[Colorado-talk] 2019 NFBCO Legislative Agenda

Scott C. LaBarre slabarre at labarrelaw.com
Thu Feb 7 23:39:19 UTC 2019


Greetings everyone, pasted below and attached to this email is the NFBCO
Legislative Memorandum for 2019.  Please feel free to distribute everywhere
including to your Senators and Representatives.  We look forward to seeing
everyone Monday morning at the Capitol at 8:00 am.  More logistical
information will follow.

 

Best,

Scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEMORANDUM

 

To:      The Members of the Colorado General Assembly

From:  The Members of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Date:   February 11, 2019

Re:      Legislative Concerns of Blind Citizens 

 

GENERAL BACKGROUND

 

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the oldest and largest
organization of the blind in the United States and in Colorado.  The primary
mission of the Federation is to allow the blind to live the lives they want
in all areas of life from ensuring basic civil rights to securing employment
and education for the blind.  Founded officially in 1955, the NFB of
Colorado engages in several programs specifically designed to create greater
opportunities for the blind.  For example, the Federation is the chief
sponsor of the Colorado Center for the Blind.  The Colorado Center provides
training in the alternative skills blind people need to become fully
participating members of society.  Additionally, NFB offers national and
statewide scholarships.  We also provide a free talking newspaper called
NFB-NEWSLINER which allows the blind of our state to read the daily
newspaper just as easily as their sighted peers.  We advocate for the rights
of the blind in all areas ranging from education to employment.  Where
positive changes are happening in the blindness field, there is a good
chance that the Federation is involved.

2019 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

 

First, the Federation calls upon the General Assembly to adopt legislation
that would allow the blind of Colorado to vote independently while using the
mail in ballot option just like all other Colorado citizens.  Second, we ask
that the Assembly make recent reforms to the vocational rehabilitation
system for the blind permanent and seek further federal funding for same.
Lastly, we urge this Assembly to at least maintain funding for NFB Newsline
which allows the blind of Colorado timely and independent access to
newspapers and other periodicals.

 

For further information contact:

Scott C. LaBarre, President

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Phone: 303 504-5979

Fax: 303 757-3640

Email: slabarre at labarrelaw.com


SUPPORT ACCESSIBLE, NONVISUAL, PRIVATE AND INDEPENDENT VOTING
FOR BLIND COLORADANS

The printed ballot used in Colorado's vote-by-mail system is not accessible
to Blind Coloradans.  We want to be able to vote privately and independently
just like our sighted friends, neighbors, and coworkers.  It's time for a
secure and accessible solution for blind voters that enables them to mark
the printed ballot independently and privately using the nonvisual access
technology with which they are most familiar.

 

When, in 2013, the General Assembly passed The Voter Access and Modernized
Elections Act (H.B. 13-1303) making Colorado a vote-by-mail state, it was
generally assumed that blind voters' private and independent access to the
ballot using nonvisually-accessible voting systems at voter service and
polling centers would suffice.  While polling centers should be accessible
to blind voters, blind voters do not have equal choices in terms of how or
when we vote, something required under Title II of the Americans with
Disabilities Act.  To be fair, in 2013 accessible technologies to mark the
printed ballot simply did not exist.  Since 2013, Maryland and New Mexico
have implemented electronic ballot marking systems that are fully accessible
to nonvisual voters, allowing them to privately and independently mark their
printed ballots at home, work, or other convenient location, using a
computer, tablet, or mobile phone and their own access technology.  Further,
these electronic ballot marking systems are the only voting technologies
accessible to a voter who is deaf-blind.

 

Here is how an accessible ballot marking system might work.

 

1.         Voters would request electronic delivery of the ballot and, if
necessary, certify on penalty of perjury that they are not able to use the
printed ballot.

2.         Voters requesting electronic ballot delivery would receive a link
to a secure website and asked to enter appropriate verification data.

3.         Voters would then be taken to their secure ballot and would use
their access technology to mark their choices on a ballot formatted using
the language of the Web: HTML (the PDF format does not work reliably with
nonvisual access technologies used by the blind).

4.         Once the ballot is complete, the voter could be asked either to
print the ballot (which could then be mailed in) or have the ballot
converted to the PDF format for later transmission.

