Where is the 2003 CT Legislative Dream Team That Saves Board of Education Services for the Blind (BESB) From Evaporation?

[Full disclosure: My daughter has been a client of the BESB children’s services since she was 3 months old and she continues to receive services to this day. For the last 4 years, I have been an appointed member of the BESB State Rehabilitation Council, serving as Vice-Chair in 2009 as well as the Chair of the BESB Satisfaction Survey Committee for 2 years.  For the last 10 years, I have also been an appointed member of the CT State Advisory Council on Special Education (SAC), serving as Chair from 2008 – 2011. I continue to participate on SAC as the Chair of the Legislative Sub-Committee and as a member of the Executive Council.]

Governor Dannel Malloy’s proposed budget appears to contain the exact same cuts suggested by Republican Governor John Rowland in his 2003 budget.  He intends to close the Board of Education Services for the Blind (BESB), moving the children’s services to the Department of Education and the adult rehabilitation services to the Department of Social Services.    

 In 2003, the attempt to close BESB became one of the ugliest political fights in our state.  Former Governor Rowland’s comment that “It is cheaper to pay these people to stay at home then to pay them to work.” was one of the most outrageous statements that I’ve ever heard from an elected official.  He was referring to the closure of the BESB independent business enterprises that employed over 100 blind and deaf blind BESB clients to sew duffel bags and shirts under a military contract. Today, many of these people are being paid to sit at home because there are no work opportunities for individuals with their skill set.  

 That comment made me get off my duff to join many voices that protested to save BESB.  Supporters, including many ranking Democrats, came out in huge numbers.  People were in the streets demanding that BESB be saved and the Hartford Courant ran numerous stories about how cruel Governor Roland was for attacking the blind community.  The battle lines were clearly drawn between the Democratic Legislature and the Governor. 

Ultimately, while BESB children’s services and rehabilitation services were saved and remained open, the business enterprise ceased operations. Of course, we all know what happened to Governor Rowland. 

Fast forward eight years later to the day Governor Malloy presented his budget on February 16, 2011.  The proposed closure of BESB was not a surprise based on my call to Senator Edith Prague (D) the previous day. I called her office hoping to hear that she was planning to support BESB with the same spirit and vigor that she displayed in 2003. 

I have been impressed with Senator Prague’s tireless advocacy on behalf of people with disabilities and have a great deal of respect for her.  Her career has been impressive and I am truly thankful for all the work she has done over the years.  Therefore, I was taken aback by her noncommittal stance on BESB’s potential closing and didn’t expect her non-answer about wanting to wait until the budget was published before taking a position. I then became very fearful about BESB’s fate because there clearly isn’t going to be support for it like there was in 2003.  Still, I hope that I’ll be proven wrong. 

For the past week, I have been waiting and watching in the hope that someone from the Legislature or the press would step forward to support saving BESB.  After all, what Governor Malloy is proposing is exactly the same as Governor Rowland proposed in 2003.  People were outraged then – why should it be any different today? 

Not a statement has been uttered, not even a murmur or a whisper – there is nothing but silence.  What is happening here?  Why is no one speaking up to support BESB?  After all the years of Democratic Party advocacy on behalf of BESB, are they now going to be responsible for its demise?  Have they become “blind” to the blind and deaf / blind community?  Why now?  Is it because a Democratic Governor says that BESB must be closed?  Those of us who have supported candidates sympathetic to the disability community deserve to hear something more than silence!! 

The facts are that BESB does not solely rely on Connecticut tax dollars for its funding and my understanding is that BESB only gets approximately 20% of its budget from the state. In comparison to other agencies, that’s not a whole lot of money. The majority of BESB’s operating funds comes from Federal funds plus proceeds from state vending machines. For the last eight years, this agency has worked very hard to guarantee every dollar received is accounted for and spent wisely.   

I’ve attended many SRC meetings and I can state without a doubt that Brian Sigman and his staff have done an outstanding job.  I have never met a more conscientious staff who goes the “extra mile” to do what is right on behalf of the blind and deaf blind community.  The staff is well trained with an expertise on all issues of blindness that I have not seen in any other state agency or private/nonprofit organization.  They are truly in a class of their own.

No other state agency or school district can provide these extremely specialized direct services as effectively as BESB.  Governor Malloy’s proposal to divide BESB between the Department of Education and the Department of Social Services is a complete organizational mismatch – e.g. like the proverbial “square peg in a round hole”. These departments are monitoring agencies that only pass along funding to towns / approved vendors – they do not offer direct services to anyone. 

