was told that Niki would have to wait her turn. But when
|
||
Loretta took her to the bathroom, Niki bumped her finger, and,
|
||
screaming with the pain, she tore off the bandage. For the first
|
||
time, her mother says, she realized that the end of Niki's finger
|
||
was hanging by a tendon. Loretta reports that the staff began
|
||
yelling at her for having waited so long to get Niki the medical
|
||
help she clearly needed. But there was a further wait for a hand
|
||
surgeon, and when he saw the damage, he was not hopeful about
|
||
whether the finger would reattach. Luckily, Loretta reports that
|
||
it has done so, though she believes that Niki does not have much
|
||
feeling in the finger.
|
||
As the Federation began looking into the situation, it
|
||
became clear that the school was unwilling to do anything to
|
||
alter its parent-notification policies or its heavy, slamming
|
||
doors. The Whites were told that it would be too expensive to
|
||
modify all the doors at the school so that they would not bang
|
||
shut. The nurse maintained in discussions afterward that she had
|
||
minimized Niki's injury because she did not want Mrs. White
|
||
driving to the school in an upset condition. Only after
|
||
preparations had begun for a lawsuit against the school did
|
||
officials agree to make some reparations. Eventually they agreed
|
||
to cover Niki's medical costs and modify some of the doors at the
|
||
school. They have also now made a few changes, the Whites report,
|
||
in school policies about notifying parents in case of accidents
|
||
at the school.
|
||
Rumors persist about other problems and accidents. A source
|
||
close to the school complains that the provisions of IEPs are
|
||
often not met. In fact, she says, two deaf-blind youngsters are
|
||
now attending school out of state at MSB's expense because of the
|
||
school's failure to comply with IEP provisions. Jude Lincicome,
|
||
who is an active member of the Maryland Parents Division of the
|
||
NFB, was forced to place her son Jeremy in a first-grade class at
|
||
his neighborhood school for half of each day because, in her
|
||
view, the academic instruction at MSB was completely
|
||
insufficient. The Braille instruction he receives at the school
|
||
is good, Ms. Lincicome reports, but Jeremy was receiving one hour
|
||
a week of math, and that was identification of coins, not
|
||
addition and subtraction. Other subjects were even more poorly
|
||
covered.
|
||
The problem according to Jude is not the teacher or the
|
||
aides, who she says are excellent, but the class size and the
|
||
short instructional day. According to his mother, Jeremy's new
|
||
schedule has provided him with an hour and a half more learning
|
||
time a day despite the hour he must spend traveling in the middle
|
||
getting to his second school.
|
||
MSB officials excuse the large classes by pointing to recent
|
||
budget cuts, though it is harder to understand how such cuts
|
||
compel a school day that, according to parents, often begins as
|
||
late as 9:00 or 9:30, ends at 2:00, and invests an hour and a
|
||
half in lunch. But surely not even school officials would
|
||
attribute thoughtless cruelty to a child to budget cuts. Last
|
||
summer, while Jeremy was still a full-time student at MSB, on one
|
||
of those days when the afternoon temperature reached ninety-eight
|
||
degrees, Jude Lincicome says that he returned by bus from a music
|
||
class at a nearby elementary school close to the end of the
|
||
school day. Jeremy was told to remain on the bus in the parking
|
||
lot to wait for the other students who were to be driven home in
|
||
the vehicle. But for some reason the children were an hour late
|
||
in leaving school. The bus driver and the aide assigned to the
|
||
bus took turns going into the building to cool off and get drinks
|
||
of water. Jeremy remained perspiring on the bus, without even an
|
||
offer of water. When the other children arrived, he spent another
|
||
hour getting home. Stories like this one suggest that common
|
||
sense and compassion would seem to be in as short supply in some
|
||
operations at MSB as funding and good faith.
|
||
Beyond these specific indications of problems at the
|
||
Maryland School for the Blind, there were vague rumors and more
|
||
general rumblings that all was not well. Then on Monday, April
|
||
17, 1995, the Baltimore Sun published a long story on the front
|
||
page of its Maryland section. Reasonable people may differ from
|
||
one another on the matter of where painful budget cuts should be
|
||
made. It is always hard to reduce staff, and unhappy people will
|
||
be quick to second-guess the decision-makers in power. But
|
||
allegations that Medicaid funds have not been managed
|
||
appropriately and questions about the allocation of seven million
|
||
dollars of missing funds are serious at any time. And when an
|
||
institution is in fiscal hot water, it is a matter of poor
|
||
judgment on the part of someone to purchase the organization's
|
||
president a new car and spend $35,000 on refurbishing his home
|
||
with new wallpaper and carpeting. The whole story makes troubling
|
||
reading. Here is the article as it appeared in the Baltimore Sun:
|
||
|
||
Maryland School for the Blind in Turmoil
|
||
Upheavals Trouble Once-Proud Program
|
||
by Joe Nawrozki
|
||
|
||
The Maryland School for the Blind, which has endured for
|
||
more than a century as a national model in the education of blind
|
||
and multi-disabled children, is facing troubled times.
|
||
Shrinking state support, a bitter staff shake-up, and
|
||
questions about financial management have critics wondering if
|
||
the school still can provide the quality care and education that
|
||
have been its hallmark.
|
||
From its idyllic setting on an Overlea tract dotted with
|
||
woods and a stream, and until early in this century at sites in
|
||
Baltimore, the landmark school has sent thousands of blind and
|
||
disabled children on to productive lives.
|
||
But now even its staunchest supporters concede that all is
|
||
not well. "No doubt about it," said board chairman Harry F.
|
||
Wright Jr. "This is the toughest time in the school's history."
|
||
Among the issues:
|
||
In 1991 the state cut more than $300,000 from the school's
|
||
allocation. MSB depends on the state for eighty-five percent of
|
||
its $12.8 million annual budget, and state funding is still below
|
||
1991 levels. The school has been unable to make up the difference
|
||
from private sources. As a result, officials have secretly
|
||
discussed selling or leasing some of the school's property,
|
||
twenty-two buildings on ninety-five acres.
|
||
On July 1 the school's five program directors--who managed
|
||
day-to-day operations and planned programs--were fired. Two
|
||
members of the school's board of directors resigned in protest,
|
||
and eventually forty other staff members quit or saw their
|
||
positions abolished. As a result of the brain drain, many parents
|
||
now say their children's education is suffering.
|
||
While school officials were lobbying in Annapolis to
|
||
prevent further budget cuts, MSB President Louis M. Tutt ordered
|
||
a mid-sized luxury car and had $35,000 worth of renovations done
|
||
on his campus residence--including new wallpaper and carpeting.
|
||
A member of the General Assembly's Joint Budget and Audit
|
||
Committee has called for his panel to investigate MSB's budget.
|
||
Senator John J. Hafer, a Republican representing Allegheny and
|
||
Garrett Counties, said school officials have not satisfactorily
|
||
answered questions raised in a critical 1992 state audit.
|
||
Among the unresolved issues from the audit is the school's
|
||
inability to account satisfactorily for more than $7 million in
|
||
salaries and wages.
|
||
"I'm sensing the Maryland School for the Blind has a board
|
||
of directors that is operating with a lot of latitude and without
|
||
a lot of oversight," Mr. Hafer said.
|
||
The school's defenders say the disputes are the consequence
|
||
of making hard decisions in a harsh financial climate.
|
||
"Lou Tutt had the guts to do what a corporate chief has to
|
||
do," said Bro Tubman, who served on the MSB board from 1971 to
|
||
1990. "He took steps, as unpleasant as they might be. People who
|
||
do that are often unpopular."
