Transcript for Houtenville presentation, “Population-based Estimates to Assist VR Planning and Evaluation”  (November 24, 2009)
>>  OKAY AND HELLO ALL.  THANKS FOR JOINING US TODAY FOR TODAY'S TRAINING BY ANDREW HOUTENVILLE ENTITLED "POPULATION-BASED ESTIMATES TO ASSIST VR PLANNING AND EVALUATION."  THIS EVENT IS HOSTED BY THE NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE REHABILITATION TRAINING MATERIALS AS THE THIRD TRAINING  IN THE PROGRAM EVALUATION COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WEBINAR SERIES.  MY NAME IS SCOTT SEBELLA.  I AM THE DIRECTOR OF THE TASTE REGION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN COLORADO AND I JUST WANTED TO INTRODUCE OUR COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE FOR ANYONE WHO IS NEW TO THE GROUP TODAY.  THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE WAS BORN OUT OF THE FIRST ANNUAL PROGRAM EVALUATION SUMMIT HOSTED BY THE UTAH STATE OFFICE OF REHABILITATION. AND MICHAEL SCHUMAKER WAS REALLY FOREFRONT IN GETTING THAT FIRST SUMMIT STARTED AND HE IS WITH USOR, THE UTAH STATE OFFICE OF REHABILITATION.  THE MAIN GOAL IS TO BRING TOGETHER SPECIALISTS AND STATE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION STATE AGENCIES TO GIVE THEM A FORUM TO DISCUSS CHALLENGES AND SHARE INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND TOOLS, AND ALSO HAVE A NETWORK OF PROFESSIONALS WHO THEY CAN CONTACT WHEN THEY HAVE ANY CHALLENGES OR QUESTIONS AND WITHIN A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE, THE IDEA IS THAT BY NETWORKING AND ENGAGING IN THE COMMUNITY, MUTUAL LEARNING HAPPENS AS WE ALL ARE ABLE TO INTERACT AND SHARE INFORMATION AND SHARE OUR EXPERIENCES AND SHARE OUR RESOURCES. 
 SO THE REAL STRENGTH OF THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICES, THE MEMBERS AND THEY ARE REALLY WHO DRIVE THE WHOLE PROCESS.  SINCE THAT FIRST SUMMIT, THE GROUP HAS REALLY GROWN INTO A COMMUNITY, WHICH HAS PARTICIPATION BY MANY STATE VR AGENCIES, THE TASTE CENTERS, THE NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE OF REHABILITATION TRAINING MATERIALS, THE RRTCS AND MANY INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.  WE HAVE NOW HAD TWO CONFERENCES.  WE HAVE A WEB PAGE WITH NUMEROUS RESOURCES FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE SPECIALISTS AND WE HAVE A NETWORK OF NEARLY IS 100 MEMBERS NOW. 
      SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE ANDREW HOUTENVILLE AND DR. HOUTENVILLE IS CURRENTLY AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN THE WHITMORE SCHOOL OF  BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS AND RESEARCH DIRECTOR ON THE INSTITUTE OF DISABILITIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.  AND  HE IS THE CO-PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR AT HUNTER COLLEGE REHABILITATION  RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER ON DISABILITIES IN THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND STATISTICS, THE STATSRRTC. IN ADDITION HE IS WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH CLINICAL CENTER REHABILITATIONAL MEDICINE DIVISION TO EVALUATE AND DEVELOP POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE REFORM OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION'S CHILD AND ADULT DETERMINATION PROCESSES.  HE IS  WIDELY PUBLISHED IN THE AREAS OF DISABILITY STATISTICS AND THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. 
      SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE HIM JOINING US TODAY AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO YOU ANDREW.
>>  THANK YOU, SCOTT AND MICHAEL AND MICHAEL FOR HAVING ME PRESENT TO THIS WORK GROUP.  THE TITLE OF MY PRESENTATION, SCOTT, IS MY VOICE OKAY?
>>  SO WHY DON'T WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO AS SCOTT MENTIONED, I AM A MEMBER OF THE REHABILITATION RESEARCH AND TRAINING CENTER ON DISABILITY DEMOGRAPHICS AND STATISTICS.  THE STATISTICS RRTC AT HUNTER COLLEGE.  WE HAVE FUNDING TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO DISABILITY-RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS AND POLICYMAKERS AMONG THE STATE VR AGENCIES.  WE ARE FUNDED BY THE NATIONALITY INSTITUTION ON DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH, WHICH THE SISTER AGENCY TO RSA.  SO THIS IS COMING OUT OF NIDRR FUNDS.  TODAY I'M GOING TO TALK A BIT ABOUT THE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES THAT THE STATISTIC CENTER PROVIDES.  FIRST, I WILL DESCRIBE THE FIRST STATSRRTC PRODUCT CALLED ANNUAL DISABILITY STATISTICS COMPENDIUM AND WORK WE HAVE DONE THROUGH THE CENTER WITH INDEPENDENT LIVING ORGANIZATIONS.  THERE IS SOME FEEDBACK  --  NOT FEEDBACK, BUT SOMEBODY IS RUSTLING AROUND A BIT, IF SOMEBODY COULD GO ON MUTE.  
