Survey on Assistive Technology

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The below was sent to me by Ron Lucey, who serves as a member of the Austin Mayor’s committee for people with disabilities.

Assistive Technology Users:

I’m inviting you to take a few minutes to complete a Survey on Assistive Technology linked at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LZGRXH2
The survey is being sponsored by the Texas Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities and Professor Lex Frieden at the University of Texas Houston. Your survey response will remain anonymous but your results will help guide state policy makers to identify resources and opportunities to develop assistive technologies to meet the independent living and vocational needs of Texans with disabilities. I encourage you to forward and share this survey with other assistive technology users in your contacts to ensure the survey results accurately reflect the views of Texans with disabilities.

Subminimum Wage Resolution

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An important topic at the 2011 National Federation of the Blind convention was the practice of subminimum wage employment. The convention passed the following resolution in order to abolish subminimum wages forever.

RESOLUTION 2011-17
Regarding the Workforce Investment Act Reauthorization

WHEREAS, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions has distributed language for the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act including a proposed Section 511 of Title V (the Rehabilitation Act), which would provide for employment of people with significant disabilities at wages below the federally mandated minimum wage; and

WHEREAS, the proposed language of Section 511 would be a tacit endorsement of the subminimum wage provision found in Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its antiquated contention that people with disabilities cannot be competitively employed; and

WHEREAS, this language links the Rehabilitation Act, which was established to assist people with disabilities in obtaining competitive integrated employment, with Section 14(c) of the FLSA, which is based on the false premise that people with disabilities can not be competitively employed and therefore can be paid subminimum wages; and

WHEREAS, the language in Section 511 that defines what steps a vocational rehabilitation counselor must take before steering a client into subminimum-wage employment is intended to prevent youth with disabilities from being tracked into subminimum-wage jobs, but is likely instead to track clients into subminimum-wage employment; and

WHEREAS, language in Section 511 asserts that employers holding a certificate that allows them to pay subminimum wages can also serve as training facilities for people with disabilities, a claim that ignores the fact that job training services provided by an employer holding a special wage certificate are likely to reinforce the low expectation that workers with disabilities cannot be competitively employed, since the incentive is for the employer to continue exploiting their labor rather than prepare workers for other employment; and

WHEREAS, the Section 511 documentation and review process, which is meant to provide safeguards against inappropriate use of subminimum-wage employment, does not take into consideration the fact that state Vocational Rehabilitation programs do not have the resources to ensure effective compliance with the various documentation and review requirements, including the six-month review period in the proposed language, creating an opportunity to expand the exploitation caused by Section 14(c) of the FLSA; and

WHEREAS, the good intentions motivating the development of Section 511 are likely to result in enormous negative consequences, especially the validation of subminimum-wage employment as a viable outcome for people with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, the language does not provide an effective procedure for workers to challenge improper placement in such employment: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind in Convention assembled this seventh day of July, 2011, in the city of Orlando, Florida, that this organization call on members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions to remove Section 511 of the proposed Rehabilitation Act; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon all members of Congress, not to address the unjust law of Section 14(c) with ineffective measures, but to take direct action to abolish the reprehensible practice of subminimum-wage employment forever.

Minutes for June 2011

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The regular meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas Austin Chapter was called to order by Secretary Thomas Stivers on June 25 at 10:32 am. There were 5 guests in attendance.

Health and Wellfare

Mark Anderson who worked for Travis Association for the Blind was killed in a car accident on June 19.

The treasurer reported a balance of $3,995.18.

In the month of june Dr. Mauer prepares his convention address and there is no presidential release. Instead of the presidential release we listened to an excerpt from the 2007 banquet address.

As of the meeting there were 17 chapter members going to convention including at least one for the first time.

Old Business

  • Jeanine gave a report on the BELL camp. Congratulations to the chapter which was able to fund its first BELL camp this year.
  • All of the chapter members who requested convention assistance from the Texas affiliate received it.
  • we didn’t receive any new information from the affiliate about state convention, but the scheduled date is November 11 in Austin. The hotel has not yet been announced. Keep watching nfbtx.org for the latest information.
  • for those interested in keeping up whith activities at the state level there is an NFB of Texas mailing list which you can subscribe to at members-subscribe@nfbtx.org.

New Business

  • The chapter decided to sell Texas sized candy bars at convention for a fund raiser.
  • The White Cane Day t-shirts are available for order for $6.00. White Cane Day is October 20 and the White Cane Walk is happening on October 22. The whitecaneday.org website has the most current information
  • The chapter voted to provide chapter assistance for convention by reimbursing members who attend for their convention registration.
  • Jeanine proposed a chapter activity at a park or similar to get together socially.

There were 4 brags and no complaints. The chapter accepted 3 new members. The meeting adjourned at 11:45 am.

Listen to the meeting.

Community Career Expo

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13th Annual Career Expo

Get a leg-up on your job search by attending the 13th Annual Community Career Expo, brought to you by Goodwill Industries of Central Texas, the Austin Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (AMCPD), Workforce Solutions–Capital Area and The Austin American-Statesman.

There will be many employers to visit and opportunities for onsite interviews, including opportunities to improve your job seeking skills through training classes such as continuing education topics, resume building and application critiquing, how to build your own brand and more. In addition, we strive to make this the most accessible Career Expo in the Greater Austin area by providing Spanish Translators, Sign Interpreters and Sighted Guides.

This FREE community event is open to the public, and will be held:

Thursday, June 23

Goodwill Community Center
1015 Norwood Park Blvd. Austin, Texas 78753
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Minutes for May 2011

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The regular meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas Austin Chapter was called to order on May 14, 2011 by First Vice President Chesser at 10:30 am. There were five guests in attendance.

Health and Welfare

teresa, who has worked the switchboard at TSB for 21 years, is retiring. Ed Cuntz resigned from his position as director of CCRC.

The treasurer reported a balance of $4,685.48.

Presidential Release 395

  • Rooms are running out at the overflow hotel for national convention.
  • Online pre-rhgistration closed June 1.
  • There will be blind driving simulators at convention.
  • The drawing for the Blind Driver Experience will take place on the Through Our Eyes podcast.
  • Scott LaBarre encouraged all federationists to get on the PAC Plan.
  • The federation has reached an agreement with Ticket Master to make the Ticket Master website accessible.

Chapter Check-up

Several chapter members put on the Captain Whozit Saves the Day skit which will be one of the activities at BELL Camp. What our actors may have lacked in skill they certainly made up in enthusiasm.

Old Business

  • We survived Dinner in the Dark!
  • The campfire program went well and the kids and teachers were interested in our message.
  • We were taking volunteers to work at BELL up through June 15. BELL is taking place right now.
  • The new NFB of Texas website is up and running as of June 1!

>New Business

  • The BELL program volunteers had there coordination meeting on June 15.
  • National convention assistance from the NFB of Texas was available. Applications were due by June 1.
  • Contact Richie, Pam, Angela, or myself if you need assistance with any NFB paperwork.

Four people became new members at this meeting. There were nine brags and one complaint. The meeting adjourned at 11:58 am.

Listen to the meeting.

`Minutes for April 2011

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The regular meeting of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas Austin Chapter was called to order by President Flores at 10:34 am. There were three guests in attendance.

Health and Welfare

Pam and Ashlyn are doing well.

The treasurer reported a balance of $3,927.80.

Presidential Release 394

  1. The NFB has launched the Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research: the JBIR is a free peer reviewed online journal of research related to blindness.
  2. The braille book fare is seeking donations of braille books for convention.
  3. Tours will be offered by Echevarria Travel and Peachtree Travel on July 9 after convension.
  4. The convention hotel is full, but there is still space in the overflow hotel a ten minute ride away.
  5. There will be a drawing by the Race for Independence to see which 30 lucky federationists will be able to ride in the Blind Driver Challenge car.
  6. The NFB has filed suit against McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas for its use of inaccessible kiosks.

Chapter Check-up

We watched Braille: Unlocking the Code, a video which explains the importance of Braille literacy, particularly for low vision children who are usually not given the opportunity to learn it. Braille is necessary to make blind people competitive in society. After the presentation we discussed the vast array of multimedia content available at nfb.org which we can use to get our message across.

Old Business

  • On April 9 the Texas Association of Blind Students and Texas Parents of Blind Children had a great conference in Dallas.
  • The NFB of Texas website is still under revision and the new site should be ready by June 1.
  • Preparations are ongoing for the Dinner in the Dark. As of the meeting there were tickets available, but they sold out by the following Monday.
  • Jeanine attended an assistive technology meeting conducted by the Center for texans with Disabilities. Their goal is to bring more money for the development of new assistive technology products to Texas.
  • Richie and Monica went to a salsa dancing event at UT which gave us an opportunity to partner with the university.

