1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

I urge you to ask Assembly Member Alex Lee and Senator Jesse Arreguin, Chairs of the Assembly and Senate Human Services Committees, to hold an urgent joint legislative oversight interim hearing regarding severe operational breakdowns within the California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR).   Current policy changes targeting services for blind, low vision, and DeafBlind Californians threaten our safety, economic independence, and civil rights. We request an interim hearing to address five critical areas:   Due to Order of Selection and thus denying services to all new applicants who are blind face indefinite delays, even those trying to retain a job. One key concern is that orientation and mobility lessons will not be administered, creating direct physical safety issues. All of this will ultimately push people onto public assistance, creating higher state costs.   Clients with an active Individualized Plan for Employment experience long delays for adaptive technology and training, hindering school and work.   Organizations serving blind, low vision, and DeafBlind individuals face chronic payment delays, and because the Order of Selection prevents new referrals from reaching them, their service infrastructure faces a permanent collapse.   DOR must continue using experienced specialized vendors and service providers rather than shifting purchases to Amazon or low-cost general retailers. Assistive technology is not simply a product in a box; it requires expertise, setup, training and ongoing support. This ecosystem took years to build and, once dismantled, will be extremely difficult to replace.   Reduced funding for the Older Individuals who are Blind program deprives seniors of daily living skills, increasing premature institutionalization. I host a weekly support group for people who are new to site loss. Two weeks ago a new member joined our group. She is 81 years old, lives by herself, and suddenly lost her eye site overnight about a month ago. This individual desperately needs adjustment to site loss training in order to remain living independently. Unfortunately, due to DOR’s lack of funding for OIB programs and going into full order of selection, I have nowhere to refer this individual. Sadly, she will probably end up in assisted living which will cost a lot more than providing the necessary training.   I request that committee leadership schedule a joint oversight interim hearing on DOR before irreversible harm occurs.