[nfb-talk] FW: [acb-l] interesting letter

[David Andrews]

Joseph:

I have worked at and run a variety of information access services over the years including radio reading services, book taping, brailling, and telephone-accessed services.  The $90 per user cost is pretty typical, lower then some.  Because our numbers are low, on a per person cost basis it will always look expensive, even for newsline in most states.

Dave

At 02:57 AM 12/12/2007, you wrote:
>It seems to me that government tends to spend a lot more to serve a lot fewer people.  This is a little more than $90 per person using the service.  How much do we spend on our readers? I have no opinion about this service, how it is funded, who gets the money, or the inter-organizational bickering that is likely to accompany the message.  For me, it nicely resolves the "many thousands for a few people" thing and makes the letter suddenly much less interesting. I would certainly suggest that the people in Alabama consider putting those numbers into perspective when discussing whether this program should be funded or not. On Tue, Dec 11, 2007 at 07:51:31PM +0000, Eric Calhoun wrote: > Letters, faxes, and e-mail > Alabama > Â  > Monday, December 10, 2007 > Â  > Adhering to its mission? > Â  > This letter is in regard to the fact that the state Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services is cutting funding for WHIL-FM's Radio Reading Service. > The department decided that the $42,000 it has spent annually on the service can be better used elsewhere. According to WHIL, about 450 individuals use > the service. > Â  > My problem with the whole situation is what is being said by the State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services and what is being done by the agency. > Â  > Â  > I am a 57-year-old visually impaired person. I represent the National Federation of the Blind. Our motto is, "Changing what it means to be blind," which > encourages independence, not dependence. > Â  > I see this as not an attempt to save funding, but an opportunity to have a perfectly qualified blind person removed from the work force. > Â  > The executive director of WHIL Radio Reading Service, Brad Martin, is totally blind and has been all of his life. > Â  > I know Mr. Martin personally. He is highly intelligent in the area of technology and very capable of handling this service, as he has been doing since he > started with the program. He is college educated and very qualified to do his job. The funding being taken away is Mr.
 employee. > Â  > If you take the $42,000 yearly funding away, then Mr. Martin is another blind person without a job. The irony is that the Alabama Department of Vocational > Rehabilitation Services will use the same $42,000 to find Mr. Martin a job -- something he would already have if the funds were left in place. > Â  > So how is the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation Services helping the blind and disabled find and keep employment? Is this how our tax dollars are > to be spent by the powers that make these decisions? > Â  > MINNIE K. WALKER > Â  > President, Mobile Chapter of the > Â  > National Federation of the Blind > http://www.al.com/opinion/press-register/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1197306904312630.xml&coll=3 _______________________________________________ nfb-talk mailing list nfb-talk at nfbnet.org http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk