New Leadership for a New Era
Robert R. Davila
Former Assistant Secretary
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
U.S. Department of Education
Abstract
President Bush's signing (October, 1992) of the Reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 entailed extensive revision of the regulations affecting many programs of the original Act. Work groups played an active role in finalizing specific aspects of the law. The author strongly urges disability advocates to play an active role in the revision process by: 1) regularly consulting the daily editions of the Federal Register to learn the status of proposed legislation, 2) sending in comments and proposals to various work groups, and 3) alerting groups likely to be affected by the proposed legislation and urging similar action by their constituents. The Rehabilitation Act of 1992 is only one in a cluster of legislation offering widening vistas for Americans with disabilities, two others being the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the Technology- Related Assistance of Individuals with Disabilities Act.
In October of 1992, I had the honor and privilege of representing the United States before the General Assembly of the United Nations in the session concluding the U.N. Decade for Disabled Persons. We Americans have much to be proud of. In the past decade, we have enacted landmark civil rights legislation for individuals with disabilities. We have reauthorized the major programs that provide services to millions of children and adults with disabilities to enable them to lead productive, satisfying lives. During a decade of government cutbacks, we have continued to increase appropriations for research, technical assistance, and personnel preparation to support services for individuals with disabilities. I was pleased to be able to point to a record that all Americans can be proud of. These achievements reflect our proudest traditions and our ongoing commitment to full participation for all citizens.
My presence before the United Nations sent an even stronger message. I am a Hispanic who has been deaf since the age of eight. As I spoke, the whole world learned that individuals with disabilities from minority backgrounds can have a leadership role if they have the skills, knowledge, and ability. Furthermore, that is why all of us are here today. The legislation has been enacted. The regulations have been implemented. Our institutions are ready. It is up to us, people with disabilities from all backgrounds, to ensure that our concerns get on the national agenda, that we receive our share of resources, and that every one of us acquires the skills and knowledge we need to succeed.
Today, you will have the opportunity to learn how to participate in the discretionary programs supported by my office. I cannot overstate the importance of your participation in these programs. I am not speaking simply of the availability of funding, although funding is very important, of course. I am speaking of something more. Everyone of you here today is involved in the system of service delivery for individuals with disabilities. You already have some influence on the system, but you can direct it. As a researcher or provider, you can help to shape the research and training agenda, and make it more responsive to your concerns if you compete effectively for funds or you have a role in the selection of projects to be funded. As a consumer, you can have services that address your needs if you can work with researchers and service providers to enable them to respond to your needs effectively. Family members also have an important role to play.
The special education and rehabilitation laws include mandates to ensure the participation of individuals from minority backgrounds and institutions. But these mandates are meaningless unless you participate. Whether you are a consumer, a provider, or both, you need to ensure that the entire system of service delivery reflects the needs and concerns of all people with disabilities, including people from minority backgrounds. Conferences like, "New Leadership for a New Era" provide the basics, and I encourage you to share the insights you receive here with your colleagues and associates. As Assistant Secretary, I am committed to ensuring that the federal government will continue to be your partner as we work together to break down barriers, to facilitate increased collaboration among service providers, and to make sure that all individuals with disabilities have access to high quality services that meet their needs.
As you may know, President Bush signed the Reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act, October 30, 1992. The amendments promise sweeping changes in state vocational rehabilitation programs, centers for independent living, and some of the discretionary programs. Because of the reauthorization, the impending regulations are undergoing what will probably be the most extensive revision since the Act was passed in 1973. The U.S. Department Education has put together work groups that will tackle the new requirements one by one. As they complete each major section of regulations, the work groups will publish their proposals in the Federal Register, the daily journal that records federal government activity. What does this mean for you? Very simply, it means an unprecedented opportunity to get your views, your concerns, and your interests considered as we implement this important statute. Under the law, comments from the public must be addressed by the federal officials drafting the regulations. I can assure you, responding to public comment is taken seriously by everyone involved, and changes to the regulations are frequently made because of input from the public. Your opinion will be considered. It is an opportunity that you cannot afford to let pass. I encourage you to make sure that you, your organizations, and especially your leadership groups, keep up with the proposed regulations and send us your comments and recommendations.
Let me touch on some of the new provisions of the Rehabilitation Act. First, the Act provides new emphasis on consumer choice. For example, one new requirement specifies that people with disabilities, the consumers, must have a role in choosing their vocational rehabilitation services and providers. We will be especially interested in your comments on how this provision should be implemented. We will furnish vouchers to individuals who are eligible for vocational rehabilitation (VR) services. The individual will then be able to take the voucher to the rehabilitation provider of his or her choosing. You will have the opportunity to comment on the project selection criteria and the types of projects that should be funded under this program when the Department of Education publishes the notices in the Federal Register. I urge you, let us know how we can make these projects more responsive to your needs and concerns.
The Rehabilitation Act contains new requirements for more active participation by consumers in their Individualized Written Rehabilitation Plans (IWRPs). Under the Act, the IWRP must be "jointly developed, agreed upon, and signed" by the counselor and the person with a disability. Although there will be no consumer "veto," this provision will give the person with a disability more leverage in the decisions affecting the provision of VR services. In addition, each IWRP will have to contain evidence that the client/consumer actively participated in the process. These consumer choice requirements are complemented by provisions that will require more emphasis on higher quality and longer- lasting rehabilitation outcomes: careers, not just jobs. Your views on how to carry out these requirements will be invaluable as the Department of Education develops regulations in this area.
Under the Act, the Department of Education will be re-examining the entire independent living program. For example, the Act authorizes the creation of state independent living advisory councils that will have a broad mandate to advise VR agencies on a range of issues of interest to the individuals with disabilities in that state. The councils must be broadly representative and include a consumer majority. The councils have the potential of providing a direct avenue for consumer input into the administration of this consumer-oriented program, but they cannot be effective without your involvement. Share your comments with us when the proposed regulations are published in the Federal Register, and get involved in your own state.
In addition to requiring more consumer choice, the Act increases accountability in VR programs and Independent Living Centers. Very simply, we want these programs to work, to maximize the ability of the consumer to lead a productive, fulfilling life in the workplace and the community. The Act contains legislative approval for a national longitudinal study that will track some 12,500 consumers through the rehabilitation system. As the results from that study come in over the next few years, we will be able to compare the outcomes for those individuals who received services and those who did not.
At the same time, the Department of Education will develop evaluation standards and indicators that will give us objective data on how VR programs and independent living centers are performing. We are breaking new ground in this area and we will need a broad range of informed comment to ensure that your interests, the interests of people with disabilities from many different backgrounds and geographical areas, are truly represented. These standards will be published over the next two years, and I hope that each one of you will review the proposals and advise us of ways we can strengthen our evaluation criteria.
I have spent much of my time here this morning discussing the Rehabilitation Act and how you can become involved in shaping the major programs supported under the Act. The Act can revitalize the VR and Independent Living programs and give them a needed boost as we enter the age of empowerment for individuals with disabilities. However, the Act is only a part of the picture. The Americans with Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act; to name just a few, also contain important rights and entitlements for individuals with disabilities, including individuals from minority backgrounds. Together, these statutes spell out the nation's commitment to empowering individuals with disabilities. It is up to you to understand your rights, tap into research and training competitions, and programs for self-development and self-advocacy, and work with other individuals from minority backgrounds to make these legislative pronouncements a reality. We in the federal government are your partners, and I look forward to working with you as we carry out our shared commitment to individuals with disabilities.
Hypertext formatting performed by Megan Dodson
Page last updated on March 20, 1997 by Mary Kaye Rubin