NAD Action Alert!

Oppose Damaging Vocational Rehabilitation Proposals
The NAD is urging members to contact their Congressional representatives and ask for a vote against a bill that would weaken the Vocational Rehabilitation system. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are now discussing proposals to consolidate/block grant Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), folding it into other job-training programs. This could lead to much less communication access for deaf and hard of hearing Americans.

In a related development, the NAD has learned that the U.S. Department of Education wants to eliminate all Regional Offices (RO) of RSA. Those RO's provide much-needed technical assistance and compliance monitoring. There are 80 state VR agencies -- far too many to be helped/tracked from Washington alone. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) and the National Council on Disability (NCD) both have shown that other job-training programs often are NOT communication-accessible. If the RO's are cut, too, the end result is going to be much worse VR services for deaf and hard of hearing Americans.

More information on these issues is available at:
http://www.nad.org/rehabact

Tell your elected officials that these consolidation/block grant and cut-back proposals are all very bad ideas and should be opposed!

Two easy ways to TAKE ACTION:

1. Reply to this email. Yes, it is that easy! We will automatically send your letter to your represenative for you. The letter that will be sent on your behalf is at the bottom of this email. You will not receive a confirmation email that your letter has been sent if you choose to reply to this email.
(The reply-to email address will be a series of letters that ends with @advo.kintera.com. That email address will prompt the NAD website to send your letter to your representative with your information in the signature.)

2. If you would prefer to review and modify your letter before you send it to your representative, please go to the URL:
http://www.nad.org/opposerehabproposal

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(Date)

Dear (Representative name),

The Rehabilitation Act has provided much-needed job-training services for deaf and hard of hearing Americans for more than 90 years. Going back to 1918, the Federal-State rehabilitation program has delivered the individually designed rehabilitation services that people who are deaf or hard of hearing need. This includes counselors who are able to sign and speak clearly with us, and it includes arranging for interpreters as needed. Also, rehabilitation counselors are comfortable using TTYs, instant messaging, and e-mail, all of which offer 100% visual communication.

By contrast, many non-VR job training programs are NOT communication-accessible. The General Accounting Agency (GAO) and the National Council on Disability (NCD) both have reported that many One Stop Career Centers and the job-training programs co-located there do not provide the necessary communication techniques and technologies.

That is why consolidating VR with other job-training programs, as the U.S. Department of Labor is recommending, and as proposed in the WIA PLUS CONSOLIDATED GRANT PROGRAM is a very bad idea. I urge you to vote AGAINST such consolidations.

In addition, we urge Congress to hold oversight hearings into the U.S. Department of Education's ill-advised plan to eliminate the Regional Offices around the nation that provide much-needed technical assistance and monitoring of 80 state VR agencies. The Department did not think this plan through. It would have a very bad effect on quality of VR services all across the country.

Sincerely,

(Your name)
(Your address)

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