WHEREAS, the purpose of Vocational Rehabilitation is to assist persons with disabilities to become employed tax -paying citizens; and

WHEREAS, if Vocational Rehabilitation clients are to attain their employment goals, the client and counselor must plan in advance, as a part of the Individualized plan for Employment (IPE), to assure orderly and timely delivery of services that are needed to reach the employment goal expressed in the IPE; and

WHEREAS, in these difficult economic times, employers are demanding a highly skilled workforce; and

WHEREAS, obtaining at least one college degree is becoming a necessity in today’s competitive employment market; and

WHEREAS, instructors and professors at most colleges and universities require their students to use learning management systems to access the curriculum, to post assignments and to participate in class discussions; and

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind has a long-standing commitment to separate identifiable services for the blind because this model delivers the best quality service to blind rehabilitation clients; and

WHEREAS, the most recent attempt by the organized blind of Maryland to create a separate rehabilitation agency for the blind in Maryland occurred in 2004 and 2005 because blind clients of the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) were receiving sub-standard services; and

 WHEREAS, in today’s complex world where security concerns abound, it is mandatory for each individual to have a standard recognizable form of personal identification; and

WHEREAS, a driver's license is the most common form of personal identification for most Americans; and

WHEREAS, to accommodate individuals who cannot or do not drive motor vehicles, the State of Maryland issues photo identification cards; and

WHEREAS, if persons with disabilities are to fully participate in all aspects of community life, we must have access to public transportation; and

WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires local jurisdictions to ensure access to public transportation, including provision by these jurisdictions of paratransit services to eliminate a variety of public transportation barriers; and

WHEREAS, while most blind persons can and do use public transportation, there are circumstances in which blind persons must depend on paratransit services; and

WHEREAS, public transportation is a service often provided in some form by municipal governments, especially those of highly urbanized areas such as the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore metropolitan areas, and these transportation services require payment of fares by their users; and

WHEREAS, the Maryland State Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (LBPH), located in the Division of Library Development and Services, Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), is the major provider of reading materials for blind children, adults and senior citizens throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, LBPH serves over ten thousand patrons, and requires the services of a competent director to manage its many complex operations; and