4733 Bethesda Avenue, Suite 330
Bethesda, MD 20814
Greg Trapp, Esq., President
Telephone: 202-298-8468 or 202-333-5841
Fax: 301-654-5542
www.ncsab.org
Testimony of the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind
August 14, 2007
The National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB) is pleased to
have the opportunity to submit comments to the Interagency Committee on
Disability Research (ICDR), authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended. It is vital that the federal disability and rehabilitation research
agenda devote serious attention to the needs of blind and visually impaired
individuals to insure the greatest possible access to education, employment
and independent living for this population.
The NCSAB represents state programs providing vocational rehabilitation
services to blind people under Titles I, VI and VII of the Rehabilitation
Act. These services are essential in insuring that blind people have the
training and supports they need to live full, productive lives according to
their individual interests and ability. It is our experience that blind and
visually impaired people are best served by categorical programs that
provide specialized services to this population. Current research and
performance standards consistently demonstrate that people who are blind are
more successful when served by vocational rehabilitation agencies for the
blind. In addition to employment related services, specialized independent
living services for individuals who are blind over age 55 (Title VII,
Chapter 2) offer the specialized training necessary to assist older
individuals to continue functioning independently in their homes and
communities.
In spite of the documented effectiveness of categorical programs for the
blind, the U.S. Department of Education continues to eliminate support for
specialized services in general and for blindness related programs in
particular. In 2006, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation
Research (NIDRR) eliminated funding for the only national Research and
Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision. In spite of strong resistance
from the NCSAB, the NIDRR moved forward with its plan to eliminate the RRTC
on Blindness and Low Vision, weakening support for vital research and
training activities for a population that suffers one of the highest
unemployment rates among people with disabilities generally. This has been
done to increase the use of cross-disability research and training, despite
the fact that no research exists to support the efficacy of cross-disability
research. Conversely, the NIDRR has ignored the decades of research and
demonstration of the efficacy of categorical service delivery systems in
making this decision. This decision is not only flawed in its policy, but it
is also contradictory to the basic nature of sound research design, namely,
the ability to operationally define and measure changes in a population.
Virtually no meaningful data will be drawn from cross-disability research
because too many differences exist between disabling conditions for
researchers to understand critical factors that promote change within a
single group. Basically, it is far too simplistic to assume that all
individuals with differing disabilities are subjected to the same barriers,
and hence it is far too simplistic to assume that the same solutions will
apply.
For whatever reason, in recent years the NIDRR has systematically reduced
the number of its RRTC's and now funds only 30 RRTC's nationwide. In their
place, the NIDRR has increased support for Disability and Rehabilitation
Research Projects (DRRP's). These projects are funded at a much lower level
than had typically been available to RRTC's and have a much narrower focus.
This “focus”, moreover, is spurious at best because of the concomitant
variability between and within different disability groups. In other words,
to promote the development of a DRRP on transition, for example, is flawed
because it assumes that all youth with disabilities face the same
discrimination and barriers, which is an unfounded conclusion. Accordingly,
the DRRP's are unable to conduct high quality comprehensive longitudinal
studies and design and deliver long-range sustained training in vital
content areas, compared to those routinely conducted by RRTC's that are
disability-focused.
For these reasons the NCSAB urges the Interagency Committee on Disability
Research to consider the following as it develops its long-range disability
research agenda:
- Study the existing research literature, which demonstrates that most focused research is disability-specific, as are the results and subsequent interventions;
- Recognize the critical role of categorical programs and insure that research into the delivery of effective specialized services be an ongoing funding priority;
- Restore funding for a Research and Training Center on blindness and low vision;
- Direct research and training in best practices on the employment of blind individuals, including the development and application of assistive technology and the acquisition of blindness skills;
- Direct research efforts to the needs of blind and visually impaired individuals across the life-span: including educational services that lead to high quality employment as adults; effective transition services including work experience; skills training for newly blind adults; development of self-confidence to withstand society's low expectations for blind people; and services for older blind individuals to prevent premature institutionalization and to enable the older individual to continue living an active, integrated life.
In conclusion the NCSAB is concerned that competing priorities not lead
to the federal government targeting its research and training activities
solely to areas so generic that it fails to support the needs of blind and
visually impaired individuals. Blind people face unacceptably high rates of
unemployment. The problem is compounded by new advances in technology that
pose barriers to access technology. These are specialized areas requiring
specialized knowledge and experience. Support of categorical programs is
essential to insuring that all people with disabilities gain the opportunity
to live integrated, fulfilling lives on terms of equality with others.