"Rewriting the Myths, Redefining the Realities"
By Homer Page
Patricia Haskell and I made a presentation at a
conference in Washington D.C. sponsored by the Rehabilitation
Services Administration and George Washington University. The
purpose of this conference was to promote better ideas for assisting
persons with disabilities to find employment. We were there to share
some new program ideas that are developing in Colorado.
Persons with disabilities have found employment to be a struggle. We
face negative attitudes about our ability to work from employers, a
Social Security system that punishes us if we work, and the need to
master adaptive technology. Other barriers such as inaccessible
transportation, the lack of flexible personal assistance, and
inadequate communications systems often limit our opportunities. Yet
in spite of these barriers we want to work. Many of us do find jobs,
and many more wish we could.
The primary agency established to assist persons with disabilities
to find employment is Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). However, over
the last few decades, two other systems have come in to being to
assist persons with disabilities. The federal Department of Labor
houses the programs defined in the Workforce Investment Act. These
programs finally appear at the community level in the Workforce
Centers. The second new system serving persons with disabilities is
the network of Independent Living Centers that blanket the nation.
During the last several years there has been some discussion about
VR being moved from the Department of Education to the Department of
Labor and combined with the Workforce programs. VR advocates have
fiercely opposed this reorganization. They believe that persons with
disabilities will lose the focused services that they currently
receive if this change is made. They also believe that funding
currently mandated for persons with disabilities will be absorbed by
general programs.
The Independent Living (IL) Program has, on the other hand, not had
an employment focus. There has been a divide between the VR program
and IL. VR and IL staff have misunderstood one another. As a result,
valuable resources have largely been wasted.
In spite of the existing problems, we believe that it is possible to
achieve a high level of cooperation among VR, Workforce Centers, and
Centers for Independent Living. Colorado is among the few states
that are taking the lead in creating models of collaboration. The
Boulder County Center for People with Disabilities has a long
history of collaboration with VR and the Department of Labor
programs. The Grand Junction Center for Independence is a part of a
demonstration project which uses navigators to assist persons with
disabilities to work their way through the maze of services and
benefits issues connected with employment.
A Rehabilitation Services Act grant to Project WIN funds three sites
that use navigators. In addition to the Center for Independence, two
navigators are located in the Workforce Center in Colorado Springs,
and another project is located in Denver. These projects aim to
coordinate services among VR, Workforce Centers, and Independent
Living Centers. Now another grant from DOL will expand the navigator
program throughout almost all of the state. VR emphasizes
career planning, education and training, and technology. Workforce
Centers focus on job placement and skills development. The ILC’s
provide independent living skills development, advocacy, peer
support, personal assistance services, and transportation and
housing services. Unfortunately, these services have not been
adequately coordinated. Persons with disabilities will have a much
better chance to find satisfying employment if these systems learn
to work together.
Colorado is creating a model of collaboration that can be replicated
across the nation. But it cannot be done with grants and short-term
commitments. There is a need for systems change. The upcoming
reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act offers an important
opportunity to enact these changes. We recommend four changes that
will facilitate the much-needed collaboration. First, employment
needs to be added to the list of core services mandated for ILC’s to
provide.
Second, funding for providing employment services must be included
in the Title VII, Part C Independent Living Center operating funds.
Third, funding for training among the three systems must be
provided. Each system must have knowledge and understanding of the
strengths and limitations of the others. A philosophy of
independence, which can give coherence to the effort, must be
learned by staff persons in each program.
Finally, the Vocational Rehabilitation counselor and the consumer
need to join with staff from the Centers for Independent Living and
the Workforce Centers to develop the individual plans for
employment.
Employment is a key dimension of an independent living life style.
While not everyone will work, everyone who wants to have a job
should have an opportunity. We can do a better job of making
employment a reality. What we are doing in Colorado to improve the
opportunities for persons with disabilities can have an influence
throughout the nation. The Colorado approach allows us to take full
advantage of all of the resources that are available.
Copyright 2002 A&H Publishing Corporation