|
||
For his part, Mr. Tutt says the school's ability to educate
|
||
its 190 resident and 200 off-campus students has not been
|
||
damaged. Five years ago a national council that accredits schools
|
||
for the blind every five years gave the school an excellent
|
||
rating. However, that was before the reorganization and the
|
||
audit.
|
||
Confidence is Coming Back
|
||
"We had some problems with the restructuring initially," he
|
||
said, "but through intervention . . . visits [by parents to the
|
||
school] and other steps we have taken, that confidence is coming
|
||
back."
|
||
School officials say they are beefing up their efforts to
|
||
raise private funds and have hired a full-time development
|
||
director. They say teams have been established to communicate
|
||
more effectively between the administration and staff.
|
||
Said Jeff Valentine, head of a parents' advisory council and
|
||
a critic of the administration who was elected to the school's
|
||
board in January, "There were cliques; it was like a family." He
|
||
added, "Now we are making adjustments to survive. We have to
|
||
become less dependent on state dollars and increase our fund-
|
||
raising efforts."
|
||
And, he said, "the staff has to trust their bosses."
|
||
Critics say a sea change at MSB occurred in 1990, when Mr.
|
||
Tutt was named superintendent after nine years in a similar post
|
||
at the Missouri School for the Blind. He began a series of shake-
|
||
ups and firings that left many longtime staff members bewildered
|
||
and angry. Last year, Mr. Tutt was promoted to the new position
|
||
of president, while Richard M. DeMott, a senior administrator at
|
||
MSB since 1987, became superintendent.
|
||
Many who work at MSB describe an atmosphere of fear that
|
||
grew after Mr. Tutt's arrival. In an employee poll taken by the
|
||
administration, one said the school is "run as a dictatorship
|
||
hierarchy."
|
||
Mary Lou Lanham of Waldorf in Charles County said she and
|
||
her husband, Donald, watched their daughter Jessica, now nine,
|
||
flourish in MSB's outreach program under two of MSB's fired
|
||
directors, Dennis Duda and Suzanne Wayson.
|
||
"When I heard they were fired, it was like I got struck by a
|
||
car," said Mrs. Lanham. "They took a personal interest in my
|
||
daughter, who is blind in one eye and learning disabled. They
|
||
evaluated her, got us technology to work with her. I would call
|
||
them and they would return my call, sometimes late at night. . .
|
||
. They didn't have a time clock.
|
||
"But now, when I call the Maryland School for the Blind,
|
||
they don't return my calls," she said. "When you have a
|
||
challenged child, it's very frustrating, and the school now
|
||
compounds that frustration."
|
||
Under the new regime, staff members say, the school's
|
||
longtime family atmosphere disintegrated into acrimony as budget
|
||
problems and a growing population of multi-disabled students made
|
||
the school's mission even more difficult.
|
||
|
||
Directors Fired to Cut Costs
|
||
According to Mr. Tutt, his firing of the five directors--
|
||
with agreement from the MSB board--was prompted by growing
|
||
concern over the cut in state funding and the need to consolidate
|
||
the staff and take other cost-cutting steps to save $1 million
|
||
between 1991 and the present.
|
||
More than forty other experienced staff members of 360
|
||
either left or were fired when their positions were cut. Critics
|
||
say the firings and departures hurt the school's ability to serve
|
||
its population.
|
||
"People from the outside still expect them to be experts at
|
||
MSB. But that's not so. Many of us see the school in a slow
|
||
spiral into nonexistence," said Jane Farber, a teacher of
|
||
visually impaired students in Wicomico County on the Eastern
|
||
Shore.
|
||
Diane Chapman, a speech pathologist and Loyola College
|
||
instructor who worked for ten years at MSB, said much of the
|
||
school's intense dedication to children's care and innovative
|
||
thinking evaporated in the shake-up.
|
||
"There still are some terrific people who have great skills
|
||
left at the school," she said. "There was a passion for the job,
|
||
and there still is, but fewer people have it."
|
||
How this has affected referrals is open to some debate.
|
||
Baltimore County has not referred any school-age students to MSB
|
||
in two years, although eight county infants and toddlers are
|
||
receiving care there. A county source who deals with blind
|
||
students and who spoke under condition of anonymity said
|
||
colleagues are reluctant to refer students to MSB because of
|
||
concerns about the school's professional quality.
|
||
Carole Shewbridge, a supervisor in special education, would
|
||
not comment on MSB's problems. She said Baltimore County children
|
||
now are taught by the county's own special education teachers in
|
||
a public school setting.
|
||
Of the MSB parents who protested the reorganization, among
|
||
the most vocal were Lucia and Dick Farley of Frostburg. They
|
||
moved to Maryland from Rhode Island so their son, Richard, who
|
||
has multiple disabilities, could attend the school.
|
||
"Richard benefitted at once from people like Monica Chan,
|
||
Dennis Duda, and others at MSB," Mr. Farley said of staff members
|
||
now departed. "Our son made breakthroughs at MSB nobody expected,
|
||
primarily because of the courage of one of his former speech
|
||
therapists who had learned some radical techniques and was
|
||
entrepreneurial enough to adapt them into his program.
|
||
|
||
A Sinking Ship
|
||
"But since then, due to case overload and burnout, Richard
|
||
lost three speech therapists in successive years. Other
|
||
professionals have also been leaving as if from a sinking ship.
|
||
More still are trying" to leave.
|
||
The lack of continuity in their son's instruction hampered
|
||
his learning, the Farleys said.
|
||
Their son is still receiving the program, Mr. Tutt said. He
|
||
said, "People have left for different reasons, but that has
|
||
tailed off."
|
||
Parkville ophthalmologist Dr. James E. Comber resigned from
|
||
the board after the five program directors were dismissed.
|
||
"Some of the program directors had established a great deal
|
||
of trust in the counties," said Dr. Comber, a surgeon. "When they
|
||
were fired, all of that experience was lost."
|
||
Mr. Tutt disagreed. "Those persons served the school well
|
||
and the programs well. In our consolidations, we continue to
|
||
serve the school districts well. We still have that experience
|
||
with people who are still with us."
|
||
Mr. Tutt said the uproar over the firings has not meant a
|
||
loss in private contributions. The school lost only one
|
||
contributor, he said, but The Sun has identified others.
|
||
One former benefactor, retired banker Henry C. Moesinger,
|
||
said he stopped donating $1,000 or more a year to MSB because
|
||
"they terminated known professionals who had over 100 years in
|
||
educating special children and who possessed proven quality. It
|
||
was not a sound decision, and I wrote that to the board, because
|
||
many things that happened there happened in secrecy."
|
||
There is no question that the school operates with little
|
||
oversight. Legally, MSB enjoys a "public-private" status--one of
|
||
six private institutions for the blind in the nation subsidized
|
||
primarily by public funds. While MSB depends on the state for
|
||
eighty-five percent of its budget, it is governed by a private,
|
||
independent, volunteer board of directors. Only one of the
|
||
twenty-five directors is blind.
|
||
Critics say they're concerned about how the administration
|
||
has spent the money it has had.
|
||
Parents, former employees, and Senator Hafer were outraged
|
||
by the $18,000 the school spent to buy the president a 1994 Buick
|
||
Le Sabre last year and $35,000 spent for carpeting, wallpaper,
|
||
bathroom improvements, windows, and other work on Mr. Tutt's two-
|
||
story stone residence since the budget crunch began. They
|
||
wondered how those expenditures would look at a time when the
|
||
school was lobbying hard against further funding cuts in
|
||
Annapolis.
|
||
School officials defended the spending, saying the president
|
||
needed a new car and calling the money spent on his residence
|
||
routine maintenance.
|
||
|
||
Car Was Board Purchase
|
||
"I did not purchase the car. The board purchased the car for
|
||
me and others to attend meetings at night and during the
|
||
weekends," Mr. Tutt said, although he parks the vehicle in the
|
||
garage of his home.
