[NFBNJ] Immediate Action Is Needed!Alert--Commission for the Blind Is at Risk

[joe ruffalo]

Greetings to all on the NFBNJ distribution list!

It is time to share the following information forwarded by Carol Castellano, 
Chair of this committee to provide facts to keep the NJ CBVI a separate 
agency!
It is time to inform the decision makers that the NJ CBVI must remain as a 
separate agency!
It is time for action!
Provided is valuable information to read and to assist each to inform all of 
the importance of the NJ CBVI to remain as a separate agency.
Don’t hesitate and wait for someone else; the time for action is NOW!

We Can Make A Difference!

We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Raising Expectation To Live The Life We Want!

**
The blind/visually impaired and parents of BVI children must come together
to act to save the Commission for the Blind!  Please share this information
with your distribution list.  It is both attached and pasted into the body
of the email below.

Carol Castellano
Parents of Blind Children-NJ
National Organization of Parents of Blind Children
973-377-0976
carol_castellano at verizon.net
www.blindchildren.org
www.nopbc.org

Parents of Blind Children-NJ
23 Alexander Ave., Madison, NJ 07940
blindchildren at verizon.net  *  www.blindchildren.org

ALERT !!!         ALERT !!!         ALERT !!!

ATTENTION PARENTS OF BLIND/VI CHILDREN & BVI ADULTS

The future of the Commission for the Blind might be at stake

Gov. Murphy Has Received Recommendations from his Human and Children
Services Transition Advisory Committee that we fear will lead to
DISMANTLING THE COMMISSION for the BLIND
The Governor has heard from only one side—he has NOT heard from blind/VI
people or parents—there were NO blind people or parents of blind kids on
the committee!
We must speak out to preserve services!

Here are the facts:

• The Governor appointed people to his Human and Children’s Services
Transition Advisory Committee.  There were NO BLIND PEOPLE or PARENTS OF
BLIND CHILDREN on the committee.
• The committee’s report recommends eliminating “fragmentation” and
“duplication.” This translates to dismantling the Commission and sending
its parts out to other state agencies. This equals fragmentation of
services for blind people!
• THE REALITY IS…the Commission provides a single point of entry for
blind/VI New Jerseyans from birth through old age, no matter their age when
they enter the system.
• This is a blindness-specific agency, with easy-to-find, easy-to-access
blindness expertise and services all under one roof.
• Blind/VI people can move seamlessly across service areas for early
intervention, school & transition services, college services, preparation
for the workforce, independent living, or a combination of these.
• Specialized skills such as Braille and tactile graphics, adaptive
technology, cane travel, and independent living skills are taught by
Commission professionals trained in these techniques.  These services are
not offered elsewhere in state government.  There is no duplication of
services.
• BVI people represent the smallest percentage of the general disability
population. When services for the blind are blended in with service to
people with all disabilities, the services for the blind get lost.  This is
supported by research done on separate agencies for the blind vs.
general/combined agencies.
• Blind people served by separate agencies are more likely to gain
competitive employment at a higher salary vs. those served by
general/combined agencies.
• Unintended consequences of dismantling the Commission would lead to
fragmentation of services for blind/VI consumers and potential reduction of
employment and earnings.
• 9,000-10,000 people receive Commission services every year and would be
directly affected if the changes are made. Another 35,000 receive
eye-health screenings.
• With the Commission’s single point of entry and comprehensive system of
blindness-specific services all under one roof, the blind of New Jersey
experience seamless, easy-to-find, easy-to-access, expert service and
certainly NOT fragmentation as suggested in the Report of the Human and
Children Services Transition Advisory Committee to the Governor.  There is
no duplication of services.  No other agency in state government offers the
blindness-specific services the Commission provides.
• The NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired must be preserved
as a separate agency.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Read the Fact Sheet.