WE WILL ALSO DISCUSS WORK WITH ADVOCATES IN ILLINOIS AROUND FRAMING GOALS, USING STATISTICS, DISABILITY-RELATED GOALS.  WE'LL ALSO DISCUSS THE POTENTIAL OF CRAFTING SOME STYLIZED STATISTICS FOR STATE VR AGENCIES.  I HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH VARIOUS STATE VR AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.  HOWEVER, IT WOULD BE REALLY GOOD TO HAVE A GROUP LIKE THE EVALUATION COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE HELP GUIDE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THE CENTER DOES IN ORDER TO REACH OUT TO STATE VR AGENCIES FOR THE PURPOSES OF PLANNING AND EVALUATION. 
      SO NEXT SLIDE.  FIRST I WILL TALK THE ANNUAL DISABILITY STATISTICS COMPENDIUM.  THIS IS THE FIRST YEAR OF THE COMPENDIUM.  IT'S A PRODUCT OF THE HUNTER COLLEGE STATISTIC RRTC.  YOU CAN FIND A COPY OF THE COMPENDIUM AT WWW.DISABILITYCOMPENDIUM.ORG.   ON A SLIDE RIGHT NOW IS IN BIG, BOLD LETTERS THE ANNUAL DISABILITY STATISTICS COMPENDIUM. IT'S ACTUALLY THE COVER TO THE COMPENDIUM.  
	NEXT SLIDE.  SO THE ANNUAL DISABILITY STATISTICS COMPENDIUM IS DESIGNED TO PROVIDE THE DISABLED COMMUNITY WITH A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF STATISTICS.  REALLY SOMETHING THAT IS UP-TO-DATE EVERY YEAR RELEASED, THAT PROVIDES A VARIETY OF TOPICS AND SOURCES FROM SURVEY DATA FROM THE MAJOR NATIONAL SURVEYS CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU, THE CDC, THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS AND WE WANT TO ALSO DRAW UPON ADMINISTRATIVE DATA FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, RSA.  THIS IS REALLY A NATIONAL EFFORT, BUT IT WILL DRILL DOWN TO THE STATE LEVEL AND ALSO LOOK AT TRENDS OVER TIME. 
      THE COMPENDIUM, ALSO, IN SOME SENSE, PROVIDES A GUIDE TO THE VARIOUS DATA SOURCES THAT ARE OUT THERE.  SO WE TRY TO DRAW UPON IT AS MUCH OF THE PUBLISHED STATISTICS THAT ARE OUT THERE.  AND IN SOME SENSE, IT REPRESENTS, IN GENERAL, WHAT IS ANNUALLY PRODUCED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.  THE ANNUAL DISABILITY STATISTICS COMPENDIUM IS REALLY MODELED AFTER THE STATISTICAL ABSTRACT.  I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE KNOW THIS DOCUMENT, BUT IT'S ABOUT THE SIZE OF GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD-RECORDS AND IT'S JUST TABLE AFTER TABLE AFTER TABLE ON A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS AND USUALLY SITS BEHIND THE REFERENCE DESK.  OF COURSE, IT'S ONLINE NOW, BUT IT'S A GREAT RESOURCE THAT I HAVE ALWAYS DRAWN OUT THROUGHOUT MY CAREER.  THE DISABILITY ELEMENTS ARE MISSING FROM IT.  SO I FIGURED A GOOD WAY OF EXPANDING UPON A MODEL THAT IS TRIED AND TRUE FOR 30, 40 YEARS IS DO SOMETHING TO THE SIMILAR ABSTRACT FOR THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY.  NEXT SLIDE. 
      THE DESIGN OF THE COMPENDIUM, BASICALLY IT'S A MASSIVE SET OF TABLES WITH SOME DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY PAGES. IT'S BASED ON EXISTED PUBLISHED STATISTICS.  THERE ARE REFERENCES TO EACH SOURCE TO THE ORIGINAL SOURCES WITH THE LINK.  SO IN SOME SENSE, IT'S A GOOD GUIDE TO EXISTING SOURCES OUT THERE FOR STATISTICS THAT ARE PUBLISHED.  IT'S ALSO, IF YOU CAN'T FIND A STATISTIC IN THERE, OR YOU ARE WONDERING IF IT'S BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE PREVIOUS VERSION, A LOT OF THESE THINGS ARE UPDATED BY THE AGENCIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.  WE WILL HAVE ACCESS, YOU KNOW.  THERE IS A 1-800-NUMBER OR TOLL-FREE NUMBER ON THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE THAT WILL GIVE YOU ACCESS TO SOMEONE WHO CAN TRACK DOWN A STATISTIC FOR OR HELP YOU ACCESS A STATISTIC, IF THE ORIGINAL SOURCE ISN'T ACCESSIBLE OR THERE ARE OTHER ISSUES INVOLVED.  THIS YEAR, WE HAVE GOT FIVE YEARS UNDER THE STATISTICS CENTER FROM NIDRR, AND THIS IS A THE FIRST YEAR AND WE HAD A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON STATE-LEVEL STATISTICS IN THIS FIRST YEAR.  OVER THE YEARS, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE BASICALLY THREE PERIMETERS THAT PEOPLE ASK FOR.  THEY ASK FOR THEIR SPECIFIC LOCATIONS, STATE AND EVEN MORE LOCAL STATISTICS.  THEY ASK FOR DISABILITY-SPECIFIC STATISTICS, WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE THE FOCUS OF NEXT YEAR. THEY ASK FOR STATISTICS RELATED TO CHILDREN OR YOUTH.  