|
||
He also said his eighty-two-year-old residence needs
|
||
periodic renovation.
|
||
David L. Evans, MSB's chief operating officer, said the
|
||
school did not spend state money or restricted private donations
|
||
for the car or the home improvements. "Private money from our
|
||
endowment fund was used," he said.
|
||
More serious, some critics say, are allegations that
|
||
Medicaid funds were placed in the school's general operating fund
|
||
rather than a fund earmarked for student services.
|
||
While it is not mandatory that Medicaid funds be placed in a
|
||
separate account, administrators must be able to show that the
|
||
money is indeed spent on student services.
|
||
The school received more than $200,000 in Medicaid money
|
||
last year, according to state figures.
|
||
Mr. Tutt said Medicaid funds weren't misused and said they
|
||
"were kept in a separate account" to be spent on student care.
|
||
However, three sources with extensive knowledge of the
|
||
school's finances said this was not the case.
|
||
|
||
We Are Out of Compliance
|
||
"Medicaid reimbursements were supposed to go into a special
|
||
fund, but they never went in one," said Pat Baker, a secretary
|
||
for fifteen years at MSB's therapy and health services division
|
||
before she left in January.
|
||
"We were out of compliance and could not get an accounting
|
||
of where the money was going; how could it be tracked?" she said.
|
||
"We were directed to place the Medicaid funds in the general
|
||
operating fund," said another source with direct knowledge of the
|
||
funds. "We harped on it, but the people in power told us what to
|
||
do. And at that point we were getting concerned for our jobs."
|
||
For others these are less important issues than the school's
|
||
long-term financial problems. Even before the shake-ups, "the
|
||
funding was not keeping up with the demands at the school," said
|
||
Richard L. Welsh, MSB's superintendent from 1979 to 1990 and now
|
||
president of the Greater Pittsburgh Guild for the Blind.
|
||
School officials now concede there have been discussions
|
||
about selling or leasing some of the school's valuable land or
|
||
buildings. Critics say they have not always been so forthcoming.
|
||
|
||
Plans for the Property
|
||
"I sat in my office with Mr. Wright [the board president]
|
||
and asked him specifically about the board's long-term plan to
|
||
dispose of part of the land at the school. He told me that has
|
||
never been considered. I have found this not to be true," said an
|
||
angry Senator Hafer.
|
||
"I want to know abut that campus utilization," he said, "I
|
||
want to know if they sold the land--which is in a prime real
|
||
estate area--to whom would they sell it, who would get the money,
|
||
and what would they do with the money?"
|
||
School officials say there has never been a specific
|
||
proposal. "The last resort would be to sell some of the grounds
|
||
or buildings," said Mr. Wright, a retired banker. "But we have
|
||
had to put some ideas away for a rainy day, find ways to reduce
|
||
the school's operating cost."
|
||
He said the board is trying to find additional uses for its
|
||
facilities, such as working with local colleges to train more
|
||
care givers for the blind.
|
||
Article by Joe Nawrozki, originally printed in The Baltimore
|
||
Sun on April 17, 1995, reprinted by courtesy of The Baltimore
|
||
Sun.
|
||
|
||
There you have it. Is it another Illinois School? Of course
|
||
not. But it is serious, and more blind children are receiving
|
||
less than the quality education they need and deserve. And once
|
||
again it is trained officials whose arrogance and fear of losing
|
||
power are giving a bad name to professionalism. Louis Tutt and
|
||
the others like him in the field of work with the blind must
|
||
learn that we are going to have to come to agreement about the
|
||
education of blind children and begin to work together if the
|
||
forces arrayed against specialized education of blind children
|
||
are not to win and destroy the only chance our children have.
|
||
|
||
SIXTY-NINE MEMBERS AND FALLING:
|
||
THE NAC COUNTDOWN CONTINUES
|
||
by Barbara Pierce
|
||
|
||
It comes as no surprise to anybody that 1994 was another bad
|
||
year for the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving
|
||
the Blind and Visually Handicapped (NAC). In summary we can
|
||
report that NAC dropped from seventy-four to sixty-nine U.S.
|
||
agencies still willing to have their names associated with it.
|
||
True, two small agencies came on board (Pinnelas County
|
||
Lighthouse and Mana-Sota Lighthouse, both in Florida), but seven
|
||
had the sense and integrity to jump ship. These were Illinois
|
||
Department of Rehabilitation Services, Royal Maid Association for
|
||
the Blind (Mississippi), Feinbloom Vision Rehabilitation Center
|
||
(Pennsylvania), York County Blind Center (Pennsylvania), Oklahoma
|
||
League for the Blind, New Mexico School for the Visually
|
||
Handicapped, and Wisconsin Industries for the Blind.
|
||
|
||
Following the defection of the Illinois Department of
|
||
Rehabilitation Services, only four of the fifty-two state
|
||
vocational rehabilitation agencies (eight percent) are willing to
|
||
remain NAC-accredited. Only eighteen (twenty-two percent) of the
|
||
eighty-two sheltered shops employing blind people remain in the
|
||
NAC fold. And with the New Mexico School for the Visually
|
||
Handicapped now gone, NAC is left with eighteen of the seventy-
|
||
one residential schools for the blind (twenty-five percent) as
|
||
members.
|
||
|
||
In this issue of the Monitor--an issue in which we have
|
||
dealt almost exclusively with the shortcomings of residential
|
||
schools--it is inevitable that we look more closely at the
|
||
statistics concerning schools. Three quarters of the residential
|
||
schools for the blind in this country have chosen to have nothing
|
||
to do with NAC. Of the eighteen that do find it handy to wave the
|
||
NAC flag, five (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, and
|
||
Maryland)--almost a third--have found their way onto the front
|
||
pages of the paper because of some sort of scandal during the
|
||
last five years. The entire group of fifty-three non-NAC-
|
||
affiliated schools can't begin to assemble a collection of
|
||
illegal actions and examples of poor judgment and self-serving
|
||
cruelty to rival the array this little bunch has put together.
|
||
Here for all to see and appreciate is the quality of service
|
||
represented by the NAC seal of good practice. It may still be too
|
||
early to tell what NAC will do in response to the scandals at the
|
||
Illinois and Arkansas schools, but in the past the so-called
|
||
accrediting body has always studiously looked the other way when
|
||
the subject of problems in member agencies has been raised.
|
||
NAC has certainly had plenty of its own troubles to keep the
|
||
board and the staff--such as it is--occupied. The most recent
|
||
disaster to become generally known was Secretary of Education
|
||
Richard Riley's decision to remove NAC from the Department's list
|
||
of recognized accrediting bodies. This decision was made last
|
||
summer following a meeting he had with Donald Capps, President of
|
||
the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina, and James
|
||
Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs for the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind. Prior to that meeting, Jim Gashel wrote
|
||
Secretary Riley a letter outlining the reasons why NAC should be
|
||
removed from the list.
|
||
Here are the texts of Jim Gashel's letter to Secretary Riley
|
||
and the Secretary's letter to Ruth Westman, Executive Director of
|
||
the National Accreditation Council:
|
||
|
||
MEMORANDUM
|
||
|
||
FROM: James Gashel
|
||
|
||
TO: The Honorable Richard Riley
|
||
Secretary of Education
|
||
|
||
DATE: May 20, 1994
|
||
|
||
RE: Reasons for removing NAC from the Secretary of Education's
|
||
list of recognized national accrediting agencies
|
||
|
||
Donald Capps is the President of the National Federation of
|
||
the Blind of South Carolina, and I am the Federation's Director
|
||
of Governmental Affairs. Mr. Capps has asked me to provide you
|
||
with this briefing memorandum in preparation for our meeting of
|
||
June 2, 1994.
