Texas Commission for the Blind Consumer News


CONSUMER NEWS
Texas Commission for the Blind
May 11, 1995   Vol. III, No. 9

Advocates for people who are blind say there is good news and bad news from 
Washington. The good news is a bill was introduced yesterday that 
demonstrates Congress is listening to consumers and wants to address their 
concerns about consolidation of federal job training programs. The bad news 
is that some critical issues still need to be addressed.
The bill (H.R. 1617), cosponsored by Rep. Bill Goodling, Chairman of the 
House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee, and Rep. Buck McKeon, 
would divide the state into Local Workforce Development Areas. A Local 
Workforce Development Board would create and monitor a system of One-Stop 
Career Centers within the Local Area. The Board would have at least one 
individual with a disability, but would always maintain a majority of members 
representing business and industry. The one-stop centers would deliver 
services to all individuals, including VR services to persons with 
disabilities. Any organization within a Local Area could apply to be a one-
stop center as long as it delivers a list of core services, which include 
VR. Advocates say:
    The bill would allow Governors to designate a fiscal agent to
receive and 
monitor VR funds earmarked for services to people who are blind. However, the 
fiscal agent would not be required to know anything about VR programs or 
issues related to blindness and work.
    The proposal significantly amends, but retains Title I of the
Rehab Act, 
including requirements for eligibility determination, qualified staff, and 
priority for persons with the most severe disabilities. The amendments to 
Title I, however, would not ensure the same scope of services that are 
guaranteed under the current Rehab Act: specific services such as adaptive 
technology, physical restoration, reader services, orientation and mobility, 
or training in independent living skills.
    The bill includes provisions to increase an individuals personal 
responsibility in the rehab process by making the IWRP optional and creating 
a voucher system for purchasing VR services.
    The scope of VR services in each Local Area would be
negotiated by the 
Local Workforce Development Board and the organizations applying to become 
one-stop centers. Advocates fear services would be significantly different 
from area to area.
    Consumer control and involvement in the states overall VR
program would be 
traded for increased choice and responsibility in the individuals rehab 
process.

Final discussion (markup) by the subcommittee will take place on May 17. 
Advocates say that if you are concerned about consumer control and 
involvement in the VR system or access to specific services for people who 
are blind, contact your local representative and those listed below.  
Advocates say any consolidation proposal must guarantee:
    that the scope of VR services shall include specific
services for people 
who are blind, as guaranteed in the current Rehab Act, and 
    that the designated agent to receive VR funds be
knowledgeable about VR 
programs, as required in the current Rehab Act.

Write to Representatives at:
Hon. (Representative's name)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Bill Goodling, Chairman
House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee
(202) 225-5836
(202) 226-1000

Gene Green
(202) 225-1688 (voice)
(202) 225-9903 (fax )

Howard P. "Buck" McKeon 
Chairman, Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education, Training and Life-long 
Learning
(202) 225-1956 (voice)
(202) 226-0683 (fax)
tellbuck@hr.house.gov

Sam Johnson
(202) 225-4201 (voice)
(202) 225-1485 (fax)
samtx03@hr.house.gov







JOINT STATEMENT OF ORGANIZATIONS OF AND FOR THE BLIND

     Bills to consolidate employment and training programs being
considered by the 104th Congress are so far-reaching that
rehabilitation services for blind and visually impaired
individuals could be absorbed into the generic job training and
employment service system.  This would mean that both
responsibility and funding for specialized services needed by
people who are blind or visually impaired--a comparatively small
population--would be merged with much larger, generic programs
for millions of people who are unemployed. It would also mean a
merger of unrelated programs--rehabilitation for persons with
disabilities, on the one hand, and training and employment
services for the unemployed, on the other.

