[NFBP-Talk] Call To Action: Keep BBVS

Thu Apr 25 17:17:40 UTC 2019

Good afternoon everyone!!
Continuing our call to action, please review the list below.  If you are a constituent of one of these PA Representatives, please email Joe Drenth and me Emily Gindlesperger and let us know.  We need your help.
Stan Saylor - Red Lion areaSheryl Delozier - Camp Hill areaDonna Bullock - Philadelphia areaMaria Donatucci - Philadelphia areaMatt Gabbler - Dubois areaKeith Greiner - Lampeter areaSeth Grove - York areaMarcia Hahn - Wind Gap areaPatty Kim - Steelton areaStephen Kinsley - Harrisburg areaLeanne Krueger - Folsom areaJason Ortitay - Bridgeville areaPeter Schwever - Allentown areaRosemary Brown - East Stroudsburg areaLinda Schlegel Culver - Sunbury areaDoyle Heffley - Weissport areaR. Lee James - Seneca areaFred Keller - Mifflenburg areaJohn Lawrence - West Grove areaChristopher Quinn - Harrisburg areaGreg Rothman - Camp Hill areaJesse Topper - Bedford areaRyan Warner - Harrisburg areaMartina White - Philadelphia areaJonathan Fritz - Honesdale areaClint Owlett - Wellsboro areaJames Struzzi - Harrisburg areaMatthew Bradford - Norristown areaMarty Flynn - Scranton areaSephen McCarter - Glenside areaMorgan Cephas - Philadelphia areaCarolyn Comitta - West Chester areaAustin Davis - HarrisburgElizabet Fiedler - PhiladelphiaBenjamin Sanchez - Abington area
Again, if your representative is listed please email Joe Drenth joe.drenth at jbtc.com and me Emily Gindlesperger skewbdobdo at verizon.net and let us know!  We need you!
Thank you and have a great day!
Emily Gindlesperger Legislative ChairNational Federation of the Blind of PA

-----Original Message-----
From: Drenth, Joe via NFBP-Talk <nfbp-talk at nfbnet.org>
To: 'nfbp-talk at nfbnet.org' <nfbp-talk at nfbnet.org>; NFB of Pennsylvania Capital Chapter List (pacapitalchapter at nfbnet.org) <pacapitalchapter at nfbnet.org>; Keystone Chapter List of the NFB of PA (keystonechapter at nfbnet.org) <keystonechapter at nfbnet.org>; 'nfbp-board at lists.nfbp.org' <nfbp-board at lists.nfbp.org>; pabs at nfbnet.org <pabs at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Drenth, Joe <Joe.Drenth at JBTC.COM>
Sent: Wed, Apr 24, 2019 1:13 pm
Subject: [NFBP-Talk] Call To Action: Keep BBVS

Hello NFB Family,    *** EMERGENCY ***  The Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry is considering closing the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (BBVS). He is trying to justify it as a cost-savings measure, but he has not provided any financial proof. He is also ignoring studies that show the tremendous harm that such an action would have on the blind and visually-impaired citizens of Pennsylvania. He needs to stop considering this as a viable option.    *** CALL TO ACTION ***  We need your help to protect blindness-related services in Pennsylvania. Please share the important message “Keep BBVS” with your state legislators and the Governor’s office.    Below are talking points you can use when you call or meet with your Pennsylvania representatives and senators. They are also attached as a flyer you can hand out to concerned neighbors, friends, and any others who could help.    
The Department of Labor and Industry's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation should abandon consideration of any plan to

ELIMINATE the Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services.

1. Research shows that consolidation of blindness rehabilitation services into general rehabilitation services hurts blind clients.
 BBVS has historically been its own Bureau because of the recognition that services to blind and visually-impaired individuals need to be highly specialized. Studies performed by Mississippi State University’s National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision found that combining blindness-related vocational rehabilitation services with general disability VR services negatively affect the rehabilitation outcomes of blind and visually-impaired individuals and reduces the average income of those who do achieve employment.   
2. Projected cost savings is minimal; likely harm to blind clients is great.
 Closing BBVS would not save much money compared to the harm it would do, and OVR has not presented any fiscal justification for this action.   
3. BBVS provides specialized rehabilitation services distinct from the rest of OVR.
 Eliminating BBVS would negatively impact social services for blind children, students, adults, and seniors, since BBVS offers critical opportunities for assistance, training, employment and independent living for which there are no counterparts in the general disability vocational rehabilitation program.   
4. OVR did not seek input from stakeholders regarding this plan.
 This option is being planned within the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation without input from the State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Advisory Committee for the Blind of Pennsylvania, the Governor's office, or the blindness community.       
Please contact your state legislators and the following offices to share your concerns about the proposal to eliminate BBVS. Also, please share phone calls made and copy all emails toKeepBBVS at nfbp.org.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf  
 Phone: (717) 787‐2500  Email: govcorrespcrm at pa.gov     
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak
 Office phone: (717) 705-2630 Cell phone: (717) 265-5765 Email: wgoleksiak at pa.gov    
Acting Executive Director of the PA Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Ryan Hyde
 Central Office phone: (717) 787-5244 Email:rhyde at pa.gov       To find the names and contact information for your Pennsylvania General Assembly Representatives and Senators, visit the following web page and enter your mailing address: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/       Thank you very much, Joe    Joseph Drenth  First Vice-President, NFB of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Senior R&D Software Engineer, JBT Corporation, Automated Systems Division    _______________________________________________
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