[Counselor_Educ] Fwd: IMPORTANT: 2011 President's Budget Consolidates and Cuts VR Programs

[robinsoh at ohio.edu]

----- Forwarded message from Patricia Leahy <Patricia at nationalrehab.org> -----
From: Patricia Leahy <Patricia at nationalrehab.org>
To: Beverlee Stafford <Beverlee at nationalrehab.org>
Cc: bmcmillan at mdrs.state.ms.us, Tom.Wilson at dol.state.ga.us, 
bonnie.hawley at drs.virginia.gov, Bob at theworldofwork.com, 
melanie.poole at dol.state.ga.us, Wea858 at aol.com, knortz at wefgroup.com, 
ncrumpton at troy.edu, Shawn.Zimmerman at drs.virginia.gov, robinsoh at ohio.edu, 
ealepou at aol.com, hergenkc at gwu.edu, Lakeisha.harris at gmail.com, 
evan.jones at fairfaxcounty.gov, pat.bienfant at state.mn.us, newbauer at whidbey.com, 
ellen.sokolowski at iowa.gov
Subject: IMPORTANT:   2011 President's Budget Consolidates and Cuts VR Programs
Date: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 13:54:30 -0500

 
 
Dear Beverlee and All:
 
Please see the latest on the President's 2011 Budget which consolidates a 
number of VR Programs, including Supported Employment, PWIs, Migrants and 
Seasonal Farm Workers, among others.
 
It appears that we did not get the COLA in the way that we have been getting 
the COLA for years.  It appears that the consolidation of the programs in 
Title VI is being counted as new (COLA) money.  The in-service training money 
also appears to be consolidated, as well.
 
There is $60 million in NEW money in Innovation Grants between the Ed and 
Labor departments which I believe is the beginning (at least in statute) of 
service integration.  This, I assure you, is not good for VR.  This is also 
known as breaking down the funding silos.
 
Past Presidents and Congress have proposed these cuts/consolidations in the 
past, but this year is different.  We have a Democratic President and both 
Houses of Congress are under Democratic majorities.  We will have to fight 
hard to maintain the integrity of these programs and the Rehabilitation Act.
 
It appears that they are also going to give the CILs more control over their 
money.
 
And, think about this.  The Senate bill, yet to be introduced on WIA/VR 
reauthorization, will have, we believe a set-aside of $50 million once the 
COLA reaches $100 million.  Given what is being proposed in the President's 
budget, I do believe that Title I is going to be under siege.
 
More, later.
 
Patricia
 
 
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/trs.pdf
 
TERMINATION: REHABILITATION ACT PROGRAM CONSOLIDATIONS

Department of Education

As part of the Workforce Investment Act reforms, the Administration proposes 
to consolidate nine

Rehabilitation Act programs into three. The proposed consolidations would 
reduce duplication and

administrative costs, and would improve program management, accountability, 
and the provision of

rehabilitation and independent living services.

Justification

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) State Grant Program

The Administration proposes to consolidate the Supported Employment (SE) State 
Grants, Projects with

Industry (PWI), VR Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers, and the in-service 
training portion of VR Training

programs into the existing VR State Grants Program. These smaller programs 
provide services that are

provided by the larger VR State Grants program or have accomplished their 
mission, as described below.

The SE program was created in 1986 to encourage State VR agencies to provide 
ongoing job supports,

like job coaches, to individuals with significant disabilities at a time when 
many professionals were skeptical

about the feasibility and potential costs associated with employing 
individuals who traditionally would not

have been employed in integrated settings. Now almost 11 percent of all 
individuals served through the

VR program have a supported employment goal with funding for services coming 
from the VR State Grants

and the SE State Grants programs. Thus, the program has achieved its initial 
goal of demonstrating that

individuals with the most significant disabilities can be employed.

The PWI program has similarly achieved its goals. First funded in 1970, the 
PWI program sought to

engage employers in training individuals with disabilities. But changes to the 
Workforce Investment Act

in 1992 and 1998 mandated employer involvement through larger job training 
programs and made the PWI

program redundant. In addition, a Department-funded evaluation of the PWI 
program from 2003 found

that the group of individuals served by the PWI program is very similar to the 
population served by the

larger VR State Grants at the aggregate program level and that most PWI 
projects serve a specific subset

of the population served by one or more local VR offices.

The VR Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers (MSFW), first funded in 1977, supports 
rehabilitation services

to migratory workers with disabilities. Providing outreach and other 
appropriate services to these workers

is a critical goal, but the specialized services being provided under this 
program should be services provided

under the VR State Grants program to appropriately serve underserved 
populations more generally, and

should not be dependent on separate funding. Moreover, State-reported data 
from the State VR agencies

on the employment outcomes for migrants and seasonal farmworkers suggest that 
employment outcomes

are not better overall in States that have a MSFW project as compared to those 
States without MSFW

projects. The Administration proposes to consolidate the MSFW program into the 
larger VR State Grants

program and to focus Federal efforts on ensuring that the needs of all 
populations, including migratory

workers with disabilities, are met.

In addition, the funds currently provided to State VR agencies to support in-
service training for agency

personnel under the Training program would be included in this consolidation. 
Under the VR State Grants

program, each State is required in its State plan to establish detailed 
procedures for a comprehensive system

of personnel development, including how the State will address the current and 
projected personnel training

needs. The Administration believes that consolidating this small competitive 
program into the much larger

VR State grants program will eliminate administrative inefficiencies and help 
focus Federal efforts on

ensuring that States provide appropriate training to all agency staff.

Independent Living (IL)

The Budget proposes to consolidate two IL programs with overlapping purposes 
into one. The Department

currently administers the Independent Living State Grants formula program and 
the competitive Centers

for Independent Living (CIL) program, which funds nonprofit centers for 
independent living. Annual program

reports show that an estimated 60 percent of the formula funds are used for 
the same purposes as the

competitive funds to provide independent living services, either directly or 
through grants and contracts

with centers for independent living and other providers. In addition, the 
advantages of a true competitive

grant are not achieved under the CIL program because the authorizing statute 
requires all centers funded

by the end of fiscal year 1997 to receive funding as long as they continue to 
meet program and fiscal standards

and assurances.

Consolidating these two authorities would reduce program duplication, give 
States more control over their

independent living programs, hold States accountable for implementing 
effective service systems, and

improve services in areas with unmet need.

Other

The Budget combines three small VR programs charged with carrying out 
technical assistance, evaluations,

demonstrations, and other projects aimed at improving employment outcomes for 
individuals with

disabilities. Under the proposed National Activities to Improve Rehabilitation 
Services program, the

Department would have the flexibility to strategically direct all of its 
program improvement resources,

consolidated under one authority, to areas of need. The consolidation of these 
resources would also enhance

planning.


----- End forwarded message -----



Mona Robinson, Ph.D., PCC, CRC
Assistant Professor
Rehabilitation Counseling and Chillicothe Program Coordinator
President-Elect, NAMRC 
Ohio University
386 McCracken Hall
Athens, Ohio 45701
740-593-4461 Office
740-593-0477 Fax
robinsoh at ohio.edu