Resolutions
2009-07
WHEREAS, there is a crisis in employment for blind people in this country, with estimates of between 70 and 85% of blind Americans being without a job; and
WHEREAS, the Oregon Commission for the Blind has worked tirelessly to see that blind people in Oregon have a reasonable opportunity for gainful employment; and
WHEREAS, the costs associated with vocational rehabilitation programs for the blind are higher and the skills required are more specialized; and
WHEREAS, the only means by which state and federal tax dollars may be saved, aside from serving fewer clients, is to maintain the pool of resources and talent allowed by maintaining a separate agency serving specifically the blind; and
WHEREAS, the Oregon Commission for the Blind has been the subject of an audit which found several problems in how the Commission has managed its resources. The audit report cited several recommendations to ensure that resources are better allocated in the future, which the Commission has indicated it is working to adopt; and
WHEREAS, the governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, has stated his intention to merge the Oregon Commission for the Blind with the Department of Human Services, depriving Oregon of both the specialized services and the cost savings of a separate agency for the Blind. The justification cited is the erroneous belief that this will somehow reduce costs and enhance accountability: Now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, by the National Federation of the Blind of Oregon in convention assembled this 10th day of October, 2009, in the city of Cottage Grove, Oregon, that this organization call upon Governor Kulongoski and the Oregon state legislature to affirm their commitment to blind constituents by working with the Oregon Commission for the Blind, rather than against it, to implement necessary changes and recommendations as they are required for fiscal responsibility and efficiency.