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Occupations of Persons Rehabilitated

The great variety of people and the different handicaps represented in the group of rehabilitated disabled indicates that they must engage in many different occupations. A study of 6,097 rehabilitated persons employed in 1924 revealed that they were working at 628 different types of jobs. High-grade positions demanding ability and experience, as well as other types of employments, were being filled by disabled persons. The study showed conclusively that the rehabilitation service was not limited to workers in the unskilled occupations.

CHAPTER V

ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND FISCAL ASPECTS

It was suggested in an earlier chapter of this study that economic and humanitarian considerations were important in the promotion of vocational rehabilitation legislation. In all discussions of the service the economic aspect has been regarded as of primary significance. This chapter summarizes the appropriations and expenditures for vocational rehabilitation service, discusses its economic and social values, and indicates the pressures for a more extensive program.

Economic and Social Values

The most recent data on the effects of the rehabilitation service upon its beneficiaries were collected 11 years ago. In 1927 a survey was made by the Federal Board for Vocational Education, assisted by the State staffs, to determine the effectiveness and permanency of the rehabilitation service provided during the first four years of the national program (1920-24). Data were obtained on 6,391 individuals through personal contacts.

The economic benefits derived from the service are illustrated in part by Table 8. More than half of the rehabilitated persons earned nothing in the period between disablement and rehabilitation; the final weekly wage at the time of leaving the rehabilitation job, or the weekly wage at the time of interview for those persons who were still employed in the rehabilitation job (1927), was $15 or more for approximately 75 percent of the persons and $25 or more for approximately 40 percent of the persons. No information was available for 13 percent. The rehabilitation service has restored many disabled persons to their former economic status. Moreover, in many cases their economic status has been improved materially over that attained prior to disablement.

It should be said, however, that the value of the rehabilitation service to individuals cannot be measured solely in terms of dollars and cents. The restoration of their selfrespect, confidence, and independence represents the values that are perhaps more significant than economic values. Vocational rehabilitation gives the disabled an opportunity to share in the productive work of the Nation. Through the reestablishment of their economic independence their morale is restored, their citizenship improved, and their acquired skills and manpower conserved.

TABLE 8.-Percentage distribution of 6,391 persons rehabilitated, 1920– 24, by wages received prior to disability and at various subsequent stages not later than 1927 1

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1 Data from A Study of Rehabilitated Persons, Federal Board for Vocational Education Bulletin No. 132 (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1928), pp. 26, 27, and 31.

Funds and Requirements

Under the Social Security Act the fund authorized to be appropriated annually after June 30, 1937, for vocational rehabilitation is $1,938,000. Of the sum appropriated annually, $5,000 is allocated to the Territory of Hawaii, and the remainder is apportioned among the several States in the proportion which their populations bear to the total population of all the States, according to the last preceding United States census. The minimum allotment to a State is $10,000. The Couzens amendment to the original Voca

tional Rehabilitation Act, adopted in 1930, provides that such portions of the sums allocated as will not be used in any fiscal year may be divided proportionately among the States which are prepared through available State funds to use the additional Federal funds that year. Under special legislation additional amounts are appropriated annually for Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.

The Federal Act provides for the matching of Federal funds by the States, but does not specify the source of the matching funds. It merely requires that "there shall be expended in the State" an amount equal to the Federal monies expended, and this provision is construed by the Office of Education to include appropriations by the State; district, county, and city funds; and gifts or donations. It is held that expenditures of funds by a local agency, private or public, for rehabilitation under the Federal Act may be matched against expenditures from Federal funds if (1) the local agency cooperates with the State board under an agreement approved by the Federal Office, (2) the expenditures are for purposes covered by the Federal Act and policies, (3) the expenditures are made under the supervision and control of the State board, and (4) the State board assumes complete responsibility for the rehabilitation work of the local agency and supervises and controls its operations. Gifts and donations may be used to match expenditures for Federal allotments, provided they are deposited with the State treasurer to the credit of the State board for vocational education and are expended by the State board for purposes covered by the Federal Act and policies. The practice of accepting a contribution from a person or an agency to be used in part to defray the cost of rehabilitating a particular individual is not regarded as consistent with Federal policy. Discounts given by training agencies, appliance makers, or other agencies cannot be treated as gifts to be matched by expenditures from Federal funds.

General expenditures for rehabilitation from Federal and matching funds may be made for the following items: (1) Salaries of supervisors, directors, or vocational rehabilitation agents and other employees, (2) travel of employees,

(3) communication, (4) printing, (5) supplies, and (6) other administrative expenses, such as publicity and research. Funds may also be used for the payment of tuition to educational institutions, industrial and commercial establishments, tutors, and correspondence schools. Instructional materials and supplies may be purchased with Federal or matched funds provided they are not customarily furnished by the institution and included in the cost of tuition. Federal or matched funds may be used to purchase appliances, but only when the appliances are essential to the vocational rehabilitation of the individual. In the opinion of the Office of Education, Federal or matched funds may be used for railroad or other transportation expenses of persons who are approved or who are being considered for rehabilitation. Federal and matching funds may not be applied, directly or indirectly, to the purchase, preservation, erection, or repair of any building or buildings or equipment, or for the purchase or rental of any lands.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Act authorizes and empowers the Office of Education to receive gifts and donations from public or private sources when they are offered unconditionally, but to date no such gifts or donations have been received. The Act provides that gifts or donations must be paid into the United States Treasury, where they shall constitute a permanent fund to be called the Special Fund for Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons. They are to be used under direction of the Office of Education for rehabilitation of special cases, including payment of necessary expenses of persons undergoing training. No discrimination may be made as to the beneficiaries of the Act because of membership or nonmembership in any industrial, fraternal, or private organization, under penalty of a fine of $200 for each violation. A full report of donors, amounts of gifts of each, and disbursements must be submitted annually to Congress.

Federal Appropriations

The appropriations made by Congress for vocational rehabilitation of the physically disabled for the fiscal years 1921 to 1938 total $18,848,573. (See Table 9.)

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