[nfbmi-talk] letter, written by Fred Schroeder

joe harcz Comcast joeharcz at comcast.net
Mon Mar 19 03:16:53 UTC 2012


Are we goint to be a grouping of impotent miniscule actions or are we going 
to be a voice of power and action? Frankly I don't know all the actions, but 
this Governor has again voiced his opinion and the only recorse is the corts 
if we have the guts and the incliniations.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Wurtzel" <f.wurtzel at att.net>
To: "'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 9:39 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] letter, written by Fred Schroeder


> Joe,
>
> You are preaching to the choir.  What is our legal recourse?
>
> Best Regards,
>
> Fred
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 8:39 PM
> To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] letter, written by Fred Schroeder
>
> What others are not looking at as well, but I'm pointing in that direction
> is that all the State Plans and all the federal money for all PWD under
> title I and even Part B funds for IL dispensed by the DSU are at risk
> because of this rash act without including true stakeholders in this 
> process
> and that includes whether the Administration here likes it or not the MRC,
> the MCB Board, the Members of the SILC, common citizens of all 
> disabilities
> and in fact the members of the State of Michigan Legislator who were dully
> elected for good or ill to do their jobs.
>
> In other words this is not a dictatorship.
>
> And the executive branch of government of one state cannot act 
> unilaterally
> on the one hand and expect the feds to fund all of these programs on the
> other without accounting for funds.
>
> Joe
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Larry Posont" <president.nfb.mi at gmail.com>
> To: "nfbmi-talk" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2012 7:50 PM
> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] letter, written by Fred Schroeder
>
>
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
> 20812 Ann Arbor Trail
> Dearborn Heights, MI 48127
>
> March 18, 2012
>
> Dear Fellow Federationists:
> Here is a letter, written by Fred Schroeder, the Vice President of
> the National Federation of the Blind. It concerns the Michigan
> Commission for the Blind. You may want to read it.
>
> Sincerely,
> Larry Posont, President
> National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
> (313) 271-3058
> Email: president.nfb.mi at gmail.com
> Web page
> www.nfbmi.org
>
> Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D.
> 9522 Lagersfield Circle
> Vienna, VA 22181
>
>
> March 13, 2012
>
> The Honorable Rick Snyder
> Governor of Michigan
>
> P. O. Box 30013
> Lansing, MI 48909
> Dear Governor Snyder:
>
> I am writing in my capacity as the former Commissioner (1994-2001) of
> the U.S. Rehabilitation
> Services Administration, the federal agency that provides the majority
> of the funding to support
> the work of the Michigan Commission for the Blind.
>
> I would like to express my concerns about your recent Executive Order
> No. 2012-2, dated
> February 24, 2012. This Executive Order makes significant changes to
> the manner in which
> individuals with disabilities in Michigan receive services. I am
> particularly concerned about the
> impact that these changes will have on blind individuals and
> individuals who have visual
> impairments in the State of Michigan. Let me address my concerns
> regarding certain provisions
> in the Executive Order as follows:
>
> Transfer of the Michigan Commission for the Blind
>
> Executive Order No. 2012-2 transfers the Michigan Commission for the
> Blind to the
> Department of Human Services (DHS). The Michigan Commission for the
> Blind currently
> receives over $17,000,000 in federal funds per year to provide
> vocational rehabilitation and
> other services to blind individuals. This funding will be in jeopardy
> if the organizational
> changes do not comply with federal requirements for state vocational
> rehabilitation
> programs. For example, the Executive Order is unclear about the
> organizational placement
> of the transferred agency within DHS. Is it to be a freestanding
> organizational unit or is it to
> be merged into Michigan Rehabilitation Services under DHS? If the
> entity providing
> services to blind individuals is to remain a separate unit within DHS,
> all federal
> organizational and State Plan requirements must be met for such a
> unit. Organizationally, it
> must be a unit that meets the specific requirements in 34 CFR
> 361.13(b). The unit must have
> a full-time director, have 90 percent of its staff working full time
> on rehabilitation work, and
> must be at an organizational level within DHS that is comparable to
> that of other major
> organizational units of the agency.
>
> Business Enterprise Program
>
> The Executive Order moves the Business Enterprise Program from the
> Commission for the
> Blind and the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to the
> Michigan Department
> of Technology, Management and Budget. This will invalidate the
> currently approved State
> Licensing Agreement between the federal Rehabilitation Services
> Administration and the
>
>
>
> The Honorable Rick Snyder
> March 13, 2012
> Page 2
>
> Michigan Commission for the Blind. Under the current State Licensing
> Agreement, 88
> facilities (48 state and 40 federal) are operated by blind vendors in
> Michigan. The Michigan
> Department of Technology, Management and Budget is not eligible to
> serve as the State
> Licensing Agency for the Business Enterprise Program. Applicable
> federal regulations at 34
> CFR 395.2 require that an application for a State Licensing Agency can
> only be submitted by
> a state vocational rehabilitation agency providing vocational
> rehabilitation services under an
> approved State Plan. Given this situation, all of Michigan's blind
> vendors operating on
> federal property will lose their source of income.
>
> Creation of the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services
>
> The Executive Order creates the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation
> Services as a
> replacement for the Michigan Rehabilitation Council. The membership of
> the new Council
> and its duties appear to be consistent with the federal requirements
> for a State Rehabilitation
> Council under both the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and
> program regulations at
> 34 CFR 361.16-361.17. However, the language is clear that the new
> Council applies only to
