Letter from the PaRC Chair for 2007Dear Governor Rendell, the State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation and All Those Interested in Employment for Persons with Disabilities in Pennsylvania:
It has been a busy year for me as the Chair of the PA Rehabilitation Council (PaRC). I want to thank all members for their hard work this year in keeping issues related to employment for persons with disabilities in PA in the forefront.
I'd like to highlight some of the activities of the council this year.
The council continued its advocacy work towards the passage of the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act visiting legislators in Washington and Harrisburg supporting legislation of importance to workers with disabilities. It is hoped that this important Act will be reauthorized in the near future.
Members hosted quarterly conference calls with the Citizens Advisory Committees (CACs) across the state to learn about concerns as well as positive things happening in their regions. The PaRC has asked OVR to consider supporting the CACs by funding conference calls for their regional meetings. The state plan attachment was completed for the year and distributed. The attachment asked that the needs of returning veterans and the aging worker be considered as funding and decisions are being made related to vocational rehabilitation.
A customer satisfaction survey was developed and handed out to OVR customers in the Spring in conjunction with OVR's State Plan hearings across the state. It was an opportunity to monitor satisfaction with OVR services by having those in attendance complete a survey as well as to educate those in attendance about the PaRC and how OVR and the council work together.
Members continued building their relationships with Workforce Development and other agencies in the state to ensure that persons with disabilities can utilize the CareerLink centers to secure employment.
Members are attending their local workforce investment board meetings to keep the needs of workers with disabilities in the discussions and decisions that are being made in their local regions.
Improvements have been made this year to the PaRC website by adding additional information including a comments section for citizen advisory committee members to use to contact the council. I would like to encourage everyone to visit the site at www.parac.org. If you are interested in becoming a council member additional information and an appointment form can be found on the website as well.
Lastly, I want to encourage employers to look to our state vocational rehabilitation program as a resource to fill their employee needs. The council encourages our legislators to secure additional funding for vocational rehabilitation to meet the increasing needs of Pennsylvanians with disabilities who want to work and lead productive lives.
Again, thank you for a successful year. I hope that OVR and the PaRC will continue to strengthen their relationship to ensure that Pennsylvanians with disabilities continue to receive quality vocational rehabilitation services.
Sincerely,
Micki Greenstein
Chairperson