CSAVR Written Testimony on Reauthorization of WIA and the Rehab Act

The Council of State Administrators of

Vocational Rehabilitation

(CSAVR)

Submits

Written Testimony

In Conjunction With

The Hearing on the Workforce Investment Act

Before

The Subcommittee on Twenty-First Century

Competitiveness

of the

House Education and the Workforce Committee

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) wishes to submit written testimony in conjunction with the hearing on The Workforce Investment Act before the Employment and Training Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. The CSAVR is composed of the chief administrators of the State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Programs serving individuals with physical and mental disabilities in the states, District of Columbia, and the territories. The Council, which was founded in 1940 to furnish input into the State-Federal Rehabilitation Program, provides a forum for state administrators to study, deliberate, and act upon matters affecting the rehabilitation and employment of individuals with disabilities. The Council serves as a resource for the formulation and expression of the collective points of view of the VR Directors across the country on all issues affecting the provision of quality employment, training, and rehabilitation services to individuals with all types of disabilities who are seeking to enter or re-enter the labor market.

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA; P.L. 105-220) established a new One-Stop Career Center system, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), through which a number of federally funded education and training programs, e.g., Wagner-Peyser, postsecondary vocational education, adult education, vocational rehabilitation, etc., recruit and serve their customers.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (the Rehab Act), which was incorporated as Title IV of WIA in 1998, funds multiple programs and projects that provide comprehensive and complementary services and supports to empower individuals with disabilities to maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, inclusion and integration into society. The VR Program, authorized under Title I of the Rehab Act, is the primary federally funded employment and training program specifically designed to assist individuals with disabilities, including individuals with the most significant disabilities, in overcoming barriers to employment.

The VR Program operates across all sectors (public, private, non-profit, for-profit), and at all jurisdictional levels (federal, state and local). It is built on federally mandated principles that individuals with disabilities hold dear, including consumer driven planning; consumer empowerment; informed choice; individualized services and supports; due process protections; and the availability of advocacy services. When the Rehab Act was reauthorized in 1992 and 1998, the VR Program saw increased consumer control, more emphasis on serving individuals with the most significant disabilities, and a focus on long-term, competitive employment outcomes.

Under VR, a majority of individuals with disabilities, including those with the most significant disabilities, are presumed capable of benefiting from the VR services in terms of securing employment. Qualified VR counselors assist eligible individuals explore their abilities, potentials, and interests, and provide them with information on and access to specialized assessments, services and supports that are not available through generic employment and training programs. Qualified VR counselors provide guidance and counseling as eligible individuals use existing information and information from assessments and evaluations provided by VR to make informed choices about vocational goals, the services needed to pursue those goals, and the providers of those services. VR provides eligible individuals with disabilities a wide variety of services and supports to assist them in accomplishing specific employment outcomes consistent with their abilities, capabilities, interests, resources, and informed choices

Federally appropriated VR funds require a state match at a set ratio (78.7% federal to 21.3% state). This funding mechanism creates a state/federal partnership that has worked for over 80 years. The Designated State Unit (DSU) responsible for implementing the State Plan for VR Services must make specific assurances and be responsible for the expenditure of VR funds.

The services, supports and assistance available through VR may be provided directly or purchased. VR must work cooperatively and in collaboration with significant numbers of community partners (state/federal, public/private, nonprofit/for-profit) to provide the full range of services and supports that individuals with disabilities need to prepare for, enter, retain or advance in employment

The Rehab Act requires Congress to appropriate an annual increase for VR that is at least equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the previous fiscal year. While this mandate was intended to create a floor for the VR appropriation, Congress has not appropriated funds above the mandated CPI increase for a number of years. This is particularly problematic because the formula used to distribute these funds, which is based on a state’s per capita income and population, results in significant variations in the increases in individual state allotments. When the increase is limited to the CPI increase and the formula is applied, not all states receive increases that equal the annual rate of inflation. Unfortunately, this has had a cumulative effect on a number of states, significantly reducing VR’s ability in those states to meet the needs of unemployed Americans with disabilities.

External Challenges Facing VR

Over the last ten years the Public VR Program has faced a number of challenges that have been compounded by minimal increases in Federal funding.

