OIB-TAC held Best Practice in Administration of OIB Programs Refresh

The Older Individuals who are Blind Technical Assistance Center (OIB-TAC) recently held a meeting to update its Best Practice in Administration of OIB Programs document. The meeting occurred in Sacramento, CA, on May 3-4, 2023.

best practice refresh team sitting around table

In 2018 the OIB-TAC convened a Best Practice Task Force Working Group that consisted of expert panelists of professionals with experience in OIB program administration and representatives of blindness organizations. As a result of this task force, best practices for OIB programs were established to cover administrative management, implementing effective programming, and developing quality staff.  

To continue its efforts in maintaining best practices across OIB programs, the OIB-TAC held the recent meeting to review, update, and expand on the current best practices. This refresh meeting brought together eight experts in the field, including OIB Program Managers and professionals in vision rehabilitation.  

Earlier in the year, five sections were identified for updates. From there, content-specific groups consisting of direct service professionals, administrators, and OIB Program Managers worked on drafting revisions to the identified sections, which were reviewed at the Sacramento meeting.  

Jennifer Ottowitz, Older Blind Specialist, said the best practice refresh meeting brought “excellent ideas for moving OIB programs towards best practices.” Additional explanations of acceptable practices were identified, and further revisions were made to incorporate changes that would be relevant for programs that contract out for their services.  

This group worked diligently and shared valuable input and perspectives during the two-day meeting. The task force will continue to work remotely to finalize revisions over the next few months.