It is a great honor to be elected to serve as PaRC Chair for the 2009-10 term. I have been involved in vocational rehabilitation for over thirty eight years now, and have served on numerous committees, task forces, and advisory groups including the White House Conference on the Handicapped. With this in mind, I must emphatically state that PaRC , it's members and professional staff, is one of, if not the hardest working advisory and advocacy groups that I have ever had the pleasure to have been a part of.
I would like to recognize the leadership and expertise of outgoing Chair, Michael Adamus, who has given PaRC several years of his time and energy, and will be a tough act to follow. Unfortunately a special recognition needs to be given posthumously to my past Co-Vice Chair, Carolyn Vidt, who was suddenly and most tragically taken from us last year. We will miss her greatly.
As I write this address, the Pennsylvania State Legislature is more than a month overdue approving a budget which will include drastic cuts, the economy is still in recession and real unemployment and underemployment remains way too high.
The PaRC Legislative Committee has worked especially hard the past few years to educate state and national legislators in regards to the budgetary needs to continue vocational rehabilitation through the PA Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. With the economy still faltering, their task will be even more challenging in the upcoming year(s). The question most commonly asked of us recently by our elected officials when speaking to them goes something like this; "Where should this money come from?" I would like to challenge all council members during the upcoming year, to come up with a good answer to this legitimate, yet very disarming question. Hopefully there will be answers that can be conveyed unabashedly without hesitation, embarrassment or any second thought by all council members to their representatives and others in the community.
Today, the greatest Congressional champion of disabled children and adults, Senator "Ted" Kennedy has passed away. He was never afraid to advocate for those in need and he could definitely answer the "Where should this money come from" question. We should strive to do the same if we are to be true advocates!
Respectfully,
Joseph M. Kraher, M.A., CRC, LRC, LPC, ABDA
PaRC Chair 2009-10