AND SO THOSE ARE GENERALLY OVER THE YEARS, WHEN I GET CALLS FOR DATA, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ASK FOR.  SO IN THE COMING YEARS WE'LL KIND OF BUILD THE COMPENDIUM TO ADDRESS MORE AND MORE SOURCES, IF THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND REMAIN AVAILABLE, AND, ALSO, WE WILL ADD MORE STATISTICS AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE.  NEXT SLIDE. 
       THE TOPICS COVERED IN THE CURRENT COMPENDIUM. WE HOPE TO BUILD EVERY YEAR AND NOT CHANGE THE TOPICS PER SE, BUT WE USE SURVEY DATA TO LOOK AT POPULATION SIZE WITH THE POPULATION SIZE, POPULATION OF DISABILITY, PREVALENCE RATES, POVERTY AND EARNINGS FROM WORK.  WE ALSO LOOK AT EDUCATIONAL ENROLLMENT AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT.  WE JUMP TO ANOTHER SOURCE, THE CDC SURVEY THAT HAS STATE-LEVEL HEALTH STATISTICS ON SELF-REPORTED HEALTH STATUS, HEALTH BEHAVIORS, THINGS LIKE, IMMUNIZATION, INSURANCE, USE OF PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS.  THEN WE ALSO JUMPED TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION RECORDS AND WE PROVIDE A NUMBER OF STATE-LEVEL STATISTICS ON THE SSDI AND SSI PROGRAMS.  WE USE  OSEP-RELATED DOUBT, WE USE RSA DATA TO LOOK AT VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS, WHICH WILL BE EXPANDING NEXT YEAR. WE GOT SOME GREAT COMMENTS AS WE WERE BUILDING THE COMPENDIUM AND WE HAVE A LOT MORE WE WOULD LIKE TO DO FOR STATE VR.  TOWARDS THE END WE HAVE ADDED MONTHLY STATISTICS, SO LOOKING OVERTIME AT THE MONTHLY EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS.  WE ALSO LOOKED AT SOME MONTHLY SOCIAL SECURITY INFORMATION AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.  NEXT SLIDE. 
      FOR EXAMPLE, THE VR CONTENT, TABLE 78-81 CONTAINS STATISTICS FOR THE FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR 2007 BY STATE AGENCY.  SO 79-80 STATE VR AGENCIES ARE REPRESENTED IN THE TABLE.  TOPICS THAT WE COVERED THIS YEAR ARE APPLICATION, THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS, CLOSURES AFTER SERVICE INITIATED OR COMPLETED, CLOSURES WITH SUCCESSFUL EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES AND THE REHABILITATION RATE.  IN FUTURE YEARS WE'RE GOING TO INDICATE WHICH STATES ARE AT THAT DURING THAT YEAR AT ONE POINT IN THE ORDER OF SELECTION STATUS.  THAT IS A WAY OF HELPING CONVEY A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION IN EACH TABLE.  AND WE'RE LOOKING TO PROVIDE COST INFORMATION AS WELL, PERHAPS USING THE RSA 2 FILE TO PROVIDE COST INFORMATION, MAYBE SOME RSA 113 DATA ON HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENDITURES. I'M SORRY, RSA 2 DATA. 
