Connecticut Counseling Association

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as Amended

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as Amended (Rehab Act) is the federal law establishing the state-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) system.  The Rehabilitative Services Administration (RSA) has authority over state-federal VR programs, which serve more than one million eligible individuals, two-thirds of whom are severely disabled.  VR programs employ many professional rehabilitation counselors.  During the 1998 reauthorization and subsequent regulation period, ACA lobbied to strengthen standards for rehabilitation counselors, create more opportunities for professional development, and close loopholes in the system that allowed unqualified individuals to fill professional counselor positions.

The Rehab Act is scheduled for reauthorization in 2003.  Over the last few months, RSA has been holding public field hearings across the country to gather information, comments, concerns, and recommendations for the reauthorization of the Rehab Act.  In May, leaders from the Alliance for Rehabilitation Counseling, comprised ACA, ARCA, and NRCA (National Rehabilitation Counseling Association, a division of the National Rehabilitation Association), met with the RSA Commissioner to discuss the reauthorization of the Rehab Act.   In June, ACA testified at a public hearing held in Washington, D.C. on the reauthorization.

 
ACA will work with the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, the Alliance of Rehabilitation Counseling, and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation on this issue.  ACA will develop specific recommendations for language on the reauthorization of the Rehab Act by early next year, to help lay the groundwork for consideration of the legislation later in the 108th Congress.