PaRC members attended the National Rehabilitation Association Conference from March 13 - 15, 2004 in Alexandria, VA. After the conference, members delivered the position papers below that were developed by the PaRC to twenty-one Congressional Offices on the Hill.
It is the mission of The Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council (PaRC) to inform and advise the state board of vocational rehabilitation and the Governor on the diverse issues affecting vocational rehabilitation in our state. In working to fulfill this mission, one message becomes clear: The Rehabilitation Act plays an important and necessary role in empowering individuals with disabilities to become independent and integrated into the workplace and community.
The Rehabilitation Act is unique because it recognizes that equality of opportunity, a fundamental right in our society, is necessary to empower individuals with disabilities to maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence, and integration into society. It focuses upon empowering individuals to realize their potential through individual achievement. This is different from other benefits legislation which only considers an individual's status when conferring benefits in order to achieve equality of outcome.
The Act is important because it promotes success and not dependence. This overarching goal is achieved through a strong federal/state partnership which recognizes the need for national unity on disability policy and local autonomy in the development and implementation of a state's rehabilitation program. Far from centralizing power in Washington, D.C., the Act provides states the freedom to administer programs which are responsive to the needs of its customers. In Pennsylvania, the OVR office in your congressional district is an excellent example of how this partnership can work to produce results. In 2004 alone, the federal, state and local taxes paid by competitively employed customers of OVR throughout Pennsylvania averaged approximately $46.9 million. This is the true measure of how the Act empowers individuals with disabilities to impact their communities in a positive way. Unlike most benefits legislation, the goal of the Rehabilitation Act is to help individuals become taxpayers and not tax users.
The Act cannot be reduced to job training legislation without destroying its essential character. It represents the keystone in the continuum of opportunity that is so important to the economic success of the estimated 600,000 individuals with disabilities in Pennsylvania. Any fundamental change will render meaningless the right to an appropriate education that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) recognizes as the foundation for success in the workplace, and the right to compete in society free from discrimination as guaranteed under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The PaRC believes that the Rehabilitation Act must be strengthened to provide customers greater flexibility and control over the services and programs available to them from state rehabilitation programs.
The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 presently comprise Title IV of WIA, and were intended to link the public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program, through the '98 Amendments, to the One-Stop centers with the significant caveat that public VR would always maintain its dedicated funding stream.
The Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council respectfully recommends that the Public VR Program be maintained in its original status as a freestanding statute which, we believe, will best serve individuals with disabilities for whom the Public VR Program was and remains intended. Partnership at the One-Stops should continue and hopefully, in time with the requisite physical and programmatic accommodations and qualified personnel, be better able to serve individuals with disabilities.
PaRC members visited 19 State Legislators October 13, 2004 in Harrisburg and delivered position papers they had developed by the PaRC below.
The Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council (PaRC) is mandated by the Rehabilitation Act of 1998, as amended, to review, analyze, and advise the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) regarding the performance of its responsibilities, particularly those related to eligibility (including order of selection); the extent, and scope and effectiveness of services provided; and the functions performed by State agencies that affect the ability of individuals with disabilities in achieving employment outcomes under Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services.
Members are appointed by the Governor to the PaRC for their expertise related to specific categories of representation, as required in the Rehabilitation Act.
One of the goals of the council, through its Legislative Committee, is to educate and advocate for legislation to meet the needs of persons with disabilities, as related to training and employment in the state of Pennsylvania.
With this in mind, the PaRC respectfully submits the following position paper for your review and consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
The Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council
In the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) 2004 Annual Report, it is noted that 11,067 Pennsylvanians with disabilities were rehabilitated in 2004 and 10,638 OVR customers became employed in a competitive job. OVR invested $51,932,169, an average of $4,886 per customer to rehabilitate those 10,638 new workers in competitive employment. Those 10,638 workers paid back $67,937,246 annually, an average of $6,629 per customer in taxes and savings in public assistance and disability payments. This shows that it pays to get people to work.
The United States Census Bureau, in its recently released 2003 American Community Survey (ACS) Data Profile breaks down disability status for every state. In Pennsylvania, the survey shows 863,817 Pennsylvanians with a disability. Of those individuals, only 35.6% are employed. In other words, approximately 2/3 of people with disabilities are unemployed in Pennsylvania.
Below we've highlighted three areas of concern in the state, related to employment for persons with disabilities
CareerLink is an Internet-based system of services for employers and job seekers, supported by a network of professionally staffed offices across Pennsylvania. The system offers online access to a wealth of information, including labor-market data; state and federal job banks; government services; veterans' employment services; and education and training programs. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, CareerLinks are responsible for serving individuals with disabilities under the same terms and conditions as they serve non-disabled individuals, and for providing the necessary accommodations. Pennsylvania CareerLink services are focused on serving the whole community. The role of the Pennsylvania Rehabilitation Council is to make sure that people with disabilities are equally served in the CareerLinks across the state. Concerns over the past two years have been on accessibility and program access to software and communication devices within each CareerLink.
Mr. David Wenzel, member of the State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation, and a member of the National Council on Disability, stated in his testimony before the US House of Representatives in May 2003 that, access to transportation is critical for Americans with disabilities to participate fully in basic activities such as employment, education, worship, job training, commerce, recreation, and other activities of community life that most people take for granted. Increased funding is essential to maintain and improve traditional transit and paratransit services to meet the transportation needs of people with disabilities. The Persons with Disabilities (PWD) program builds on the existing shared ride program, available in all counties, providing a subsidy to people with disabilities similar to that provided for seniors. The PaRC asks for support of SB 1162 and HB 2697, (to provide a dedicated funding source for transportation) and SB 1104 and HB 329, (the Shared Ride Program). Collaboration and teamwork are encouraged amongst state agencies and programs receiving transportation dollars, so that more Pennsylvanians with disabilities can be better served.