From: Jim Gashel 
Subject: action alert on proposed block grant to include rehab, a very real , 
threat
                           MEMORANDUM
 
 
FROM: James Gashel, Director of Governmental Affairs, National
Federation of the Blind
 
DATE: February 20, 1998
 
RE: urgent alert on latest block grant plan
 
     The notion of a gigantic, no strings attached,  block grant
for all federally supported employment and training programs has
re-emerged as a proposal being made by the National Governors'
Association (NGA).  The outline of this proposal, which the
governors may approve at their upcoming winter meeting, leaves no
doubt that the effort to merge the vocational rehabilitation
program into something that would be even worse than the ill-
considered CAREERS bill has not been abandoned, at least by the
governors.  
 
     Unfortunately, the latest announcement of this proposal
comes at a time when we are still trying to secure final passage
of a long-term extension of programs authorized in the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  The vehicle for consideration of the
Rehabilitation Act amendments in the Senate is S.1186, called the
Workforce Investment Partnership Act.  
 
     In view of the fact that the Senate voted last fall in favor
of the Gorton amendment to block grant federal education
programs, this current move by the NGA must be taken seriously. 
Everyone should consider the fact that the proposal by the
governors has been timed to have a maximum chance of receiving
favorable attention when the Senate considers the Workforce
investment bill.  Also, we should all remember that the
governors' wish for a block grant has been defeated before, and
the same can happen again.  
 
     To insure that this is the result, communications in
opposition to the NGA block grant plan should be sent as soon as
possible to all Senators and House members.  Please feel free to
use the following letter, sent by the NFB to Senate Majority
leader Trent Lott, as a guide for similar communications to
everyone in Congress.  Also, please feel free to use the NFB's
statement on the NGA proposal which is being circulated widely.  
 
 
The Honorable Trent Lott, Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
 
Dear Senator Lott:
 
     According to a proposal of the National Governors'
Association (NGA), an effort will be made to secure enactment of
legislation for a federal workforce development block grant in
the amount of $11.18 billion.  Of this amount, $2.4 billion would
come from adult programs serving persons with disabilities which
are currently authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended.
 
     For the reasons explained in the attached statement, the
National Federation of the Blind is very much opposed to a block
grant which would include funds from the vocational
rehabilitation and related disability programs.  In fact, the
proposals for workforce development legislation, which have
resulted from extensive review and negotiations in the Congress,
call for consolidating many programs while maintaining services
for blind and disabled persons under the existing, identifiable
authorities and funding arrangements.
 
     The legislation which would do this has already passed the
House of Representatives and is now pending in the Senate in the
form of S. 1186 and S. 1579.  The latter bill represents a
comprehensive review of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and was
developed out of extensive negotiations last fall.  All those
affected, including representatives from the states, were given a
full and fair opportunity to participate in the process of
preparing this bill.
 
     As a matter of basic fairness to all concerned, the
legislation to consolidate workforce development programs and
reauthorize the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 should now proceed to
final consideration in the Senate.  As for the disposition of the
NGA proposal, it should not be allowed to cause a further delay
in the process or to threaten the final passage.
 
                              Very truly yours
 
                              
                              James Gashel
                              Director of Governmental Affairs
                              NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
 
 
STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
 
OPPOSING THE NATIONAL GOVERNORS' ASSOCIATION WORKFORCE
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROPOSAL
 
     According to a proposal of the National Governors'
Association (NGA) an effort will be made during 1998 to secure
enactment of legislation for a federal workforce development
block grant in the amount of $11.18 billion.  Of this amount,
$2.4 billion would come from adult programs serving persons with
disabilities which are currently authorized by the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, as amended.
 
     For the reasons set forth below, the National Federation of
the Blind strongly opposes a block grant which would include
funds from the vocational rehabilitation and related disability
programs.  Under the NGA proposal, the scope of the block grant
is so far-reaching that rehabilitation services for blind and
visually impaired individuals would be absorbed into the generic
job training and employment service system.  This would mean that
both responsibility and funding for specialized services needed
by people who are blind or visually impaired--a comparatively
small population--would be merged with much larger, generic
programs for millions of people who are unemployed. It would also
mean a merger of unrelated programs--rehabilitation for persons
with disabilities, on the one hand, and training and employment
services for the unemployed, on the other. 
 
     Under existing law, Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 provides all states with a dedicated block of federal
funding for the sole purpose of assisting people with
disabilities to achieve individualized rehabilitation goals. 
However, both the dedicated funding and the resulting specialized
services would be eliminated under the NGA block grant. It is a
matter of historical fact that state agency organization and
service delivery patterns tend to mirror the pattern of federal
financial assistance.  Moreover, the combination of programs will
inevitably favor the largest and best-understood needs to be met. 
Unique services for persons with disabilities will suffer.
 
     The block grant approach is based on the theory that
virtually everyone who is unemployed for whatever reason can be
served best under one central authority.  According to this view
the administration and delivery of services to assist persons
with disabilities are essentially the same as services to
dislocated workers or unemployed welfare recipients.
 
     This plan simply would not work.  The needs of a person who
is newly blinded or who has not received effective rehabilitation
services are drastically different from those of the typical
unemployed worker.  For example, the following essential
rehabilitation services needed by blind individuals are not
available from, and are completely unrelated to, generic job
training and employment programs:
 
 
     1.   Travel training in using the white cane or the guide
          dog is essential for success in vocational training or
          employment.  This training must encompass how to assess
          the environment without seeing one's surroundings. 
 
     2.   Adaptive methods of reading, writing, and information
          access are prerequisites for success in the workplace. 
          Braille, for example, is a system of reading and
          writing which depends upon the tactile identification
          of raised dots.  The extent of training needed will
          vary in complexity from learning the basic Braille code
          (including almost 200 contractions or special symbols
          commonly in use) to specialized notations for
          computers, foreign languages, music, math and other
          disciplines.
 
     3.   Assistive technology is an essential tool for blind
          persons in employment.  High- or low-tech adaptations
          include use of specially adapted synthetic speech
          devices for computers, screen enlargement programs,
          Braille computer terminals, closed-circuit television
          or other magnification devices, reading machines, or
          scanners.  These services must include identification
          of the appropriate technology to meet the needs of the
          individual and the employer and provision of training
          in its use.  Title I is the only funding source for
          this service.  
 
     4.   Daily living skills training is directly related to
          employment, inasmuch as blind and visually impaired
          persons without these skills will not be able to
          function effectively in an employment setting.  Such
          training includes alternative skills for personal and
          home management such as grooming, cooking, shopping,
          getting to work, and many other ordinary things that
          sighted persons take for granted.
 
     5.   Adjustment to blindness is essential to an individual's
          eventual success in seeking and holding a job. 
          hey learn to
          understand employer attitudes about blindness and how
          to deal with them effectively.    
 
     Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is essentially the
only source of funding for these services.  Moreover, Title I is
the principal resource for funding to establish vending
facilities operated by the blind in public buildings.  Unlike
some services to persons with disabilities, which may often be of
a medical nature, programs for the blind cannot avail themselves
of third-party reimbursement in most instances.  With the
consolidation of Title I into the generic job training and
employment service system, most if not all of the dedicated
resources now available under Title I would be gone.
 
     As an alternative to the NGA proposal, we support
consolidation of generic job training and placement programs and
would like to see effective collaboration between them and the
existing public rehabilitation program.  Title I of the
Rehabilitation Act, as currently structured, provides an
effective mechanism for full integration of blind and visually
impaired persons into the nation's workforce.  The public and
private programs funded under it possess the knowledge, technical
expertise, and financial resources which are essential to make
this integration possible.
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