One of the most important functions of GDUI is our ability to advocate for people who are blind and work with guide dogs. On November 26, 2003, GDUI joined with four guide dog training schools to file a complaint with the United States Department of Justice on behalf of Ms. Stephanie Dohmen against the Iowa Department for the Blind. These pages contain materials and audio programs involving this nationally significant case.
The Officers, Board of Directors and Membership of Guide Dog Users, Inc. wish to thank the Guide Dog foundation for the Blind, Guiding eyes for the Blind, Leader Dogs for the Blind and Southeastern Guide Dogs for signing on with us in our complaint to the Department of Justice. Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Guide Dogs of the Desert, Kansas Specialty Dogs and The Seeing eye have also sent letters of support to the Department of Justice regarding this case. We thank the guide dog schools for their continued support of the rights of blind people to use their mobility aid of choice.
GDUI also thanks the staff of the ACB National Office for their assistance in preparing and hand-delivering our complaint to the Department of Justice. Their consultation and support mean a great deal to our organization. They are to be credited for their professionalism and service to blind people who work with guide dogs.
The Advocacy and Legislative Committees of Guide dog Users, Inc. have prepared a position paper regarding discrimination in rehabilitation programs based on the presence of a guide dog. Please feel free to copy this paper for use within your own state or local situation.
The following press release was sent out by GDUI with assistance from the national office staff of the American Council of the Blind.
For Immediate Release
November 26, 2002
For Further Information, Contact:
Sheila Styron
Director, Public Relations
Guide Dog Users, Inc.
pr@gdui.org
Guide Dog Users, Incorporated (GDUI), an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind and the largest organized group of guide dog users in the world, is filing a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, against discriminatory practices in various rehabilitation agencies as evidenced in this case by the Iowa Department for the Blind. The department, the complaint states, is violating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, by denying rehabilitation training to Stephanie Dohmen, who seeks to attend computer training classes with her guide dog. Several guide dog training schools, including Leader Dogs for the Blind of Rochester, Mich.; Guiding Eyes for the Blind of Yorktown Heights, N.Y.; Southeastern Guide Dogs of Palmetto, Fla., and the Guide Dog Foundation of Smithtown, N.Y., have also joined the complaint.
The blind woman who applied and was accepted by the department in Iowa, arrived at the department on June 5, accompanied by her Leader dog, to attend a computer training course. Ms. Dohmen was turned away by Alan Harris, director of the state's Department for the Blind and told that she could not attend the class if she was accompanied by her Leader dog. Harris said that blind people are only allowed to travel with long mobility canes while attending the center.
"The dog is Ms. Dohmen's mobility aid," explains Sheila Styron of Los Angeles, Calif., Director of Public Relations for GDUI. "The guide dog is just as valid in terms of allowing Ms. Dohmen to move freely through her environment as a long white mobility cane. It is unbelievable that an agency which receives federal and state money to provide rehabilitation training to blind consumers would deny one of those consumers the ability to travel with her mobility aid of choice."
"Supporting documentation submitted with the complaint, demonstrates that Ms. Dohmen has not only been denied access to training for which she is qualified, but has been unlawfully denied the training as a member of a protected class," said Debbie Grubb of Bradenton, Fla., President of GDUI. "We have received information from our members which indicates that similar policies may be in effect in other states such as Maryland and Texas. Therefore, we are asking that the complaint be investigated rather than referred to mediation given the national implications of allowing such unlawful policies to continue in any state where blind people may be denied their protected civil rights.
"This case is important," said Grubb, "because, when one person's rights are denied, all of us who value equal treatment under the law and freedom of choice have to worry that ours may be the next rights on the chopping block. We are proud to stand with Ms. Dohmen, who is fighting this battle for equal access for every single blind person who needs access to public facilities and has a right to receive effective rehabilitation training under the laws of our country."
The Iowa Department offered Ms. Dohmen the opportunity to attend computer training classes out of state. "Such an offer is really no choice at all," explained Dohmen. Since traveling to the Iowa Department at 524 4th Street, Des Moines, is an easy commute for her and her guide dog, there is no valid reason for forcing her to seek training outside her community, the complaint states.
Grubb says, "This is a clear violation of her rights according to any reasonable person's understanding of the meaning of freedom of choice under the definitions included in the Rehabilitation Act."
Reacting to the Iowa Department's allegation that traveling with a guide dog represents a less independent lifestyle than traveling with a long mobility cane, Wells B. Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. of Smithtown, N.Y., said, "Guide dogs increase independence and mobility for people who are blind, thereby improving the quality of life for blind handlers. A blind person and his or her guide dog work together as a team. It's a partnership for independence."
Guide Dog Users, Incorporated was founded in 1972 by dog handlers who have advocated, ever since, for equal access under state and federal laws. The organization, with members across the country, is an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, a national membership organization of blind people with more than 70 state and special-interest affiliates, which speaks and advocates for the rights of people who are blind and visually impaired. Learn more about the ACB at http://www.acb.org.
When filing a complaint with the Department of Justice regarding a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), the specifics of the incident or set of incidents are outlined in a letter with supporting documentation. Read the GDUI complaint letter.
"Blind Line" is an interactive talk show airing on ACB Radio, the Internet radio station of and for blind people. Host Jonathan Mosen interviewed key participants in the Dohman case.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
If you would like further information about the Iowa case or if you have been discriminated against by a state-sponsored rehabilitation agency for the blind based on the presence of your guide dog, please do not hesitate to contact GDUI. We need to hear from others who have faced similar challenges as those outlined by Stephanie Dohman. Our advocacy experts and Empathizers will be available to assist you. Contact Us.
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