WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland is the transformative membership and advocacy organization of blind Marylanders, speaking with a collective voice to promote independence, opportunity, and equality for blind and low-vision Marylanders; and
WHEREAS, the Independent Living for Older Blind (ILOB) program, administered by the Maryland Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) through the Office of Blindness and Vision Services (OBVS), provides essential non-medical adjustment-to-blindness services for blind and low-vision individuals age fifty-five and older, enabling them to continue living independently in their homes and communities; and
WHEREAS, ILOB services include, but are not limited to, independent living skills training, orientation and mobility instruction, assistive technology training, and the provision of access technology and other high-tech and low-tech equipment necessary for safe and effective daily living; and
WHEREAS, federal funding for ILOB has been frozen for many years, has failed to keep pace with inflation and rising technology costs, and is proposed for elimination entirely in the FY 2026 federal budget; and
WHEREAS, the Maryland Department of Rehabilitation Services has historically supplemented stagnant federal ILOB funds with Social Security Cost Reimbursement (SS-CR) funds but has diverted those funds away from ILOB to support the general vocational rehabilitation program, resulting in a severe and ongoing reduction of ILOB services; and
WHEREAS, Medicaid, Medicare, and other federal programs do not cover ILOB services or equipment because they are not considered medical in nature, leaving DORS as the sole entity capable of ensuring the continuation of these critical services; and
WHEREAS, current ILOB funding is so inadequate that DORS is unable to provide instruction or equipment to any clients at all, despite hundreds of open and active cases, leaving blind and low-vision seniors without the training and tools they need to remain independent; and
WHEREAS, DORS has acknowledged that at least $1.5 million annually is required to clear the existing backlog of cases and to provide sufficient staffing, training, and equipment to meet the needs of ILOB consumers;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland in Convention assembled this 14 day of February, 2026, in the city of Ocean City, Maryland, that this organization demand that the Maryland Department of Rehabilitation Services allocate no less than $1.5 million annually to fully fund the Independent Living for Older Blind (ILOB) program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this funding must be dedicated specifically to ILOB services, including staffing, instruction, access technology, and adaptive equipment, and must not be diverted for other purposes; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland call upon DORS to take immediate administrative and budgetary action to restore and sustain full ILOB services without delay; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of the Maryland Department of Education, the Director of the Maryland Department of Rehabilitation Services, and other appropriate state officials, and that the National Federation of the Blind of Maryland continue to hold DORS accountable until blind and low-vision seniors in Maryland receive the services to which they are entitled.