Letter to the Editor Published in the February 28 Issue of the Staunton News Leader
Filed under: ADA Accessibility and Advocacy, Legislative Updates
Cuts target those residents who have disabilities
February 28, 2010
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s proposal to consolidate disability service agencies into the Department of Rehabilitative Services, and thereby saving the commonwealth $0.8 million is a mistake. While the state Association of the Deaf cannot speak for department and VBPD, we can speak for the Va. Department for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
VDDHH was established by an Act of the General Assembly in 1973 because of a long hard fight by the deaf community for an agency which truly serves our community. VDDHH does just that. There is no other single service agency that understands the needs, the language, the culture and shared history of the deaf community. The quality assurance screening of interpreters performed by VDDHH is excellent, the Virginia Relay Services supervised by VDDHH are among the best in the nation, and the expertise, specialized knowledge and resources of the agency could never be provided by the juggernaut of the DRS, as the governor claims. There is nothing to guarantee services to the deaf community will continue to be available seamlessly through DRS. For the past few years, DRS has been providing services on a tier system, not opening all tiers to all people. We are afraid with this system, services to the deaf community will be spotty at best.
The governor’s proposal claims the savings associated with this consolidation comes from “eliminating the positions of the director from DBVI, DDHH and V.B.P.D., as well as other efficiencies.” It says “there are no deputy directors or clear successor at these agencies to assume the role of leadership and guide the services to the respective consumer groups.” We beg to differ. Ron Lanier has directed VDDHH ably and well for 12 years. The VAD has already written to the governor to reappoint Mr. Lanier.
Consolidating agencies, which serve such a diverse population into the DRS, is going to cost Virginia taxpayers much more than a “savings” of $0.8 million. The VAD is adamantly against this proposal.
Once again, our legislators are targeting a minority population in their hurry and haste to go back to the future.
RACHEL BAVISTER, Staunton
http://www.newsleader.com/article/20100228/OPINION03/2280328/1014/OPINION
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FCC Announces New Closed Captioning Complaint Procedure
TDI eNotes – February 26, 2010
In this issue:
- FCC ANNOUNCES NEW CLOSED CAPTIONING COMPLAINT PROCEDURE
FCC Announces New Closed Captioning
Complaint Procedure
TDI Editor’s Note:
This action by the FCC is in response to part of TDI’s Petition for Rulemaking regarding captioning quality standards filed on July 23, 2004. The new procedure was first announced by the FCC on November 7, 2008 pending review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which became effective as of February 19, 2010. Thanks to the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and Northern Virginia Resource Center (NVRC) for their part in sending out this announcement.
Consumers can now file complaints directly with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), thanks to new closed captioning complaint rules by the FCC effective February 19, 2010. These new closed captioning rules, requested by TDI and other consumer groups in 2004, make it easier for consumers to report closed caption problems. When you see a television program that has no captions, missing captions, delayed captions, captions that are garbled, displayed too fast, or unreadable, please file a complaint with the FCC.
Filing Closed Captioning Complaints
Closed captioning complaints must be filed within 60 days of the captioning problem.
File your complaint with the FCC. The FCC will send your complaint to your video programming distributor (the TV station or your cable or satellite TV service). The distributor must respond to your complaint within 30 days.
Online
You can file your complaint by using the FCC’s online Disability Access Complaint Form #2000C at https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formC!input.action?form_page=2000C
**TDI Editor’s Note:
Disability Access Complaint Form 2000C on the FCC’s website erroneously states that if your complaint is about closed captioning, you must first contact the station or video programming distributor. Cheryl Heppner at NVRC corresponded with the staff at the Disability Rights Office in the FCC who assured us that, in accordance with the new rules, the FCC will accept this web form without your first trying to contact the video programming distributor. The form will be changed shortly, but in the meantime, contacting the station is not required.
File your complaint by email to fccinfo@fcc.gov
Fax
Fax your written complaint to 1-866-418-0232
Letter
Mail your complaint letter to:
Federal Communications Commission
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau
Consumer Complaints
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20554
For more information:
Click here at http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm?sid=&id=d1e3 for more information about filing complaints, or call the FCC for assistance, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (eastern time), at 1-888-225-5322 or 1-888-835-5322 TTY.
See the Closed Captioning Factsheet for more information about closed captioning athttp://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/closedcaption.html.
OR
You may file your complaint with the video programming distributor (the TV station or your cable or satellite TV service). The distributor must respond to your complaint within 30 days. If the distributor cannot solve the problem, or you are not satisfied with the response you receive (or if you receive no response), you can send your complaint to the FCC.
New Contact Information Requirements
The FCC also adopted new rules requiring video programming distributors to make their contact information available to consumers. Specifically, video programming distributors are required to make two kinds of contact information available:
- Contact information for the receipt and handling of immediate closed captioning concerns by consumers, such as when captions suddenly disappear or become garbled while watching a program.
- Contact information for written closed captioning complaints.
This contact information must be provided:
- on the video programming distributor’s website
- in billing statements (when billing statements are issued), and
- when extended listings are published in telephone directories.
Video programming distributors must provide this contact information to the FCC by March 22, 2010. The FCC will publish a Public Notice when this contact information is available in a searchable database on the FCC website. This contact information will also be available by calling the FCC call the FCC for assistance, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (eastern time), at 1-888-225-5322 or 1-888-835-5322 TTY.
March 14 – Barksdale Theatre: The Grapes of Wrath (Richmond)
For more information, go to http://www.barksdalerichmond.org/season.html.
March 25 – Vocational Rehabilitation Public Comment Forum (Norfolk)
| NOTICE OF
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PUBLIC COMMENT FORUM Thursday, March 25, 2010 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. |
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| Department of Rehabilitative Services – Norfolk Field Office
861 Glenrock Road Suite 202 |
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The Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) and the Virginia State Rehabilitation Council invite your attendance at a Public Forum to receive comment on the DRS Vocational Rehabilitation and Supported Employment Programs. Each year, DRS (and all other states) prepare a State Plan that describes how Virginia provides rehabilitation services. The comments received during the public forum will be utilized in the development of the 2011 State Plans. |
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| The State Plan is updated annually and must be submitted to the federal government by July 1 of each year. You may review the current State Plan by visiting the DRS website at www.vadrs.org or the State Rehabilitation Council website at www.va-src.org.
If you cannot attend the forum in person, you may send your written comments to: Elizabeth E. Smith, Director of Policy and Planning Department of Rehabilitative Services 8004 Franklin Farms Drive, Richmond, Virginia 23229 FAX (804) 662-7696 Or the below email address or phone number For comments to be considered for 2010 State Plan development, they must be received by April 1, 2010. However, public input to the Department’s planning efforts is welcome at any time. Sign language interpreter services will be provided. If you require any other accommodation please contact Elizabeth Smith at (804) 662-7071, toll free at (800) 552-5019, TTY at (804) 662-9040 or (800) 464-9950 or by email toElizabeth.Smith@drs.virginia.gov |
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