Position on Reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA)

Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation

The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) supports a seamless (no wrong door) workforce investment system of which vocational rehabilitation is an integral component. The CSAVR believes strongly, however, that when the WIA was authorized, it was the intent of Congress to preserve the resources dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities, including individuals with significant disabilities, to obtain employment through the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program. It was further the intent of the WIA to enhance the employment opportunities for persons with disabilities by linking Vocational Rehabilitation to the One Stop system and making available to individuals with disabilities the additional training and employment resources provided through that system.

Based on these beliefs, the CSAVR proposes an amendment to HR 1261, The Workforce Reinvestment and Adult Education Act of 2003, to preserve the funding currently dedicated under Title I of the Rehabilitation Act (i.e., which authorizes the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program) to provide employment and training services and supports to assist individuals with disabilities, particularly individuals with significant disabilities, to overcome barriers to employment.

Amend section 108(h)(1)(A) of H.R. 1261 to read as follows:

“Provision of Funds.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as determined under subparagraph (B), a portion of the Federal funds provided to the State and areas within the State under the Federal laws authorizing the one-stop partner programs described in subsection (b), with the exception of the programs authorized under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.), as amended, for a fiscal year shall be provided to the Governor by such programs to carry out the purposes of this subsection.”

CSAVR also believes when the WIA was authorized, it was the intent of Congress that mandatory partners contribute resources to the system consistent with the partners authorizing legislation. CSAVR fully supports the cost-allocation methodology that is currently defined in the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration’s (DOL/ETA) Final notice entitled “Resource Sharing for Workforce Investment Act One-Stop Centers: Methodologies for Paying or Funding Each Partner Program’s Fair Share of Allocable One-Stop Costs (published in the Federal Register on May 31, 2001), and the DOL/ETA’s “One-Stop Comprehensive Financial Management Technical Assistance Guide” (dated July 2002), rather than any efforts or prescribed methods to garner additional resources from the vocational rehabilitation services program other than cost-allocation. This method of sharing resources allows mandatory partners to contribute their fair share to the support of the system, based on utilization and benefit to their individual customers. CSAVR believes that state vocational rehabilitation agencies are successfully partnering with One-Stop Centers and are already paying their fair share for the support of the system through cost-allocation.

There is a broad consensus that the transition from IDEA to adult service systems such as Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) has had limited success. The transition language included in H.R.1261 will not have the desired impact unless additional funds are appropriated to improve this situation.

The CSAVR proposes that a new, fully-funded, dedicated funding stream should be authorized for the specific purpose of ensuring that the vocational expertise housed in the Public VR Program is easily available to students with disabilities who are transitioning from special education services to eligibility-based adult services. Dedicated funding would enhance the ability of VR counselors to actively participate in Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings.

CSAVR supports current law regarding the establishment and membership of

local workforce investment boards.

Sec. 117 (a) Establishment – There shall be established in each local area of a State, and certified by the Governor of the State, a local workforce investment board, to set policy for the portion of the statewide workforce investment system within the local area (referred to in this title as a “local workforce investment system”)

Sec. 117 (b)(2)(A)(vi) Membership shall include representatives of each of the one-stop partners.

CSAVR supports current law on the appointment of the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

Sec.3 (a) There is established in the Office of the Secretary a Rehabilitation Services Administration which shall be headed by a Commissioner (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ‘Commissioner’) appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.