The New York State Rehabilitation Association offers these comments in conjunction with its Vocational Rehabilitation Policy Division representing 140 community rehabilitation agencies, which share a vision of employment success for people with disabilities. The proposed rulemaking offers a change in the definition of employment outcomes that may negatively impact and or deny access to the VR system a large group of people with severe disabilities. People with disabilities and their families must be able to make decisions concerning vocational opportunities based on informed choice and the broadest possible range of options. For people with severe disabilities, choices reflecting movement toward greater independence and community integration can take place through many experiences over time.
Extended employment can provide opportunities for many people with limited work experience.
Programs today, sometimes referred to as work centers, foster ability in people. These programs offer people the opportunity to develop vocational goals and marketable skills and assist them to work in the community while other attendant services are provided. In New York State, the rehabilitation field has made dramatic changes over the last twenty years. Consumer choice, community options, and employment specific training are part of the continuum of services provided to people in extended employment. The rehabilitation field has flexed and is embracing the new workforce development initiatives on the federal level, while keeping our focus on the best interests of the individuals with disabilities whom will be most affected by these new programs.