|
||
The organization known as NAC (cited above) is the National
|
||
Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and Visually
|
||
Handicapped. NAC currently appears on the Secretary of
|
||
Education's list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies,
|
||
although there is essentially no valid Federal purpose being
|
||
served by this designation. At our upcoming meeting with you, we
|
||
would like to discuss removing NAC from the list of recognized
|
||
agencies.
|
||
|
||
BACKGROUND:
|
||
Pursuant to Federal law the Secretary of Education maintains
|
||
a list of recognized agencies which accredit programs for
|
||
postsecondary-level students. Some Federal programs require that
|
||
institutions providing Federally assisted postsecondary services
|
||
must be accredited by a recognized agency as a condition for
|
||
receiving Federal funds. The accreditation requirement in
|
||
particular extends to programs serving persons who receive
|
||
Federally funded student financial aid.
|
||
The Higher Education Act Amendments of 1992 restrict the
|
||
Secretary of Education's authority to recognize accrediting
|
||
agencies. The revised, limited authority extends the Secretary's
|
||
recognition only to those agencies which provide accreditation in
|
||
relationship to eligibility for a postsecondary institution, its
|
||
programs, or its students to receive Federal funds. The Secretary
|
||
does not recognize accrediting agencies for any purpose other
|
||
than this.
|
||
|
||
NAC'S CURRENT RECOGNITION
|
||
NAC was originally placed on the list of accrediting
|
||
agencies over twenty years ago. At that time the list included
|
||
agencies which accredited elementary and secondary as well as
|
||
postsecondary education programs. Therefore, the scope of NAC's
|
||
original recognition was for the accreditation of elementary and
|
||
secondary programs, including specialized state schools for the
|
||
blind. Although NAC continues to be listed, the Secretary's
|
||
recognition no longer extends to accreditation at the elementary
|
||
and secondary levels. Moreover, accreditation must now be related
|
||
to eligibility for Federal funds at the postsecondary level in
|
||
order for an agency to continue to be listed.
|
||
NAC's current scope of recognition relates to its
|
||
accreditation of a small number of programs that serve blind
|
||
adults. In documents on file with the Department of Education NAC
|
||
has listed thirteen agencies from among its accredited member
|
||
agencies that presently fall within its scope of Federal
|
||
recognition. However, there is no evidence that any of the
|
||
thirteen agencies or their enrollees would be disqualified from
|
||
receiving Federal funds if not accredited by NAC or some other
|
||
recognized agency.
|
||
|
||
REASONS FOR REMOVING NAC FROM THE SECRETARY'S LIST
|
||
(1) Recognition of NAC no longer serves any authorized or
|
||
useful Federal purpose. Programs serving blind adults receive
|
||
Federal funding primarily through the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
|
||
Agencies, such as the South Carolina Commission for the Blind,
|
||
receive formula grants administered by the Office of Special
|
||
Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and the
|
||
Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). There are extensive
|
||
Federal regulations and monitoring and auditing procedures in
|
||
place to assure program integrity. The state-level programs are
|
||
in turn required to have standards for their third-party grantees
|
||
to follow. Therefore, there are neither statutory nor regulatory
|
||
requirements which link accreditation of blind services programs
|
||
to eligibility for Federal funds.
|
||
(2) Even if accreditation were necessary for Federal fund
|
||
eligibility, NAC does not merit the Secretary's recognition.
|
||
Specific criteria are published for the Secretary to follow in
|
||
recognizing accrediting agencies. There is more than ample basis
|
||
for finding that NAC does not measure up to the published
|
||
criteria. The following areas of weakness in particular should be
|
||
noted:
|
||
(a) Lack of Acceptance Within Its Field: Rather than
|
||
achieving acceptance, NAC has caused divisive controversy
|
||
among agencies, professionals, and consumers. Fewer than one
|
||
fifth of the agencies that could apply for NAC accreditation
|
||
have ever done so, and the recent trend is for agencies once
|
||
accredited to withdraw. NAC membership has fallen from a
|
||
high of 104 agencies to 74 as of December 31, 1993.
|
||
(b) Insufficiency of Resources: For its current funding NAC
|
||
is essentially dependent upon the dues income received from
|
||
its member agencies. The recent membership decline includes
|
||
several large agencies which were paying dues at the maximum
|
||
rate. The continued withdrawal of its members means that NAC
|
||
will eventually be unable to meet its current operating
|
||
expenses. Keeping the standards up to date will be
|
||
impossible. Major grant funding, once provided by the
|
||
American Foundation for the Blind and others, has been
|
||
withdrawn. Financial insolvency within a year or two can be
|
||
expected.
|
||
(c) Failure to Monitor Accredited Programs as Scheduled:
|
||
During 1993 NAC was scheduled to review thirty-two of its
|
||
accredited member agencies for required periodic
|
||
reaccreditation, but nearly half (fourteen) of them were
|
||
extended without evaluation. Several others withdrew from
|
||
membership. Only thirteen of those scheduled for review in
|
||
1993 were actually evaluated. Twenty-six are scheduled for
|
||
review in 1994, but only a fraction of them will be
|
||
evaluated. Under NAC's current policy of extension without
|
||
reaccreditation, there is no assurance that member agencies
|
||
continue to merit approval.
|
||
|
||
REQUESTED ACTION
|
||
NAC should be removed from the list of nationally recognized
|
||
accrediting agencies. In 1992 NAC's recognition by the Secretary
|
||
was extended for only a two-year, "minimum," period. Since that
|
||
time the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 were passed, further
|
||
limiting the basis for accreditation recognition. As a result the
|
||
required regular review of NAC has been postponed until the fall
|
||
of 1994 or the spring of 1995.
|
||
All recognized agencies, including NAC, have been undergoing
|
||
an examination to determine whether their continued listing is
|
||
appropriate in light of the 1992 amendments. Some agencies will
|
||
be removed from the list because there is no relationship between
|
||
the accreditation they offer and the flow of Federal funds.
|
||
Therefore, NAC could be removed from the list within a few months
|
||
on the basis of the changed scope of recognition. This action
|
||
would not imply any adverse findings, just that there is no
|
||
longer any statutory authority for the recognition.
|
||
|
||
That was the memo Mr. Gashel wrote to the Secretary of
|
||
Education prior to the June 2, 1994, meeting he and Mr. Capps had
|
||
with the Secretary. Here is the letter Secretary Riley wrote
|
||
following it:
|
||
|
||
Washington, D.C.
|
||
|
||
Ms. Ruth Westman, Executive Director
|
||
National Accreditation Council for Agencies
|
||
Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped
|
||
New York, New York
|
||
|
||
Dear Ms. Westman:
|
||
You have already been informed by Wilhelmina Delco, Chair of
|
||
the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and
|
||
Integrity, that the Advisory Committee voted at its June 28-30,
|
||
1994, meeting to recommend that I withdraw the recognition of the
|
||
National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and
|
||
Visually Handicapped. As Mrs. Delco mentioned, the Advisory
|
||
Committee took this action after determining that your agency did
|
||
not meet the requirement contained in the Higher Education
|
||
Amendments of 1992 that, for an accrediting agency to be
|
||
recognized by the Secretary, it must accredit institutions of
|
||
higher education or higher education programs, as these terms are
|
||
defined in statute.
|
||
Your agency was given an opportunity to appeal the Advisory
|
||
Committee's recommendation, in accordance with Section
|
||
602.14(e)(2) of the regulations governing the recognition of
|
||
accrediting agencies. It is my understanding that your agency did
|
||
not appeal that recommendation.
