| National Coalition on Deafblindness |
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How Can I
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How Can I Help? |
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| We need your ideas and active involvement to move forward with this legislative program. If you have questions, suggestions, and/or would like to become involved, please sign up for the National Coalition on Deafblindness discussion group. Get contact information
for your
Congressperson The following materials may be used to assist in the campaign to promote services for children who are deafblind: The National Coalition on Deafblindness The National Coalition on Deafblindness is a 2,000 member organization of parents, professionals, consumers and agencies serving the population who are deafblind. We have been collectively advocating for the needs of children who are deafblind since 1987. The Coalition is seeking a $2 million increase above the President's FY09 budget request to address the resource needs of children who are deafblind and their families. The forty-six state and regional project centers that support the deafblind community have not had a budget increase in over 20 years, despite a doubling of the population of children who are deafblind over that same time period. In FY08, the national technical assistance and dissemination program at the Department of Education received $48.9 million for all disability technical assistance, of which $12.8 million is designated for deafblind programs and services. At a time when remarkable advances in medicine and technology are enabling many more of these infants and children to survive and live longer, it is important for Congress to recognize the need for increased support. Because of the continuing budget shortfalls, however, these children are receiving fewer services, and programs providing the services increasingly have to operate with fewer well-trained personnel. The modest $2 million increase we are requesting for deafblind programs for FY09 is urgently needed to help states improve their services for families, to support the activities of the national technical assistance and dissemination center on deafblindness, and to strengthen personnel preparation programs. The Coalition was involved in a similar effort for the FY08 budget. We had considerable support in both the House and Senate. Our increase was included in the Labor HHS budget passed by the House and colloquies were included in the Congressional Record for the bill requesting that the Senate adopt the higher funding amount for deafblind services reflected in the House Labor HHS bill. The National Coalition hopes to build upon that support in our efforts to advocate for this request in the FY09 budget. For more information about the National Coalition on Deafblindness contact: Joe McNulty HKNCDir@AOL.COM
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