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<h1>Thursday Briefing</h1>
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<p>12/10/2009</p>
<p>I promised to further elaborate on my attendance at the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation conference in Phoenix, AZ. The most alarming bit of news at the conference concerned the possibility that the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) will be moved from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).</p>
<p>CSAVR membership seemed to be largely opposed to such a potential move for many reasons, including:</p>
<ul class="discBullets">
<li>The move of RSA to Labor would mean the separation of programs designed to bring people with disabilities into careers and social integration and the oversight of the Special Education programs nationally. Many states are just now making a serious commitment to serving youth with disabilities in VR; it is believed that the separation of RSA from the Office of Special Education Programs within DOE would slow this important trend.</li>
<li>DOL Employment and Training programs have had their funding cut substantially in the past decade or so. By moving to Labor, the VR program could be in a position to have their mandatory cost of living increase rescinded due to this ongoing trend. VR is the only employment and training program specifically designed for the unique vocational needs of people with disabilities, as such the change to a more generic job training agency would be problematic and would undermine the efficacy of our program for our customers.</li>
<li>The General Accounting Office has documented the difficulties many of the federal job training programs have had accommodating people with disabilities. Making VR part of a generic one-stop system would therefore reduce our ability to effectively accommodate our customers.</li>
<li>The workforce system does not currently have the relationship with businesses that the VR program has nurtured over the years. VR's move to DOL would jeopardize these critical employer relationships.</li>
<li>One of the most important services we are able to provide our customers is funding for higher education, when appropriate. I sincerely believe that our ability to pay for this service would be severely diminished should RSA be moved to the U.S. Department of Labor.</li>
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<p>Paul Leather, Director of the VR program in New Hampshire did a letter to Carl Suter of CSAVR which articulates these concerns much more eloquently than I have done here. It also includes a historical perspective. This letter is on the CSAVR Website (<a href="http://www.rehabnetwork.org/">www.rehabnetwork.org</a>) if you are interested in a more thorough analysis of this debate.</p>
<p>As we move into the new calendar year, I will try to keep you all posted on what is happening with this issue.</p>
<p>Thanks for listening...</p>
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