WHEREAS, the Maryland State Department of Human Resources (DHR) oversees the distribution of all federal and state benefits programs such as the Food Supplement Program (FSP), Medical Assistance, and Energy Assistance; and
WHEREAS, individuals who need DHR services must apply through their local Department of Social Services or apply online through the DHR www.marylandsail.org link; and
WHEREAS, to continue to receive benefits individuals are required to recertify annually and to provide evidence of income eligibility; and
WHEREAS, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, DHR is required to send out recertification, and other client notices in alternative formats so that blind persons can participate fully in these programs; and
WHEREAS, to date DHR discriminates against blind clients by not establishing mechanisms to provide this information to blind clients, even though DHR knows which of its clients are blind; and
WHEREAS, DHR also fails to maintain accessible websites and accessible online forms, which also constitute discriminatory practices; and
WHEREAS, these discriminatory practices create an economic hardship for blind persons because they lose benefits through no fault of their own; and
WHEREAS, if the Social Security Administration is able to provide its notices in alternative formats and maintain accessible websites as well as online forms, there is no reason why DHR cannot do likewise: Now, Therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland, in Convention assembled this sixteenth day of November, 2014, in the city of Towson, Maryland, that this organization demand that the Maryland State Department of Human Resources take all necessary steps to immediately begin to provide notices and other information to its blind clients in alternative formats and maintain accessible websites and online forms; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLED that this organization urge the Maryland Department of Human Resources to work with the Center of Excellence in Nonvisual Access to Commerce, Public Information and Education, operated by the National Federation of the Blind, to rectify these problems.