[Mn-parents] What's Been Happening

[Steve Jacobson]

Dear list,

It is far past the time when we need to see if this list is working, so I'd like to take a moment to cover several areas that might be of interest to parents.  The 
intent of this list is not to operate in only one direction, but rather to be a place to share ideas.  If anything in this note raises questions, by all means feel free 
to ask and discuss.

Our members have made legislative visits at both the state and the national level.  Particularly during this time of intense budget cutting, it is important that 
legislators understand how the services that are provided to blind persons affect education and employment.  While this is not the time to request more 
funding and all areas of government will need to share some of the burdens of budget cuts, we believe that the services provided to blind children and adults 
will survive better if legislators understand their impact.  For that reason, over thirty members of the National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota went to our 
state capitol on January 19.  Since there are many new legislators this year, our purpose was largely to show legislators that blind people are active and 
participate in society, provided we get solid education and training.  One of our areas of concern was the funding of the Communication Center of Minnesota 
State Services for the Blind.  As you know, the Communication Center provides many of the textbooks and test materials that our kids use.  When budgets 
are cut, often those state dollars that result in getting additional federal dollars are not cut.  This is done for good reason.  Removing one state dollar can 
cause the loss of three or four federal dollars.  What this means, unfortunately, is that services that get only state funding are often hit harder by budget cuts.  
One such service provider is the Communication Center.  When talking to legislators, we explained what the Communication Center does and how cutting 
too deeply into its budget could affect their ability to produce the textbooks that our kids so desperately need.  It is, of course, too early to know what will 
happen, but we feel that our message was heard and understood.

 During the week of January 31, fourteen of us, including one of our parents division members, went to Washington DC to visit our representatives and 
senators.  Several issues were outlined including the laying of groundwork for the establishment of educational standards for blind children.  While many 
school districts do their best to educate our kids, the education that they get varies from district to district.  In addition, how well our blind children do is not 
part of the measurement of a school district's performance.  This can cause the quality of the education of blind kids to take a back seat to other factors 
upon which performance is based.  We are still a long way from having standards, and there are some difficulties to overcome before we get there, but it is a 
start.

 We have also continued to hold what we call "Teen Night."  Teens meet at 100 East 22ND Street in Minneapolis to both learn and have fun.  Whether it is 
playing games, cooking their own dinner, taking a bus trip to a nearby restaurant, or sharing both problems and possible solutions with each other and blind 
adults, the goal is to have fun while expanding horizons.  If you are interested in scheduling or more information, please contact Charlene Guggisberg at 612-
872-0100.

 The National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota has a convention twice each year.  Our spring semiannual convention will be held on May 21 in 
Minneapolis at 100 East 22ND Street.  Besides a general session packed with speakers in the morning, there will be multiple workshops during the 
afternoon.  One of these will be aimed at high school and college students.  Two of the topics to be discussed will be technology, and also how to get and 
use accessible textbooks.  As more specifics are established, we will let you know here, through our web site, and through a mailing.

 Even though it is just starting to feel as though spring might arrive, it won't be long before summer will be here.  BLIND Incorporated is offering two summer 
programs, the "Buddy " program and the "PREP" program for kids and high schoolers respectively.  Please visit 

 http://www.blindinc.org/programs.html

 to get further information. 

Several weeks ago, the president of our St. Cloud chapter, Andy Virden, was struck and killed by a car on his way home from a fish fry in his neighborhood.  
Andy was a member of our organization for almost sixty years and he is very much missed.  He was among the first children to be mainstreamed in a public 
school outside of the metropolitan Twin Cities area back in the 30's and 40's.  The specifics of this tragedy are not yet known and we are still awaiting the 
official police report.  Andy was active in both his church and his community as was demonstrated by the presence of six preasts and several hundred 
people at his funeral.

 As you can see, there is much happening.  In this message, I have tried to concentrate on things that affect our kids directly, but other important issues 
such as employment, training, and mass transit will all affect our kids sooner than we might think.  Efforts are being made in all those areas to try to secure a 
better future for all blind people, including our kids.

  Best regards,

 Steve Jacobson, vice-president
National Federation of the Blind of Minnesota