New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 1 - Executive Orders (Nelson A. Rockefeller) › Section 1.21 - Executive order no. 21: establishing a state program to provide job opportunities to the mentally retarded

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
New York State has long recognized that the mentally
					 retarded are members of society entitled to all of society's benefits and
					 privileges, as well as to the specialized services they need in order to become
					 all they are capable of being.
Today New York State is looking to a brighter future for
					 the retarded as increased efforts are being made at both the State and
					 community levels to see that each retarded individual is able to develop to the
					 fullest extent of his capacity.
New York State has been a leader in rehabilitating the
					 retarded into employment and placing them in jobs. However, much more remains
					 to be done. Many additional employment opportunities must be made available to
					 the retarded, for they are a hidden resource, frequently overlooked, of stable
					 and reliable manpower.
Through employment the retarded gain greater self-respect
					 and community well-being and acquire economic independence. Like all who are
					 handicapped, the retarded ask nothing more than an honest judgment of their
					 abilities--not rejection for their disabilities. Experience has demonstrated
					 that the mentally retarded are succeeding in being employed in those
					 occupations in which employers have the most difficulty retaining
					 workers.
Short of finding means to prevent all mental retardation,
					 nothing is more important than a major assault on the prejudices,
					 misconceptions and ignorance that so often bar the mentally retarded from
					 utilizing productively the abilities they do have.
Last June I requested that a careful study be conducted and
					 procedures be developed to give employment opportunities for the mentally
					 retarded in the State Civil Service system. Such employment, on the basis of
					 the abilities of the retarded to perform skillfully the duties required, will
					 lead the way and set an example for other public and private employers
					 throughout the State.
The Governor's Council on Rehabilitation, the
					 Interdepartmental Health and Hospital Council, and the Governor's Committee on
					 Employ the Handicapped, in cooperation with the Civil Service Department, have
					 completed this study and developed procedures to provide the maximum assurance
					 of successful employment opportunities for qualified retarded persons in State
					 service.
By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the
					 State of New York, and in order to promote greater employment opportunities for
					 the mentally retarded, I, Nelson A. Rockefeller, do hereby establish the
					 following procedures to be followed by all State departments and agencies for
					 employing qualified mentally retarded persons in the State Civil Service system
					 and hereby establish an annual Governor's Award to be given to the State
					 department or agency which shows outstanding effort and accomplishment in
					 employing mentally retarded:
1. The
				  Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the State Education Department shall
				  extend its comprehensive service program for all handicapped persons and serve
				  as the certifying agency for the employment of the retarded in many competitive
				  and labor category Civil Service positions and as such will administer the
				  major aspects of the program. The Division will:
a. maintain information about retarded
				  persons adequately trained and ready for employment;
b. evaluate the mentally retarded referred to
				  them for employment and certify those capable of performing the duties of
				  specific job vacancies;
c. evaluate
				  the specifications and working conditions upon being notified by a department
				  or agency of an appropriate job vacancy and refer one or more mentally retarded
				  workers to the department or agency certifying that the individual has--
the ability to perform the duties of the position,
the necessary physical qualifications,
the capacity to get to and from the job and maintain
					 regular attendance,
the skill to develop appropriate relationships with his
					 co-workers and supervisor, and,
provide other pertinent personnel data about the
					 individual's health, special aptitudes, interests, etc.;
d. make vocational rehabilitation counselors
				  available to an employing agency for consultation on placement and follow-up or
				  on any other aspect related to the adjustment of the retarded person to the job
				  as may be requested;
e. provide
				  rehabilitation services as may be needed for those retarded not ready for
				  employment but capable of profiting from such; and f. evaluate the
				  effectiveness of the program in conjunction with the Interdepartmental Health
				  and Hospital Council Committee on Mental Retardation.