1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As your constituent, 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 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 a hearing to address four critical areas:   Due to Order of Selection and closing category 1, new applicants who are blind will be indefinitely delayed from services, even those currently trying to retain a job. Their physical safety will be put at risk due to not receiving Orientation and mobility training. They will be pushed to be on public assistance, which will be more costly.   Clients already in an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) with DOR are experiencing extraordinarily long delays for services, including adaptive technology and training on that technology. This hinders their ability to attend school and work in a timely manner.   Specialized non-profits and small businesses face chronic payment delays and zero new referrals, threatening a permanent collapse of California's specialized service infrastructure.   DOR has reduced funding for the Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB) program administered to non-profits. This impacts seniors experiencing vision loss from receiving daily living skills, drastically increasing premature institutionalization.   Please advocate for your constituents by requesting that committee leadership schedule a joint oversight hearing on DOR's service delivery and fiscal management before irreversible harm occurs. (Optional: Add your own personal story here about how these delays or service cutbacks affect you, your family, or your community.)