Special Education: The federal appropriation for special education has increased significantly (e.g., $1 billion a year for the last 3 years) while VR has seen only the required CPI increase. Increases in special education funding have increased the demand for VR services as more students with disabilities exit special education and seek adult services and employment. This constitutes a movement from a system of entitlement to services to a system based on eligibility. VR does not have the resources to meet the needs of students exiting special education, of youth with disabilities who have dropped out of school or are in the juvenile justice system, or the growing demand from transition services while students with disabilities are still in school.

TANF: A recent GAO Report found that over 40% of the individuals left on our welfare rolls are individuals with disabilities or family members of individuals with disabilities. As a result, Welfare-to-Work programs for TANF recipients are increasingly turning to VR for assistance in serving this population.

Ticket to Work: The work incentives provisions, the Ticket-to-Work Program, and particularly the extended access to health care authorized under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 are intended to encourage millions of Americans who receive Social Security disability benefits to seek assistance in entering or re-entering the workforce. To date, over 80% of the individuals participating in the Ticket Program have assigned their tickets to VR, placing an enormous burden on VR without providing any additional funding.

Olmstead: As federal and state efforts to implement the Supreme Court’s Olmstead decision expand, more and more individuals with disabilities are being moved from institutions to community settings. As they establish themselves in the community and obtain the services and supports they need to live more independently, many will turn to VR for assistance in entering employment.

Assistive Technology: Over the years, assistive technology (AT) has become a fundamental tool, making it possible for individuals with disabilities, including individuals with the most significant disabilities, to participate in training and employment programs and seek employment opportunities in the competitive labor market. While the cost of some AT has fallen, specialized products remain costly. Additional costs are incurred to maintain, repair and update AT and to provide training on the use of AT. VR agencies report that the number of customers benefiting from AT has doubled in 5 years and that VR’s overall expenditure on AT increases each year.

Order of Selection: VR is severely under-funded to meet the mandates in the Rehab Act and the external challenges facing the Program. As a result, cost containment associated with administrative efficiencies cannot sustain the current level of service being delivered by the VR Program. Under the current appropriation, VR can assist only a small percentage of eligible individuals (i.e., an estimated one in twenty who could potentially benefit from services). During FY 2002, thirty-seven VR Programs found it necessary to implement an order of selection, a mandated system of prioritization whereby only those eligible individuals with the most significant disabilities receive VR services. In those states, significant numbers of eligible individuals with disabilities who would normally receive services through VR will not be served due to insufficient resources.

VR is one of the most cost effective programs ever created by Congress. Even with inadequate funding and in the face of some many external challenges, VR is a program with a proven track record. Each year, the Program assists more than 1.2 million individuals with disabilities to engage in employment by providing services and supports to assist them in overcoming barriers to employment. Of those served each year, more than 230,000 enter competitive employment and become tax-paying citizens.

Recently, the Department of Education released the draft reports for a Longitudinal Study of the Public VR Program that was commissioned by the Congress in the 1992 Amendments to the Rehab Act. Over a five-year period, this study tracked 8,500 randomly selected applicants and consumers of the VR Program, from 37 State VR Agencies. The findings of that study are impressive and include, among other things:

83% of VR consumers who secured employment during the Study were still employed after one year;

76% of those placed in employment were still employed after three years.

· The average hourly earnings for these VR consumers increased from $7.33 per hour in year one to $9.62 per hour after three years.

· At exit from the VR program, 32% of these VR consumers were in competitive jobs and had earnings about 200% above poverty level.

69% of the individuals who completed their VR service plans secured employment.

75% of the employment outcomes were competitive jobs in professional, managerial, technical, service or clerical/sales positions.

39% of consumers who participated in the Longitudinal Study had received some form of public assistance at entry to the Public VR Program. Three years later, after case closure, this percentage declined to 26%.

The quality of the relationship between the qualified VR counselor and the consumer was significant related to employment and earning levels.

Even with this impressive record, the Public VR Program has been severely under-funded to provide assistance to Americans with disabilities, the segment of the American population with the highest unemployment record.

When Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act in 1998, it set in motion significant changes in the workforce investment system, including governance, accountability and increased coordination and collaboration among federally funded partner programs. Among the organizing principles of WIA is universal access where a set of core services are intended to be available to any individual who needs them. A second principle is the concept of a One Stop service delivery system whereby federal assistance and services can be made available through partnership organizations which, in many cases, are located under one roof to facilitate ease of access and enhanced customer service. The One Stop service delivery system, through statewide and local workforce development systems, was intended to increases the employment, retention, earnings, and skills attainment of participants, including individuals with disabilities.