I’ve recently seen several bills that propose to move ear-marked education funds into municipal general budgets.  The Mayor of Bridgeport has pleaded with Education Committee Legislators in public testimony to allow the use of ear-marked education funds for general operating expenses. Unfortunately, the ugly reality is that Education funds are currently the most sought after pools of money by mayors and other municipal leaders. Several town administrators have declared all out war with their Boards of Education over this money. 

What realistic hope is there that any funding ear-marked for the blind will ever actually be used for that purpose? Most likely, it will siphoned off.  Then what?  Who will help my daughter who is entitled to specialized services because she is blind? 

My daughter, who had a stroke before she was born, is missing 50%+ of her brain and, as a result, is cortically visually blind.  She has some vision but not enough to enable normal function and communication.  Images are severely distorted and there are large holes in her field of vision.  When she is sick or overwhelmed, she stops using her eyes and relies on her hearing to figure out what is going on around her.  I would have never known this important fact if it wasn’t for a BESB consultant who specialized in cortical visual impairments.  This is critical information when teaching a child like my daughter. 

There is no one in our school district trained in this highly specialized field that can provide the same quality of services that BESB does.  Currently, my daughter’s future relies solely on services from BESB and from the Department of Developmental Services. I know from experience that we cannot rely on our local school district for these specialized services.

If the Department of Education acquires the children’s services division and the current Commissioner of Education follows the 2003 recommendation from his predecessor, those funds will simply pass through the cost per pupil formula.  I can state with certainty that every child being served by BESB will be screwed out of direct services – they simply will not exist for most districts. 

No district will hire a “consultant for the blind” if they have only 1 or 2 blind children as it would not be cost effective. As this is already the reality for many students who require other specialized related services, it certainly won’t be any different for children who are blind and/or deaf blind.

How many parents have heard the statement “there’s no funding or personnel to work with their child”? Yes, a statement like this is inflammatory and illegal but it’s the truth.  Districts are struggling just like the rest of us.  Today’s reality is that if a district enacts a hiring freeze or receives no replies to a job posting, children are not going to get services. 

Is the CT Legislature going to be this reckless with our most vulnerable population because of a misguided desire to be in lockstep with the Governor on this issue? The closing of BESB will cause irreparable damage, not only to blind children but also to the adult population. An increasing number of “baby-boomers” will soon need the services that BESB provides but where will they find them? They will become buried in a bureaucratic nightmare and eventually we will all pay for this foolish and reckless decision in other ways. 

What other ways you may ask?  As I post this blog, it’s already happening in the caseloads within the Department of Children and Family Services. DCF has one of the biggest budgets in the state and it’s no surprise that many of the children in their care have some type of disability. As an example, 90% of the boys incarcerated at the Juvenile Training Center have an identified disability and are receiving some kind of special educational services – 90% of that population!!

Most of these boys have either a learning disability or some kind of mental heath disability.  The main reason / cause of their incarceration is the failure of their supposed “support system” (including local school districts and any family support agencies).  Because there are fewer and fewer resources in place to support these children in crisis, the courts must resort to putting a band-aid on the problem by incarcerating them. Adding the girls population, “group homes” and other nonprofit organizations housing DCF children both in state and out of state to the mix creates one very expensive problem.    

What’s left for parents to do when there are no available resources?  Many are unfortunately resorting to abandonment, murder or murder/suicide. There are reports that parents are already abandoning their children with disabilities at hospitals around the state. The number of parents who have attempted to murder themselves or their children is also growing.  Last year, a desperate mother in Mansfield, CT  stabbed her severely disabled bedridden son because she felt there were no other alternatives. She reached a point of believing that only her son’s death would end years of continuing hardship, pain and suffering for both of them.    

In Indiana, state social services workers have recommended that parents of adult children with a disability abandon them at homeless shelters because the state can no longer offer support.  If you’re wondering if this will also become a trend here – it’s already happening here!! 

I fully understand and agree with the need for fiscal responsibility. The budget does need to be balanced but not on the backs of persons with a disability.  I think it’s unconscionable for Governor Malloy to propose the elimination of an agency that provides direct support to a vulnerable population – the blind and deaf blind community. It’s even more disheartening to see Democratic legislators stand by and say NOTHING!   This population has been sacrificing and suffering more than ever – don’t take away the only agency that they can rely on for practical and meaningful support.

Governor Malloy and the CT Legislature – please step up to the plate to protect Connecticut’s blind and deaf blind citizens. How can you honestly justify shutting BESB down when the state only contributes 20% of its budget??  Do the right thing – keep BESB open !!