• Then Email, write, call, and visit:
 Your 3 state legislators (State Senator and 2 Members of the Assembly)
 The chairs of the Human Services committees listed below.
 Governor Murphy and Department of Human Services Acting Director Carole
Johnson
 The newspapers

• Give/send them our Fact Sheet.

• Tell about the special training you or your child has received from the
Commission and what is has meant to your life.  Tell the number of other
blind people affected.

• Ask our legislators to protect services for our blind kids and for BVI
adults.  Ask them to
PRESERVE THE COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED AS A SEPARATE
AGENCY

Find your legislators at http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp
Find  the Governor’s contact info here: http://nj.gov/governor/contact/
Find Acting Commissioner Johnson’s mailing address here:
http://www.nj.gov/nj/gov/deptserv/
Email: carole.johnson at dhs.state.nj.us
Format for email to legislators:  State Senator:  senLASTNAME at njleg.org
Assemblyman:  asmLASTNAME at njleg.org
Assemblywoman:  aswLASTNAME at njleg.org


Senator Joseph F. Vitale
Chair, Health, Human Services, and Sr. Citizens Committee
569 Rahway Ave.
Woodbridge, NJ 07095
732-855-7441
senvitale at njleg.org


Assemblywoman Joann Downey
Chair, Human Services Committee
802 West Park Ave., Suite 221
Ocean Twp., NJ 07712
732-695-3371
or
35 West Main St.,1st Floor
Freehold, NJ 07728
732-333-0166

aswdowney at njleg.org

Sample message:

My name is ____ and I am writing to ask you to please preserve critical
services for NJ's blind children and adults by keeping the NJ Commission
for the Blind and Visually Impaired as a separate, blindness-specific
agency.  The Governor’s Human and Children Services Transition Advisory
Committee has made recommendations that I fear will dismantle the
Commission for the Blind. Please do not let this happen.

This change, if it is allowed to happen, will have a direct and drastic
impact on the 10,000 blind and visually impaired people served by the
Commission each year. Blind people are much more successful when they
receive services from a separate, blindness-specific agency, rather than
one that is combined with other agencies. Please see the Fact Sheet I have
provided.  [USE OTHER DETAILS ON FACT SHEET & PREVIOUS PAGE]

[BRIEFLY TELL ABOUT YOURSELF or YOUR CHILD, the special services he/she has
received from the Commission, and what these services mean to your/your
child’s life.  Perhaps enclose/insert a photo of your child.]

My daughter ____ was able to succeed in public school, graduate from
college and graduate school, and gain employment because of the special
services she received from the Commission for the Blind—especially
Braille, access technology, and how to travel with the long white cane.  I
want every blind person to have the opportunity to receive this training
and do not want to see services diminished in any way.

Blind people will directly suffer if the Commission for the Blind is
dismantled. There are already too many unemployed blind adults, and staff
at other agencies have no idea of what is needed by blind people to become
successful, independent, employed adults.

Please make sure that the NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
remains a separate, blindness-specific agency.

Sincerely,
Your Name & Contact Info

For further info, contact Parents of Blind Children-NJ (POBC-NJ) Founder
Carol Castellano, carol_castellano at verizon.net or 973-377-0976,  or
National Federation of the Blind of NJ (NFBNJ) President Joe Ruffalo,
nfbnj1 at verizon.net or 973-743-0075

Please let us know if you have written or called and if you receive a
response.

[end of document 1]

logo--National Federation of the Blind of NJ
logo--Parents of Blind Children-NJ

For further information, contact:
Joseph Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of NJ
973-743-0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net

Carol Castellano, Founder
Parents of Blind Children-NJ
973-377-0976
blindchildren at verizon.net

Fact Sheet:

THE NJ COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED
MUST REMAIN AS A SEPARATE AGENCY

With the Commission’s single point of entry & comprehensive system of
blindness-specific services all under one roof, the blind of New Jersey
experience seamless, easy-to-access, expert services

To best serve the needs of the blind of New Jersey, the NJ Commission for
the Blind and Visually Impaired must be preserved as a separate,
blindness-specific agency serving the unique needs of the blind.  It must
not be dismantled and parceled out or folded in to other agencies, as the
Governor’s Human and Children Services Transition Advisory Committee report
seems to recommend.

