[nabs-l] nabs-l petition

[Jedi]

Alex,

I thought I'd send some suggestions regarding your petition. First, the 
rehab act does specify the process of "informed Choice" which does give 
participants the right to investigate training options and make their 
choice according to their needs. The problem is that rehabilitation 
agencies often use bureaucracy to stifle informed choice by making 
clients jump through ridiculous amounts of hoops. Or, especially in 
these times, rehab agencies may use budgetary shortfalls as an excuse 
to not send a student to a training center. Also our training centers 
and those housed in-state seem the same on paper, so potential 
customers have no real understanding what our training centers have  
that's so unique. Frankly, I'm not sure your petition captures the 
uniqueness of our training centers such that lawmakers and other 
officials really understand the necessity of the option to choose.

What exactly is at the heart of our training centers that no other 
training centers really have? It's not the trips to the mall or the 
challenge activities. Other training centers have those too. Is the 
uniqueness of our centers captured in the resume building classes, ADL 
training, or even in our cane training? Not really. Is it that we have 
blind staff? No. These days, training centers have all of those. And if 
they don't, they will convince you that they do.

The thing that really separates our centers from all others is this: we 
believe that it's not only okay to be blind, but that it's altogether 
respectable. We require the same level of performance at our centers 
that any training facility for sighted adults would regardless of the 
educational material. Our curriculum isn't based in what the training 
professional believes will work for the student. Instead, our 
curriculum is based on teaching students the basic skills so that 
students have the power and correct judgment to decide what's best and 
what will work for them. The fact that we have blind staff is evidence 
of our beliefs, but any training center can have blind staff and claim 
that they're role models for their students. And yes they are. Whether 
they espouse the best philosophy on blindness is another issue entirely.

Our training philosophy is based on the philosophy of the National 
Federation of the Blind. As I've said above, we believe it's 
respectable to be blind. Furthermore, we believe that blindness is 
nothing more than a characteristic that, like other characteristics 
possessed by humans, limits us from time to time. These limitations are 
not debilitating as most people imagine. Instead, they are occasional 
inconveniences that we simply deal with. We believe that a blind person 
can compete on terms of equality with our sighted friends and neighbors 
given the proper training and opportunity. But for me, what really 
separates us from other training centers is our unabashed relationship 
with the Organized Blind. More specifically, we are deeply interlaced 
with the Federation and are not afraid or ashamed to say so. 
Unfortunately, so many training centers are so afraid of stepping on 
organizational territory or are so afraid of offending some portion of 
their students that the Federation (and even the Council in some 
places) is not even mentioned or barely alluded to.

Your petition needs to express just what this stuff means beyond the 
facade of trips and blind role models. If you can adjust the wording of 
your petition to really reflect the real need of blind people to be 
around our positive philosophy, then I'd feel a lot better signing it. 
Unfortunately, in my opinion, an official might not be able to really 
glean what it is that separates us from all others. Alongside that, I'd 
like the petition to address the issue of bureaucracy as a tool for 
stifling informed choice. While you're correct that states don't even 
adhere to informed choice practices, more states simply throw 
bureaucracy in the way of clients to the point where clients simply 
give up or move to another state that's friendlier to their cause. If 
it's not too late to adjust your petition and if you think my 
suggestions are valid, let me know and I'll be happy to help you with it.

Respectfully,
Jedi
Original message:
> Hi list this is Alex Kaiser. I wrote a petition. plese check it out and 
> sign if you want to support the cause. The cause is to prevent in state 
> agencies for the blind created by the divisions of human services of 
> states  not to reject providing funding to their clientss for attending 
> National Federation of the blind training centers. Please check this 
> out and sign to support this cause. Visit the following website:
> http://gopetition.com/online/31453.html
> Please read and sign carefully your signature is going to the whitehouse.
> From,
> Alex
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