Letter From The Chairperson

It has been a pleasure serving as the Chairperson for Pennsylvania's Rehabilitation Council. This is the second time I have had this pleasure and I was delighted with the opportunity to utilize the experience I had during my first term as Chairperson. "Hitting the ground running" last October included facilitating the Councils' participation in the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation's major initiative in transition. Through its members the Council gave testimony in the public hearings for the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and transition. Council members assisted in drafting Transition Guidelines for the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) and presented in conjunction with OVR at the 2002 Disability and Employment Conference in Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania's Rehabilitation Council strongly believes in the value of the public vocational rehabilitation system. Council representatives testified in public hearings in Washington, D.C. on reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act as a portion of the Workforce Investment Act. Through its participation in the National Rehabilitation Association 2002 Governmental Affairs Seminar, Council members discussed national issues and Pennsylvania's issues with a broad spectrum of individuals including rehabilitation professionals and national leaders.

The Rehabilitation Council and the Board of Directors of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation held joint meetings and acted in support of one another in our mutual efforts to bring persons with the most significant disabilities to employment. All this was accomplished, in addition to advancing Council's goals within Pennsylvania.

As I leave my position as Chairperson, I would like to thank the members of the Council, the Board of Directors of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, all of the groups and agencies that participated in this most successful year. I would like to encourage Pennsylvania's disability community and all of its providers of service as the Ticket to Work comes to Pennsylvania to remember that we are about Work. We are here to help people with disabilities obtain, maintain, and advance in the work of their choice, so that all Pennsylvanians will have the ability to become full members of their home communities through their participation in the economic growth of their home towns as only a working person can be involved.

Carol Baker, Chairperson, 2002