[nfbmi-talk] goes to signage in the capitol too

[joe harcz Comcast]

Every permanent room, including room numbers is required to have raised character and Braille signage. In fact every room was supposed to be fully accessible under Title II of the ADA alone as of January 26, 1992 (the date for implementing regulations of the ADA).

Yet to this date our very State Capitol, the "People's House" violates this fundamental civil rights law and thus the rights of we citizens who are blind.

What makes this even more significant is we are to honor rightfully the resolution honoring Dr. Nemeth in the place where there isn't Braille everywhere it is required?

Dr. Nemeth was a man of numbers, and accessible numbers at that. I would think he would like to see something as simple as room numbers in this, again "The People's House" where he is to be honored.

I submit our NFB policy statement on this issue and also refer folks to numerous NFB MI resolutions!

This is a scandal and The State of Michigan spits on the civil and human rights of all of us who are blind and spits on the public right to have Braille in public places so it is of true meaning, including the obvious, which is to know independently one simple room from another!

They need to be sued for these chronic and pernicious and willful violations of our known rights!

Sincerely,

Joe Harcz
Attachment for reference:
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.