  IN IS KIND OF A CALL OUT IF THERE ARE STATISTICS THAT YOU THINK WOULD BETTER REPRESENT OR PROVIDE ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATION OF STATE PROGRAMS, BY ALL MEANS, LET ME KNOW.  I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM STATE AGENCIS WHAT THEY THINK ARE BOTH PUBLISHED AND EFFECTIVE WAYS OF CONVEYING INFORMATION ABOUT STATE VR AGENCIES.  OF COURSE WE'RE LIMITED TO THE PUBLISHED RECORD.  WHY DON'T WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
  I THINK THIS SHOULD ACTUALLY READ "NO. 2."  SO WORK WE HAVE BEEN DOING WITH COLORADO STATE LIVING GROUPS, NOT ILLINOIS.  I MISSED UP THIS SLIDE A LITTLE BIT.  THIS SHOULD BE NO. 2, WORK DONE WITH STATE INDEPENDENT LIVING GROUPS.  WE HAVE ENGAGED IN DIALOGUE WITH THE STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL, PROBABLY LAST SPRING, THE END OF THE WINTER LAST YEAR, AND SCOTT WAS A PART OF SOME OF THAT DIALOGUE.  BASICALLY WE WENT BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN WHAT STATISTICS ARE, THE COUNCIL DESIRE TO KNOW ABOUT THE STATE AND ABOUT THE INDEPENDENT LIVING CATCHMENT AREAS AND WHAT WAS FEASIBLE GIVEN CURRENT DATA.  WE ENDED UP ESTIMATING COUNTY LEVEL STATISTICS FOR COLORADO USING THE 2005-2007 AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY AND ALSO USING COUNTY LEVEL SSA REPORTED STATISTICS.  AND WE CONVERTED THOSE INTO THE CATCHMENT AREAS OF THE TEN INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS IN COLORADO.  SO WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO IS OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR GO BACK AND FORTH TO WHAT STATISTICS ARE AVAILABLE, WHAT IS FEASIBLE AT THE CATCHMENT AREA LEVEL.  ALSO USING COUNTY-LEVEL STATISTICS.  WE CONVERTED THOSE INTO THE AREAS OF THE TEN INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTERS IN COLORADO.  BASICALLY THE CATCHMENTEAREAS ARE CONGLOMERATIONS OF COUNTIES AND THE TOPICS WE COVERED WERE POPULATION SIZE, PREVALENCE, EMPLOYMENT RATES BY CATCHMENT AREA, POVERTY RATES BY CATCHMENT, EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AND SSI DI PARTICIPATION. WE ALSO ADDED STATE-LEVEL STATISTICS FROM THE CDC ON HEALTH DISPARITIES BETWEEN PEOPLE WITH AND WITHOUT DISABILITY IN COLORADO, BUT WE COULDN'T DO THE HEALTH STATISTICS AT CATCHMENT AREA OR THE COUNTY LEVEL AREA, THE CDC DOESN'T  --  THE DATA DIDN'T REALLY ALLOW FOR THAT LEVEL OF LOCAL DETAIL.  SO WHAT THE COLORADO REALLY REPRESENTS IS THE WAY THAT THE STATISTIC CENTER HAS REACHED OUT OR BEEN CONTACTED BY OR WORKED WITH A KEY AGENCY, A KEY GROUP, INDEPENDENT LIVING, AND WE HAVE EXPANDED TO WORK WITH INDIANA, AND SIDNEY, THE INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY.  AND WE'RE BASICALLY GENERATING THE SAME STATISTICS.  WE HAVE TALKED BACK AND FORTH ABOUT ADDITIONAL STATISTICS TO ADD ON TOP OF THE COLORADO REPORT AND ALSO THAT COLORADO REPORT IS AVAILABLE ONLINE THROUGH THIS COLORADO STATE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL, IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING THAT.  YOU KNOW, SIMILAR THINGS COULD BE POTENTIALLY DONE FOR STATE VR AND YOUR STATE DISTRICTS.  YOU KNOW, FORMERLY FOR YEARS I WAS IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, WORKING AT CORNELL AND WE ALWAYS TALKED ABOUT, BUT NEVER CAME TO FRUITION OF DOING IT FOR THE DISTRICT OFFICES WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, UNDER THE STATE VR AGENCY. 
      WHY DON'T WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WITH THE COMPENDIUM, BECAUSE PEOPLE CALL ME FOR STATISTICS AND FOR HELP AND IT'S ACTUALLY A GREAT GUIDE FOR ME.  SO IF IT DOES ANYTHING, IT HELPS ME ANSWER MY EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS.  BASICALLY I ENGAGE IN A DIALOGUE.  I WAS CONTACTED BY CHICAGO COMMUNITY TRUST, DOING GREAT WORK AROUND THE ADVOCACY GOALS FOR THE STATE OF ILLINOIS AND THE CITY OF CHICAGO.  AND WE DEVELOPED A SET OF STATE-LEVEL STATISTICS THAT COMPARED ILLINOIS TO OTHER STATES FOR EACH OF THEIR KEY FOCUS AREAS AND THEY HAD FOUR KEY FOCUS AREAS, ONE OF WHICH WAS EMPLOYMENT OF TRANSITION-AGE YOUTH.  SO I WAS ABLE TO PULL TOGETHER STATISTICAL TABLES FOR THEM, BUT THEY WEREN'T REALLY INTERESTED IN THE STATISTICAL TABLES AS MUCH AS THEY WERE INTERESTED IN STATEMENTS, BENCHMARKS OF WHERE ILLINOIS WOULD WANT TO BE BY 2016. 