 

We urge the 72nd Colorado General Assembly to pass legislation, soon to be
introduced by Senator Jessie Danielson, authorizing the development and
implementation of an accessible ballot marking system enabling blind and
print-disabled Coloradans to mark their ballots privately and independently
using their own access technology.  The State of Maryland has already
developed the software, and it will provide the software at no cost to other
states.  This is the right time to remove an unintended barrier preventing
blind Coloradans from marking their printed ballots independently. The
technology has been proven, and this is the right thing to do.

 

For further information regarding this Independent Voting matter contact:

Scott C. LaBarre, President

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Phone: 303 504-5979

Email: slabarre at labarrelaw.com <mailto:slabarre at labarrelaw.com> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY SHOULD WORK WITH THE COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT TO ENSURE SEPARATE, IDENTIFIABLE, AND SPECIALIZED
SERVICES FOR THE BLIND ARE ADEQUATELY FUNDED, PROTECTED, AND STRENGTHENED

 

BACKGROUND


>From the inception of modern training, counseling, and job placement
methods, legally blind citizens of Colorado and professionals in the field
agree that specialized services tailored to meet the unique challenges faced
by blind citizens of Colorado is the most effective way to fully integrate
blind people into society.

During the summer of 2015, the General Assembly convened an interim
committee to study the rehabilitation and job placement challenges faced by
blind citizens of Colorado which was ably chaired by now Senator Jessie
Danielson with a committee containing current Lieutenant Governor Diana
Primavera and other distinguished members from both parties. Because
significant evidence exists demonstrating that the blind achieve better
employment outcomes and provider agencies realize cost savings when
specialized distinct services are provided, the blind asked the Committee to
study and recommend how separate and identifiable services for the blind
could be offered in Colorado.  

 

Concurrent with the increasing level of concerns and frustrations being
voiced by the blind about the lack of identifiable effective services, the
General Assembly and Colorado's press began investigating a broken
vocational rehabilitation system operated by the Department of Human
Services. Systemic failures included lack of transparency, budget
irregularities, unacceptable wait times for services, as well as dismal job
placement outcomes. The process ultimately resulted in the General Assembly
taking action to move the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, DVR, to the
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, CDLE, which we applauded. 

 

THE BLIND WERE HEARD

 

Even before the July 1, 2016 transition of DVR to CDLE was complete, the
Executive Director of CDLE Ellen Golombek empowered her staff, including the
newly-hired Director of DVR Steve Anton, to develop a unit within DVR that
would be more responsive to the real needs and ambitions of the blind. The
Blindness and Low Vision Services unit (BLVS) was created. And the unit has
enjoyed remarkable success. Wait times to receive initial services no longer
exist. Job placement into competitive, meaningful, sustainable jobs is up
substantially over the 3-year history of the BLVS unit. Wages for clients
placed have dramatically increased. Cost savings have been realized.
Counselors with appropriate training, perspective, and knowledge have been
hired who are better able to understand the unique needs and aspirations of
the blind wanting to enter Colorado's expanding economy. Nevertheless,
Resources have not been made available to ensure that the unit can
adequately serve rural citizens, and not all federal funds are being
captured. Moreover, the operation of the BLVS unit within DVR is nowhere in
policy, regulation, or statute. 

 

THE SOLUTION

 

We call upon the General Assembly to work with CDLE and the blind of
Colorado to determine how best to strengthen and expand separate and
distinct service delivery to the blind; to capture all possible federal
matching dollars by slightly increasing state funding; and to make BLVS a
permanent part of the state structure.  

 

For further information contact:

Scott C. LaBarre, President

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Phone: 303 504-5979

Email: slabarre at labarrelaw.com <mailto:slabarre at labarrelaw.com> 

 

MAINTAIN, AT LEAST, FUNDING FOR NFB-NEWSLINER SERVICE

 

For more than a dozen years, the Colorado General Assembly has funded
Colorado's NFB-NEWSLINER, providing blind Coloradans the same daily access
to newspapers and magazines as their sighted neighbors and family members
enjoy.  This year, we request that the General Assembly at least maintain
its financial support, currently at $120,000.00 a year, so that blind people
can access the critical and vital information provided by the service.
Because NFB-NEWSLINER is funded through the Disabled Telephone Users Fund
(DTUF), funding to NFB-NEWSLINER does not impact general funds. The DTUF's
funding comes from a very small fee on Land lines and cell phones in
Colorado.  