The CSAVR recognizes the importance of VR’s participation in the One Stop system created under WIA. Individuals with disabilities experience the highest unemployment rate of any segment of the American population. The One-Stop delivery system should be an additional vehicle for increased resources and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. Nevertheless, significant barriers and challenges exist for individuals with disabilities who are seeking assistance through the One Stop system.

With regard to the pending reauthorization of WIA and the Rehab Act, the CSAVR raises the following issues and makes the following recommendations.

Issue 1: Do No Harm

CSAVR strongly supports ensuring the integrity of the funding authorized under the Rehab Act to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities. These programs, projects and services create a complementary, coordinated, and comprehensive service delivery system for individuals with disabilities who want to increase their independence and self-sufficiency. The system, which includes services (e.g., independent living services, evaluations and assessments, education and training, employment services, etc.), supports (assistive technology services and devices, interpreters, readers, personal assistance services, etc.), and a supporting infrastructure (monitoring and enforcement, technical assistance and training, research and demonstration projects, etc.), has been working well for individuals with disabilities for over 80 years.

Consequently, one of CSAVR’s primary policy priorities for reauthorization of the Rehab Act is to maintain and expand the funding available to meet the diverse needs of individuals with disabilities, particularly those with significant disabilities, who are seeking to enter, re-enter or remain in the workforce. Many of these individuals must have access to specialized services and supports to participate in training and engage in employment. These specialized services and supports are not available through the One Stop Career Centers authorized under WIA.

In keeping with this, the CSAVR will oppose any efforts to redirect funds currently authorized and appropriated for programs under the Rehabilitation Act to other purposes. The CSAVR does not support the consolidation of funds currently appropriated for Supported Employment State Grants (SE), Projects with Industry (PWI), Recreation Projects, and Migrant and Seasonal Farm Worker Projects into VR’s appropriation, particularly if these consolidated funds are used to provide VR’s required CPI increase. Programs such as SE and PWI are important because they enhance VR’s ability to meet specific needs of certain segments of the population of unemployed individuals with disabilities. SE funds enhance VR’s ability to provide on-going, intensive services to individuals with the most significant disabilities, particularly those who need long-term supports to engage in employment. PWI’s linkage with the business community and ability to providing job opportunities for individuals who are “job-ready” are particularly important for individuals whose disabilities may not be significant enough to receive VR services.

In the President’s budget recommendations for both 2003 and 2004, it is assumed that VR will use these consolidated funds to continue these important programs. The funding available to the Public VR Program is already severely inadequate to meet the needs of individuals seeking and receiving services and the external challenges facing the Public VR Program. With 37 VR Programs operating under an order of selection, this assumption seems unlikely.

Issue 2: Funding of WIA One Stop Service Centers

During the Senate’s consideration of the WIA legislation, Senator Mike DeWine (R.OH.), the then-Chairman of the Subcommittee on Employment and Training, stated:

"While the VR program is to be linked to the workforce investment system, funds appropriated for the VR program are not to be compromised or diverted to other workforce populations."

Sec, 3(b) of the Rehab Act states: "The Secretary shall take whatever action is necessary to ensure that funds appropriated pursuant to this Act are expended only for the programs, personnel and administration of programs carried out under this Act."

Sec. 16(a), TRANSFER OF FUNDS, states: "….No funds appropriated under this Act for any program or activity may be used for any purpose other than that for which the funds were specifically authorized."

In implementing WIA, mandatory partners were to contribute resources to the statewide workforce investment system consistent with the partner's authorizing legislation. The CSAVR holds to this belief and 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 (Federal Register; May 31, 2001), and the DOL/ETA’s “One-Stop Comprehensive Financial Management Technical Assistance Guide” (July 2002). This methodology of sharing resources permits mandatory partners to contribute their fair share to the support of the system, based on utilization and benefit to their target population. The CSAVR opposes any alternative efforts or prescribed methods for garnering additional resources from VR, including setting aside a percentage of VR’s appropriation to support the infrastructure of the One Stop Career Centers.