      AND THEY CHOOSE 2016 BECAUSE THAT IS WHEN THEY WERE HOPING TO GET THE OLYMPICS, BUT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN, BUT THEY STILL WANT TO SET BENCHMARKS FOR THE FUTURE.  LET ME PROVIDE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE PRAISE IT.  THIS ISN'T ONE OF THEIRS, BUT NOW THAT I AM IN THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, WHY DON'T WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
      THIS IS JUST ONE OF THE IDEAS THAT CAME UP IN WORKING WITH ILLINOIS ABOUT HOW TO PHRASE THE GOALS AND THIS IS FROM COMPENDIUM TABLE 97, THE RATE OF PEOPLE WITHOUT DISABILITIES.  SO THE GOAL IS NEW HAMPSHIRE WANTS TO BE -- AND THIS IS A GOAL I CREATED AS JUST AN EXAMPLE.  NEW HAMPSHIRE WANTS TO BE THE NATIONAL LEADER IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES AND SO THE CURRENT EMPLOYMENT RATE IS 45.8, NORTH DAKOTA HAS THE HIGHEST EMPLOYMENT RATE WITH 56.6.  ASSUMING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES ARE REMAIN CONSTANT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, IT COULD MAKE EMPLOYING 8400 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO GET THE PERCENT ABOVE 57%.  SO NEW HAMPSHIRE WOULD ROUGHLY HAVE TO EMPLOYEE ABOUT 8400 FOLKS.  SO THIS IS A WAY OF CONVERTING BLAND STATISTICAL TABLE INTO SOMETHING THAT WOULD TALK.  AND SINCE I HAVE SOMETHING MORE MAINE, WE COULD HAVE PUT IT OUT THAT NEW HAMPSHIRE WANTS TO BE AHEAD OF MAINE IN TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT. 
      THIS DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME LAUGH APPEAL.  I HOPE PEOPLE ARE LAUGHING.  COMMENTS THAT THEY ARE PUTTING IN BOXES.  ANYWAY.  THAT IS THE EXAMPLE OF USING STATE- LEVEL STATISTICS FOR GOAL-SETTING. 
      NOW THE REAL PURPOSE OF THIS CALL, YOU KNOW, I INTRODUCED YOU A LITTLE BIT TO THE COMPENDIUM, WHICH IS AN ONGOING PRODUCT THAT WE'LL BE DEVELOPING AND WE COULD CERTAINLY USE YOUR HELP IN BOTH UNDERSTANDING THE STATISTICS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE, BUT ALSO HOW TO MAKE IT MORE USABLE, IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ON THAT.  BUT REALLY WHAT THIS DIALOGUE IS TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE POTENTIAL STATISTICAL CENTER DOING WORK WITH YOUR GROUP. 
      SO THE STATSRRTC AT HUNTER HAS RESOURCES AND THE ZAIRE TO WORK WITH STATE VR AGENCIES.  IT'S BEST TO WORK WITH A GROUP RATHER THAN SPECIFIC AGENCIES.  THE WORK I DID WITH THE COLORADO STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING CENTER REALLY WAS, YOU KNOW, A DIFFERENT WAY.  SO I TOOK THEM AS AN EXAMPLE, WORKED WITH THEM AND NOW WHAT I DID WITH THEM IS GOING TO BE POTENTIALLY AMENDED FOR EACH STATE.  BUT I COULD WORK WITH A GROUP FROM A VARIETY OF STATES TO DEVELOP A SET OF TABLES THAT YOU ALL WOULD FIND USEFUL AND POTENTIALLY PROVIDE STATISTICS OUT OF MORE LOCAL HALL OF FAME LEVEL WITHIN YOUR STATE WITH MORE DETAIL THAN USUALLY ARE PROVIDED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU OR THE CDC OR S RSA.  SO WHAT I AM PROPOSING IS THE IDEA THAT THERE COULD BE A BACK AND FORTH DIALOGUE.  WHAT YOU ALL WOULD FIND USEFUL FOR VR WOULD BE TO START.  THE SECOND WOULD BE, OKAY, YOU HAND IN YOUR WISH-LIST AND I GO THROUGH THE DATA AND SAY THIS IS WHAT TO MY KNOWLEDGE I KNOW ASK AVAILABLE IN THE CURRENT DATA AND DEVELOP SOME TABLE SHELVES.  RUN THAT BY YOU GUYS AND SAY WOULD THIS BE WHAT YOU WANT?
 THEN ESTIMATE THOSE TABLES, EITHER PULLING FROM ORIGINAL SOURCES OR GETTING THE RAW DATA AND REESTIMATING THINGS OURSELVES.  AND THEN DISCUSS THE RESULTS AND ANY DESIRED OR FEASIBLE ADDITIONS TO THAT DATA POSSIBLE. 
      SO THIS IS REALLY IN PART A CALL OUT TO SEE IF FOLKS ARE INTERESTED.  I COULD CERTAINLY DO THE COLORADO APPROACH WHERE I WORK WITH ONE AGENCY AND VP A SET THAT THEY FIND USEFUL AND MAKE THAT AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE ELSE AND POTENTIALLY ALTER THAT LATER.  THAT IS CERTAINLY A PROCESS I AM COMFORTABLE DOING, BUT WORKING WITH A GROUP LIKE THIS MIGHT BE VERY USEFUL. 
      THE NEXT SLIDE. 
      HERE IS MY CONTACTS INFORMATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO TALK WITH YOU AS A GROUP OR WITH FOLKS INDIVIDUALLY. WHY DON'T WE THEN OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. SO I GUESS JESSIE, MICHAEL, SCOTT, QUESTIONS?  DO YOU WANT TO HANDLE VIA THE TEXT BOX?
