American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation

1
American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation

• Historical Overview of Tribal Vocational
  Rehabilitation

2
Social Service Systems

• Grapples with uniqueness of American Indian
  Communities historically and today
• Most Social Service staff dont know
• There are over 339 Federally Recognized Tribes
• 227 of the 339 are in Alaska
• 60 of the 339 are State Recognized Tribes

3
Social Service System cont

• Complicating services to Indian People
• Distinct Cultures
• Distinct Languages (around 250 spoken today)

4
Historical Efforts of Service Provision

• 1947 Office of VR and the BIA signed Cooperative
  Relationship Memorandum 21
• Resolved to focus efforts to serve Indians with
  disabilities
• Report notes, there is a very limited chronicle
  of integration of vocational rehabilitation
  services by the Tribal or Federal service
  agencies.

5
1978 Annual Report of the Dept. of
Education-Rehabilitation Program summary

• The greatest problem that face VR in the effort
  to improve services to Native Americans are ones
  that relate more to the potential clients status
  as an American Indian than to disability status.
  The Indian population on reservations, including
  the disabled population, is not conveniently
  located for easy participation in general Federal
  and State programs they are usually dispersed in
  large rural areas. If there is a single,
  important step that RSA should consider in order
  to improve VR services to Native Americans, that
  step is developing ways to take VR to the
  reservation Indians. It is not likely that they
  will or even can come to VR in significant
  numbers.

6
What did American Indian VR look like in the
1980s?

• The American Indian and Alaska Native people are
  the most underserved, misrepresented, and unknown
  population that require assistance in achieving
  employment and independence Richard W.
  Corbridge, Assistant Commissioner, Region X RSA
• American Indians have one of the highest
  disability profiles in the country, yet have been
  identified as unserved and underserved by State
  Vocational Rehabilitation systems.

7
Landmark Year for Tribal VR 1975

• Arizona Division of VR funded a 3 year
  establishment grant to the Navajo Nation to begin
  serving tribal members with disabilities on the
  reservation
• 1978 tri-state grant entered into by Arizona,
  New Mexico, and Utah VR systems to fund Navajo to
  continue servicing cases during 1975 1978.

8
1978 Rehab Act Reauthorization

• Section 130 was written into Title I, which
  provided for American Indian projects to serve
  Indian people on reservations
• However, no mechanism was identified to fund the
  programs
• The Navajo Nation spearheaded movement to include
  funding mandate to the Act and succeeded about
  1983.

9
The First Tribal VR Program

• The Navajo Nation applied for and received the
  first Section 130 Funding
• They received 650,000
• They were the only Tribal VR Program until about
  1985
• Achievement came more than 40 years after the
  1947 memorandum

10
Tribal VR today

• Today there are 69 federally funded Tribal VR
  programs in 23 states and 1 Tribally funded
  program in North Carolina
• Funding increased from 650,000 annually to
  23,998,000 annually

11
Tribal VR Today cont

• FY 2003, Tribal VR successfully rehabilitated
  1,452 American Indians with Disabilities
• Reason for success Many of the services were
  provided by American Indians originating from the
  community who understand the culture, speak the
  language, and know the resources

12
1998 Rehab Act Amendments

• Required cooperative agreements between Tribal
  and State VR programs
• SRCs and SILCs were required to have Tribal VR
  representation
• Consortia of Administrator for Native American
  Rehabilitation pushed through 20 out of 22
  recommended amendments

13
Indian Issues and Challenges?

• Still the same as 1978
• Poverty
• Rural and Remote Communities
• High Unemployment Rates
• High rates of disabling conditions
• Cancer, Heart Disease, Substance/Alcohol
  Dependence, Learning Disabilities, TBI