The following public testimony was presented by Patricia Leahy, National Rehabilitation Association (NRA) Director of Governmental Affairs, during the public forum conducted by the Department of Labor on June 21, 2002 . The topic of the forum was the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Services to People with Disabilities. The topics for discussion at this Forum included: One-Stop Accessibility; Performance Measurement; Provision of Training Services; Service Coordination; State and Local Governance; and Youth.
The NRA chose to discuss one of the most compelling issues for individuals with disabilities in securing quality employment -- that to ensure both physical and programmatic accessibility to and at the one-stop centers. The full text of NRA's testimony follows.
”Thank you for the opportunity to address the extraordinarily important issues associated with better serving individuals with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities, at the one-stop career centers.
I am Patricia Leahy and I serve as the Director of Governmental Affairs at the National Rehabilitation Association (the NRA).
The National Rehabilitation Association was founded in 1925 and is one of the longest established and strongest advocates in ensuring that the rights of individuals with disabilities are both respected and realized.
The NRA's primary mission is to provide advocacy and awareness on behalf of and with individuals with disabilities and career advancement for professionals in the field of rehabilitation. The NRA's national membership of nearly 10,000, includes rehabilitation counselors, physical, speech and occupational therapists, career counselors/ job trainers, consultants, independent living instructors, and other professionals involved in job training and employment services for individuals with disabilities.
Like you, the National Rehabilitation Association strongly believes in the dignity of work and the power of partnerships, while recognizing that partnerships, if they are to be truly productive for individuals with disabilities, must fully recognize and respect the integrity of the public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, a public/private service delivery
system that works -- and works well -- in promoting progressive policies and employing proven practices that enhance the empowerment of individuals with disabilities entering the world of work.
The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, which comprise Title IV of the Workforce Investment Act, were intended to link individuals with disabilities to the one-stop career centers. In order for that promised linkage to be fulfilled, however, the one-stop centers must be – and should be -- four years after the passage of the Workforce Investment Act -- fully compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act (the ADA ).
The ADA compliance includes both physical and programmatic access -- those related to individuals who have communication, cognitive and sensory disabilities -- meaningful access to whom must include alternate formats, both in Braille and large print type, assistive technology, auxiliary aids and services, including interpreters and readers, and accessible software and related computer equipment.
While the State VR agencies' qualified rehabilitation counselors and other qualified personnel can provide technical assistance in furnishing these critical physical and programmatic accommodations, the State/Federal public VR program -- possibly the most woefully under funded service delivery system in the history of the workforce world
cannot -- and should not -- be expected to pay for these crucial accommodations, the right to which was ensured to individuals with disabilities under the ADA.
Relatedly, and of equal importance to meaningful access to employment services for individuals with disabilities at the one stop centers, is the availability of and access to qualified staff who must be able to fully appreciate and respect the multiple challenges to employment encountered by individuals with disabilities, especially those with significant disabilities. That appreciation of and sensitivity to the multiple challenges facing individuals with disabilities entering the world of work must also include a knowledge of the array of supports and services that individuals with disabilities require in order to succeed in the world of work.
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) and, in particular, the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), for whom I had the pleasure of working for six years, was indefatigable in their efforts through constant collaboration to secure the State VR Director s of the General Agencies, and where applicable, the State
Director s of the Blind Agencies on the State Workforce Investment Boards (SWIBs).
That did not occur, which I believe would have helped to level the playing field for individuals with disabilities in accessing employment services at the one-stop centers.
That said, the National Rehabilitation Association believes it is time to look forward -- not backward -- and strongly supports the full participation of the State VR Director s of both the General and Blind Agencies on the SWIBs.
Thank you once again for the opportunity to present the National Rehabilitation Association's views on how the one stop career centers can more effectively serve individuals with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities.
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"The National Rehabilitation Association is a member organization whose
mission is providing opportunities through knowledge and diversity for
professionals in the fields of rehabilitation of people with
disabilities."