>>  I WOULD PREFER IT IF PEOPLE WOULD USE THE TEXT BOX ON THE LEFT.  THERE IS A SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO TYPE IN YOUR MESSAGE.  HERE COMES SCOTT.  HOW DO YOU DRILL DOWN TO STATE STATISTICS? ARE THERE TABLES OUTSIDE OF THE COMPENDIUM THAT COULD BE USED FOR INDIVIDUAL STATE DATA?  SO THERE IS CERTAINLY IS A LOT MORE AVAILABLE.  THE COMPENDIUM, YOU KNOW, REALLY TOUCHES ON A SMATTERING OF TOPICS AND A SMATTERING OF SOURCES, BUT EACH OF THOSE SOURCES HAS POTENTIALLY A LOT MORE INFORMATION.  AND SO CERTAINLY THE CENSUS BUREAU, OF COURSE, HAS LOTS OF NON-DISABILITY STATISTICS.  THEY ALSO HAVE A FEW MORE STATISTICS THAT ARE RELATED TO DISABILITY AND THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING THEIR SET OF STATISTICS THAT THEY PROVIDE THE CENSUS BUREAU.  AND SO THERE ARE OTHER STATISTICS AVAILABLE, AND IN SOME SENSE, WE KNEW WE COULD NEVER PROVIDE ALL OF THEM.  I THINK IF I PRODUCED EVERY POSSIBLE ONE THAT WAS AVAILABLE AT THE STATE LEVEL, WE WOULD PROBABLY BE UP TO 50,000 PAGES SO IN SOME SENSE THE COMPENDIUM IS A BIT OF THE GREATEST HITS AND PEOPLE COULD DRILL DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL SOURCES OR CALL THE 1-800-NUMBER.  I THINK IT'S AN 866 NUMBER, AND ASK A QUESTION DIRECTLY OR THEY COULD EMAIL ME OR OTHERS IN THE CENTER. 
      ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?  WELL, PEOPLE ARE THINKING ABOUT QUESTIONS, LET ME ANSWER A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE RECEIVED IN PAST THAT ARE TYPICAL QUESTIONS, CERTAINLY FROM THE INDEPENDENT LIVING COMMUNITY.  THERE IS A LARGE DESIRE TO KNOW INDIVIDUALS THAT LIVE IN INSTITUTIONS.  AND RIGHT NOW THE CENSUS BUREAUS CUT THE STATISTICS THAT THEY PUBLISH ARE ONLY AT THE STATE LEVEL AND YOU REALLY CAN'T DRILL DOWN TO SAY, THE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNTY LEVEL.  AND ALSO THE STATISTICS THAT ARE PROVIDED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU, REALLY DON'T BREAK OUT TYPE OF DISABILITY, OR EVEN WHAT TYPE OF INSTITUTION A PERSON IS.  SO CORRECTIONS ARE  --  CORRECTIONS ARE  --  I'M SORRY, CORRECTION FACILITIES ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN SAY, SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES OR OTHER TYPES OF INSTITUTIONS.  SO INSTITUTION DATA IS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT READILY AVAILABLE. 
      ONE OF THE OTHER ISSUES THAT IS OFTEN RAISED AND THIS IS SPECIFIC TO A LOT OF VR PROGRAMS IS THAT A DEGREE TO WHICH PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENT CAN BE SEPARATED FROM PEOPLE WITH OTHER DISABILITIES.  AND THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS THIS JUST STARTING THIS YEAR  --  I'M SORRY, STARTING LAST YEAR.  SO THE DATA FOR 2008.  THEY STARTED SEPARATING OUT THE QUESTION THAT THEY HAD ON VISION AND HEARING.  AND SO VISION-RELATED STATISTICS THAT AREN'T COMPOUNDED WITH OTHER SENSORY CONDITIONS, ARE NOW SEPARATED.  THAT CERTAINLY AVAILABLE AT THE STATE LEVEL FOR EVERY STATE, THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY VARY IS A MASSIVE SAMPLE.  WE PROBABLY WON'T BE ABLE TO DRILL DOWN TO SAY, THE COUNTY LEVEL, UNTIL PROBABLY THREE YEARS, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GET COUNTY LEVEL STATISTICS OUT OF THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY.  YOU REALLY NEED TO PULL TOGETHER THREE YEARS' OF DATA TO BOOST AND SUPPORT YOUR SAMPLE.  SINCE THEY JUST STARTED OUT HEARING AND VISION, YOU REALLY CAN'T POOL IT WITH PREVIOUS YEARS OF DATA. 
      SO THOSE ARE TWO COMMON QUESTIONS.  ANOTHER QUESTION IS THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU CAN GET LOCAL? THE DEGREE TO WHICH YOU CAN GET LOCAL REALLY DEPENDS.  IT DEPENDS ON THE SAMPLE SIZE THAT ARE AVAILABLE, HOW BIG THE COUNTY IS FOR SMALLER COUNTIES IN COLORADO, HAD WE HAD TO USE WHAT ARE CALLED "PUBLIC-USE MICRODATA."   SO THEY WON'T PROVIDE STATISTICS, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AN INDIVIDUAL, AND SO THAT YOU END UP HAVING TO USE KIND OF CONGLOMERATIONS OF COUNTIES.  AND THERE ARE TRADITIONAL METHODS WHERE IF AN AREA IS KIND OF SPREAD ACROSS TWO COUNTIES, THAT YOU USE THE PROPORTION, THE POPULATION PROPORTIONS TO KIND OF DULL OUT THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONDENTS TO THOSE AREAS. 
