The Council’s advocacy mission is guided by the experiences of those living with vision loss throughout Wisconsin. You can assure your experience is represented by completing the Council’s 2020 Advocacy Survey.
Wisconsin uses a two-year budget cycle, or biennium. In even-numbered calendar years, state agencies develop budget proposals for the programs they administer. In the fall, agency secretaries present their proposals to the governor for consideration. The Governor’s office prepares its budget and unveils it early in the odd-numbered calendar year. The state legislature’s Joint Finance Committee considers the Governor’s budget and develops their version. The full Assembly and Senate consider JFC’s budget, voting on it typically in the summer of the odd-numbered calendar year. State law requires that the budget is passed by June 30, though in recent years, a state budget has passed as late as September.
During the budgeting period, advocacy organizations like the Council meet with top-ranking officials in hopes of influencing budget decisions. Information from this advocacy survey is an important tool for offering accurate information about the needs of Wisconsin residents experiencing vision loss.
Meetings focus on the Council’s legislative priorities:
- Transportation – pedestrian safety and White Cane Law.
- Healthcare – vision rehabilitation through the Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
- Employment – services through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
- Education – services for students with vision loss.
- Civil rights – voter accessibility.
Our goal is to have initiatives that benefit people who are blind and visually impaired in each of the above state agency budgets.
Completing the survey is easy. Use this link to access it on Survey Monkey. The platform is fully accessible, and the survey will take about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. In addition to responding to the questions, please consider sharing stories to provide concrete examples. After taking the survey, please share it with friends and family. If you are a family member or friend of someone living with vision loss, you are welcome to complete the survey as well, marking the appropriate demographic information. We hope to collect information from around the state. The survey will be open until the end of May 2020.
If you have questions about the survey or about the Council’s advocacy work, please reach out to Council CEO, Denise Jess at djess@WCBlind.org.
