Disability Agency Director Reopens Employment Services To Hundreds Of Oklahomans With Disabilities

OKLA. CITY – Hundreds of job-seeking Oklahomans with disabilities began receiving vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance when Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) Director Mike O’Brien, Ed.D., reopened services on May 18 to those on a waiting list since Jan. 2007.

The agency’s efforts to control expenditures provided the funding required to open the waiting list. However, $7.6 million in one-time stimulus funding through the “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” is expected to keep services open for all eligible Oklahomans for the next 12-15 months.

“The federal Rehabilitation Act, which governs our vocational rehabilitation and employment programs, requires us to control costs by delaying assistance to new applicants who are placed in three categories based on the significance of their disabilities,” Mike O’Brien said. “When we don’t have enough funds to serve everyone, the act requires that we serve those with the most significant disabilities on a priority basis because they need the most help with employment.”

At the time the waiting list opened on May 18, DRS was serving 12,442 clients with more significant barriers to employment and others who had employment plans in place when the waiting list began.

The group of 440 eligible applicants with disabilities categorized as less significant had to wait until funds were available to pay for their services.

“Reopening services to those on the waiting list is bringing people to our doors that our staff has wanted to help for a long time – individuals who generally need fewer services over a shorter period of time in order to successfully go to work because their disabilities are less severe.”

The state earns four federal match dollars for every state dollar appropriated for vocational rehabilitation and employment. The high match is an indication of strong federal support, allowing DRS to generate revenue by qualifying for federal funds that would otherwise go to other states.

“Our immediate goal is faster turnaround on job placement,” O’Brien said, but economic stimulus dollars will allow us to put money directly in the hands of local employers and non-profits, who will provide on-the-job training and permanent employment to Oklahomans with disabilities across the state.

“The first group of 440 from the waiting list is just the beginning,” O’Brien explained. “We expect many more individuals to apply for vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance now that the services are open again to everyone who qualifies.”

In 2008, DRS’ Vocational Rehabilitation and Visual Services divisions provided counseling, medical and psychological services, job training and other individualized services to 12,500 Oklahomans whose disabilities make it difficult to work. Federal reports show that 2,246 became employed and no longer needed DRS services. These individuals collectively earned $45.5 million and paid $6.8 million in taxes last year.

For more information about DRS services, visit www.okdrs.gov  or phone 800-845-8476.

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