|
||
I am writing to inform you that I concur with the
|
||
recommendation of the Advisory Committee and hereby withdraw
|
||
recognition of the National Accreditation Council for Agencies
|
||
Serving the Blind and Visually Handicapped. I wish to make it
|
||
clear, however, that I am taking this action solely for the
|
||
reason stated above, not because of any determination on my part
|
||
that your agency is not a reliable authority as to the quality of
|
||
education provided by the institutions or programs it accredits.
|
||
|
||
Yours sincerely,
|
||
Richard W. Riley
|
||
|
||
There is no reason why Secretary Riley should know what we
|
||
in the blindness field know about NAC's track record in
|
||
protecting blind consumers of services from poor programs, unjust
|
||
treatment, or illegal practices. NAC didn't accredit the kinds of
|
||
programs it had to in order to remain on the Department of
|
||
Education's list of accrediting bodies, so it was removed. The
|
||
important thing is that NAC can no longer bamboozle the
|
||
unsophisticated with claims that it is on the Department of
|
||
Education list of accrediting bodies. That fact alone should
|
||
encourage more agencies to recognize the hollowness of NAC claims
|
||
and make up their minds to jump ship.
|
||
Already there are twenty states with no NAC-accredited
|
||
agencies and twenty more with only one. This means that seventy-
|
||
one percent of the agencies accredited by NAC in this country are
|
||
located in twelve states. In fact, half the NAC members are
|
||
clustered in six states: Florida, twelve; New York, six; and
|
||
Georgia, Illinois, Ohio, and Tennessee, four each. In other
|
||
words, the contagion is becoming ever more localized.
|
||
There is one further aspect of the NAC question that should
|
||
be reported--NAC's reaccreditation schedule. At the beginning of
|
||
1994 the list of NAC member agencies indicated that twenty-six
|
||
were due for reaccreditation during the year. Six, of course,
|
||
decided not to join up again (the seventh one to drop last year
|
||
was Royal Maid, whose membership was not scheduled to expire
|
||
until 1997). Of the remaining twenty, six received six-month to
|
||
one-year extensions, and six more were extended two to four
|
||
years. Who knows what the two- to four-year extensions represent,
|
||
but the very short ones are usually given when NAC is hoping to
|
||
entice agencies into staying when they are getting ready to
|
||
defect. The remaining eight agencies plus the two small Florida
|
||
lighthouses were actually reaccredited for the full, five-year
|
||
period in 1994. That comes to one a month with two months left
|
||
over to recover from the strain. Counting the six
|
||
reaccreditations postponed a year or so, fifteen agencies are up
|
||
for evaluation in 1995. The asterisk indicates that the
|
||
accreditation was postponed from 1994. Here are the agencies
|
||
scheduled for NAC reaccreditation in 1995:
|
||
Arkansas School for the Blind
|
||
*Santa Monica Center for the Partially Sighted
|
||
*Division of Blind Services (Florida)
|
||
*Ft. Lauderdale Lighthouse
|
||
Lighthouse of Pasco and Hernando Counties (Florida)
|
||
*Philip J. Rock School (Illinois)
|
||
Davenport Vision Institute (Iowa)
|
||
Wichita Industries and Services for the Blind (Kansas)
|
||
Tupelo Center (Mississippi)
|
||
New Hampshire Association for the Blind
|
||
*Guiding Eyes for the Blind (New York)
|
||
Rockland County Association for the Visually Impaired (New York)
|
||
Cincinnati Association for the Blind (Ohio)
|
||
*Loaia Cordero Institute for Blind Children (Puerto Rico)
|
||
The Alliance for the Blind and Visually Impaired (Tennessee)
|
||
|
||
There you have the 1994 NAC report. The National
|
||
Accreditation Council continues to die the death of a thousand
|
||
cuts. It must be a painful experience for those who cannot bring
|
||
themselves to end the misery. But it is both painful and
|
||
infuriating to watch this farce from a distance, knowing that NAC
|
||
must take some responsibility for the damage done by the
|
||
administrators of its member agencies like Illinois School for
|
||
the Visually Impaired. When hiding the problems and hurting the
|
||
children are done to protect the institution's good name, when
|
||
the so-called NAC seal of good practice shields agency officials
|
||
from tough public scrutiny, and when the accrediting body looks
|
||
the other way rather than confront member misconduct, the
|
||
blindness field must put an end to this travesty of accreditation
|
||
called NAC.
|
||
|
||
|
||
******************************
|
||
If you or a friend would like to remember the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind in your will, you can do so by employing
|
||
the following language:
|
||
"I give, devise, and bequeath unto National Federation of
|
||
the Blind, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a
|
||
District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, the sum of $_____ (or
|
||
"_____ percent of my net estate" or "The following stocks and
|
||
bonds: _____") to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of
|
||
blind persons."
|
||
******************************
|
||
|
||
|
||
RECIPES
|
||
This month's recipes come from members of the National
|
||
Federation of the Blind of North Carolina.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[Photo #6 Portrait Caption: Hazel Staley]
|
||
|
||
BREAKFAST CASSEROLE
|
||
by Hazel Staley
|
||
|
||
Hazel Staley was the President of the NFB of North Carolina
|
||
for many years before retiring in 1992. She is still active and
|
||
is Secretary of the Charlotte Chapter. She is also an excellent
|
||
cook.
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 pound spicy hot pork sausage
|
||
6 eggs
|
||
2 cups milk
|
||
1 teaspoon salt
|
||
1 teaspoon dry mustard
|
||
6 slices white bread, cubed
|
||
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
|
||
|
||
Method: Brown sausage, crumble, and drain. Beat eggs with
|
||
milk, salt, and mustard. Butter a 9 by 13-inch dish and layer
|
||
bread, sausage, and cheese. Pour egg mixture over ingredients in
|
||
dish. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight. Remove
|
||
foil and bake at 350 degrees for forty-five minutes. Serves six.
|
||
|
||
|
||
[Photo #7 Portrait Caption: Mabel Conder]
|
||
|
||
|
||
CHEESE BALLS
|
||
by Mabel Conder
|
||
|
||
Mabel Conder has been a member of the NFB of North Carolina
|
||
since its founding in 1969. She has served in many capacities
|
||
including state Secretary, a position from which she retired in
|
||
1992. She is the chapter President in Charlotte.
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
2 sticks butter or margarine, melted
|
||
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
|
||
2 cups Rice Krispies
|
||
2 cups all-purpose flour
|
||
1/2 teaspoon salt
|
||
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
|
||
|
||
Method: Sift together flour, salt, and pepper. Stir cheese
|
||
and Rice Krispies into margarine mixture and add flour mixture.
|
||
Mix thoroughly. Roll into small balls and bake fifteen minutes at
|
||
350 degrees.
|
||
|
||
|
||
PECAN SANDIES
|
||
by Mabel Conder
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
2 sticks butter or margarine
|
||
4 teaspoons sugar
|
||
2 cups pecans, chopped
|
||
2 teaspoons vanilla
|
||
3 cups all-purpose flour
|
||
|
||
Method: Cream butter and sugar and add vanilla. Beat until
|
||
light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix in nuts. Pinch into
|
||
small pieces and place on cookie sheet. Bake thirty minutes at
|
||
300 degrees. Roll in powdered sugar while still warm.
|
||
|
||
[Photo #8 Portrait Caption: Wayne and Linda Shevlin]
|
||
|
||
WAYNE'S QUICK BBQ SAUCE
|
||
by Wayne E. Shevlin
|
||
|
||
Wayne Shevlin has served as chapter President and Vice
|
||
President and in many other capacities in the Raleigh Chapter. He
|
||
has served on the NFB of North Carolina Board of Directors and
|
||
was First Vice President for several years before becoming state
|
||
President in 1994.
