[Home-on-the-range] Rehab and work - they should be a linked partnership

[Dianne Hemphill]

Hello federationists- I have reviewed most of July's Braille Monitor's articles and wondered which I would note as "must reads"...looking at the convention announcements for seminars, etc, I would suggest that both number 9, 
"Rehabilitation - A Contract With America and Her  Blind Citizens" and number 11, "Hiring the Blind", coincide with July 1st seminar on employment followed by an opportunity to dazzle a pool of 14 employers with your resume and charming personality...

Often it is easy to "con dim  and deplore" rehabilitation for its poor employment outcomes, perhaps even yours and forget that they also may be the reason some of us find success. The ongoing challenge, how to make this positive outcome of high quality employment an outcome for every blind client. 

I wonder if we would have more successful employment outcomes if rehab was a "mandatory" part of the program for the blind VR client? Though my rather short and sorry rehab 10 week summer rehab center experience  was not anything to brag about, I none-the-less gained some useful skills and study ideas in order to do a better job in college and then my several work experiences... I know that both Susie and Donna participated in this rather poor experience as well but have none-the-less had excellent college and employment . Though the Center rehab training was on a trend of improvement prior to the state closing her down for so called financial short falls, the attendance was never mandatory. Unlike Kansas, Iowa and several other states did make the training and adjustment experience mandatory and have had much more success with their client's success in higher education and employment. Their Policy was based on the perspective that they wanted to facilitate as best they could, a clients" success, as viewed by Voc Rehab rather than assuming a client would go out there and "sink or swim" depending on their skills and competence... What is your perspective? Dianne (YOLO)