Regarding the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation’s Lack of Support for Blind Students in Kentucky

WHEREAS, blind students in Kentucky, who are consumers of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, have been denied services contracted to them through their individual plan as a result of not being able to contact their counselors in a timely fashion, if at all; and

WHEREAS, many of these blind students in Kentucky have had to use personal funds for such materials as textbooks, as no voucher or other method of reimbursement has been forthcoming from the agency; and

WHEREAS, many of these blind students in Kentucky have had to use personal funds or other resources to ensure their tuition was paid, so as to incur no disruption in their education; and

WHEREAS, in many cases the reason these students cannot reach or receive services from their Office of Vocational Rehabilitation counselor is that this person has left the agency, yet the student has not been contacted with this information, nor with the name and information of an appropriate contact to replace the counselor in order to obtain tuition information or assistance with equipment, materials, or book vouchers; and

WHEREAS, the pandemic has created an even more stressful and inaccessible environment for blind students, and the support of agencies such as the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation is more necessary than ever before.

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Kentucky in Convention assembled this twenty-ninth of October, 2022 in the City of Louisville, Kentucky, That this organization demand the agency put measures in place to alert consumers if their counselor has left, and that they provide an alternative contact to resolve issues that may arise before a new counselor can be hired and in place: and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation honor their commitments to blind students in Kentucky with regards to support both in financial and practical matters as laid out in the consumers plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization will actively seek to meet with representatives of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, in a public forum, sometime in the coming year to address our concerns.