Comprehensive Federal Study Finds Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program Successful at Putting People with Disabilities to Work.

Business Editors

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002

More than 1.2 million people with disabilities served;

233,000 become employed annually

The Public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Program is effective at putting people with disabilities to work in good jobs with opportunities for advancement. This conclusion comes from the results of a multi-million dollar study commissioned by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA)/Department of Education that demonstrates for the first time that VR services contribute significantly to positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities. The Longitudinal Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program was conducted by RTI International under contract number HR92022001.

Ten years before President George W. Bush unveiled his performance-based budget this past February, the RSA embarked on the study to assess the performance of the state-federal VR Program in "achieving positive, sustainable economic and non-economic outcomes as a result of their VR services." According to a National Health Interview Survey, approximately 13% of working-age Americans - or 21.3 million people - have a physical or mental disability; 16% of whom may be eligible and benefit from VR services that range from assessments, training, counseling, post-secondary education, support services such as transportation and housing assistance, and job placement. Eighty-percent of those who apply are found eligible and accepted into the program.

Results of the study show that 69% of clients who exited the program achieved an employment outcome - 75% of whom are in competitive jobs that are in professional, managerial, technical, service or clerical/sales positions. Three years after job placement, 76% continued to be employed and received increases in salary and benefits.

Individuals who completed VR services fared far better than similar individuals who did not complete services or who were eligible but did not receive services, strongly indicating that VR services are effective in assisting individuals with disabilities to obtain employment. Additional findings include:

-- 36% of VR clients in competitive jobs received employer health benefits at exit; this rose to 58% three years later (the national average is 52% for all employed individuals);

-- 32% received wages at 200% of the federal poverty level (about $16,000/year); three years later, 46% were at 200% of the federal poverty level;

-- Of individuals competitively employed, 39% had received some form of public assistance at entry to VR; three years after their cases were closed, the percentage declined to 26%;

-- 44% no longer needed public assistance;

-- Clients reported significant satisfaction with having an active

role with their VR counselor in the process of assessing which services would be required to achieve an employment outcome;

-- 20.7% utilized assistive technology - special computerized devices, portable speech synthesizers, software - in helping to enter the workforce;

-- and, most significantly, 66% of people entering competitive jobs said if they had to pay for services, they would purchase "exactly the same" services provided by the Public VR Program.

Each year, approximately 1.2 million people with disabilities are served by the $3.1 billion Public VR Program; in 2001, 233,000 individuals entered the workforce, earned $3.4 billion in wages and paid $977 million in federal/state/local, Social Security and Medicare taxes.

RSA is the federal agency within the Department of Education that monitors the results of the State VR Program, provides technical assistance to the agencies, and collects and analyzes performance data on the program.

"It is our job to get people with disabilities ready for employment," said Joanne Wilson, RSA Commissioner. "This long term study demonstrates that the Public VR Program achieves this goal and has the right formula for ongoing success."

The Public VR Program is administered by the individual state agencies of vocational rehabilitation. Each state contributes a percentage match to federal funds and provides or outsources a multitude of assessment, training and job placement services to people with disabilities seeking employment. The Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) provides a national forum for state administrators to study and act upon matters affecting the rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The outcome of this study helps make the case for additional funding.

CSAVR Executive Director, Carl Suter, said, "As our government reviews the effectiveness and value of federal programs, it's critical that a federal study has validated the Public VR Program. We are grateful to RSA for making the commitment to prove that Public VR works."

The final results of the study are expected to be released and evaluated over the next few months.