Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council WIA Reauthorization Testimony
Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council
1902 Market Street
Camp Hill, PA 17011
Voice (717) 975-2004 or (888) 250-5175
TTY (877) 827-9974 fax(888) 524-9282
E-mail
racucpca@parac.org www.parac.org
My name is Carol Baker and I am the Chairperson of the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council. As you know, the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council was created in the 1992 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Under this Act, the Council reviews, analyzes, and advises the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) after consultation with the Workforce Investment Board. The Council reviews OVR’s performance in regard to eligibility, extent, scope and effectiveness of services provided that affect or potentially affect the ability of individuals with disabilities in achieving employment outcomes, particularly those individuals with the most significant disabilities. As a person with a disability I have come to speak to you about issues of significance to Pennsylvanians with disabilities as they relate to reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
The first of these issues is accountability. The Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council recommends the development of a cross-partner system of reporting and subsequent statistical evaluation that will permit each partner to get the individual information they need as well as systematic information while protecting the confidentiality of the customers.
The second is return on investment. The Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council is pleased to report that in Pennsylvania OVR served persons with these Major Disabling Conditions in 2001:
326 persons with Traumatic Brain Injury
538 persons with Blind/Visually Impaired
968 persons with Learning Disabled
886 persons with Alcoholism/Drug Addiction
1,007 persons with Deaf/Hard of Hearing
1,234 persons with Other Physical Disabilities
1,364 persons with Mental Retardation
2,750 persons with Mental Disorders
2,916 persons with Orthopedic/Amputation
Pennsylvania has developed an effective service system for persons with disabilities, returning $10.00 for every $1.00 spent.
The total number of Pennsylvanians successfully rehabilitated
in 2001 was 11,989; of these, 10,875 (93%) were placed into
competitive employment.
The weekly earnings of the 11,989 individuals rehabilitated
in 2001 before Rehabilitation was $810,877 and after
Rehabilitation is $3,431,821.
The estimated taxes paid by VR consumers placed in employment
during 2001 was $46,398,200
The third concern of the Council is to strengthen transition services at key points:
High school to training
Training to work
Work to work
Along with strengthening the mandated CAP advocacy in
transition issues and in Title I of the ADA.
The fourth concern of the Rehabilitation Council is the basic quality of jobs available through Pennsylvania's Careerlinks.
In Pennsylvania the bulk of the positions available through the Careerlinks are entry-level positions. Though many persons with disabilities can avail themselves of this type of position many are far beyond entry-level. Thus making the Careerlink a resource of minimal value. It is the belief of the Council that a certain percentage of higher level jobs be available and that Careerlinks be evaluated in relation to this percentage.
The last concern, though hardly the least, is the issue of accessibility that Mr. Charles Giambrone spoke to you about earlier.
As you are aware, Pennsylvania has a problem with both physical and program accessibility. In Pennsylvania only about half of the sites are completely accessible by ADA standards and even less are program accessible.
The Bush Administration, in its budget proposal for 2003,
called the nationwide, public vocational rehabilitation program
one of the most efficient programs under the Department of
Education. Pennsylvania’s Rehabilitation Council supports
the continuation of public vocational rehabilitation with single
streamed, mandatory funding. We believe that public
vocational rehabilitation provides a vehicle that is efficient,
low cost and without the pressures of the for-profit sector, and
that it significantly enhances opportunities for persons with
the most significant disabilities to return to meaningful work.
