[Nfbn-announce] National Federation of the Blind of Michigan Calls for Reversal of Executive Order on Commission for the Blind

[Amy Buresh]

            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT:

Fred Wurtzel, Spokesperson

National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

(517) 485-0326

(517) 256-5575 (Cell)

f.wurtzel at att.net

 


National Federation of the Blind of Michigan Calls for Reversal 
of Executive Order on Commission for the Blind


Blind Citizens to Protest Order Tomorrow


 

Dearborn Heights, Michigan (February 29, 2012): The National Federation of
the Blind of Michigan, the voice of blind citizens in Michigan, calls upon
Governor Rick Snyder and the Michigan Senate and House of Representatives to
rescind Executive Order 2012-2 and conduct an open and transparent review of
services to blind citizens.  In response to legitimate concerns about
mismanagement, poor performance, and a high degree of consumer
dissatisfaction over the past ten years that reached a crescendo this year,
Governor Snyder issued Executive Order 2012-2 abolishing the Michigan
Commission for the Blind and transferring its remnants to the Michigan
Department of Human Services (the welfare department) and the Michigan
Department of Technology, Management and Budget.

 

The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan vigorously objects to
Executive Order 2012-2 on several grounds:

 

*	It appears to violate federal laws and regulations regarding
rehabilitation and it jeopardizes nearly 15 million dollars in federal funds
targeted to provide rehabilitation and training to approximately 2,500 blind
Michigan citizens.

 

*	It threatens the jobs of more than forty blind persons who operate
vending facilities on federal property and along Michigan's interstate
highways plus an additional sixty employees of these blind entrepreneurs.

 

*	It abolishes the Michigan Commission for the Blind, a
consumer-driven board that sets policy for the agency serving blind persons.
Three of the five persons on the board are required to be blind.  This
arrangement assured that blind citizens have oversight of services to the
blind of the state.

 

*	Neither the Governor, nor his staff, consulted with the board of the
commission or any other blind person or organization representing blind
persons.  No staff of the agency was consulted about the necessity,
viability, or legality of the executive order.

 

*	Blind people object to being served by the Department of Human
Services (the welfare department).  Blind people want work, not welfare.

 

"Given the Governor's emphasis on open, transparent, and data-driven
decisions in state government, we are astonished by the poorly-thought-out
executive order and the potential negative consequences it brings to blind
people and the citizens of Michigan," said Larry Posont, president of the
National Federation of the Blind of Michigan.

 

"Where will the forty blind vendors go for work?" Posont continued.  "What
will happen to their families?  This will force more people into
unemployment and on to welfare rather than creating jobs as the agency is
designed to do." 

 

"We do not have any problem with the legal structure, the staff, or the
funding of the commission," said Mike Powell, the National Federation of the
Blind of Michigan's first vice president.  "It is the mismanagement of
services and programs, the lack of results, and the lack of responsiveness
to which we object, not the legal structure of the commission.  We want a
strong commission board that will make good public policy, set high goals
for job placement, and raise respect for blind people here in Michigan.  We
call upon the Governor and the legislature to consult with the
representatives of blind citizens in this state to craft a better approach
than this ill-considered executive order."

 

Members and supporters of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan
will gather at noon tomorrow in front of the Romney Building in Lansing to
protest the executive order and inform the public about the negative impact
that it will have on blind citizens of Michigan, their families, and their
employees.

 

 

###

 

 

About the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

 

The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan is the state's oldest and
largest organization of blind consumers.  Founded in 1941, we have chapters
in most large cities in Michigan and provide advocacy, information about
blindness, scholarships, and many other services that work toward our goal
to change what it means to be blind in Michigan.

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