New Business

  • So far we have one applicant for the BELL program. That is a good sign as Austin parents are notorious for submitting applications near the deadline. We discussed several agencies we will contact to round up kids.
  • State convension is going to take place in Austin sometime in late October or early November. The exact date and hotel are still being worked out.
  • We were invited to give an after school presentation to several fourth grade classes during the first week of May.
  • Monica has started the Longhorn Association of Blind Students at UT.
  • The White Cane Day committee is looking for art to be both displayed at the White Cane Day event and put on the t-shirt. The deadline for submission is May 5.

Three people became new members at this meeting. There were 3 brags and 2 complaints. The meeting adjourned at 12:01 pm.

A recording of the meeting is available here.

HB 3629 Public Hearing is Canceled

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Friends,
 
First, thanks for your willingness to step up and attend the hearing.
 
I’ve just received word that the public hearing has been canceled for tomorrow; there is no need for us to travel to the Capitol after all. The sense is
that Dr. Shelton has no immediate plans to place the bill on another committee agenda at this time.
 
This is a fluid session so there are certainly no guarantees that we have seen the last of this bill. I think it is safe to say that our advocacy efforts
were effective, and Dr. Shelton was less than sure of broad support for his legislation.
 
As always, I’ll send pertinent information when I receive it, and I sincerely appreciate knowing I can count on you should this issue rear it’s ugly head
again before this session is put to rest.
 
Best,
Kimberly

Dinner in the Dark a Success!

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Last night’s Dinner in the Dark was a great success. The clubhouse was filled with fun, food, and fantastic music. We thank all of you who joined us for this exciting time, and keep your ears open for our next event. A special thank you is in order for the Dinner in the Dark team: Richie, Marcie, Jeanine, Monica, Yolanda, Nickie, Jonathan and all the rest who put their all into bringing the herd of cats together. Hopefully you guys will recover after a week of sleep. :)

We succeeded in raising enough money to fully fund the BELL program this summer, and that’s really what it’s all about.

Would you attend a Dinner in the Dark next year?

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HB 3629 Public Hearing

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The time has come to make our presence known at the Capitol. HB 3629, Rep. Shelton’s bill which proposes to abolish DARS, has been scheduled for a Public
Hearing at 2:00 PM on Tuesday May 3.
 
We need as many blind people, with canes and guide dogs, present at this hearing as possible to demonstrate that services for blind people are critical,
and simply lumping these services into another agency with no particular knowledge or familiarity with our specific needs or abilities, is unacceptable.

Adult Rehabilitation and Employment Survey

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I have been asked to distribute this important survey.  Please consider participating, I know I will.

Adult Rehabilitation and Employment Survey
 
Welcome to the Adult Rehabilitation and Employment Survey.

 
This survey is intended for adults who are blind or visually impaired, and who are of employment age. The purpose of the survey is to gain some information
about your experiences with Vocational Rehabilitation through your state services or rehabilitation counselor; your experiences with adjustment training,
education, and employment. If you are legally blind or significantly visually impaired, and if you are of employment age (at least 18 years old), you are
invited to complete this survey.

 
For your convenience, we have two options for you to complete the survey. They are:

 
1. Click on the link at the end of this page and you can complete the questions online.

2. If you prefer, you can contact our office and someone will take your responses over the phone. You can call 318-257-4554, or e-mail
dseilhan@latech.edu
to make these arrangements.

 
This survey should not take more than ten minutes of your time. All of your responses will be kept strictly confidential—no information you share will
be released about you in any form. This is entirely voluntary, and you may exit out of the survey at any time. Your experiences are very important to us,
and if you do exit the survey, your information will not be used, so we appreciate your cooperation.

We cannot thank you enough for your time and attention to our work. For those who do participate in this survey, you will be entered into a drawing where
5 individuals will win a $100 VISA gift card. So, take ten minutes to share your experiences with us and get a chance to win!

If you wish to participate in future research, or to be notified of the results of this survey, please make sure to include your e-mail address. We will
report the results to you once the analysis is complete. Finally, you should know that this survey software may collect your computer’s IP address, but
we assure you that this information will not be used for any purpose, and will not be released in any fashion.

To begin the survey, please click the following link: 
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/25BX5Y6 

Edward C. Bell, Ph.D., CRC, NOMC