Issue 3: Adequacy of Resources Available to the VR Program

Real and significant increased funding is required to maintain and enhance the quality of services provided by State VR Agencies and to facilitate employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The CSAVR believes that the VR Program must have substantially increased resources to meet the unique and specialized rehabilitation needs of individuals with disabilities. A substantial increase in the federal investment in this proven program must become a national priority. The mandated Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase in funding for the Public VR Program is an important provision in current law that should be maintained in the upcoming reauthorization. However, Congress must understand that this mandated CPI increase represents the minimum annual increase in federal funding for the VR Program, and that increases in the overall federal appropriation must be adequate to hold all states and territories harmless with regard to the previous year’s appropriation while ensuring that each state allotment gets at least an increase equal to the CPI increase for the previous year. The CSAVR believes that such increases are necessary to ensure the VR Program’s ability to meet the letter and intent of the Rehab Act and keep up with the external challenges facing the Program.

Issue 4: Ensuring the Accessibility of Job Training Programs, Educational Programs and Other Service Programs

The vision of the WIA legislation was to create a collaborative service delivery system that serves all Americans who encounter barriers to employment, including dislocated workers, the long-term unemployed, at-risk youth, and individuals with significant disabilities. Collaboration between VR and DOL-funded workforce investment services is intended to produce better information, more comprehensive services, easier access to services, and improved long-term employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehab Act, the One Stop Career Centers created under WIA are required to be both physically and programmatically accessible. One-Stop Centers and other service providers that receive federal funding are responsible for serving individuals with disabilities under the same terms and conditions as they serve non-disabled individuals.

While many, if not most, One Stop Centers have achieved some level of physical accessibility, many challenges remain with regard to programmatic accessibility. If individuals with communicative, cognitive and sensory disabilities are to be able to access services in a One Stop Center, information must be available in a range of alternate formats (large print, Braille, and disk). In addition, auxiliary aids and services (e.g., interpreters and readers) and assistive technology such as accessible software and related-communicative equipment must be readily available to ensure the individuals with physical, mental, sensory and cognitive disabilities can access information and have meaningful participation in educational programs, vocational training, and other types of employment services provided through the One Stop service delivery system. The provision of such accommodations is the responsibility the One Stop Centers or the service providers used by the One Stop Centers.

As a required partner in the One Stop system created under WIA, VR Programs may provide technical assistance on identifying and providing needed accommodations, and information on how to make physical facilities accessible to individuals with different types of disabilities. However, State VR Agencies should not be covering expenses associated with making One-Stop facilities and programs accessible to individuals with disabilities. That responsibility must remain with the One-Stop Centers and the entities they use to provide educational, employment and training services. In addition, State VR Agencies should not be asked to assume the expenses associated with the provision of core services in a One-Stop center merely because some individuals with disabilities will be benefiting from those services.

Issue 5: Dedicated Funding to Provide Transition Services for Youth with Disabilities

A number of research findings have clearly demonstrated the need to improve transition outcomes for students with disabilities. Youth with disabilities, especially those with significant disabilities, often have a difficult time completing high school. For those youth with disabilities who do complete high school, it is well documented that they have a difficult time enrolling in and completing post-secondary education and finding and keeping employment. In addition, students with disabilities have higher drop out rates than non-disabled students. One out of five adults with disabilities has not graduated from high school, compared to less than one out of ten adults without disabilities. Drop out rates for students with disabilities vary with the nature and significance of the disability. Youth with severe emotional disturbances (57.6%) and youth with learning disabilities (36%) have the highest drop out rates of all disability groups.

Students with disabilities have higher rates of incarceration. More than one in three youths who enter correctional facilities have previously received special education services. Over the past several years, the number of students with disabilities in correctional facilities has risen at over twice the rate of the overall special education population. More than half of all young people with emotional disturbance are arrested at least once within three to five years of exiting school.

Students with disabilities have low rates of college enrollment. Only 14 percent of youth with disabilities attend post secondary school versus 53 percent in the general population. This is particularly troubling given that post secondary credentials bring economic gains in the labor market. Nationally, 70 percent of youth with disabilities are unemployed two years after exiting from high school. Only 26% of working-age adults with disabilities have a job or own their own business. People with disabilities are nearly three times more likely than people without disabilities to be living in households with total incomes of $15,000 or less.