> Michigan Rehabilitation Services. It does not mention its
> applicability to the transferred
> duties and functions of the Michigan Commission for the Blind. If the
> intent is to place the
> transferred Commission under Michigan Rehabilitation Services, then
> the new Council
> would apply to services for blind and visually impaired individuals.
> However, the Executive
> Order is not clear on this point. If the transferred Commission is to
> be a freestanding
> organizational unit within DHS, then a separate Council may be needed
> or the functions of
> the new Council must be expanded to cover services to blind and
> visually impaired
> individuals.
>
> If the intent is to merge the Michigan Commission for the Blind's
> programs into the
> Michigan Rehabilitation Services Agency, I urge you to consider the
> impact on services to
> blind and visually impaired individuals in the state. Studies
> conducted over the past four
> decades have repeatedly demonstrated the effectiveness of specialized
> services for the blind:
> Cavenaugh, B. S. (2010). An update on services and outcomes of blind
> consumers served in
> separate and general/combined vocational rehabilitation agencies
> (prepared for the National
> Council of State Agencies for the Blind by the Rehabilitation Research
> and Training Center
> on Blindness and Low Vision, Mississippi State University, Mississippi
> State, MS: RRTCMSU)
> found that-
>
> o
> Separate blindness agencies continue to serve a higher percentage of
> consumers with
> demographic/disability characteristics associated with lower labor
> force participation
> rates.
> o
> Separate blindness agencies continue to close a higher percentage of
> legally blind
> consumers into competitive employment.
> o
> Separate blindness agencies close a higher percentage of legally blind
> consumers into
> employment without supports in integrated work settings.
>
>
> The Honorable Rick Snyder
> March 13, 2012
> Page 3
>
> o
> Separate blindness agencies close a higher percentage of legally blind
> consumers into
> self-employment.
> Establishment of a Blind and Visually Impaired Services Advisory Board
>
> If the intent of the Executive Order is to maintain the specialized
> service structure of the
> Commission for the Blind and move it intact into DHS, the Commission
> will need to retain
> its independent consumer-controlled commission or it will need to
> establish a State
> Rehabilitation Council.
>
> The Executive Order creates a Blind and Visually Impaired Services
> Advisory Board.
> However, the Board does not meet the federal requirements for either
> an independent
> consumer-controlled commission or a State Rehabilitation Council under
> Section 101(a)(21)
> of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. It also does not meet
> the specific
> requirements of 34 CFR 361.16 of the program regulations, given that
> it will have no
> standing under an amended Michigan State Plan for vocational
> rehabilitation. An amended
> State Plan will be required based upon the organizational changes in
> this Executive Order.
>
> The 1992 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 first introduced
> the requirements
> for a State Rehabilitation Advisory Council (now the State
> Rehabilitation Council). The
> 1992 Amendments made clear that the intent of Congress was that each
> state vocational
> rehabilitation agency should be run by an independent,
> consumer-controlled commission.
> However, as federal law cannot dictate organizational structure to
> state governments, an
> option was made available for an advisory council in lieu of the
> consumer-controlled
> commission. Under the Executive Order, Michigan will be taking a step
> backward to a less
> preferable organizational construct for serving its citizens who are
> blind or visually impaired.
>
> Elimination of the Position of Director of the Michigan Commission for
> the Blind
>
> The Executive Order also eliminates the position of Director of the
> Commission for the
> Blind. However, in order to remain a freestanding vocational
> rehabilitation unit, the entity
> providing services to blind and visually impaired individuals must
> have a director who is
> full-time and has the authority to make the final decisions regarding
> eligibility, service
> delivery, rehabilitation policy, and the allocation and expenditure of
> vocational rehabilitation
> funds (see 34 CFR 361.13(c), which spells out the specific 
> responsibilities
> for
> administration).
>
> No Improved Coordination and Little Administrative Savings
>
> Research shows that only minimal administrative savings can be
> achieved by consolidation
> of separate agencies serving blind individuals into larger agencies
> serving individuals with all
> types of disabilities. In fact, these savings are offset by less
> effective, less well-organized,
> and less efficient services under a generalist's model. In the late
> 1990s, Cavenaugh, Giesen,
>
>
>
> The Honorable Rick Snyder
> March 13, 2012
> Page 4
>
> and Pierce at Mississippi State University conducted an analysis of
> national data and found
> that blind people who are served through separate agencies for the
> blind are nearly twice as
> likely to be self-supporting at closure as blind people served by a
> consolidated vocational
> rehabilitation agency. Consolidation weakens specialized services,
> reduces program
> efficiency, and saves little, if any, money.
>
> In summary, Executive Order No. 2012-2 will have a significant,
> negative impact on the lives of
> blind and visually impaired individuals in the state of Michigan. As
> noted above, the changes
> outlined in the Executive Order will place at risk the $17 million in
> federal funds that currently
> support programs for the blind and visually impaired in the state, and
> will weaken the specialized
> services essential for the rehabilitation of blind and visually
> impaired residents of Michigan. It
> will put in jeopardy the jobs of 88 blind Randolph-Sheppard vendors,
> and it will damage the
> partnership between the vocational rehabilitation program and blind
> and visually impaired
> residents of the state.
>
> I respectfully ask that you rescind Executive Order No. 2012-2 and
> maintain the existing
> organizational structure.
>
> Respectfully yours,
>
>
> Fredric K. Schroeder, Ph.D.
> Commissioner (1994-2001), Rehabilitation Services Administration
>
>
> U.S. Department of Education
> cc: Members of the Board, Michigan Commission for the Blind
>
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