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
1 cup hot BBQ sauce (I prefer Kraft)
|
||
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
|
||
1/4 cup brown sugar
|
||
pepper and onion flakes to taste
|
||
1/4 cup white vinegar
|
||
dab mustard
|
||
1/2 cup catsup
|
||
|
||
Method: Combine all ingredients and cook at just below
|
||
boiling point for thirty to forty-five minutes. If sauce is too
|
||
hot, cut with more brown sugar. It's great served on any kind of
|
||
meat.
|
||
|
||
LINDA'S STATE CONVENTION MEATBALLS
|
||
by Linda Shevlin
|
||
|
||
Besides being the better half to the state President,
|
||
according to Wayne, Linda serves as state chairman of the
|
||
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children of North
|
||
Carolina. She has served on the Board of Directors and as Vice
|
||
President of the Triangle Federation of the Blind in Raleigh. She
|
||
is currently chapter President.
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
3 pounds ground beef
|
||
1 egg, well beaten
|
||
2 medium onions, chopped
|
||
1 teaspoon celery salt
|
||
1 teaspoon garlic salt
|
||
1 12-ounce bottle chili sauce
|
||
1 10-ounce jar grape jelly
|
||
Juice of 2 lemons (optional)
|
||
|
||
Method: Combine beef, egg, onion, celery, and garlic salt.
|
||
Mix well and shape into balls about the size of a large marble.
|
||
Saut<EFBFBD> ten minutes turning often or bake at 350 degrees for twenty
|
||
to twenty-five minutes. Combine remaining ingredients and heat.
|
||
Add cooked meatballs and let simmer to blend flavors. Serve hot,
|
||
makes about fifty-two meatballs. I prefer to pour the mixture
|
||
over the meatballs and put the mixture in a tightly closed
|
||
container in the refrigerator overnight to blend. Then I heat the
|
||
meatballs before serving.
|
||
|
||
SUGAR-FREE THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING
|
||
by Sharon Weddington
|
||
|
||
Sharon Weddington has been a member and officer in the
|
||
Salisbury Chapter for several years. She served as a member of
|
||
the Board of Directors of the NFB of North Carolina for two terms
|
||
before being elected Treasurer of the affiliate last September.
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
3/4 cup low-cal mayonnaise
|
||
1/2 cup spicy tomato sauce
|
||
3 tablespoons minced dill pickle or relish
|
||
1 tablespoon minced chives or onions
|
||
1 tablespoon green pepper, minced
|
||
2 packets Equal sweetener
|
||
|
||
Method: Blend all ingredients with a fork or wire whisk.
|
||
Cover and store in refrigerator. Best when used within two weeks.
|
||
Makes one and a half cups.
|
||
|
||
|
||
QUICK PICKLES
|
||
by Macie Koontz
|
||
|
||
Macie Koontz served as chapter Secretary and Vice President
|
||
in Salisbury until becoming President this year.
|
||
|
||
Ingredients:
|
||
7 cups sliced cucumbers
|
||
1 cup sliced onion
|
||
1 cup sliced green peppers
|
||
1 teaspoon salt
|
||
1 teaspoon celery seed
|
||
1 cup vinegar
|
||
2 cups sugar
|
||
|
||
Method: Mix all ingredients, except cucumbers. Pour mixture
|
||
over cucumbers. Refrigerate. With time mixture will cover all
|
||
cucumbers. Pickles are ready to eat in one to two days.
|
||
|
||
|
||
** ** MONITOR MINIATURES ** **
|
||
|
||
** Braille Materials Available:
|
||
In the light of the subject of this month's Braille Monitor,
|
||
we thought it was appropriate to pass along the following press
|
||
release, which we recently received:
|
||
Child victimization can often be prevented through
|
||
education. At the National Center for Missing and Exploited
|
||
Children (NCMEC) we believe that families should be careful but
|
||
that they do not need to live in fear.
|
||
In an effort to reach out to special populations of families
|
||
in the United States with safety and prevention guidelines for
|
||
children, we have produced two new publications in Braille: My 8
|
||
Rules for Safety and Tips to Help Prevent the Abduction and
|
||
Sexual Exploitation of Your Children.
|
||
My 8 Rules for Safety contains safety tips for children.
|
||
Tips to Help Prevent the Abduction and Sexual Exploitation of
|
||
Your Children is a summary of NCMEC's general safety tips for
|
||
parents.
|
||
Single copies of these publications are available at no cost
|
||
by calling toll-free at (800) 843-5678 or (800) 826-7653 (TDD),
|
||
or writing to NCMEC at 2101 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 550,
|
||
Arlington, Virginia 22201-3052.
|
||
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is a
|
||
private, nonprofit organization that works in cooperation with
|
||
U.S. Department of Justice. In the decade since its establishment
|
||
in 1984, NCMEC has worked with law enforcement on more than
|
||
41,000 missing and exploited child cases resulting in the
|
||
recovery of more than 27,000 children.
|
||
|
||
[Photo #9 Portrait Caption: Judy Jobes]
|
||
|
||
** Honored:
|
||
On March 27, 1995, Judy Jobes, who is a Federation leader in
|
||
Erie, Pennsylvania, and a long-time GTE operator, was one of
|
||
forty-two individual GTE employees to be honored in Dallas,
|
||
Texas, with the presentation of the GTE President's Cup in
|
||
Leadership. Judy was one of twelve silver cup winners and one of
|
||
two blind people honored by the company. General Colin Powell
|
||
addressed an audience of winners, their guests, and high company
|
||
officials; and Johnnie Cash's family entertained the group.
|
||
Congratulations to Judy Jobes and to GTE for its recognition of
|
||
the contributions made by its blind employees.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
The Polk County Chapter of the National Federation of the
|
||
Blind of Florida conducted elections in December of 1994 with the
|
||
following results: Lola Crawford, President; Nellie Stanley, Vice
|
||
President; Karen Harris, Secretary; and Harold Mangus, Treasurer.
|
||
Allene Ambrose, Larry Brady, Ralph Burger, Lloyd Crawford, Hugh
|
||
DuBois, Byron Jay, and Elizabeth McKee were elected to serve on
|
||
the Board.
|
||
|
||
** For Sale:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Webster's Vest Pocket Dictionary (seven volumes); Swan 500C
|
||
amateur radio transceiver, 10-80 meters coverage, with matching
|
||
power supply/speaker; hand-held microphone and TV/radio
|
||
interference filter; Sony stereo three-speed, four-track tape
|
||
recorder (needs repair, will take best offer); Paragon stereo
|
||
audio mixer; and LP records and cassettes of mostly rock and
|
||
country. For prices and further details, contact Barry and Louise
|
||
Wood (in any format) at 6904 Bergenwood Avenue, North Bergen, New
|
||
Jersey 07047, (201) 868-3336.
|
||
|
||
** New Chapter:
|
||
On January 11, 1995, the Sierra Chapter became the newest
|
||
addition to the National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico.
|
||
Officers are Claudette Fletcher, President; Richard Ashcroft,
|
||
Vice President; Esther Curtis, Secretary; and Bonnie Warwick,
|
||
Treasurer. Congratulations to everyone in the new chapter and to
|
||
the NFB of New Mexico.
|
||
|
||
** Attention New York State School for the Blind Alumni:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
The Alumni Association of the New York State School for the
|
||
Blind is having its annual reunion at the Sheraton in Batavia,
|
||
June 23 to 25. Everyone who went to Batavia is invited, whether
|
||
you have previously attended an alumni reunion or not. A tour of
|
||
the campus is planned. If you are unable to attend the reunion,
|
||
you can send $5 and become a member and receive a bulletin.