In recent reauthorizations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Rehab Act, the natural linkages between special education, transition services, and VR services have received some attention. However, without dedicated funding, transition services compete with the other mandates, priorities and external challenges of the VR Program. Currently, the transition provisions in these two laws are not always implemented in a carefully coordinated manner. In addition, the lack of specificity regarding shared funding responsibilities often results in conflicts that can delay or deny needed assistance.

The CSAVR believes the return on America's investment in special education is closely linked to VR’s ability to assist transitioning youth with disabilities in exploring vocational options, and accessing post-secondary education, training and employment services. A July 2002 report from The Longitudinal Study of VR Services found that transitioning youth represent 13.5% of the consumers of VR services (i.e., approximately 135,000 youth with disabilities). It also found that 63% of young adults (below age 25) who received VR services successfully went to work, with most entering competitive employment. When young adults with disabilities enter competitive employment immediately upon or shortly after exiting the educational system, their need for long-term public assistance (such as SSI, welfare benefits, food stamps, etc.) can be significantly reduced.

The gaps in services provided under the entitlement of IDEA versus the eligibility of adult service systems often seem vast and insurmountable to youth with disabilities and their families. As a result, students with disabilities continue to struggle to attain success and independence in employment, post-secondary education, independent living, and healthy and active relationships in their communities.

This Nation cannot afford to invest substantial resources in this segment of its youth population while providing few, if any, options after the school experience is completed. Transition programs must be strengthened and enhanced if we are to assist students in reaching their potential to become productive and active members of their communities. Transition planning must become a long-term educational process beginning in middle school. Transition goals and objectives should be the foundation of a student's educational program and guide the development of a student's IEP throughout the high school years.

With the number of students in special education who need transition services increasing every year, the pressure on personnel in both the special education system and the VR system to provide transition services is growing. Currently there are no designated resources for transition services, either in IDEA or the Rehab Act. Transition services are listed among the services that may be funded under IDEA, Part B, and under Title I of the Rehab Act for those students who have been determined eligible for VR services and who have had an individualized plan for employment (IPE) developed in partnership with a qualified VR Counselor. The lack of dedicated resources often results in students not having access to needed transition services.

The CSAVR believes that in addition to strengthening linkages between special education and the VR Program, targeted monies must be provided in both IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act for transition planning and the provision of transition services. These monies should supplement, not supplant the resources currently used for transition services under IDEA, Part B, and the VR Program.

Having a dedicated funding stream for transition services would allow both special education and VR to collaborate substantively, and provide quality, relevant transition services to students with disabilities in a timely manner.

Having dedicated funding available to VR will facilitate the creation of a cadre of Transition Counselors who specialize in working with schools and adult service systems to improve employment and educational outcomes for youth with disabilities. These specialists could provide career counseling, employment, job placement, and case management services to youth with disabilities.

Dedicated funding would enhance the capacity of VR to support the efforts of local high schools to provide school-based employment services to youth with disabilities (e.g., running job clubs, providing technical support for school-based employment services, identifying trial work experiences, etc.). Dedicated VR funding would allow VR counselors to become highly visible in school settings and actively involved in working with teachers, parents, and employers to assist youth with disabilities in accessing post-secondary education, to connect youth with significant disabilities to adult services programs (including VR), and to place youth with disabilities in employment.

Issue 6: Ensuring the Integrity of the Designated State Unit (DSU)

The CSAVR believes that the VR Program must continue to be administered and implemented by a Designated State Unit (DSU) in each state to ensure that individuals with disabilities continue to have access to the highest quality job training and employment services and supports tailored to their unique and individualized needs. The Rehab Act must continue to require each state to designate in its State Plan a State Unit that has the sole responsibility for administering the State Plan for VR Services, while giving States the option of designating a separate State Unit to serve individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

Each DSU must be an agency or a division within a state agency that is primarily concerned with the provision of VR services to individuals with disabilities; has a director that is solely responsible for the administration of that State Plan; employs staff who are engaged almost 100 percent of the time on implementing the VR Program; and have organizational responsibilities equal to other major organizational units within state government. Services through the DSU must continue to be available statewide. CSAVR believes that development of the budget, management of finances, supervision of staff, determinations of eligibility, approval of individualized plans for employment, and decisions about case closures should be the sole responsibility of qualified professionals employed by the DSU, as should the overall management of the VR program. State-level oversight and accountability are necessary to ensure a consumer responsive, effective and efficient VR Program. Having a DSU with responsibility for the administration, management and implementation of the Program will help to ensure a viable, accountable, and effectively managed program of VR services.

