[nfbmi-talk] Michigan Commission for the Blind Public Comment

[joe harcz Comcast]

Most well said, and might I have your permission to send this to Craig 
McManus the RSA laisson to MCB in charge of monitoring?

Best as always.

Joe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth" <lizmohnke at hotmail.com>
To: "NFB Michigan" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2010 12:23 AM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Michigan Commission for the Blind Public Comment



I understand there was a request for me to post my public comment from last 
week’s Commission Board meeting. Here is the comment as I submitted it:

I regret that I am not able to attend today’s meeting, so I deeply 
appreciate the opportunity to submit my public comments through email. I 
believe this shows a willingness to hear what the public has to say. There 
are several things I would like to address. However, since my time is 
limited, I must focus on what is the most important thing to me.

Although the Commission Board made some positive decisions on the college 
policy during the last meeting, I would encourage the Commission Board to 
take another look at these decisions. During a public forum held on 
Saturday, October 30, 2010, a leading administrative staff member stated 
that the Commission Board is a policy making board, and yet at the same time 
this did not appear to be the case throughout the college policy review 
process. If you as a Commission Board have the authority to create policies 
that speak in the best interests of consumers, then why do you allow this 
leading administrative staff member to control what policies are passed by 
the Commission Board?

It’s simple really, the Michigan Commission for the Blind cannot ask college 
students who receive social security benefits to financially participate in 
the cost of their rehabilitation services. It also cannot create a means 
test for those who receive social security benefits where rehabilitation 
services are based on how much a student has contributed to disability 
related services including Personal Equipment, Medical Expenses, Personal 
Assistants or Attendants, and transportation as indicated by the new DELEG 
Financial Needs  and Resources form. I believe the Commission Board 
has both the duty and the responsibility to adopt policies that adhere to 
federal guidelines, and as such, I would strongly urge you to reconsider the 
use of this form as a part of the new college policy.

Respectfully,
Elizabeth Mohnke
Current College Student
National Federation of the Blind

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