Some of the preliminary data regarding the rehabilitation of SSI and SSDI beneficiaries may be of interest to you. These data show that 28 percent of all active VR clients are SSDI and SSI beneficiaries who have been receiving benefits for an average of 55 months and include recipients who have initiated contact with the VR program or who have self-referred. Beneficiaries entered the VR system far more often through self-referral, community health and rehabilitation programs, and schools. One implication of these data is that a majority of beneficiaries who elect to enter the vocational rehabilitation system do so after a period of receiving SSA benefits, rather than concurrent with the initiation of the receipt of benefits. The data also show some significant differences between the SSA beneficiary population and the general population served by the VR program.
Beneficiaries tend to have higher percentages of some severe disabilities.
These include higher percentages of visual disabilities, severe mental illness, mental retardation, and prelingual deafness. One result of the more severe disability mix is higher cost of services. The Department is committed to closely monitoring program outcomes to improve performance and is also in the process of developing evaluation standards and performance indicators for the VR program in order to improve program performance. The 1992 amendments to the Rehabilitation Act made a number of important changes to the VR State Grants program that will enhance employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. For example, the amendments modified the criteria for determining eligibility for services to streamline the process and set forth the policy that individuals with disabilities are to be active participants in their own rehabilitation programs.