RESOLUTION 4-05
WHEREAS, federal funding for stipends and fellowships for students in personnel training programs to be teachers of the visually handicapped, orientation and mobility instructors, rehabilitation teachers, and counselors for the blind have been reduced each year since 1976, AND
WHEREAS, the reduction of funding has caused many professional preparation programs to reduce faculty positions, has closed many programs, and has frustrated development of high caliber personnel, AND
WHEREAS, these reductions in funds have forced the programs to reduce the number of students accepted, and the reduction in stipends has made it difficult to recruit applicants for study in numbers equal to program capacity, AND
WHEREAS, the incidence of blindness and visual impairment is expected to dramatically increase over the next fifteen years, while the number of qualified graduates continues to decrease, AND
WHEREAS, the shortage of qualified professionals in work with blind persons has in some instances caused a shift to service provision by persons with general education who have no knowledge of the unique needs of blind persons, AND
WHEREAS, the only certain means of assuring stipends and fellowships for students to alleviate the shortage is through categorical funding, THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Blinded Veterans Association, in convention assembled in Miami Beach, Florida on this 20th day of August, 2005, urges the U.S. Congress to enact legislation to fund categorical programs for professional preparation of education and rehabilitation personnel serving people who are severely visually impaired and blind, AND FURTHER BE IT
RESOLVED, that the BVA encourage the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affairs to explore partnering with University Preparation Programs to assure an adequate supply of professionally trained Vision Rehabilitation specialists.
RESOLUTION 5-05
WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law in July 1990, AND
WHEREAS, blind and visually-impaired individuals historically have experienced extreme difficulty in finding meaningful employment or advancing beyond entry level positions when employment is found, AND
WHEREAS, the provisions of ADA require reasonable accommodations for disabled persons, AND
WHEREAS, the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) employs disabled people, many of whom are blind or severely visually-impaired, THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Blinded Veterans Association, in convention assembled in Miami Beach Florida on this 20th day of August, 2005, urges DVA to insure that all visually-impaired and blind employees have reasonable accommodations, including necessary training on essential access technology, AND FURTHER BE IT
RESOLVED, that DVA establish an aggressive outreach program to hire more disabled individuals, especially disabled veterans.
RESOLUTION 6-05
WHEREAS, currency is used by virtually everyone in everyday life including blind and visually-impaired persons, AND
WHEREAS, the currency of the United States is, at the present time, impossible to identify without vision or electric device, AND
WHEREAS, most blind and visually impaired persons are therefore required to rely upon others to determine denominations of such currency, AND
WHEREAS, this constitutes a serious impediment to independence in everyday living, AND
WHEREAS, electronic means of bill identification will always have more potential for fallibility than purely tactile means, AND
WHEREAS, readily identifiable currency is consistent with the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act, AND
WHEREAS, a suitable method of visual identification has been introduced for visually-impaired persons, AND
WHEREAS, no tactile means of identifying currency has yet been developed or introduced; THEREFORE BE IT
RESOLVED, that the Blinded Veterans Association, in convention assembled in Miami Beach, Florida on this 20th day of August, 2005, strongly supports efforts to make currency of the United States tactually identifiable within a reasonable period of time.
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