[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 103 (Thursday, September 7, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1435-E1436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             BENEFITS OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION PROGRAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 7, 2000

  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, in recent years the passage of the 
Workforce Investment Act and the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives 
Improvement Act have meant a great deal to individuals with 
disabilities who are working to gain greater social and economic 
independence. In Massachusetts the Commissioner of the Massachusetts 
Rehabilitation Commission, Mr. Elmer C. Bartels, has carried this 
message across the Commonwealth. In order to bring his message of 
employment opportunity for people with disabilities to our national 
constituency, I submit his editorial, which was printed in the June 4, 
2000 edition of the Cape Cod Times, for insertion into the 
Congressional Record.

Employers With Labor Shortages Should Look to Vocational Rehabilitation

                         (By Elmer C. Bartels)

       It is a fact that today more individuals with disabilities 
     are in the workplace earning real wages than ever before. 
     Certainly the booming economy has a lot to do with it, but 
     there is much more to the story than just that.
       The unsung hero in the struggle to enhance employment 
     opportunities for people with disabilities is the Federal/
     State Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program, authorized 
     and funded under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
       For nearly 80 years, and against great odds and prejudices, 
     the State Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program has helped 
     people with disabilities prepare to enter the workplace. 
     Every state has a vocational rehabilitation agency whose sole 
     purpose is to assist people with disabilities obtain the 
     skills, training and confidence necessary to enable them to 
     take their rightful place in the economy.
       However, until the passage of Sec. 504 of the 
     Rehabilitation Act in 1975 and later the passage of the 
     Americans with Disabilities Act, opportunities in the 
     workplace were limited and often resulted in placement in 
     sheltered workshops.


                        mainstream opportunities

       However, with advances in technology and the shortage of 
     qualified workers, new mainstream work opportunities are 
     becoming more available for persons with disabilities.
       When the Work Incentives Improvement Act (WIIA) was signed 
     into law on Dec. 17, another impediment was removed in 
     addressing the nation's efforts to encourage people with 
     severe disabilities to go to work.
       Nationally, there are, according to the General Accounting 
     Office, about 2.5 million people with disabilities receiving 
     Social Security benefits under both Supplemental Security 
     Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) 
     who could possibly benefit from WIIA. (This population 
     represents about 27 percent of the total number of 
     individuals who are eligible to access the Public Vocational 
     Rehabilitation Program.)
       WIIA's assurance of the continued availability of health 
     insurance, under both Medicaid and Medicare, for SSI and SSDI 
     recipients, will remove a formidable barrier to their 
     employment. Public vocational rehabilitation counselors 
     assess the skills and interests of people with disabilities, 
     help them develop individualized plans for employment, and 
     purchase or arrange for the services or training they need to 
     become qualified for jobs.


                         225,000 people helped

       This program can provide any reasonable and necessary 
     services to help individuals with disabilities get ready for 
     real work. Last year, the Public Vocational Rehabilitation 
     Program helped 225,000 people with disabilities across 
     America enter the work force.
       In Massachusetts, the Public Vocational Rehabilitation 
     Program, through the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, 
     helped 4,800 individuals with disabilities go to work in 
     1999.
       Federal funding for vocational rehabilitation was $2.4 
     billion in 1999. The states matched those federal funds with 
     $600 million of their own, resulting in a $3 billion national 
     Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program. The distribution 
     formula of federal funds to the states is based upon the 
     population and per capita income of each state.
       The $3 billion spent nationally on vocational 
     rehabilitation services produces $2.6 billion in employee 
     earnings and $850 million in state and federal revenues 
     during a single year of employment alone. This is an 
     incredible return-on-investment in light of the fact that 
     those earnings continue for years without the expenditure of 
     additional vocational rehabilitation dollars.


                     a 5-to-1 return on the dollar

       The Social Security Administration reports that each dollar 
     spent for the vocational rehabilitation of SSA recipients 
     results in $5 in savings to the Trust Fund and treasury. The 
     225,000 individuals with disabilities employed last year will 
     continue to earn real wages and pay state and federal taxes 
     far in excess of the investment made in their employment 
     future by the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program.
       Despite the extraordinary success of the Public Vocational 
     Rehabilitation Program, half of the states restrict the 
     number of people with disabilities served due to a lack of 
     funds. It is estimated that an additional $600 million in 
     federal monies, plus the state match of $120 million, would 
     eliminate waiting lists in every state and help another 
     54,000 people with disabilities go to work.
       Additional public vocational rehabilitation services and 
     the guarantee of medical coverage under the WIIA would 
     significantly reduce the unacceptably high rate of 
     unemployment among people with disabilities.
       According to statistics compiled by the GAO, it is 
     estimated that between 15 million and 20 million Americans 
     have health-related work limitations. Each year the Public 
     Vocational Rehabilitation Program serves 1.2 million people 
     with disabilities who want to work.


                         High unemployment rate

       A recent Harris survey indicates that 71 percent of 
     working-age Americans with disabilities are unemployed and of 
     that number, 72 percent want to work.
       However, 42 percent of working-age Americans with 
     disabilities believe that they are too disabled to work. The 
     highly qualified, professional vocational rehabilitation 
     counselors of the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program 
     work with individuals with significant disabilities to help 
     them recognize that it is possible for even the most 
     significantly disabled individuals to increase their economic 
     and personal independence through work.
       The passage of WIIA and the guarantee of continued health 
     insurance coverage for Social Security recipients makes work 
     a realistic goal for many more people with significant 
     disabilities.
       A recently completed seven-year study by the Research 
     Triangle Institute, confirmed once again the success of the 
     Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program by showing that it 
     is highly effective in placing people with disabilities into 
     productive jobs. No other federal or state program has 
     received this type of scrutiny and measured up to such a high 
     level of successful outcomes.


                           Independent lives

       It proved once again that the federal/state effort to 
     improve the lives of persons with disabilities by allowing 
     them to live independent and productive lives is on the right 
     track.
       In particular, the study shows that:
       Graduates of Public VR worked an average of 35 hours per 
     week and earned an average of $7.35 per hour;
       37.5 percent of the graduates earned more than $7 per hour;
       78.4 percent of graduates work in professional, managerial, 
     technical, clerical, sales or service jobs;
       85 percent of graduates were working in the same or other 
     job one year after graduation;
       67.6 percent of graduates were satisfied or very satisfied 
     with their jobs;
       67.1 percent of graduates were satisfied or very satisfied 
     the opportunity for advancement with their jobs;
       61.5 percent of graduates were satisfied with fringe 
     benefits with their jobs.
       The number of hours worked by consumers, the wages they 
     earned, and their satisfaction with jobs and working 
     conditions are all strong endorsements of the efficacy of the 
     Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program.
       Clearly, the Rehabilitation Act, and the ADA have helped to 
     create a societal expectation that people with disabilities 
     can and should have the opportunity to work. Now, WIIA 
     provides for the health care supports

[[Page E1436]]

     essential to individuals with disabilities who want to work. 
     Adequate funding of the Public Vocational Rehabilitation 
     Program will help thousands more people with disabilities 
     obtain good jobs.
       The administration and Congress will demonstrate fiscal 
     responsibility and a wise investment in the human resources 
     of our national by adequately funding Public Vocational 
     Rehabilitation in the federal year 2001.
       The American economy needs workers, people with 
     disabilities need work opportunities, and the federal 
     treasury needs more taxpayers. The Public Vocational 
     Rehabilitation Program pays for itself many times over in 
     taxes and human potential realized.