Testimony
To
The Department of Labor
By
Rita
Martin
Director of Membership Services CSAVR
Good afternoon. My name is Rita Martin and I am
the Director of Membership Services for the Council of State
Administrator’s of Vocational Rehabilitation, known as the
CSAVR. The CSAVR is composed of the chief administrators of the
public rehabilitation agencies serving persons with physical and
mental disabilities in the states, District of Columbia and the
territories. These agencies constitute the state partners in the
state-federal program of rehabilitation services provided under
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. The Council’s
members supervise the rehabilitation of some 1.2 million persons
with disabilities annually. Of those served each year, over
230,000 enter competitive employment. I am also the former State
Director of the Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services
agency. My comments today will address my and some of my
colleagues experiences as mandatory partners in implementing the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in addressing issues of
accessibility and service coordination through the one-stop
centers created under the Workforce Investment Act.
State vocational rehabilitation agencies continue to be
concerned over the lack of program accessibility for persons
with disabilities in the one-stop centers. While progress has
been made in the area of physical accessibility to one-stops for
persons with disabilities, little progress has been made to
address the lack of program accessibility. There are a number of
reasons for this; such as a shortage of resources, a lack of
knowledge on the part of center staff on how this can be
accomplished and, in many instances, a belief that it is the
responsibility of the vocational rehabilitation agency and not
the one-stop center to provide these services.
Every
individual, including individuals with disabilities, under the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has the right to physical
and programmatic access to services from one-stop centers. There
are significant numbers of individuals with disabilities who
could be served by one-stops without intervention from the
public vocational rehabilitation agency. One-stop center staff,
however, must have the knowledge, and the skills and abilities
to be able to direct these individuals to the appropriate array
of services, instead of to the vocational rehabilitation agency,
and the array of services must be available, with the
appropriate accommodations, to meet the individual’s needs.
My colleagues And I believe strongly, however, that there
are other individuals, who by the significant nature of their
disability, need access to qualified personnel, individualized
assessments and specialized services and supports, such as those
provided by vocational rehabilitation agencies, in order to
obtain employment. It is the ability to provide these
individualized services to eligible individuals that makes
vocational rehabilitation agencies a unique partner in the
one-stop centers.
During the April 17th Forum on WIA
Reauthorization the consistent message from the 29 individuals
who provided testimony addressed the inability of individuals
seeking services from one-stop centers to get beyond a referral
to core services, the inherent problems associated with a tiered
system of service delivery, and the lack of funding available
for intensive services and skills training. There were also
numerous comments regarding the lack of knowledge on the part of
front line staff to be able to provide information about careers
and career ladders, so that individuals seeking services could
make informed choices about their employment goals.
- Their needs to be less emphasis on physical structures and infrastructure and more resources devoted to intensive services and skills training. The most beautiful centers in the nation will be of little or no value if the needs of individuals they are targeted to serve cannot be met. There is a need:
- For qualified personnel who are knowledgeable about the world of work, not just entry level jobs,
- For individuals to be able to make informed choices about their employment goals,
- For physical and programmatic access to services without any barriers,
- For access to intensive services and skills training,
- For quality service provision and accountability for outcomes, and
- For adequate funds for the system that is preparing
our workforce for tomorrow.
Our personal experiences often have a significant impact on our values, our beliefs and our ability to fight for or against a given cause. I challenge each of us who is in some manner responsible for the implementation of the Workforce Investment Act, to visit one-stop centers on a random basis across the country and to personally utilize the system that we are putting in place for others, and then, to let our conscience be our guide.
