[NFBofSC] Resolutions 2021

[Steve Cook]

2021 Resolutions


 


Resolution 2021-01


 

Regarding Access to Electronic Health Records

WHEREAS, electronic health records are becoming more prevalent in our daily
lives; and

WHEREAS, these records are not always accessible by blind South Carolinians;
and 

WHEREAS, Under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and under Titles II
and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, electronic medical records
must already be accessible yet many health care providers in South Carolina
still maintain electronic platforms which are not accessible to the blind
and low vision;

WHEREAS, lack of accessibility to electronic health records places the
health, independence and right to privacy of the blind at risk; and

WHEREAS, it is essential that blind South Carolinians have full
accessibility to electronic health records in order to establish
independence and improve their health, well-being and overall quality of
life and maintain their right to privacy; now therefore,

 

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina in
convention assembled this twenty second day of August, 2021, that this
organization call upon the South Carolina State Legislature to amend the
Physicians' Patient Records Act to require medical providers to adopt
policies that ensure electronic health records platforms are fully
accessible to blind individuals. 

 


Resolution 2021-02


 

Regarding Requiring Minimum Standards for the Training of Blind Individuals
Provided Through the South Carolina Commission for the Blind 

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness does not
define one's potential and that, if given the proper training and
technology, a blind individual can fully compete with sighted peers; and 

WHEREAS, a blind individual is more likely to succeed in employment with at
least a basic knowledge of Braille, technology, independent living skills,
and orientation and mobility; and 

WHEREAS, one of the purposes of the South Carolina Commission for the Blind
(SCCB) is to address barriers to employment for blind individuals by
providing adequate training and guidance about current technology; and
WHEREAS, the amount and level of training can vary widely for each SCCB
Client, depending on the SCCB counselor's knowledge and understanding about
blindness; and 

WHEREAS, clients may wait months or years before they can obtain training in
basic skills; and 

WHEREAS, although clients have the right to exercise informed choice about
where to receive training, they are not always made aware of this right and
are sometimes forced to receive training that does not adequately address
their blindness needs; and 

WHEREAS, clients are often discouraged by their counselors from attending
out-of-state training centers, even if the in-state agency does not meet the
needs of the clients' employment goals: Now, therefore, 

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina
convention assembled this twenty-second day of August, 2021, that this
organization urge the South Carolina Commission for the Blind to establish a
recommended list of client pre-employment skills necessary to support
employment, and that during the Individual Plan for Employment (IPE)
process, clients must be provided the opportunity to accept  or reject
offers of training for these skills. Key employment skills which may be
included on a recommended list of pre-employment skills list might include:
training in contracted braille; training in basic computer skills;
effectively operating a smart phone; preparing a variety of meals and safely
storing food; performing independent living skills including using a variety
of home appliances; training in basic mobility skills including crossing
different types of intersections and including lighted intersections; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a client must agree that they have been offered
satisfactory opportunities to learn all these pre-employment skills before
their case may be closed; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a client must be informed in writing that only
after they agree that these pre-employment skills have been offered and
completed, their case may be closed; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if services required to be provided to meet the
pre-employment skills are not readily available in time to address a
client's disability needs, for example, if Braille or orientation and
mobility training are unavailable for multiple months, then the SCCB
counselor must identify and  fund alternative sources of those services, or
demonstrate to the client that those services are not available from
alternative sources; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all clients shall be informed and provided with
information about training centers outside of South Carolina, including the
training centers operated by the National Federation of the Blind, in order
for clients to examine and evaluate which center adequately addresses their
blindness pre-employment needs.

 


Resolution 2021-03


 

Regarding Knowledge Competency and Uniformity of Vocational Rehabilitation
Counselors Employed by the South Carolina Commission for the Blind

Whereas, the South Carolina Commission for the Blind (SCCB) serves blind
individuals of all ages in the state of South Carolina; and

Whereas, not all blind individuals are considered experts on their
vocational rehabilitation rights as listed in Section 103 of the
Rehabilitation Act; and

Whereas, it is the expectation that vocational rehabilitation counselors
hired by SCCB be both qualified and knowledgeable regarding all services
providable to clients; and

Whereas, not all clients currently receive appropriate and/or adequate
information pertaining to the services available to them by SCCB according
to the aforementioned law; and

Whereas, clients currently served by SCCB receive widely varied information,
depending largely on who currently serves as their vocational rehabilitation
counselor; therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina in
convention assembled this twenty-fourth day of August, 2021 that SCCB
implement practices to better train all current and future vocational
rehabilitation counselors, as well as those who internally shift from
serving one client population to another, regarding what services clients
are entitled to receive in order to establish uniformity of disseminated
information; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SCCB's vocational rehabilitation counselors be
required to prove their consistent knowledge competency by way of quarterly,
mandatory assessments; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that SCCB create a uniform curriculum that can be
provided to clients in order to both increase client knowledge surrounding
the rights denoted in the aforementioned law and better foster and
environment that cultivates strong self-advocates.

 


Resolution 2021-04


 

Regarding the dropping of JAWS by Richland School District One

Whereas students and teachers who are blind use screen reading software to
complete their work; and

Whereas the leading screen reading software currently in use worldwide is
JAWS for Windows; and

Whereas a significant role of the education system is to prepare students to
enter the work force; and

Whereas the South Carolina Commission for the Blind and other rehabilitation
agencies tend to provide JAWS for Windows for their consumers entering the
work force; and

Whereas the administration of Richland School District One has ruled that
JAWS For Windows cannot be used in its schools by either staff or students
because several features pose a risk to its privacy policies; and 

Whereas any of these features can be disabled at the Network level; and

Whereas JAWS is currently deployed at all levels of government, including
the most secure networks, and

Whereas the alternative access methods allowed by Richland One's
administration are either limited in functionality (Windows Narrator) or
Open source (NVDA) and provide a far greater risk to network security than
JAWS; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Federation of the Blind of South Carolina in
convention assembled this twenty second day of August, 2021, that this
organization call upon the Administration of Richland School District One to
abolish this policy and consult with experts who understand JAWS to assist
them in resolving their security concerns to allow their blind staff and
students to utilize the most effective product for their accessibility
needs.

 

 

 

 

Steve Cook

District 2 State Board Member of the National Federation of the Blind of SC

President of the Columbia chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of
SC

President of the Computer Science & Technology Division of the National
Federation of the Blind of SC

The National Federation of the Blind of SC owns and operates Rocky Bottom
Retreat & Conference Center.  Below is a link to read more about Rocky
Bottom and to make a reservation for a mountain retreat!

 <http://rockybottomofsc.com/> Rocky Bottom Retreat & Conference Center

Please join the National Federation of the Blind of SC on Face Book at any
of the below links!

 <https://m.facebook.com/NatFedofSouthCarolina/> National Federation of the
Blind of SC on Face Book

 
<https://m.facebook.com/Computer-Science-Technology-Division-of-the-NFB-of-S
C-343263089815304/> Computer Science & Technology Division of the National
Federation of the Blind of SC

 <https://m.facebook.com/RockyBottomofSC/> Rocky Bottom Retreat & Conference
Center 

South Carolina Association of Blind Students

 <https://m.facebook.com/groups/375092969314880?_rdr> South Carolina Parents
of Blind Children

 

You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.

 

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams.

 

 

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