[nfbmi-talk] Individuals with disabilities blocked from receiving Voc Rehab Assistance to attend college

[Terry D. Eagle]

This is not surprising but totally disgusting!  We know this is true in
Michigan, especially if you are of color and poor in Detroit, Flint, and
Saginaw.  Even solid information given to the Rehabilitation Services
Administration (RSA) has not been taken seriously.  It is time for our
dysfunctional Congress to get off their butts and hold oversight hearings,
then pull the plug on the rehabilitation funds ATM, for states who are
performing poorly!
LARA likely did not like my diplomatically stated values and philosophy
about performance and accountability, and too much  non-functional
management within BSBP, and too little consumer-centered services, when I
interviewed for the director position.  Both federal and state
administrators need to be held accountable for the poor performace and lack
of services to persons with disAbilities and taxpayers, pointed out in this
article.  Change will not happen, as long as we do not speak out and act to
create change within the federal and state systems.  
		
-----Original Message-----
From: NFBMI-Talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lydia
Schuck via NFBMI-Talk
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 9:52 AM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Lydia Schuck <lydia.a.schuck at wmich.edu>
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Individuals with disabilities blocked from receiving
Voc Rehab Assistance to attend college

The statements below were posted on a list I subscribe to about Adult
Education and Disability.  Lydia


A recent article published in The Hechinger Report highlights a troubling
trend faced by many adults with disabilities trying to access state
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) funding for post-secondary education.
Eligible but got Nothing: Hundreds of thousands of People with Disabilities
Blocked from College
Aid<http://hechingerreport.org/800000-people-disabilities-eligible-help-got-
nothing/> shares the stories of several VR clients, and the underlying
issues that have kept them from receiving services.

The article notes that, "More than 800,000 people with disabilities found
eligible for services received no assistance between 2010 and 2014,
according to federal data. More than a dozen states failed to provide
services to over 40 percent of those they themselves deemed eligible. This
despite $3 billion in tax dollars spent last year by the agencies
responsible, known as Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) offices. Created by the
Rehabilitation Act three decades ago, VRs are supposed to help people with
disabilities become independent.  Delays in service provision were so
widespread that, in 2014, Congress mandated that a person with a disability
must receive a plan for employment within 90 days of being deemed eligible
for assistance. In 20 states, more than one-third of cases stretched past
the 90-day limit in 2015. Close to 14,000 cases stretched past a year".

Part of the problem is high VR caseloads carried by those working directly
with clients, and responsible for these services. Under WIOA, VR and adult
education are now tasked with working jointly to better serve VR clients.
What are the ideas in your state for bridging the historic divide between
adult education and VR?  How can we work together to better serve our
learners with disabilities?

Please take a minute to share what you are seeing in your state, or thinking
may work for your community.  No ideas are too big, or too small!

Best,

Mike Cruse

Disabilities in Adult Education Moderator

michaelcruse74 at gmail.com<mailto:michaelcruse74 at gmail.com>





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