[Nfbv-announce] Opposition to the Consolidation of the Department for the Blind into a General Disability Agency

[Fredric Schroeder]

The letter below was sent by President Fred Schroeder to Governor McDonnell.
Please contact the Governor and ask him to stop the consolidation of the
Department for the Blind into a general disability agency.

 

From: Fredric Schroeder [mailto:fschroeder at sks.com] 
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2012 10:23 AM
To: 'Robert.f.mcdonnell at governor.virginia.gov'
Subject: Opposition to the Consolidation of the Department for the Blind
into a General Disability Agency

 

Fredric K. Schroeder, President

National Federation of the Blind of Virginia

9522 Lagersfield Circle

Vienna, VA  22181

February 25, 2012

 

 

Dear Governor McDonnell:

 

I am writing to seek your help in preventing the consolidation of the
Department for the Blind into a generic disability agency. As you know, HB
1291 was amended to include the Department for the Blind into the newly
established disability agency. This was done without any opportunity for the
public to offer comment and without any supporting data to show what
efficiency might be achieved by the merger. 

 

There have been numerous national studies conducted over the past four
decades, and none has shown increased efficiency or improvement in service
provision by consolidating specialized services for the blind into a larger,
generic agency. In fact the data support the opposite conclusion. Without
reviewing the data in detail, one of the most striking findings is that
blind individuals served by a specialized agency were nearly twice as likely
to be self-supporting at closure than blind individuals served by a generic
service agency. The reason is not difficult to explain: specialized staff
training and expertise are essential to insure that blind adults receive the
services they need to return to work. Under a generic service model, blind
people have less access to instruction in braille reading and writing, less
access to instruction in the use of a white cane for independent mobility
and less access to training with technology requiring specialized speech and
large print software. This is not just my opinion but the experience,
documented in countless reports and studies, of states that have sought to
achieve greater efficiency through consolidation of services to the blind.
In short, consolidation will result in fewer blind Virginians going to work
and an increase in the number of blind people who will need to rely on
various safety net programs. 

 

Please urge the leadership of the General Assembly to reject the inclusion
of the Department for the Blind into the consolidation plan. Blind
Virginians are relying on you to preserve the services they need to return
to productive lives as employed, contributing members of society.

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Fredric Schroeder