[tabi] Fw: another story on dbs chanel 6

From: "Easy Talk" <Easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 06:21:10 -0500
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Easy Talk 
To: fcb-l@xxxxxxx 
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2013 6:19 AM
Subject: another story on dbs chanel 6


Tallahassee, FL - The parents of a visually impaired girl are raising new 
concerns
about Florida's Division of Blind Services.
They say they're not getting the help for their daughter DBS promised.
They're so concerned, the family drove all the way from St. Augustine to 
Tallahassee
to talk to us about it.
Victoria Parson is an 11 year old sixth grader.
Visually impaired since birth, Victoria only has limited sight in her left eye.
She says it makes school work especially difficult.
"I do stress a lot keeping up with work and stuff and finding proper ways to do 
things,"
said Victoria.
To help with that school work, Victoria and her parents entered into a verbal 
agreement
with Florida's Division of Blind Services to have Victoria use a machine.
The reader or CCTV machine scans and magnifies pages to help Victoria read them.
Tammy Parson says as part of the August, 2010 deal, DBS agreed to take care of 
the
reader's maintenance for three years.
But Tammy says it's broken down twice, hasn't worked for months and despite her 
best
efforts to get DBS to fix it, it hasn't happened.
"They haven't called to say let's try something else, let's see about getting 
another
one, let's take another route," said Tammy. "They just called and said they 
weren't
fixing it or paying any more money and that's it," she said.
What also troubles Tammy is she was told by her DBS case worker the machine was 
new,
even though she gave it to her without a box.
However, when she checked after it broke a second time, she found an invoice 
showing
DBS bought the machine in 2008, more than two years before it was given to 
Victoria.
"I don't feel they were honest," said Tammy.
Additionally, the vendor listed on the invoice is not the same one who Tammy 
says
she was directed to contact after the machine broke down.
She says that vendor told her she used to work for Blind Services, but quit her 
job
to start her business.
As we reported last month, four DBS employees, including former Director Joyce 
Hildreth
either resigned or were fired in the wake of a private vendor scandal.
The bottom line for Tammy is getting Victoria the help she needs.
"I've called numerous times asking questions, never get any answers," Tammy 
said.
"I get the runaround or I'm told I ask too complicated questions," she said.
"I think they should help me considering that I am visually impaired and my 
needs
are going to be different from everybody else's," said Victoria.
A Blind Services Spokeswoman tells us the agency can't comment on individual 
clients.
However, she also says DBS is investigating the buying process for Victoria's 
machine
[tabi] Fw: another story on dbs chanel 6

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