|
||
Contact Pat Rescorl at 268 Meigs Street, Rochester, New York
|
||
14607, (716) 244-9433.
|
||
|
||
** Hoping to Buy:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Peter Uwaechie, a new member of the NFB of the District of
|
||
Columbia, wishes to buy a used Braille writer. This is what he
|
||
says: "I cannot afford to buy a new one because I do not have a
|
||
job. I will make every effort to come up with $50. You may write
|
||
to me at 4900 Fort Totten Drive, N.E., Apartment 31, Washington,
|
||
DC 20011, or call (202) 269-5687."
|
||
|
||
** Juried Art Competition and Symposium:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following notice:
|
||
The National Exhibits by Blind Artists (NEBA) is planning
|
||
its twentieth-anniversary exhibit and second art symposium to
|
||
open October 11, 1995 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. To
|
||
participate in this juried competition, artists are invited to
|
||
request application packets from NEBA, 919 Walnut Street,
|
||
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, (215) 925-3213. Slides and
|
||
completed applications must arrive at NEBA offices no later than
|
||
June 15, 1995. If you have questions, please call Vicky Collins
|
||
at (215) 925-3213.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
The Austin Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind
|
||
of Texas elected officers at the January meeting to serve a one-
|
||
year term. Elected were the following: Wanda Hamm, President;
|
||
Mary Ward, First Vice President; Dale Hamm, Second Vice
|
||
President; Norma Gonzales Baker, Secretary; Margaret "Cokie"
|
||
Craig, Treasurer; and Ron Lucey and Hugo Sanchez, Board members.
|
||
|
||
** Book on Windows Access Now Available in Braille:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Windows access for blind computer users poses numerous
|
||
problems, such as navigating the screen with a mouse. Help is
|
||
here. National Braille Press has just transcribed a practical
|
||
guide that shows you how to operate Microsoft Windows without a
|
||
mouse--using the keyboard as an input device.
|
||
Windows from the Keyboard shows you how keyboard commands
|
||
can actually speed up Windows operations. This book includes
|
||
Quick-Reference Keystroke Command Charts for Windows 3.1 and Word
|
||
for Windows, Ami Pro for Windows, WordPerfect for Windows,
|
||
Quattro Pro for Windows, Excel for Windows, and Lotus 1-2-3 for
|
||
Windows.
|
||
When necessary, screens are described in detail by a Windows
|
||
expert--especially for this Braille edition.
|
||
Four volumes in Braille for $16.95 (same price as print
|
||
book). Order quickly from National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen
|
||
Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, or call (617) 266-6160 and
|
||
charge it with your MasterCard or Visa.
|
||
|
||
Elected:
|
||
Diane Puffer, Secretary of the Houston Chapter of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Texas, reports that the
|
||
chapter held its election on Saturday, January 25, 1995. The
|
||
results are as follows: Norma Crosby, President; Henry McDaniels,
|
||
First Vice President; James O. Skelton, Jr., Second Vice
|
||
President; Wesley Lee, Treasurer; Diane Puffer, Secretary; and
|
||
John Smith and Martha Addison, Board members.
|
||
|
||
** Braillers Needed:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Needed: Perkins Braillers for boys' school for the blind in
|
||
Bangali, India. Braillers must be donated. Please send Braillers
|
||
to Jackie Allen, 22828 Alice St., Hayward, California 94541.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
At the January meeting of the Spokane Chapter of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Washington, elections were
|
||
held with the following results: Maria Bradford, President;
|
||
Albert Sanchez, Vice President; John Croy, Secretary; Paul
|
||
Whipple, Treasurer; and Gloria Whipple and Linda Schappals, Board
|
||
members.
|
||
|
||
** Recorded Books Available:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Books Aloud, Inc., produces and provides unabridged books
|
||
recorded on standard cassette tape for the visually or physically
|
||
disabled. We also serve those with learning disabilities. The
|
||
mission of Books Aloud is accomplished primarily by dedicated
|
||
volunteers. Some audition and record selected books in the Books
|
||
Aloud studio. Others process and distribute the tapes through a
|
||
monthly free loan circulating library. Over 6,000 titles are
|
||
available for disabled readers of all ages. The recorded
|
||
collection includes a variety of topics for adults and children.
|
||
A catalog is available for all clients. New listings appear in
|
||
quarterly newsletters. For more information, write to Books
|
||
Aloud, Inc., P.O. Box 5731, San Jose, California 95150-5731, or
|
||
call (408) 277-4878, (408) 277-4839.
|
||
|
||
** Elected:
|
||
At its annual election the Kankakee Heartland Chapter of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois chose the following
|
||
officers and board members: Bill Isaacs, President; Gerald Cook,
|
||
Vice President; Pat Fieldhouse, Secretary; Ruth Isaacs,
|
||
Treasurer; and Dan Boudreau, Frank Richmond, and Eileen Boudreau,
|
||
Board members.
|
||
|
||
** Perkins Brailler Repairs:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Perkins Braillers never wear out. Is yours getting a little
|
||
sluggish? Whatever the problem, let Alan Ackley completely
|
||
recondition it. Trained at Howe Press, he uses only factory
|
||
parts. A certified transcriber, he knows how Braille should look.
|
||
Over 1,000 Braillers restored from more than forty states and
|
||
Canada. For fast turnaround, reasonable charges, and guaranteed
|
||
work, contact Ackley Appliance Service, 627 East 5th Street, Des
|
||
Moines, Iowa 50309, or call (515) 288-3931.
|
||
|
||
** New Chapter:
|
||
Wayne Davis, President of the National Federation of the
|
||
Blind of Florida, recently wrote to report the following good
|
||
news:
|
||
I am pleased to announce the formation of the new Greater
|
||
Daytona Beach Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
|
||
Florida. On Saturday, April 8, 1995, I had the honor of presiding
|
||
at the meeting that established this fine new organization. A
|
||
number of the officers and members of the affiliate Board of
|
||
Directors were with me that exciting day. The officers of the new
|
||
chapter are Kathy Davis, President; J.D. Townsend, Vice
|
||
President; Jim Scranton, Secretary; Dr. Tom Davis, Treasurer; and
|
||
Mark Truman, Miran Rodriguez, and Beverly King, Board members.
|
||
|
||
** Planning to Move?:
|
||
Since 1989 the National Federation of the Blind has had an
|
||
agreement with North American Van Lines regarding members who use
|
||
North American to move household articles from one place to
|
||
another in the forty-eight lower, contiguous states (which does
|
||
not include Alaska and Hawaii). A number of members have used
|
||
this service and have saved a considerable amount of money in
|
||
doing so. As they have done once or twice before, North American
|
||
has recently increased the amount of discount which they will
|
||
offer us. If you arrange for North American Van Lines to move,
|
||
you will get a contract that will let you move with 46 percent
|
||
off the normal moving costs (previously 42 percent) and 35
|
||
percent off the normal storage costs. In addition to the rate
|
||
reduction, for those who use this program North American will
|
||
make a contribution to the National Federation of the Blind equal
|
||
to two percent of all costs of moving.
|
||
If you want to contract with North American Van Lines to
|
||
move your possessions, you should call Cindy Ruppel at (800) 873-
|
||
2673. Tell her that you are a member of the National Federation
|
||
of the Blind, that you have heard about the agreement between the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind and North American Van Lines
|
||
giving these discounts, and that you want to sign up for your
|
||
move. Then remind her that two percent of the moving costs will
|
||
be contributed to the National Federation of the Blind.