 

Access to information from the newspapers and magazines of our nation and
state plays a critical role for each of us as informed and participating
citizens.  Recognizing this, the National Federation of the Blind created
NFB-NEWSLINER for the blind in the mid-1990s.  With this revolutionary
system, the blind are able to pick up their touch tone phone, call a
toll-free number or open an app on their iOS or Android device and select
from more than 450 different newspapers and magazines including the Denver
Post, Colorado Springs Gazette, Fort Collins Coloradoan, Wall Street
Journal, New York Times, and many other national newspapers.  Today the
phone-in option is still in place, but access via the NFB-NEWSLINER mobile
app has comparable usage statistics.  Additional options include online
on-demand reading with a web browser, email delivery and, remote content
download via specialized devices used by the blind and others with print
disabilities. Thus, subscribers have access to the three Colorado newspapers
offered, national papers as well as 75 magazines - everything from AARP
publications to Time and Wired.  There are even accessible and
locally-relevant television listings - something impossible to find in an
accessible form for the blind otherwise.  Additionally, the system provides
current weather conditions as well as watches and warnings.  Currently, over
1400 blind Coloradans have access to the 450-plus newspapers, 75 magazines,
and other publications on the system.  About every two minutes, a blind
Coloradan is tapping into the vast wealth of information provided by
NFB-NEWSLINER.

 

With this funding, the NFB of Colorado will both maintain the system and
expand its reach.  We will create even greater opportunities to share
NFB-NEWSLINER on additional web based and other technological platforms;
expand the number of publications available; train more blind individuals to
use the system; and work with the Audio Information Network of Colorado
(AINC) to provide more information to the blind of Colorado. AINC is another
service funded by the DTUF providing other timely publications and
information to our state's blind and the NFB of Colorado supports continued
funding for AIN as well.

 

For further information regarding NFB-NEWSLINER contact:

Scott C. LaBarre, President

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Phone: 303 504-5979

Email: slabarre at labarrelaw.com <mailto:slabarre at labarrelaw.com> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPORT THE COLORADO CENTER FOR THE BLIND AND NFB SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS

 

In your packets, you will find brochures on the Colorado Center for the
Blind and fliers for National Federation of the Blind national and local
scholarships.  These and other programs are of great importance and
therefore deserve a specific mention.  

 

Founded in 1988 by the NFB of Colorado, the Colorado Center for the Blind
(CCB) offers world class rehabilitation and adjustment to blindness training
to blind/visually impaired individuals in our state and from all over the
world.  The CCB believes that with the right kind of training and a positive
attitude, blindness need not be a tragedy and should not artificially limit
a person's hopes and dreams.  The program serves all ages from kids as young
as elementary age to seniors.  CCB teaches cane travel/orientation and
mobility, Braille, technology, independent daily living skills, employment
skills, and much, much more.  Nearly all of the teaching staff is made up of
blind instructors who serve as excellent role models.  Please read the CCB
brochure in your packet for more information or go to www.cocenter.org.  Our
Center is located in Littleton and you are always welcome and encouraged to
visit.

  

SCHOLARSHIPS

 

The National Federation of the Blind, on a national basis, offers thirty
scholarships to talented blind men and women attending a post-secondary
institution.  Over a hundred thousand dollars are awarded each year and
provide real opportunity for deserving students.  On a state level, the NFB
of Colorado offers up to five scholarships to blind men and women attending
a post-secondary institution and scholarships range from $1,500.00 to
$5,000.00.  More information on how to apply is contained in your
legislative packet.  Please inform your local high schools, colleges and
universities as well as any blind/visually impaired post-secondary student
you know about these valuable scholarship opportunities.

 

For further information on any of these issues contact:

Scott C. LaBarre, President

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado

Phone: 303 504-5979

Email: slabarre at labarrelaw.com

 

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