[ivie] JWOD

[Carol]

What did I send you?
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Shaw" <RShaw at scjc.biz>
To: "'Ardis Bazyn'" <abazyn at bazyncommunications.com>; "'Independent Visually 
Impaired Enterprisers'" <ivie at acb.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2010 11:47 AM
Subject: Re: [ivie] JWOD


> Thanks so much for the information.
> Robert "Barry" Shaw
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ivie-bounces at acb.org [mailto:ivie-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of 
> Ardis
> Bazyn
> Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010 1:12 PM
> To: ACB Leadership List; CCB-l; BSC; ivie at acb.org; rsva-l at acb.org;
> rsva-board at acb.org
> Subject: [ivie] JWOD
>
> Lawmakers seek to update jobs program for blind and disabled
>
> By Robert Brodsky rbrodsky at govexec.com <mailto:rbrodsky at govexec.com> 
> August
> 2, 2010
>
>
>
> A pair of lawmakers has introduced legislation to modernize a program that
> provides jobs for the blind and disabled.
>
> The 2010 Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act 
> <http://www.govexec.com/pdfs/080210rb1.pdf>
> would update the nearly 40-year-old AbilityOne program by giving it
> additional resources and oversight, and making regulatory changes. The 
> bill
> is sponsored by Reps. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., and Brian Bilbray, R-Calif.
>
>
>
> "Today is truly a historic day, and I am proud to introduce this
> long-awaited legislation with Congressman Bilbray to help create vital new
> job opportunities for people who are blind or have significant
> disabilities," said Towns, chairman of the House Oversight and Government
> Reform Committee, in a statement on Friday, shortly after the bill was
> introduced.
>
> "The blind and disabled community is a vibrant segment of our economy and
> this legislation will ensure their active participation in the government
> procurement process," Bilbray added.
>
>
>
> Formerly known as the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program, AbilityOne is a federal
> initiative that generates jobs and training opportunities for about 40,000
> blind or disabled Americans. The program -- the largest source of 
> employment
> in the United States for people who are blind or have severe 
> disabilities --
> encourages the government to use its buying power to procure select 
> products
> and services from nonprofit agencies that employ disabled workers.
>
> Administered by an independent federal agency known as Committee for
> Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, the program 
> employs
> more than 600 community-based nonprofits nationwide. But, Towns and 
> Bilbray
> argued AbilityOne is falling short of its goals, in part because the
> provisions in the 1971 legislation are outdated.
>
> The new bill would update AbilityOne's procurement provisions to make them
> compatible with modern regulations, statutes and procedures, the lawmakers
> said. The committee, for example, would be required to compile and publish 
> a
> list of products and services available through the program. Agencies then
> would be required, in many circumstances, to use the program when 
> procuring
> those items.
>
>
>
> Fifteen presidentially appointed members oversee the committee: 11 senior
> officials from agencies or Defense Department services, and four
> nongovernmental representatives familiar with the issues the blind and
> disabled face. The new bill would add the Homeland Security
> <http://topics.govexec.com/Homeland+Security/>  and Interior departments 
> to
> the committee structure. And, it would add oversight and compliance
> personnel, including an inspector general for the program.
>
> The legislation also would provide the committee and its associated
> nonprofits, the National Industries for the Blind and NISH - Creating
> Employment Opportunities for People With Severe Disabilities, with
> additional tools and resources to increase employment. And it would set
> tight criteria for nonprofits to operate in the program.
>
>
>
> NISH Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Van Allen said the proposal would 
> bring
> AbilityOne into compliance with modern disability employment policy and
> provide much-needed flexibilities to the procurement process.
>
> "Nearly 70 percent of individuals who are blind or have other significant
> disabilities are unemployed," Van Allen said. "These individuals represent
> the nation's largest untapped labor force. It is our hope that by
> modernizing the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, we can address this unacceptable
> number of unemployed individuals."
>
>
>
> Congress created the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program in 1938 so the blind 
> could
> manufacture mops and brooms to sell the federal government. In 1971, the 
> law
> was extended to include people who had severe disabilities and to expand 
> the
> program to provide services to the government. In 2006, the program 
> changed
> its name to AbilityOne to better convey its employment mission and link
> participating organizations.
>
> "This proposed legislation updates 40-year-old language and brings it into
> alignment with modern-day terminology," said Kevin Lynch, president and 
> CEO
> of the National Industries for the Blind. "It maintains the original 
> intent
> of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act while improving the structure of the 
> program
> with the addition of the Department of Homeland Security
> <http://topics.govexec.com/Department+of+Homeland+Security/>  and 
> Department
> of Interior. It also strengthens compliance and oversight."
>
>
>
> Last week, President Obama issued an executive order
> <http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0710/072710e1.htm>  instructing agencies 
> to
> take steps to increase employment of people with disabilities. The 
> directive
> requires agencies to take steps to meet a goal of hiring an additional
> 100,000 disabled employees over five years that President Clinton 
> originally
> laid out in a July 2000 executive order.
>
>
>
> An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission report
> <http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=45762&oref=todaysnews>
> also released last week showed individuals with targeted disabilities --
> deafness, blindness, missing extremities, partial or complete paralysis,
> convulsive disorders, mental retardation, mental illness, and distortion 
> of
> the limbs and/or spine -- represent less than 1 percent of the federal
> workforce.
>
>
>
> Ardis Bazyn
> For inspirational speaking, business coaching, or writing:
> www.bazyncommunications.com
> newsletter: http://www.bazyncommunications.com/newsletter.php
> Blog: abazyn.blogspot.com
> Ask about Yoga cd package especially for blind and visually impaired
>
>
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> ivie at acb.org
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