1,429 Applicants With Severe Disabilities To Get Critical Vocational Rehabilitation And Employment Services

OKLAHOMA CITY — Mike O’Brien, Ed.D., the new director of the state Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), reopened vocational rehabilitation and employment services on Jan. 13 for 1,429 applicants on a waiting list for those whose disabilities are significant barriers to employment.

O’Brien identified sufficient funds to pay for services to clients placed on a waiting list from Jan. 19, 2007 through Nov. 1, 2008. Services will continue to be deferred for those who applied since Nov. 2 until funds are identified to cover the cost of their services.

After a one-year wait on the waiting list, staff expect some applicants will be unavailable or no longer able to participate. If this is the case, additional funding may be available for those who remain on the list.

According to O’Brien, “The federal Rehabilitation Act, which governs our vocational rehabilitation and employment programs, does not permit agencies to cap or limit services needed by current clients in order to go to work. Instead, we must control costs by delaying assistance to new applicants who are placed in three categories based on the significance of their disabilities.”

When delays are required, services continue for those who are already agency clients in order to help them go to work as soon as possible. Only new applicants are placed on waiting lists as a cost control measure under the provisions of the federal law.

“The very last thing we want to do is delay services to Oklahomans with severe disabilities who need our help to go to work and become taxpayers,” O’Brien said. “DRS is required under state law to maintain a balanced budget, which has meant absorbing inflationary increases in client goods and services. As a result, we are sometimes forced with regret to put people in a holding pattern who could be successful at going to work if DRS just had enough funds to help them.”

From Feb. 11, 2007 until Sept. 15, 2008, DRS’ divisions of Vocational Rehabilitation and Visual Services completely closed services to new applicants in all three categories because funds were not available to pay for their services.

On Sept. 16, 2008, the agency reopened services for applicants in the first category with the most significant barriers to employment.

The partial reopening on Jan. 13, 2009 affected clients in a second category for those who face less significant work-related issues.

Applicants in a third category whose disabilities are not significant will remain on waiting lists at this time. If additional funding becomes available, these individuals will receive assistance based on the severity of their disabilities and the dates of applications.

Taxpayers invest $9,306 to rehabilitate DRS’ average vocational rehabilitation client, who typically repays that investment during the first three years of employment by contributing an average of $3,038 in state and federal taxes each year.

According to O’Brien, vocational rehabilitation programs are “a great deal for the state.”

In spite of waiting lists, DRS helped 2,246 vocational rehabilitation clients with disabilities become employed in 2008 with average wages of $20,250 per year. As a result, this group paid $6.8 million in income taxes and earned more than $45.6 million in wages, enabling them to contribute to economic growth and generate sales tax revenue in their communities.

“When we help Oklahomans with disabilities go to work, their success saves other state and federal agencies money previously spent on disability checks, medical services and social assistance,” O’Brien said. “In addition, the federal government gives the state of Oklahoma four federal match dollars for every state dollar contributed to vocational rehabilitation programs.

"This high match level is an indication that the federal government believes in vocational rehabilitation's ability to transform lives," O'Brien said.

For more information about the state Department of Rehabilitation Services, visit DRS Online at www.okdrs.gov  or phone 1-800-845-8476. The number is accessible by telecommunications equipment for the deaf.

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