SRS should take lead from senator

Resources for blind Kansans must not be scattered.

Special to The Capital-Journal

State services for Kansans who are blind barely survived the 1999 legislative session. With the invaluable assistance of Senate Ways and Means Chairman, Dave Kerr, R-Hutchinson, threats to eliminate specialized services for people who are blind were minimized. State bureaucrats announced last fall that the buildings housing the Kansas Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Kansas Industries for the Blind and administrative offices for state blind services would have to be sold, since they are a part of the closed Topeka State Hospital grounds. It was reported that the real-estate "experts" who advised the state government decided the old Topeka State lands would sell at a better price if the blind services corner was included in the package. Blind Kansans have been questioning the state about what will happen to the services. Even though the state formed a Future Design Team to discuss the future re-invention of services for the blind, advocates felt they were not getting straight answers. Officials of the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services assured advocates for the blind that no decisions had been made about the future of blind services. On the same day, they announced that Kansas Industries for the Blind would close if it was not privatized. KIB is a state-operated facility that employs people who are blind. Advocates were told that the Future Design Team could drive the planning process, but SRS would ultimately determine what services would be offered. There were no plans for bricks and mortar but state officials told advocates, "If we need some buildings, we will see what might be available at the appropriate time." Yet, the threat was bigger than just concern about loss of buildings. Officials were assuming that blind services should be submerged in the one-stop concept for all disabilities. People who are blind need specific training to acquire skills to be more independent. For example, a general agency might try to find a volunteer to read mail or lead the blind person around. An agency specializing in blindness would, instead, teach skills such as Braille and how to travel with a white cane or guide dog. These skills enable the blind individual to be truly self-sufficient. SRS officials simply did not understand how blind services work best. Decisions were being made based on the wrong premises. That is why blindness advocates started talking to members of the 1999 Legislature. Services for the blind had to be saved. They found an empathetic ear with Sen. Kerr. He agreed to plant language in the Topeka State Divestiture Bill which states if the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind has to move because of the Topeka State sale, it shall not be moved until arrangements have been made for facilities of equal or better usefulness for providing blind services. He also planted language in the bill stating that Kansas Industries for the Blind could not be closed until suitable arrangements, including similar wages and benefits, are made for the workforce. Additionally, Kerr carried a floor amendment through the Senate stating that monies for the relocation of the blind services buildings, including KIB, can come from funds received through the sale of the Topeka State Hospital grounds. Hopefully this will prevent the feared scenario of 10 moving vans being loaded with DSB belongings, run around Topeka, and having eight unload at different locations where space was available with two being lost altogether. Such a dissection of blind services would be devastatingly detrimental for blind Kansans. To the consternation of various SRS officials, all of this language was passed into law at the end of the 1999 session. Apparently, they did not think legislators would listen to the ideas and concerns of people who are blind instead of the SRS view as to what was best. Sanford Alexander is president of the Kansas Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Copyright 1999
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