[nfbmi-talk] {Spam?} Re: Proposed Mailing List Policy

joe harcz Comcast joeharcz at comcast.net
Fri Jan 31 20:56:40 UTC 2014


NFB POLICY STATEMENT ON

ACCESS TO STATE PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND FACILITIES



NEGLECT OF FUNDAMENTAL CIVIL RIGHTS OF BLIND PERSONS



The Americans With Disabilities Act has been in place for over twenty years. 
Yet Michigan's Governmental actors have chosen to neglect this crucial law, 
even though it would be very easy to implement. The Bureau of Services for 
Blind Persons, BSBP, is choosing not to comply with accessibility 
regulations on a consistent basis. All blind citizens, consumers of 
state-provided services, agency staff and vendors, should be able to do 
business with the BSBP in their preferred print alternative format, whether 
it be Braille, electronic, or large print.  All meetings and buildings where 
state business is conducted must have Braille and raised character signage 
and accessible materials for program participants in accordance with 
specific provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Yet violations 
persist with respect to both the fundamental rights of physical access and 
access to the printed word.



   Patrick Cannon, former director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind 
(MCB) served for eight years as state Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) 
coordinator, a position created and to which Mr. Cannon was appointed by 
Governor Jennifer Granholm under Executive Order 2004-31, signed June 3, 
2004. As ADA Coordinator, Mr. Cannon served as the state's primary liaison 
with departments and agencies on matters of compliance with state and 
federal disability rights laws.



            "My administration is one of inclusion and engagement, dedicated 
to capturing the best thinking and ideas of all of our citizens, including 
people with disabilities.", Governor Granholm said, in announcing the 
appointment of Mr. Cannon to the position of state ADA Coordinator.



In addition, Mr. Cannon served as director of the Michigan Commission on 
Disability Concerns for 10 years, where he was instrumental in gaining 
passage of the 1990 amendments to the Michigan Handicappers' Civil Rights 
Act, now known as the Michigan Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, 
and he advocated for enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mr. 
Cannon was appointed by President Clinton in 1995 to the U.S. Access Board, 
an independent federal regulatory agency whose mission is accessibility for 
people with disabilities. He served as chair in 1997 and 1998 and was 
reappointed for a second four-year term in 1999.



With Mr. Cannon's extensive knowledge of disability rights law, and the 
positions of influence which he enjoyed for nearly two decades, Cannon could 
have brought disability rights in Michigan to the pinnacle of excellence. 
Shockingly however, persons with disabilities in Michigan have gained 
nothing- because of Cannon's inability to bridge the gap between talk and 
action.  Access to print materials remains unavailable, state buildings, 
including the Commission's central office, still lack compliance with basic 
accessible signage requirements and most state-wide consumer services remain 
largely inaccessible to persons who are blind and print disabled.



Consumers of rehabilitation services cannot obtain accessible computers; or 
materials in a print-alternative format. Trainees and licensed blind vendors 
of the Business Enterprise Program, a joint state and federal business 
employment program, are unable to obtain necessary equipment such as talking 
cash registers,; or materials in a print alternative format. Thus their 
ability to achieve success and financial independence is thwarted by the 
very agency that is legally mandated and funded to assist them in these 
pursuits.



The current director of the Bureau Of Services For Blind Persons, is Edward 
F. Rodgers, III.  Rodgers is visually impaired himself, and formerly served 
as chief administrative law hearings officer of the state's administrative 
hearing system.  During his tenure there, Rodgers failed to make the 
administrative hearing and consumer service systems accessible to blind 
persons in accordance with federal and state accessibility law and 
regulations, further depriving blind Michiganders of     independent access 
to public state facilities and consumer services, including the state 
administrative hearing system and courts.  Neither has Ed Rodgers made any 
effort to improve access to print materials or physical facilities since 
assuming leadership of the Bureau of Services to Blind Persons.  In fact, 
Rodgers has repeatedly denied requests for copies of the Bureau's public 
records  in any format- in violation of the Open Meetings Act and other 
laws.



Conclusion and Action Needed



The former Commission for the Blind director, and the current Bureau of 
Services for Blind Persons director, have both miserably failed Michigan's 
blind citizens.  State owned and leased properties do not contain accessible 
signage; state agencies are not equipped to provide applications, forms and 
other materials in accessible format despite printed claims to the contrary; 
and consumer service programs and business opportunities are not fully 
accessible, in accordance with state and federal compliance requirements.