      SO THAT WAS ACTUALLY USED IN THE COLORADO REPORT AND IS DESCRIBED IN THAT REPORT, WHICH IS ONLINE.  SO IF PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING HOW WE USE PUBLIC-USE MICRODATA AREAS FROM THE CENSUS BUREAU TO ESTIMATE SMALLER AREAS ARE KIND OF MERGED TOGETHER AND AREAS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.  YOU CAN GO TO THAT REPORT OR CONTACT ME AND I COULD CERTAINLY SEND YOU A COPY OF THE REPORT. 
      ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? HERE COMES A QUESTION.  RECENTLY I SENT OUT A QUESTION FROM ONE OF THE STATE VR PROGRAM EVALUATORS REGARDING WHAT IS BEING DONE WITHIN STATE FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION OF TRANSITION CLIENTS?  IS THERE INFORMATION ABOUT SPECIALIZED GROUPS, SUCH AS TRANSITION-SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT CLIENTS, THAT WOULD BE ACCESSIBLE?  WOULD THERE BE INTERESTED PARTIS FROM SEVERAL STATES TO LOOK AT THESE GROUPS?  THAT IS A GREAT QUESTION AND CERTAINLY YOU CAN GET AT TRANSITION AGE AND ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ABOUT TRANSITION IS THAT IT'S A DYNAMIC PROCESS.  SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO FOLLOW THAT INDIVIDUAL OVER TIME OR YOU WOULD HAVE TO ASK THAT INDIVIDUAL RETROSPECTIVELY, FIVE, TEN YEARS, DURING THE TRANSITION PERIOD, WHAT HAPPENED?  SO YOU WOULD USE A RETROSPECTIVE SURVEY APPROACH.  CURRENTLY, IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT, EVEN TO DO IT AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL.  THERE IS REALLY ONLY ONE SURVEY.  WELL, I MEAN, THERE IS THE NATIONAL TRANSITION LONGITUDINAL SURVEY, NLTS2, BUT THE DEGREE THAT THAT PROVIDES STATE SAMPS I'M INTO THE QUITE SURE ABOUT.  THAT DATA IS CERTAINLY OUT THERE AND WELL-KNOWN.  I'M NOT SURE THERE ARE PLANS TO REPEAT THAT, SO YOU WOULD POTENTIALLY HAVE A ONE-TIME, ONE-SHOT DEAL, IF YOU USED THAT FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION OR ANY KIND OF INFORMATION.  THE MAJOR NATIONAL SURVEYS, NONE OF THE MAJOR NATIONAL SURVEYS ACTUALLY GET AT SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT.  CERTAINLY WITHIN THE ADMINISTRATIVE DATA THERE MAY BE A WAY TO GLEAN OUT INFORMATION ABOUT SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT CLIENTELE, ALTHOUGH I THINK THERE MIGHT BE SOME RSA DATA THAT IS FUNNELED UP FROM THE STATES THAT TALKS ABOUT SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT CLIENTS, BUT IT'S PRETTY LIMITED. 
      AND I THINK THAT THE IDEA THAT THAT STATES WOULD GET TOGETHER AND POTENTIALLY DEVELOP A QUESTIONNAIRE OR DEVELOP A WAY OF COLLECTING DATA ADMINISTRATIVELY THAT IS UNIFORM WOULD BE AN INTERESTING IDEA. 
      ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? THE VR COUNCIL HAS EXPRESSED INTEREST TO GROUPS SUCH AS HOMELESS, FOSTER CARE AND SIMILAR GROUPS.  IS THERE ANY TYPE OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE?  HOMELESSNESS IS A REAL PROBLEM FOR THE CENSUS BUREAU, BECAUSE THEIR SAMPLING IS TYPICALLY DONE AT THE HOUSEHOLD LEVEL.  AND ALSO, FOSTER CARE IS NOT  --  YEAH  --  I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT STATE-LEVEL INFORMATION FROM THE DATA SOURCES THAT I USE ARE PRETTY LIMITED WITH REGARD TO HOMELESSNESS, FOSTER CARE, AND OTHER SIMILAR GROUPS.  GROUP-HOMES, MAYBE, BUT, AGAIN, THE CENSUS BUREAU IS REALLY SHY ABOUT PUBLISHING INFORMATION ABOUT INSTITUTION OR SEMIINSTITUTIONAL SITUATIONS.  FOSTER CARE, I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK INTO THAT.  STATE-LEVEL STATISTICS, I'M NOT SO SURE EXIST.  I KNOW CERTAINLY NATIONAL STATISTICS WILL EXIST, WHETHER THEY HAVE GOOD DISABILITY INFORMATION IS A DIFFERENT STORY AS WELL.  BUT HOMELESSNESS, IT'S ALL PRETTY LIMITED.  IT'S ALL PRETTY LIMITED. 