The DSU in each state is held accountable for the expenditure of federal and state funds dedicated for the employment, training and support needs of individuals with significant disabilities. Accountability is a fundamental and critical element of the VR Program. DSUs make annual reports on how they have expended VR funds, providing extensive information on the individuals receiving services. Standards and indicators appropriate for VR were developed in response to the 1992 amendments to the Rehab Act. They are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the VR program and to provide methods for measuring improvement. In addition, The Longitudinal Study of Vocational Rehabilitation Services mentioned earlier has provided extensive information that demonstrates the long-term results of the VR Program.

To clarify lines of responsibility, the CSAVR recommends that the Act refer only to a Designated State Unit (permitting a free-standing State Agency to function as such a unit) and that specific language be added to the definition of the DSU to clarify exactly what functions are the responsibility of the DSU and, therefore, may not be delegated. The CSAVR has developed suggested language to clarify the lines of authority for the administration and implementation of the VR Program and to ensure accountability for the expenditure of VR funds. This language (which would completely rewrite of Section 101(a)(2) DESIGNATED STATE AGENCY; DESIGNATED STATE UNIT) can be found in appendix I.

Issue 7: Representation of Disability Interest on Workforce Investment Boards

Recognizing the expertise of individuals staffing the VR Program and the importance of considering the views of individuals with disabilities, the CSAVR believes each State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) must include in its membership at least one individual with a disability and the Director of the DSU administering the State Plan for VR Services (Directors in States that have a separate DSU that serves individuals who are blind or visually impaired). The representative of the DSU must be a person who has day-to-day responsibility for administering the VR Program or an individual designated by the VR Director. Nearly four years after implementation of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), there are still states that are meeting the SWIB composition requirements by having the head of the umbrella agency housing the VR Program serve as the VR representative on the SWIB.

To address this issue, the CSAVR recommends amending Sec. 111(b)(1)(C)(vi)(I) of WIA, which sets out the composition of the SWIA, by adding a new subsection 111(b)(1)(C)(vi)(II); and redesignating current (vi)(II) as (vi)(III). The amended section might read as follows:

Sec. 111(b)(1)(C)(vi)(I) the lead State agency officials with responsibility for the programs and activities that are described in section 121(b) and carried out by one-stop partners; and

[New] (vi)(II) in the case of the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program authorized under title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.), the Vocational Rehabilitation Director employed by the Designated State Unit or the Vocational Rehabilitation Directors in States that have a separate State entity that is responsible for the rehabilitation of individuals who are blind and visually impaired; and

[Redesignated] (vi)(III) in any case in which no lead State agency official has responsibility for such a program, service or activity, a representative in the State with expertise relating to such program, service, or activity; and

Issue 8: Representation on Local Workforce Investment Boards

Currently, WIA requires representatives of local community-based organizations (including organizations representing individuals with disabilities and veterans) to be included in the membership of Local Workforce Investment Boards (Local WIBs). As a result of this requirement, many Local WIBs include representatives of community rehabilitation programs (CRPs), the Public VR program, and individuals with disabilities. If Local WIBs are to be effective in meeting the needs of individuals with disabilities who are not eligible for VR services, individuals with disabilities and representatives of organizations serving individuals with disabilities must be included on these local boards. Consequently, the CSAVR supports the continuation of the current requirement regarding organizations representing individuals with disabilities and veterans serving on Local WIBs and the addition of language requiring individuals with disabilities to serve on Local WIBs.

Issue 9: Inadequate Resources Available for VR to Meet the CSPD Requirements

The role of the VR counselor is the cornerstone of the VR Program. As the key professional in the system, the counselor is responsible for interacting with individuals with disabilities who are seeking or receiving VR services to assist them in entering the workforce and becoming economically independent. VR counselors are uniquely qualified to assist individuals with disabilities in assessing their needs for individualized services and supports to achieve high quality employment outcomes.

In 1998, Congress mandated that VR employ qualified counselors, i.e., counselors that meet the national standard or the highest state standard for persons in that profession (in most cases, requiring a master’s degree). With minimal increases in funding and expanding external pressures, VR is finding it more and more difficult to attract and retain qualified individuals. With over one third of the incumbent counselors in some states not meeting the state standard for VR Counselors, VR must provide additional education and training to incumbent counselors to upgrade their qualifications. While special training grant funds have been made available for this purpose, they are not adequate to cover the cost of necessary education and training. State VR agencies have had to make up the shortfall in these training funds with case service funds.

