Rehabilitation Legislation

Question 1

Provided federal funding to states on a matching basis for vocational education programs.

Answer 1

The Smith-Hughes act of 1917

Question 2

Authorized VR services for World War I veterans

Answer 2

The Soldier’s Rehabilitation Act of 1918

Question 3

Expanded rehabilitation services to civilians with physical disabilities

Answer 3

The Smith-Fess Act of 1920

Question 4

Made the state-federal VR program permanent

Answer 4

The Social Security Act of 1935

Question 5

Authorized people with blindness to operate vending stands in federal buildings (this is an example of specific legislation for individuals with blindness)

Answer 5

The Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936

Question 6

Required federal government agencies to purchase certain products manufactured by people who are blind

Answer 6

The Wagner-O’Day Act of 1938

Question 7

Expanded services to include people with mental disabilities. It also restablished the state-federal program for individuals with blindness

Answer 7

The Barden-LaFollette Act of 1943

Question 8

Provided funding to universities to train master’s level rehabilitation counselors resulted in the professionalization of the rehabilitation counseling profession

Answer 8

The Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1954

Question 9

Added extended evaluation to the VR process. State VR counselors have been permitted to extend the valuation of the employment potential of an applicant with a disability for up to 18 months.

Mandated an increase to $3 of federal funds for each state dollar. This 75:25 ratio was further increased by legislation in 1968 to 80:20. Today, the federal share is 78.7%, with the state providing the remaining 21.3%.

Answer 9

The Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendment of 1965

Question 10

Mandated services for people with the most severe disabilities.

Established the IWRP to ensure joint client-counselor involvement throughout the rehabilitation process.

Implements CAPs to provide assistance with application and advocacy services.

Established demonstration projects in independent living rehabilitation services.

Increased funding for rehabilitation and disability research and established the National Institute of handicapped Research

Mandated program evaluation and guaranteed employment rights of people with Disabilities Title V, which included sections covering the following: Section 501 (Affirmative Action in Federal Hiring), Section 502 (Enforcement of Accessibility Standards for Federal Buildings), Section 503 (Affirmative Action by Federal Contract Recipient), Section 504 (Equal Opportunities

Answer 10

The Rehabilitation act of 1973

Question 11

Mandated the provision of independent living rehabilitation services

Answer 11

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1978

Question 12

Mandated each state to have a CAP

Answer 12

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1984

Question 13

Added the provision of rehabilitation engineering services (the current term is assistive technology) and established supported employment as an acceptable goal for rehabilitation services.

Answer 13

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986

Question 14

Provided free, appropriate public education to students with disabilities. Schools are required to find and evaluate students suspected of having disabilities, at no cost to families; provide special education and related services to qualified students with disabilities to meet their unique needs; and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living

Answer 14

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990

Question 15

Provided the most comprehensive civil rights protections for people with disabilities to date. it was the most sweeping disability rights legislation in history.

Answer 15

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (fully implemented in 1992)

Question 16

Advanced the concepts of empowerment, self-determination, and informed choice at both individual and agency levels

Required state VR agencies to establish “qualified personnel” standards for rehabilitation counselors as mandated by the development of the CSPD within state VR agencies

CSPD established equalified personnel standards to ensure the quality of state-federal VR leading to an emphasis on master’s degree and counselor certification in the devlivery of VR services

Answer 16

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992

Question 17

Other highlights include the following:

• presumption of employability
• career-based job placement
• improving services to minority groups
• increased client involvement in the WRP
• establishment of rehabilitation advisory councils
• determining eligibility within 60 days of application
• order of selection
• use of existing data
• established federal share of the state-federal funding match at 78.7% (80% in the 1968 Rehabilitation Act)
• Provided rehabilitation engineering services
• Training of rehabilitation counselors from minority backgrounds

Answer 17

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992

Question 18

Provided federal venture capital grants to state and local agencies to help restructure educational systems and to establish school-to-work systems

provided specific funding for technical assistance, capacity building, outreach, and research and evaluation

Answer 18

The School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994

Question 19

Linked the state-federal VR program to the state’s workforce investment; consolidated several employment and training programs into a unified statewide workforce investment system through which customers can easily access employment information and services through a “one-stop” center. VR became a mandated partner

Answer 19

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998

Question 20

Replaced the IWRP with the IPE to emphasize the employment focus and to support the exercise of informed choice of the individual with a significant disability int he selection of employment oucomes, specific VR services, service providers, and the methods to procure the services

Established automatic eligibility for people already receiving SSI or SSDI benefits to streamline VR administrative procedures

Introduced a anew category of service, that is, the provision of technical assistance and consultation to individuals to pursue self-employment, telecommuting, or a small business oepration

Emphasized outreach to minorities and encouraged school-towork transition service provision to students with disabilities, including employment

Required the establishment of mediation policies and procedures to improve due process provisions

Answer 20

The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998

Question 21

Expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage for individuals with disabilities; established TWWIIA to offer those with a disability a “ticket” with which they could obtain VR services and support services from an employment network of their choice

Answer 21

Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act

Question 22

Required states to establish performance goals from students with disabilities that aligned with the goals of their peers without disabilities

Required schools to report the progress of students with disabilities on standardized testing and incorporated provisions or improving graduation rates and dropout rates

Answer 22

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004

Question 23

Revised definition of disability and broadened the scope of coverage for those who have a disability

Answer 23

Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008

Question 24

Introduced significant changes to Title I of the Rehabilitation Act, affecting the state–federal VR program, including replacing the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, amending the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and establishing an Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals With Disabilities

Requiring state VR agencies to set aside at least 15% of their federal funds to provide “pre-employment transition services” to “students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for VR services”

Emphasizing local labor market analysis, employer engagement, and customized training (e.g., apprenticeship, paid internships, and skills certification program)

Identifying primary performance indicators to measure employment outcomes across programs. Introducing significant changes to Title IV of the Rehabilitation Act governing the supported employment program, including allotment of significant funds (not less than 10% of youth funds) to support youth with the most significant disabilities to obtain competitive, integrated employment

Transferring several programs including the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services. The name National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has been changed to the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.

Answer 24

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 2014