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Article of Interest - Rehabilitation Services

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Bridges4Kids LogoNFB and Other Disability Groups Protest Cutbacks at Federal Rehab Agency
PR Newswire, Thursday, May 19, 2005
For more articles like this visit http://www.nfb.org

 
Over a thousand blind and disabled people from all over the United States will gather in Washington next week to protest cutbacks and other changes at the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). Spearheaded by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and supported by numerous other disability organizations, the protest will challenge Department of Education plans to close ten regional RSA offices, eliminate about half the agency's personnel, downgrade the position of commissioner of the RSA, and block grant vocational rehabilitation funds.

"These proposals significantly weaken our nation's commitment to help the blind become productive taxpayers rather than recipients of public benefits," said Marc Maurer, president of the NFB. "The blind and disabled face a disheartening unemployment rate of over 70 percent, yet the Department of Education wants to dismantle the single most effective program for preparing the blind to enter the workforce." Joanne Wilson, a former commissioner of the RSA and one of the highest- ranking disabled persons in the Bush administration, will be among the protestors as will Fredric Schroeder, who was commissioner of the RSA during the Clinton administration. Wilson, who is blind, was appointed by President Bush to be the commissioner of the RSA in 2001, but recently resigned her position to protest the proposed changes at the agency.


"I cannot stand by while the Bush Administration tries to tear down a system that has helped so many blind and disabled people find employment," said Wilson. "Just look at me. Thanks to good vocational rehabilitation when I was young, I have been employed and paying taxes for forty years. Isn't this the outcome we want for all our blind and disabled citizens?" Joining the NFB in protesting the planned changes are over thirty professional and disability organizations including the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB), the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Rehabilitation Association, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). The protestors will gather in front of the Department of Education on Thursday, May 26, 2005, at 10:00 a.m.

 

The Bush administration has laid out a plan that would close all of the RSA regional offices responsible for assisting states with the implementation of rehabilitation programs; reduce the RSA staff by approximately 50 percent, with a disproportionate effect falling on people with disabilities employed by RSA; offer states the option of receiving federal vocational rehabilitation funds as part of a consolidated block grant under the Workforce Investment Act; and eliminate the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired as part of a reorganization of the RSA central office. In addition, the Department wants to downgrade the position of commissioner of the RSA, currently a presidential appointment.


"The proposed elimination of the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired is particularly troubling for the National Federation of the Blind," continued Marc Maurer. "History has shown that the blind have unique needs that are best met by separate agencies and services. We need experienced and knowledgeable people administering federal programs for the blind." With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy, education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the nation's blind.
 
SOURCE: National Federation of the Blind
     

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