More on the RSA closings
Our “friends” at Fox News give us this little gem.
The article supports combining the funding of job programs for abled and disabled clients, but the folks that work in rehabilitation interviewed for the article do explain that changing the funding streams to block grants to the states may result in preference for the easiest to place able bodied workers, funding them ahead of disabled adults in order to meet expectations for the numbers of clients placed.
According to the article, RSA presently places about 215000 clients out of 1.2 million served in jobs.
“The administration is pushing a proposal for the WIA that would offer states the choice of receiving block grants that would incorporate RSA and Department of Labor job-placement funds for both disabled and non-disabled workers. The proposal is controversial and was not in the House reauthorization bill passed in March. It is uncertain whether it will make it into the final Senate legislation.
Wilson said the block grants would be attractive to cash-strapped states, which would likely put more of the money into quick and cheap non-disabled placements at the expense of other programs for the disabled.
“If we cut back funding and mush it in with other generic programs in the system, the adult disabled folks will be left behind,” she said.
Paul Lather, director of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation in the New Hampshire Department of Education, which receives about $10 million in federal funds and helped 1,245 disabled people get jobs last year, said he is worried his staff will dwindle under block granting.
“We would have concerns about the quality of staff and the dedicated resources that would be available to disabled people in terms of employment,” Lather said…”
Joanne Wilson, former head of the RSA will be at the May 26 protest in Washington.
Wish I was there.
RSA closings and cutbacks « Vermont Vocational Rehab Association said,
March 10, 2008 at 9:29 AM
[...] and cutbacks Posted by Bill-O-Notes under Public VR, RSA, VR I came across this blog posting on the declining resources in public rehab at the RSA. [...]