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33 Clearinghouse Rev. 413 (1999-2000)
State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies: Using Assistive Technology to Maximize Employment

handle is hein.journals/clear33 and id is 421 raw text is: State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies: Using Assistive Technology to Maximize Employment by Ronald M. Hager Services available through a state's voca- tional rehabilitation (VR) system can be critical to people with disabilities entering the work force. Assistive technology (AT) can greatly enhance the employment options for many people with disabilities. In this article I review VR eligibility crite- ria, specific goods and services that can be provided, issues to keep in mind when using this system to obtain AT, appeal pro- cedures, and the advocacy services avail- able through the Client Assistance Program. The Rehabilitation Act was passed in 1973.1 Its title I covers VR services.2 Each state must designate a single agency to administer the VR system, unless it des- ignates a second agency to serve individ- uals who are blind.3 VR agencies can fund a wide range of goods and services, including AT, that are connected to a per- son's vocational goals. Congress has stat- ed that the purpose of VR services is to empower individuals to maximize em- ployability, economic self-sufficiency, independence, and integration into the workplace and the community through comprehensive and coordinated state- of-tbe-art programs.4 The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 includes the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 (Rehab '98), which reauthorized the Rehabilitation Act through 2003.5 The Workforce Investment Act incorporates a myriad of federal job training programs into a coordinated, comprehensive system. In developing statewide and local plans, states must include the VR system. Although Congress contemplated merging the VR system into the Workforce Investment Act, VR remains a separate program to meet the vocational training needs of people with disabilities. Yet the state work-force investment sys- tem is to be available to individuals with disabilities.6 I. Eligibility for Vocational Rehabilitation Services To be eligible for VR services, an indi- vidual must be disabled and require them to prepare for, secure, retain or regain employment.'7 Therefore any VR service I Pub. L. No. 93-112, 87 Stat. 355 (codified as amended at 29 U.S.C. §§ 701 etseq.). 2 29 U.S.C. §§ 701-51; 34 C.F.R. pt. 361 (1999). 31d. § 721(a)(2). 4 Id. § 701(b)(1) (emphasis added). 5Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-220, §§ 401 et seq., 112 Stat. 936, 1092 (1998). 6 See 29 U.S.C. § 701(b)(1)(A). 7Id. § 722(a)(1). NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1999 I JOURNAL OF POVERTY LAW AND POLICY Ronald M. Hager is a staff attorney, National Assistive Technology Advocacy Project, Neighborhood Legal Services, Buffalo, NY 14203; 716.847.0650; rhager@ns.org. 413

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