      THERE MAY BE RESOURCES WITHIN MONTANA.  CERTAINLY I WOULD POTENTIALLY TALK TO TOM AT THE RURAL INSTITUTION, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA.  HE AND KATHERINE MIGHT KNOW BETTER.  ALSO, ALEXANDER, THERE, WOULD PROBABLY KNOW POTENTIALLY MORE THAN I DO ABOUT SPECIFIC DATA IN MONTANA.  BUT THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.  I THINK WE'RE POTENTIALLY OUT OF LUCK IN TERMS OF HOMELESSNESS AND FOSTER CARE AND OTHER SIMILAR GROUPS.  SCOTT ASKS THE COMPENDIUM DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE RACE AND ETHNICITY.  THAT IS KIND OF AN OVERSIGHT.  I HAD THEM IN THERE AND THEY DISAPPEARED.  WHEN WE WENT TO GO TO START TO PUBLICATION, I COULDN'T GET THEM IN THERE. 
      I THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE IN THERE AT THE TIME.  I THINK THAT CERTAINLY THEY ARE FEASIBLE WITHIN MANY OF THE SOURCES.  I ANTICIPATE ADDING RACE/ETHNICITY INFORMATION IN THE FUTURE.  I WILL PROBABLY END UP  --  ONE THING THAT MAY END UP HAPPENING IS THAT KIND OF PARING DOWN SOME OF THE STATISTICS BY THE BROADER TYPES CENSUS.  THEY ARE CERTAINLY AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PUBLICATION AND PEOPLE CAN GET THEM, BUT THEY TAKE UP A LOT OF ROOM.  I THOUGHT I HAD RACE IN THERE STILL.  ANYWAY, SO YES, THAT IS SOMETHING.  ETHNICITY AND RACE END UP BEING, GIVEN THE CHANGES IN THE WAY THE CENSUS BUREAU REPORTS RACE, THEY END UP BEING HARD TO FIT INTO STATISTICAL TABLES THAT WON'T SPACE SHUTTLE OVER THREE OR FOUR PAGES
    A LOT OF TIMES WHEN I AM PICKING OUT TABLES AND CRAFTING TABLES, I'M TRYING TO FIT IT ALL ONTO ONE PAGE AND RACE AND ETHNICITY ARE REALLY STRETCHEDACROSS SEVERAL PAGES BECAUSE THERE ARE, WHAT?
 I THINK EIGHT OR NINE DIFFERENT RACE CATEGORIES NOW THAT ARE DISTRIBUTED BY THE CENSUS BUREAU.  SO IT IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE CAN ADD AND IF PEOPLE ARE CONSIDERED, THEY CAN CALL ME AND I CAN PRODUCE THOSE TABLES FOR PEOPLE.  ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?
>>  OKAY I DON'T SEE ANY COMING THROUGH.  AND ANDREW HAS GIVEN HIS EMAIL AND HIS PHONE NUMBER GRACIOUSLY.  SO IF YOU HAVE FURTHER QUESTIONS AFTER TODAY, AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO TALK WITH HIM, IT SOUNDS LIKE HE IS OPEN TO DOING THAT AND SOUNDS LIKE HE WOULD LIKE SOME FEEDBACK ON THE COMPENDIUM FROM STATE AGENCY PERSONNEL AND INCLUSION IN THE FUTURE.  I WOULD LIKE TO THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US TODAY AND WOULD LIKE TO THANK ANDREW TO HIS GREAT CONTRIBUTION TO THE GROUP.  WE ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO BE INVOLVED BY VISITING THE WEBSITE HOME BASE ON WWW.NCRTM.ORG AND JOIN OUR GROWING LISTSERV AND INVITE YOU TO COME TO YOUR NEXT SUMMIT IN THE FALL AND INFORMATION WILL BE COMING ON THAT.  TO JOIN THE SUMMIT LISTSERV YOU CAN EMAIL OR MICHAEL SCHUMAKER AT THE UTAH AGENCY.  I HOPE YOU FILL OUT THE EVALUATION.  IT'S ON THE SAME PAING THAT YOU LINKED TO GET THIS PRESENTATION WILL BE A LINK TO THE EVALUATION PAGE AND WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK AND WE CAN SURE OUR FUNDERS THAT THIS THESE TRAININGS ARE BENEFICIAL AND YOU IF ANY, TO GET YOUR FEEDBACK, SO WE CAN MAKE THEM BETTER IN THE FUTURE.  SO, AGAIN, THANKS TO YOU ALL, MICHAEL, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANTED TO ADD?
>>  YES, WE HAD A SMALL BREAKUP WITH THE CAPTIONING.  HOWEVER, THEY ARE DOING THE TRANSCRIPTION, SO THERE WILL BE A FULL TRANSCRIPT AVAILABLE AND THE SLIDES.
>>  OKAY.  SOUNDS GOOD.  AND THIS WILL BE MADE INTO A SYNCHRONOUS LEARNING ACTIVITY.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE ANYONE ELSE ON YOUR STAFF TO COME BACK AND BE ABLE TO READ OR LISTEN TO THIS TRAINING ASYNCHRONOUSLY, THAT WOULD BE SETUP IN THE FUTURE. 
      OKAY, WELL THANK YOU ALL.