     Under existing law, Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 provides all states with a dedicated block of federal
funding for the sole purpose of assisting people with
disabilities to achieve individualized rehabilitation goals.
However, both the dedicated funding and the resulting specialized
services would be diminished through consolidation.  It is a
matter of historical fact that state agency organization and
service delivery patterns tend to mirror the pattern of federal
financial assistance.  Moreover, the combination of programs will
inevitably favor the largest and best-understood needs to be met.
Unique services for persons with disabilities will suffer.

     The consolidation or block grant approaches are based on the
theory that virtually everyone who is unemployed for whatever
reason can be served best under one central authority.  According
to this view the administration and delivery of services to
assist persons with disabilities are essentially the same as
services to dislocated workers or unemployed welfare recipients.

     This plan simply would not work.  The needs of a person who
is newly blinded or who has not received effective rehabilitation
services are drastically different from those of the typical
unemployed worker.  For example, the following essential
rehabilitation services needed by blind individuals are not
available from, and are completely unrelated to, generic job
training and employment programs:

     1.   Travel training in using the white cane or the guide
          dog is essential for success in vocational training or
          employment.  This training must encompass how to assess
          the environment without seeing one's surroundings.

     2.   Adaptive methods of reading, writing, and information
          access are prerequisites for success in the workplace.
          Braille, for example, is a system of reading and
          writing which depends upon the tactile identification
          of raised dots.  The extent of training needed will
          vary in complexity from learning the basic Braille code
          (including almost 200 contractions or special symbols
          commonly in use) to specialized notations for
          computers, foreign languages, music, math and other
          disciplines.

     3.   Assistive technology is an essential tool for blind
          persons in employment.  High- or low-tech adaptations
          include use of specially adapted synthetic speech
          devices for computers, screen enlargement programs,
          Braille computer terminals, closed-circuit television
          or other magnification devices, reading machines, or
          scanners.  These services must include identification
          of the appropriate technology to meet the needs of the
          individual and the employer and provision of training
          in its use.  Title I is the only funding source for
          this service.

     4.   Daily living skills training is directly related to
          employment, inasmuch as blind and visually impaired
          persons without these skills will not be able to
          function effectively in an employment setting.  Such
          training includes alternative skills for personal and
          home management such as grooming, cooking, shopping,
          getting to work, and many other ordinary things that
          sighted persons take for granted.

     5.   Adjustment to blindness is essential to an individual's
          eventual success in seeking and holding a job.
          Effective rehabilitation counseling helps blind and
          visually impaired persons overcome fears and develop
          confidence in their newfound skills.  They learn to
          understand employer attitudes about blindness and how
          to deal with them effectively.

     Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is essentially the
only source of funding for these services.  Moreover, Title I is
the principal resource for funding to establish vending
facilities operated by the blind in public buildings.  Unlike
some services to persons with disabilities, which may often be of
a medical nature, programs for the blind cannot avail themselves
of third-party reimbursement in most instances.  With the
consolidation of Title I into the generic job training and
employment service system, most if not all of the dedicated
resources now available under Title I would be gone.

     We support consolidation of generic job training and
placement programs and would like to see effective collaboration
between them and the existing public rehabilitation program.
Title I of the Rehabilitation Act, as currently structured,
provides an effective mechanism for full integration of blind and
visually impaired persons into the nation's workforce.  The
public and private programs funded under it possess the
knowledge, technical expertise, and financial resources which are
essential to make this integration possible.

     For the reasons set forth in this statement, the undersigned
agencies and organizations urge that changes in Title I of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 not be made at this time.  We support
continued federal leadership in a partnership with the states for
targeted programs to assist persons with disabilities, including
specialized services for individuals who are blind or visually
impaired.


                Concurring Agencies/Organizations

American Council of the Blind (ACB)
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)
Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and
 Visually Impaired (AER)
Blinded Veterans Association (BVA)
General Council of Workshops for the Blind (GCWB)
Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults,
 (HKNC), including National Family Association for the Deaf-Blind
 (NFADB)
National Association for Parents of the Visually Impaired (NAPVI)
National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB)
National Federation of the Blind (NFB)
National Industries for the Blind (NIB)