Recommendations for Positive Corrective Compliance Action



            1.  The legislature must hold public hearings, as a function of 
state government oversight, to assess the extent of non-compliance with 
equal access laws and the degree to which  equal access to state programs 
and facilities for persons with disabilities is abridged.  Further, the 
legislature must provide adequate resources to mitigate such non-compliance, 
including ongoing monitoring measures to ensure full and equal access to 
state programs, services, and facilities by all persons with disabilities.



            2.  The Department of Technology, Management, and Budget (DTMB), 
must assume a leadership role, as a steward of state facilities, programs, 
services, and financial resources, to ensure that all state programs, 
services, and facilities, effectively meet legal standards for equal access 
by persons with disabilities.



            3.  The Governor, as Chief Executive Officer of the State of 
Michigan, must become personally knowledgeable of the extent to which his 
administration has negatively impacted equal access to programs and services 
for Michiganders with disabilities.  He must assume a leadership role, 
removing incompetent and obstructionist appointees and working to mitigate 
the harm which has been done, by providing necessary resources to ensure 
that all state programs, services, and facilities are compliant with all 
legal standards for equal access by persons with disabilities.



4. The Bureau of Services for Blind Persons, in concert with all state 
departments, must take a leadership role by undertaking a comprehensive 
evaluation of all state department programs and facilities.  This evaluation 
must identify issues of non-compliance with equal access  provisions of 
federal and state civil rights law; and initiate action to mitigate such 
non-compliance in order to ensure that all state consumer services, 
programs, and facilities are equally accessible to all  citizens and state 
employees who are blind or disabled.





NFBM - October 20, 2013



For further information or comment e-mail publicrelations at nfbmi.org.



Visit the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan website at nfbmi.org.



ABOUT THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND OF MICHIGAN



The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan is the oldest and largest 
organization of blind people in Michigan.  We are a membership organization 
with chapters in most major Michigan cities.  We are advocates for the 
rights of blind persons to live and work as first-class citizens side by 
side with our sighted fellow Michigan friends, colleagues and neighbors... 
Among our activities are Michigan Newsline, which provides more than 300 
newspapers and periodicals, job listings and TV schedules free of charge to 
persons with reading disabilities, scholarships for blind students, advocacy 
for blind employees and tenants.  The National Federation of the Blind of 
Michigan (www.nfbmi.org) is a non-profit organization under state and 
federal laws and accepts tax-deductible contributions.  For general 
questions contact:   publicrelations at nfbmi.org.





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Matt McCubbin" <mgoalball at gmail.com>
To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 3:27 PM
Subject: Re: [nfbmi-talk] Proposed Mailing List Policy


> Dear Joe,
> I'm sure J.J. and our delegates from Washington Seminar will report
> soon or at our next board meeting. Correct me if I am wrong, but it
> seems whenever this topic of list management is brought up you seem to
> get personally offended. I believe J.J. and Fred have valid points
> about list traffic and the lack of discussion brought upon by your
> numerous messages to this list, and believe discussion at our next
> board meeting is warranted.
> This issue is not about stifling your right to free speech, it is
> simply about common mailing list courtesy and the reputation of our
> organization.
> Just my opinion,
> Matt
>
> On 1/31/14, joe harcz Comcast <joeharcz at comcast.net> wrote:
>> I would like to see a complete report to this list about the Washington
>> Seminar and your activities J.J.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Joe
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "J.J. Meddaugh" <jj at bestmidi.com>
>> To: "NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List" <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 12:41 PM
>> Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Proposed Mailing List Policy
>>
>>
>>> I'd like to propose a list policy that we do not allow official 
>>> government
>>>
>>> business, FOIA requests, etc. to be sent and then copied or forwarded to
>>> this list. In addition to the potential overload of email it creates, it
>>> has the possibility  of giving the impression that the NFB of Michigan 
>>> is
>>>
>>> a party to the request where it was not. This is potentially damaging to
>>> our reputation and may hinder the progress that we are trying to make.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Best regards,
>>> J.J.
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> nfbmi-talk mailing list
>>> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
>>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nfbmi-talk:
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>>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>
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