Today, Young runs the concession stand at the Spark M. Matsunaga Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Regional Office. "I actually get income and pay taxes," he said.

Young is among a group of Hawai'i residents who will go to Washington, D.C., next week to protest a Bush administration proposal they believe could divert money from vocational rehabilitation programs for the deaf, blind and people with other disabilities.

Under a bill that amends the Workforce Investment Act, or what's being dubbed "WIA Plus," state governments would be allowed to consolidate various federally-financed job training programs and be given more leeway in how they use such money. The Bush administration says states need the flexibility so they can tailor their own work programs.

But advocates for those with disabilities are worried the pooling of resources could take significant amounts of dollars away from programs that now receive dedicated money.

State Human Services Director Lillian Koller said it is premature to draw conclusions from the proposed legislation. She promised that if the changes are approved by Congress, the Lingle administration would evaluate the situation and meet with the advocates and others interested in the program.

Learning to cope

"Rehabilitation is what enabled me to have the kind of independence I have and be employed like I am today," she said.

Keim teaches and counsels people who are blind or are becoming blind through Ho'opono, a state program that could be affected by the legislation. Keim stressed, however, that she is going to Washington at her own expense and would object to the proposal regardless of her position. Her experiences as a client of vocational rehab services have convinced her of the program's worth.

Wally Soares went from being a recipient of vocational rehabilitation services to a co-owner of a company that provides services for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind Division.

Soares, who owns Island Skill Gathering with his wife, also credits the programs.

"They paid for all my books and tuition and other services when I was a student (at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa)," said Soares, who won't be making the trip to Washington.

Fight for the money

Among the products that Wally Soares provides through Island Skill Gathering is a video magnifier, which enlarges text and images on a document. Soares owns Island Skill Gathering with his wife. His 4-year-old daughter Iwalani Soares Miehlstein is behind his wheelchair. Greg Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

"If such flexibility is provided to governors through the passage of this bill or something like it, we would embark on doing a complete assessment and consider all of the concerns of our consumers and other stakeholders and make sure that we make the right recommendations for action," Koller said.

The Department of Human Services spends about $15 million annually on vocational rehabilitation programs, and assisted about 6,700 people with disabilities in fiscal 2004. About 80 percent of the money comes from federal sources. It is unclear how much the legislation may affect the federal money.

Roughly $12 million of that money goes toward vocation-oriented programs such as Ho'opono, which provides a spectrum of rehabilitation services for those who are blind or visually impaired. The rest goes to services such as independent living assistance, which would include everything from transportation to home care.

Advocate Brook Sexton who, like Keim, works for Ho'opono, is worried the change could allow money now earmarked specifically for vocational rehabilitation programs to be diverted to other programs.

"What it's going to do is put the monies that are specifically allocated for services for people with disabilities into a big block grant, and then the governors are going to decide where they want to spend that money," Sexton said.

"And they could just say, 'OK, well, we don't spend it on disabled people at all.' And that's most likely what will happen because everybody wants money."

Advocates angered

The proposed consolidation of work-related programs is one of several initiatives being pushed by Education Secretary Margaret Spellings that have drawn the ire of the National Federation of the Blind, the National Association of the Deaf and other advocates for those with disabilities.

Spellings' agency also has advocated for a reduction in the staffing and services provided by the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

The rally will take place Wednesday outside the U.S. Department of Education building.

Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act is before both houses of Congress. Advocates for those with disabilities say the version passed by the House includes the proposals they find objectionable. The Senate plan, which moved out of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Wednesday, does not include those proposals.

If the Senate plan passes, lawmakers from both houses will need to hash out their differences in conference committee.