[Ctabs] Please Ask Your Legislators to Restore Historical Funding to BESB for Adult Services

Fri Mar 24 01:14:10 UTC 2023

Fellow Listers,

As the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut has been discussing
for several months, the amount of state funding for Adult Services at the
Bureau of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB) has been reduced over
the past 14 years, leaving services very limited and unable to catch up with
inflation. Now is the time, if you haven't done so already, to ask your
legislators to restore historical levels of funding to Adult Services. For
example, in 2009 the funding was $115,000, but for the past few years it has
been less than $45,000, a 60% cut not even adding in inflation. The
legislature is still debating the state budget, and they need to hear that
adequate funding for access technology and training on it, training in
effective orientation and mobility techniques, and other best practice
adjustment to blindness programming are unmet needs in the state. And thank
you also to those who already did so last month and even testified to the
appropriations committee on March 1.

I should note that many of us in the NFB of Connecticut were concerned also
with another line item in the governor's proposed budget: the one for
vocational rehabilitation for BESB and sister bureaus in the Department of
Aging and Disability Services. We have received helpful information that
less funding is needed in the next biennium because there were unspent funds
in the current biennium that are being carried forward; in other words,
services will NOT be cut as we were seriously concerned about.

This is especially important if either or both of your legislators serves on
the Appropriations Committee. Please see below my template e-mail (or fax or
snailmail letter) a list of appropriations committee members (and their
districts-if you may know that). If you don't know who your assembly
representative and state senator are,  you can find these at:

https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp

and selecting (where you are registered to vote or, if not registered to
vote, your residence) your town, then street, then house number. Again,
cross-reference with the table below to determine if either your assembly
representative, state senator, or both are on the appropriations committee
and therefore your e-mail should be edited a bit.

Here is a template e-mail:

***

[Your address]

Dear Senator/Assembly Representative ___:

As a constituent, I write to you to ask that state funding for the
Department of Aging and Disability Services, Bureau of Education and
Services for the Blind line item for Supplementary Relief and Services,
often referred to as "adult services", be restored to historically higher
levels and adjusted for inflation, other economic factors, and the
increasing elderly population. In 2022, Connecticut spent only $44,847 on
services to this population (along with additional minimal Federal funding).
However, in 2008 and 2009, the amount of funding provided by the state was
$115,425, meaning that funding has been cut by over 60%. It is inconceivable
that the population of aging residents experiencing vision loss has
decreased by over 60% since 2009. Rather, our experience shows that it is
only increasing.

Consumers of adult services programs can only receive at best cursory
services under this program. Additional funding could, for example, be well
used to provide training in using assistive technology to access the
Internet (for things such as grocery and pharmacy delivery services,
banking, and accessing transportation). It could also be well used to
provide cane travel instruction so that blind seniors can be confident
traveling around their communities and prepare to, if they so choose,
receive a guide dog.

[Add in your own personal story of no or limited services or that of a blind
senior.]

Please ask the Appropriations Committee to restore and adequately increase
this needed funding. And please vote only for a state budget that does so.

Restoring and adequately increasing funding for adult services will enable
the increasing population of blind seniors losing their vision to fully live
the lives they want with a greater level of independence and dignity. As a
constituent, I look forward to your response and action.

[Your signature]

***

Now here is that list of important appropriations committee members.

S19         Co-Chair

Osten, Catherine A.

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/Osten

D

093         Co-Chair

Walker, Toni E.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Walker

D

S15         Vice Chair

Hartley, Joan V.

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/Hartley

D

019         Vice Chair

Exum, Tammy R.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/exum

D

145         Vice Chair

Paris, Corey P.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/paris

D

S32         Ranking Member

Berthel, Eric C.

http://www.ctsenaterepublicans.com/home-Berthel

R

053         Ranking Member

Nuccio, Tammy

https://www.cthousegop.com/Nuccio

R

S03         Member

Anwar, Saud

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/anwar

D

124         Member

Baker, Andre F.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Baker

D

106         Member

Bolinsky, Mitch

http://www.cthousegop.com/Bolinsky/

R

108         Member

Callahan, Patrick E.

https://www.cthousegop.com/Callahan

R

095         Member

Candelaria, Juan R.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Candelaria

D

138         Member

Chaleski, Rachel

http://www.cthousegop.com/Chaleski

R

011         Member

Currey, Jeff

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Currey

D

142         Member

Dathan, Lucy

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/dathan

D

048         Member

DeCaprio, Mark

http://www.cthousegop.com/decaprio/

R

144         Member

Delany, Hubert D.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/delany

D

014         Member

Delnicki, Tom

http://www.cthousegop.com/Delnicki/

R

092         Member

Dillon, Patricia A.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Dillon

D

130         Member

Felipe, Antonio

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/felipe

D

S29         Member

Flexer, Mae

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/Flexer

D

107         Member

Foncello, Martin

http://www.cthousegop.com/Foncello/

R

060         Member

Garibay, Jane M.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/garibay

D

015         Member

Gibson, Bobby G.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/gibson

D

018         Member

Gilchrest, Jillian

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/gilchrest

D

S35         Member

Gordon, Jeff

http://www.ctsenaterepublicans.com/home-gordon

R

003         Member

Gonzalez, Minnie

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Gonzalez

D

054         Member

Haddad, Gregory

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/haddad

D

007         Member

Hall, Joshua M.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Hall

D

069         Member

Harrison, Cindy

https://www.cthousegop.com/Harrison

R

078         Member

Hoxha, Joe

http://www.cthousegop.com/hoxha/

R

049         Member

Johnson, Susan M.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Johnson

D

149         Member

Khanna, Rachel

https://www.housedems.ct.gov/khanna

D

119         Member

Kennedy, Kathy

http://www.cthousegop.com/kennedy/

R

S24         Member

Kushner, Julie

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/kushner

D

S09         Member

Lesser, Matthew L.

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/lesser

D

S20         Member

Marx, Martha

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/marx

D

038         Member

McCarty, Kathleen M.

http://www.cthousegop.com/McCarty/

R

S02         Member

McCrory, Douglas

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/McCrory

D

039         Member

Nolan, Anthony L.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/nolan

D

094         Member

Porter, Robyn A.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Porter

D

016         Member

Osborne, Melissa

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Osborne

D

075         Member

Reyes, Geraldo C.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Reyes

D

128         Member

Rosario, Christopher

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Rosario

D

123         Member

Rutigliano, David

http://www.cthousegop.com/Rutigliano/

R

139         Member

Ryan, Kevin

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Ryan

D

024         Member

Sanchez, Emmanuel

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/SanchezM

D

S05         Member

Slap, Derek

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/slap

D

140         Member

Simms, Travis

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/simms

D

S18         Member

Somers, Heather S.

http://www.ctsenaterepublicans.com/home-Somers

R

026         Member

Tercyak, Peter A.

http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Tercyak

D

S10         Member

Winfield, Gary A.

http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/Winfield

D

061         Member

Zawistowski, Tami

http://www.cthousegop.com/Zawistowski/

R

Thank you in advance for contacting your legislators on this important issue
for the blind in Connecticut. If you have any trouble contacting a
legislator or using the information I've sent, feel free to contact me
either on and off of the listserve.

Best,

Nathanael Wales

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