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• National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB)

NCDB Activities

• NCDB 2009 Annual technical assistance agreement (AK)
• NCDB 2009 Annual technical assistance agreement (AL).
• NCDB 2009 Annual technical assistance agreement (AR).
• NCDB 2009 Annual technical assistance agreement (AZ).
• NCDB 2009 Annual technical assistance agreement (CA).
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Center Overview

The purpose of the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness is two-fold. The first purpose is to promote academic achievement and results for children and youth (birth-26) who are deaf-blind through technical assistance, model demonstration, and information services activities that are supported by evidence based research. Beneficiaries will include families, service providers, state deaf-blind projects, state and local education agencies and other organizations responsible for providing early intervention, education and transition services. The second purpose is to help address State identified needs for highly qualified personnel by ensuring that personnel have skills and knowledge. Outcomes include: (a) increasing the knowledge and skills of families and service providers to implement IDEA and evidence based practices and (b) increasing the systems capacity of state deaf-blind projects and other agencies to serve children/youth who are deaf-blind.

Methods

The Consortium combines the resources and expertise of three national agencies, the Teaching Research Institute of Western Oregon University (Monmouth, Oregon), the Helen Keller National Center (Sands Point, New York), and the Hilton/Perkins Program, Perkins School for the Blind (Watertown, Massachusetts). The NCDB project provides a national effort of technical assistance, dissemination activities, training, and information services to multiple recipients including families, individuals who are deaf-blind (consumers), state projects for deaf-blind services, state education agencies, Part C lead agencies, and other state agencies. The consortium objectives are: (1.0) Communicate, collaborate and form partnerships as directed by OSEP and with agencies, organizations and projects in order to improve results for children/youth and families; (2.0) Implement an ongoing, multi-level needs assessment to systematically identify the needs of children/youth, families and service providers, including personnel training, in order to adequately and appropriately address those needs; (3.0) Provide national leadership in the implementation of evidence-based practices in order to address “gaps” in knowledge and to “scale up” current practices; (4.0) Implement an array of technical assistance and personnel training activities to build the capacity of state and local agencies to meet the needs of children/youth and their families; (5.0) Utilize collaborative partnerships and facilitated efforts to build the capacity of youth who are deaf-blind and families in order to promote self-advocacy, personal empowerment and knowledge of deaf-blindness; (6.0) Provide leadership in a coordinated national effort to promote personnel training on the implementation of IDEA and evidence-based practices in order to address the shortage of leadership and highly qualified personnel in the field of deaf-blindness; (7.0) Identify, collect, organize and disseminate information related to deaf-blindness, including evidence-based practices, in order to respond to inquiries and increase knowledge that promotes effective early intervention, education and transition services, and supports families; (8.0) Expand the utilization of information resources by developing and disseminating accessible products that synthesize evidence-based research, effective practices and emerging knowledge; and (9.0) Implement a comprehensive system of evaluation to assess the impact of the Center’s objectives and activities, identify relevant achievements, and identify strategies for improvement.