State VR agencies are facing a dwindling pool of potential qualified applicants for counselor positions. The situation is likely to become critical over the next 5 to 10 years because a significant percentage of individuals currently working for VR will be retiring. This situation calls for a serious focus on succession planning.

In addition, the passage of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act in 1999 has necessitated that VR invest significant resources into training staff at all levels within the agency on the Ticket Program.

As a result of all these factors, CSAVR will seek increased resources for Section 302 of the Rehab Act so that additional funding will be available for training rehabilitation professionals, particularly for in-services training for staff of DSU that are having problems meeting requirements for a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development found in Title I of the Rehab Act.

Summary

Congress designated the VR Program as a required partner in the One Stop system created under WIA to ensure that individuals with disabilities, particularly those with significant disabilities, have effective and meaningful participation in the One-Stop system and have full and complete access to all of the services provided through that system. Collaboration between the DSU administering the VR program and DOL funded workforce investment services is intended to produce better information, more comprehensive services, easier access to services, and improved long-term employment outcomes for persons with disabilities.

The CSAVR recognizes the value of having a statewide workforce investment system and the importance of VR’s participation in such a system. Many disability organizations, including the CSAVR, had envisioned that the One-Stop delivery system

created under WIA would provide additional resources and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities who are seeking to enter the competitive labor market. To date, this vision has not been realized for a number of reasons.

The CSAVR thanks the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the opportunity to submit written testimony in conjunction with the hearing that was conducted on March 11 on the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

APPENDIX I

The CSAVR proposes the following rewrite of Section 101(a)(2) DESIGNATED STATE AGENCY; DESIGNATED STATE UNIT:

Section 101(a)(2) Designated state unit.--

(A) The State plan shall designate a State unit as the sole State entity to administer the plan. The Designated State unit must be either a State agency with the primary function of implementing the State Plan for VR services or a division or unit within a larger State agency that is located at an organizational level and has an organizational status comparable to that of other major organizational units within other State Agencies. Under State law, a separate State Unit may be designated to provide vocational rehabilitation services to individuals who are blind and to be the sole State unit authorized to administer the part of the plan under which vocational rehabilitation services are provided for individuals who are blind. In the case of American Samoa, the appropriate State unit shall be the governor of American Samoa.

(B) The State unit designated under subparagraph (A) shall –

(i) be primarily concerned with vocational rehabilitation, or vocational and other rehabilitation, of individuals with disabilities, and be responsible for the administration of the State Plan for VR services;

(ii) have a full-time director who shall be responsible for:

(I) Policy formulation and implementation;

(II) all decisions regarding the development, implementation and approval of the annual budget for the Public VR Program and all decisions regarding the development, implementation and approval of the allocation, administration, and expenditure of vocational rehabilitation funds authorized under Sec. 100(b);

(III) supervision of professional staff and decisions about the Comprehensive System of Personnel Development implemented in accordance with Sec. 101(a)(7); and

(IV) representing the Public VR Program on the State Workforce Investment Board created under Title I of the Workforce Investment Act;

(iii) have staff employed on the rehabilitation work of the designated state unit all or substantially all of who are employed full time on such work and at such levels and in such capacities as the State Director determines to be adequate.

(I) all decisions affecting eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services, for the nature and scope of available services, and the provision of these services; and

(II) all decisions about the approval of individualized plans for employment and determinations to close the record of services of an individual who has achieved an employment outcome, in accordance with Sec. 361.56.

(iv) The responsibilities assigned to the full-time VR Director in section 100 (a)(2)(B)(ii) are solely the responsibilities of the Director and may not be delegated to any other state official not subordinate to the Director.

(v) The functions of the staff of the Designated State Unit outlined in subsection 101(a)(2)(B)(iii) are solely the responsibility of the Designated Sate Unit and may not be delegated to any other state unit or any other subdivision of the State Agency within which the Designated State Unit is housed.

If the State has designated only 1 State Unit pursuant to subparagraph (A), the State may assign responsibility for the part of the State Plan under which vocational rehabilitation services are provided for individuals who are blind to another organizational unit, with the provisions of subparagraph (B) applying separately to each of the designated State units.