[Ct-nfb] We Must Block Senate Bill 234

[Justin Salisbury]

Fellow Federationists,

Right now, guide dogs are funded through charitable donations. No doctor is required to say I need one, and no unit of government says where I must go to get a dog. A whole lot of our elected officials in Hartford are trying to change that, and they think this bill is a slam dunk.

They need to hear our voices LOUD AND CLEAR...and NOW!

If you haven't yet, you can find your state-legislators at:
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp

Here is a letter that I have composed, explaining the issue, that you can send to your state-level legislators. It is attached in Word and Rich Text Format, as well as pasted below.

If you need anything, please let me know!

Justin Salisbury
Legislative Coordinator

Dear Legislator,

I urge you to oppose Senate Bill 234 as written. I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut, the statewide organization of blind consumers. We have learned about the detrimental effects that this bill could have on the guide dog industry. While we appreciate that some well-meaning people may have authored this language in order to help us, it has serious potential to do a lot more harm than good. Since we are not experts on other types of assistance dogs, we will not speak for the consumers of other types of assistance dogs; by the same logic, we are the only ones that can speak for ourselves when it comes to guide dogs.
SB 234 will shift the acquisition of guide dogs to being governed by a medical model. Medical service providers will then be making decisions about what types of rehabilitation services we need, which they are absolutely not trained to do. Health insurance and medical personnel need to stay out of a process that is the domain of education and rehabilitation professionals.
SB 234 requires that guide dogs come from an "accredited, non-profit organization", but common standards do not yet exist. ADI, (Assistance Dogs International), attempts to do this, but it falls short, especially in the areas of consumer participation and consumer advocacy and rights.
SB 234 takes autonomy away from guide dog schools. By telling them that they must affiliate with other schools, they lose their independence and the freedom to innovate as they serve their consumers.
SB 234 will take us away from the philanthropic funding model, which is already working quite well, and stack yet another cost onto health insurance. The system isn't broken, and I don't want the Connecticut General Assembly to try to fix it. The cost of obtaining a guide dog is not obstructive whatsoever for blind people, and some guide dog schools only suggest a donation.
Right now, guide dogs are funded through charitable donations. No doctor is required to say I need one, and no unit of government says where I must go to get a dog. Please do not let SB 234 change that! Please vote against Senate Bill 234 until the language about guide dogs has been removed!
I am eager to be of any assistance you need.
Sincerely,

Name
Address
Contact Information


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/attachments/20150331/e6fdb8f7/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Dear Legislator Oppose SB 234 CGA 2015.rtf
Type: application/rtf
Size: 45907 bytes
Desc: Dear Legislator Oppose SB 234 CGA 2015.rtf
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/attachments/20150331/e6fdb8f7/attachment.rtf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Dear Legislator Oppose SB 234 CGA 2015.docx
Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Size: 12984 bytes
Desc: Dear Legislator Oppose SB 234 CGA 2015.docx
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ct-nfb_nfbnet.org/attachments/20150331/e6fdb8f7/attachment.docx>