Evan Wainwright is 38 years old. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He is also a wheelchair user due to cerebral palsy.
Wainwright sought help from the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency in order to find work. Unfortunately, his counselor “scoffed at his dream”, according to The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The counselor also ignored his requests for help for several months. Whenever he met a new counselor, they’d suggest that he update his resume. “It was just everyone passing my folder around,” he told The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
According to Wainwright, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency failed in its fundamental mission. He isn’t alone. Numerous disabled Georgians have experienced similar problems, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution examination of state and federal statistics. Former clients and counselors came to the same conclusion, as did a civil rights complaint filed by an advocacy group.
“It’s so broken right now, I don’t even know what it would take to fix it,” Cara Waiswilos, a former GVRA counselor said. She added “I’m not mad anymore, I’m heartbroken.”
Raw data from a federal agency paints a devastating picture: Fewer and fewer people who sought help through the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency found work. Those who found work were frequently placed into jobs as fast-food workers, janitors, stockers, and cashiers.
In reality, federal officials discovered that the GVRA did not “prioritize the employment rate” among its participants.” Nor did the organization do much to encourage people to pursue vocational training or attend college, according to a March study.
In recent years, Georgia has been among the lowest performing states in the country in terms of major employment indicators. From July 2021 to June 2022, Georgia had the lowest employment rate among program participants, at 21.5%. The following year, it improved marginally but remained among the country’s worst.
That comes as no surprise to disabled people and their families. From July 2019 to June 2022, the number of people seeking support from GVRA fell by approximately 50%. According to records, numerous employees have also left the agency.
Many former employees were faced with overwhelming caseloads. Unfortunately, this left the agency staffed with employees who often had limited expertise. The agency has also been forced to return tens of millions of dollars in government funds. Money that could have been used to assist disabled people living with a variety of diagnoses.
Vocational rehabilitation agencies nationwide are plagued with similar problems. Wendy Thompson of Queens, NY, always knew she wanted her son to attend college. Still, she had no idea how many people would disagree with her. Her son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth. In 2013, he received his high school diploma.
When Thompson met with a counselor from the local vocational rehabilitation office, the counselor refused to sign off on her son’s plan to attend community college. As a result, he would not receive voice-activated software, wheelchair-accessible transportation, or tuition assistance for which he was eligible under federal law.
In another instance, a VR counselor in Ohio believed that a woman with spina bifida could not handle college and turned down her request for assistance. She completed her associate’s degree. When she returned to the VR office to seek assistance for a bachelor’s degree, she was again denied assistance.
It took a lengthy appeal, but she eventually won. Subsequently, she received the help she needed. She graduated two years later and got a job as a social worker.
According to federal data, more than 800,000 disabled people who were eligible for services did not receive support between 2010 and 2014. Over a dozen states failed to offer services to more than 40% of qualified people.
Vocational rehabilitation agencies across the country struggle due to a lack of funding. After adjusting for inflation, federal funding for VR has decreased by 6% since 2009. In addition, 21 states did not provide enough state money in 2015 to receive the full amount of federal matching funds.
In 2018 I was a senior in high school. I began working with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. The counselor I met with was friendly and helpful.
Initially, the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission provided a tuition waiver as well as money for the commute to and from school. Westfield State University is approximately 50 minutes away from my home, so the gasoline stipend was helpful to offset the cost of higher education. Commuting approximately 88 miles round trip gets expensive.
At first, I had found their support to be beneficial. I was excited to see what sort of job supports they might be able to provide for me after finishing college. However, my counselor eventually moved to a different part of the office.
I was assigned a new counselor. I met with this new counselor once in person. I had hoped nothing would change.
I soon realized that trying to get in touch with anyone at the office was nearly impossible. I left messages and e-mails that went unanswered. It became frustrating trying to reach anybody. I finally gave up on trying to pursue services through the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission. I was very disappointed with my experience.
Vocational rehabilitation agencies are a fantastic concept. However, due to budget constraints and staff turnover, many people are unable to receive services. Disabled people miss out on all kinds of opportunities due to the bureaucratic nature of vocational rehabilitation agencies.
Sources:
Kolodner, Meredith. “Problems Plague Vocational Rehabilitation.” Disability Scoop, Disability Scoop, 21 Sept. 2016, https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2016/09/21/problems-plague-voc-rehab/22777/.
Landergan, Katherine. “How a ‘broken’ Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Failed Disabled People.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Cox Enterprises, 25 July 2024, http://www.ajc.com/news/investigations/how-a-broken-georgia-vocational-rehabilitation-agency-failed-disabled-people/ZY26EGBVPBHLPFLZOBGLT6KCXY/.