|
||
|
||
** Old Time Radio:
|
||
From the Editor Emeritus: In the April, 1995, issue of the
|
||
Braille Monitor I announced a new partnership with Radio Spirits,
|
||
Inc. (RSI). RSI is one of the leading distributors of old time
|
||
radio programs and producers of the nationally syndicated OTR
|
||
show "When Radio Was," hosted by Art Fleming of Jeopardy fame,
|
||
heard on 250 stations. For every OTR cassette purchased by an NFB
|
||
member, RSI will donate a portion of that purchase to NFB. Call
|
||
Radio Spirits, Inc., at (800) 729-4587 to receive a free catalog
|
||
listing thousands of OTR programs available on cassette. When you
|
||
order, remember to identify yourself as an NFB member or
|
||
supporter, and for every cassette you purchase the NFB benefits.
|
||
Radio Spirits, Inc., features OTR's all-time favorites as well as
|
||
the hard-to-find programs; each program is offered as it was
|
||
originally broadcast, many including the commercials. Enjoy
|
||
single cassettes, compact discs, or beautifully packaged
|
||
bookshelf collections. RSI offers the best sound quality
|
||
available...guaranteed. OTR is timeless quality entertainment.
|
||
Some of RSI's best sellers are Jack Benny, Burns and Allen,
|
||
Charlie McCarthy, The Bickersons, The Lone Ranger, Suspense, Amos
|
||
`n Andy, Bob and Ray, Duffy's Tavern, Boston Blackie, Lights Out,
|
||
Sergeant Preston, The Cisco Kid, Dimension X, Captain Midnight,
|
||
Fibber McGee, Our Miss Brooks, X Minus One, Gunsmoke, The Life of
|
||
Riley, Hopalong Cassidy, and the Great Gildersleeve. Call Radio
|
||
Spirit, Inc., at (800) 729-4587 for your free OTR Catalog.
|
||
|
||
[Photo #10 Portrait Caption: Rich Crawford]
|
||
|
||
** Promoted:
|
||
Peggy Elliott, NFB Second Vice President and President of
|
||
the NFB of Iowa, recently wrote to pass along the following good
|
||
news:
|
||
Rich Crawford is a member of the Board of Directors of the
|
||
National Federation of the Blind of Iowa. He works as a
|
||
stockbroker for the nationwide brokerage firm, Dain Bosworth,
|
||
which is headquartered in Minneapolis. For the last six months
|
||
Rich has been the top salesperson in the Sioux City, Iowa,
|
||
office, and he was one of the top 100 sales people nationwide in
|
||
the first quarter of 1995. He manages more than 100 million
|
||
dollars for his clients. On March 22, 1995, Dain Bosworth
|
||
recognized Rich's outstanding performance by naming him a vice
|
||
president. Congratulations, Rich.
|
||
|
||
** National Church Conference of the Blind:
|
||
The annual meeting of the National Church Conference of the
|
||
Blind will be held July 23 to 27, 1995, at the Holiday Inn Center
|
||
Plaza, 2233 Ventura Street, Fresno, California 93721, phone (209)
|
||
268-1000. In addition to Bible studies, enjoy talent time,
|
||
singing from Braille or print hymnals, choir, seminars, exhibits,
|
||
tours, banquet, and wonderful times of fun and fellowship. For
|
||
further information, contact Frank Finkenbinder, membership
|
||
secretary, P.O. Box 163, Denver, Colorado 80201.
|
||
|
||
** More JOB News:
|
||
The Job Opportunities for the Blind notice in the
|
||
"Convention Attractions" article in the April issue of the
|
||
Braille Monitor omitted one breakfast meeting. Here are the
|
||
details:
|
||
JOB's first Customer Service Networking Breakfast, chaired
|
||
by Mary Donahue (Scott Edwards may become a co-chair), will be
|
||
held on Tuesday, July 4, and will begin at 7:00 a.m. in the hotel
|
||
coffee shop. Also a consultant on customer service jobs and on
|
||
working at U.S. Long Distance will take part in the 1995 National
|
||
Job Seminar, which will be held on Saturday, July 1, from 1:00 to
|
||
4:00 p.m. in the convention hotel.
|
||
|
||
** For Sale:
|
||
We have been asked to carry the following announcement:
|
||
Due to my failing health, I find I must sell much of my
|
||
adaptive equipment. I am offering for sale (including shipping in
|
||
the continental United States) the following:
|
||
1. Thiel Beta X3 terminal and Braille embosser
|
||
#TBX 8343 and #TBX 8639 with manuals, 6- and 8-dot
|
||
Braille, graphics, 130 cps. Like new. Were $16,000
|
||
each, now $6,000.
|
||
2. Epson DFX 5000 printer with 15-inch carriage.
|
||
Can handle two types of forms with a press of a button.
|
||
The printer does it all automatically. Was $2,000, now
|
||
$600.
|
||
3. Epson DX35 printer with extra daisy wheels and
|
||
ribbons. Was $650, now $125.
|
||
4. DECtalk Speech synthesizer stand alone with
|
||
serial cable. Was $4,000, now $950.
|
||
5. Speaqualizer Speech Synthesizer for IBM PCs
|
||
with computer card, control box with speaker, earphone
|
||
jack, and 19-key keypad and cable. Was $809, now $175.
|
||
6. Votrax Speech Synthesizer, model 200B, has both
|
||
serial and parallel ports. Was $500, now $125.
|
||
7. Echo PC external speech synthesizer. Was $200,
|
||
now $75.
|
||
8. IBM XT, two 10MB hard drives, two 5.25
|
||
floppies, Intel 386 accelerator card on internal
|
||
circuit board. Includes Artic 210 speech synthesizer
|
||
card and software. Asking $275.
|
||
9. Braille Bible, King James version, complete Old
|
||
and New Testaments, Grade II Braille, 16 volumes. Was
|
||
$450, now $200.
|
||
10. Nemeth Code of Braille Mathematics and
|
||
Scientific Notation with geometric formulas, tables of
|
||
weights, etc., Grade II and Nemeth code, 5 volumes,
|
||
asking $25.
|
||
If interested, you may contact Robert Larson, 2467 Homestead
|
||
Road, Santa Clara, California 95050, (408) 985-2843.
|
||
|
||
** Correction:
|
||
In the March issue we reported the appearance of the second
|
||
edition of A Guide to Guide Dog Schools by Ed and Toni Eames. We
|
||
made a mistake in the listing of the Eameses'address for ordering
|
||
purposes. In the meantime the book has become available from the
|
||
National Library Service (RC38777) and from Recording for the
|
||
Blind. The 145-page book is available in standard print or
|
||
computer disk at a cost of $10 including shipping and handling.
|
||
Checks should be made payable to Disabled on the Go (DOG) and
|
||
sent to Ed and Toni Eames, 3376 North Wishon, Fresno, California
|
||
93704-4832. You may call (209) 224-0544.
|
||
|
||
** The Fortune of the Fortune Cookie:
|
||
From the Editor Emeritus: In both great things and small,
|
||
good fortune hounds the heels of Federationists. It even happens
|
||
with cookies. Consider the following letter from Junerose
|
||
Killian, who as everybody knows is one of the leaders of the NFB
|
||
of Connecticut. She says:
|
||
"Priscilla Nelson told us an amusing story that you might
|
||
find interesting. Priscilla wanted us to have tea and fortune
|
||
cookies at our exercise class but had had considerable trouble
|
||
finding a place to make the cookies with her personalized
|
||
fortunes inside. The only place she found was in Boston, and that
|
||
would mean a day off from work, so that seemed impossible. But
|
||
while cleaning up her trailer and sorting magazines and Braille
|
||
Monitors, she dropped a stack of the Monitors. One Monitor fell
|
||
open to a page with a recipe for fortune cookies, and lo and
|
||
behold, the problem was sort of miraculously solved."
|
||
The moral the Monitor staff draws from this story is clear:
|
||
everyone would benefit from reading the Braille Monitor.
|
||
|