The NJ Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired (CBVI or the
Commission) was created by state statute in 1910.  It provides a single
point of entry for blind and visually impaired (BVI) New Jerseyans from
birth through old age, no matter how old they are when they enter the
system.

At this blindness-specific agency, blindness expertise is contained all
under one roof.  Specially trained professionals provide consumers,
regardless of age, with seamless services, whether the need is for early
intervention, school and transition services, college services, preparation
for the workforce, independence in personal life, or a combination of
these.

With this single point of entry and comprehensive system of
blindness-specific services all under one roof, the blind of New Jersey
experience seamless, easy-to-find, easy-to-access, expert service and
certainly not fragmentation as suggested in the Report of the Human and
Children Services Transition Advisory Committee to the Governor.

Skills such as Braille and tactile graphics, use of adaptive technologies,
independent travel with the long white cane, and skills of independent
living are taught by Commission professionals trained in these special
techniques. No other agency in state government offers similar services.
There is no duplication of services as suggested in the Transition Advisory
Committee report.

The skills that BVI people must master in order to achieve independence
and secure competitive employment are dramatically different from what is
needed by those with other disabilities. These skills tend to be unfamiliar
to employees of general agencies. Again, there is no duplication of
services.
Research comparing outcomes and costs of vocational rehabilitation services
received by blind and visually impaired people from separate vs. general
agencies shows that the unique needs of BVI people are best served by a
separate, dedicated agency (ongoing research from Mississippi State).

Blind and visually impaired people represent the smallest percentage of the
general disability population.  Their needs tend to get lost in
general/combined agencies.

Significantly more clients gain competitive employment without supports in
integrated settings or in self employment when served by separate agencies
vs. general agencies (83% vs. 57%).  Separate agencies are able to achieve
these results for substantially the same cost. Clients served by separate
agencies also gain higher paying jobs and fewer remain on public
assistance.  Separate agencies close a far smaller percentage of clients as
homemakers vs. general agencies (16% vs. 41%) (MS State).

Separate agencies achieve these better results while serving a more
vulnerable population, including those more severely blind, those with
additional disabilities, and those who are poor (MS State).

While the Transition Advisory Committee had the worthy goal of eliminating
fragmentation and duplication, the reality is that the implementation of
their recommendations would actually RESULT  IN fragmentation for blind
people seeking services.

Another unintended consequence of the Committee’s recommendations would be
the potential reduction in employment and earnings of blind adults.
Unemployment rates are already too high for individuals with disabilities.
Policy makers must reject any recommendations or changes which could result
in reduced services and reduced employment for the 10,000 BVI people the
Commission serves each year.

To our knowledge, not one blind or visually impaired person or parent of a
blind child was included on the Transition Advisory Committee, yet the
results of their recommendation would be drastic negative changes for those
actually affected—the blind and visually impaired of New Jersey.

FACTORS SPECIFIC TO NEW JERSEY:

The New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired was created
by the State Legislature in 1910, upon compelling testimony from Helen
Keller and other national thought leaders.

Unlike most other vocational rehabilitation agencies in the U.S., NJ’s
Commission has a state-mandated obligation to provide comprehensive
blindness education to BVI students, to ensure that the general education
curriculum is accessible and facilitate inclusion in the regular school.

CBVI is also responsible for administering a unique program of
comprehensive access technology training and equipment distribution.

In addition, CBVI has been tasked with administering a comprehensive
eye-health services program, in which its specially-trained staff provides
eye screening and other services to approximately 35,000 residents of the
State.

With its single point of entry, comprehensive system of blindness-specific
services all under one roof, better vocational rehabilitation results, and
seamless, easy-to-access, expert services, the NJ Commission for the Blind
and Visually Impaired must be preserved as a separate agency.

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