[PHOTO/CAPTION: A ship taking on water fast][From: http://www

[PHOTO/CAPTION: A ship taking on water fast][From: http://www

The Braille Monitor

March, 2002

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Davy Jones's Locker

by Peggy Elliott

A

ship taking on water fast][From: http://www.armed-guard.com/picsbook.htm

From the Editor: Periodically

Peggy Elliott, Second Vice President of the National Federation of the Blind

and President of the NFB of Iowa, reports on the recent fortunes of the National

Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and the Visually Impaired

(NAC). New personnel have taken over the leadership of NAC (see the August/September

2001 issue of the Braille Monitor for the details). Other than that,

not much has happened until recent months. Here is Peggy's report of what is

now going on:

Avid readers are familiar

with numerous wonderful sea stories, from those about Horatio Hornblower through

the Mutiny on the Bounty trilogy and Two Years Before the Mast to

the modern Patrick O'Brien sea thrillers. Every such reader knows that a central

character in each of these books is the ship itself--her layout, rigging, decks,

holds, berths, spars, and tiller. Whether the ship is a China clipper or a British

sailing ship or an intrepid American vessel rounding the Horn or becalmed in

the horse latitudes, that ship is a central character. But there is another

character in these books, rarely spoken of but always, always present: Davy

Jones. Davy and his locker, graveyard of ships and men on the bottom of the

vast and empty sea, are constant companions of those who sail the bounding main.

Another story with which Federationists are all familiar

is the story of NAC (the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving

the Blind and the Visually Impaired). When NAC comes to mind, one way of thinking

about it is to liken NAC to a sailing ship.

The Good Ship NAC was once a proud craft with

sails rigged and taut, all decks holystoned and gleaming, all fittings bright

and shining as it sailed forth, accrediting agencies port and starboard. As

Federationists know, the Good Ship NAC defined its universe of agencies

as around 500, and at high tide NAC briefly accredited over 100 of these. But

that Good Ship NAC is no more.As we have followed the adventures of NAC through

the years, its sails have ripped away in the tempestuous weather of public opinion,

its masts have shuddered and snapped, and its decks have buckled, riddled from

within by worms and rot. Many have thought that the ship could not sail another

week, let alone another year, but the Good Ship NAC has somehow stayed

afloat, moving between minor ports of call and limping from one year's end to

the next, barely above the surface. More than one of us has thought that NAC

was about to join the brave ships vanquished by Horatio Hornblower and dispatched

to Davy Jones's Locker.The almost-ghostly Good Ship NAC suddenly appeared

last summer at the National Federation of the Blind convention, assuring everyone

that the ship was still seaworthy and, in fact, about to get a complete overhaul

and re-fitting with a new executive director. Most of us shook our heads and

muttered about rotten planks and water in the bilges. Then we heard from the

high plains of America that NAC was making a serious bid to provide accreditation

to the Colorado School for the Blind. Here is the story as told by Diane McGeorge,

President of the National Federation of the Blind of ColoradoEarly in September members of the NFB of Colorado

learned that the Colorado School for the Blind was considering becoming accredited

by NAC. We were told that they had received self-study materials, which they

were reviewing. After learning this information, NFB members and officers decided

it was of the utmost importance that we schedule a meeting with the superintendent,

Dr. Marilyn Jaitly, and others of her staff, who were looking at the possibility

of accrediting the school for the blind using NAC. We met with her; David Farrell,

the principal of the School for the Blind; and Doug Miles, chairman of the school's

board of directors. The meeting was cordial, and we outlined our concerns about

such an accreditation. We also asked if we might meet with the full board, and

that meeting took place one week later. Once again the meeting was cordial.We were very pleased to receive the following letter

announcing their decision. Through cooperation like this we are able to inform

potential NAC members about our deep concerns and allow them to make informed,

wise decisions. Our relationship with the school here in Colorado has been one

of mutual respect and support, and we are confident that it will continue to

be so.Here is the letter mentioned by Diane in its entiretyColorado Department of Education

Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind

Colorado Springs, ColoradoDecember 3, 2001

Diane McGeorge, President

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Littleton, ColoradoDear DianeAlthough you may have heard, this letter is to formally

let you know that we have decided to pursue national accreditation through North

Central Association (NCA) and will not pursue accreditation through NAC.Our main reason for this decision was that we felt

that NAC self-study guidelines did not integrate well with the accreditation

indicators.I appreciate your continued interest and support in

those matters that concern the future of CSDB. Have a wonderful and restful

holiday season.Sincerely,

Marilyn Jaitly, Ph.D., Superintendent

Colorado Department of Education

Colorado School for the Deaf and the BlindNAC now accredits only eleven of the seventy-one schools

for the blind in the entire country, and the last new accreditation of a school

was in 1990. True to its current decrepit condition, the Good Ship NAC still

has no port of call in Colorado, one of the thirty states that can boast a NAC-free

environment.Since the Monitor last looked in on the Good

Ship NAC in late 1999, when NAC had forty-six accredited agencies in the U.S.,

high seas have buffeted her leaky hull, and fierce winds have rolled her almost

onto her beam ends. In those two years four more agencies (in Georgia, Iowa,

New York, and Tennessee) have severed their association with NAC by failing

to re-accredit, while three small agencies (in Florida, Missouri, and Ohio),

which can only be described as risk-takers, have climbed aboard the old tub.

The Good Ship NAC now has forty-five accredited agencies, a net loss of one

since 1999. Thirty states are now entirely NAC-free, and thirteen more have

only one NAC agency apiece within their borders. This leaves thirty-two agencies

concentrated in nine states.So let us shift our attention to a southeastern seaboard

state to see if the Good Ship NAC is faring any better there. For years it has

been apparent that a significant percentage of the agencies accredited by NAC

were located in one state, Florida. The number has remained at about 25 percent

of the total, which would prove, if one were to believe NAC's propaganda, that

Florida's blind are the best served in the country. Blind Florida residents

have steadily disputed this contention, so skeptics have sought an explanation

for this phenomenon other than quality of service.We have now uncovered that explanation. Florida's

agency serving the blind has had a long practice of contracting with numerous

small city-or regional-based agencies to provide services. Until recently, although

there was no requirement under Florida law, the agency mandated, as a part of

the individual contracting process with agencies, that the agency be accredited.

Again, no requirement for NAC specifically, but using NAC services gradually

became a widely held inclination among Florida agency personnel as its accreditation

became hallowed by history and practice until it felt like a requirement, and

directors of the contracting agencies using NAC in Florida explained their accrediting

choice to themselves and their constituencies as a requirement. In point of

fact, CARF accreditation would always have been accepted, even in the old days

under the technical requirement for some sort of accreditation. In reality,

although everyone believed and told each other that NAC was required, it was

never true.

Florida is now changing

its contracting process and is developing state-based standards to govern this

procedure. It appears that the state agency has finally noticed that NAC is

an outside agency, and one applying standards not particularly relevant to the

provision of services in limited geographical areas within Florida. The state

agency is designing and planning to implement its own guidelines for the agencies

with which it contracts. Apparently in order to clarify all this history and

intention, the director of the agency for the blind last year wrote the following

letter:

Florida Department of Education

Division of Blind Services

May 30, 2001Mr. Allen Bornstein

CVI Board President

Ormond Beach, Florida

Dear Mr. BornsteinAt this time the Division of Blind Services does not

require accreditation in order to contract to provide services. While we recognize

the value of accreditation as a general concept, we have not adopted any procedures

for evaluating those offering accreditation. In other words, we cannot say with

any degree of certainty that accreditation by any particular agency means anything

in terms of assuring good services.We are working on developing our own internal ability

to review and evaluate services provided by contractors. Therefore, while we

do not require accreditation, we are not advising or urging that you seek or

not seek accreditation on your own. Such a decision is a management decision

to be made by your board.Very truly,

S. Craig Kiser

DirectorThere you have the gentle, temperate language of the

state agency director politely exploding the myth that NAC is required or provably

useful in Florida. It would appear that the Good Ship NAC will soon find

even its small ports of call in Florida unwelcoming.

Many a good ship has struggled

valiantly, only to find its ultimate resting place on the bottom of the sea.

When its power of locomotion, its superstructure, its very ribs and keel are

destroyed by the work of worms or time or weather or other superior force, that

ship sinks to the bottom and lies there for all eternity. The Good Ship NAC

has now made an unsuccessful bid for a berth in Colorado and is about to

lose its vaunted place in Florida. We can only hope that soon the Good Ship

NAC will quietly sink into the deep and join its fellows in Davy Jones's

Locker. Farewell, good ship.

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