Benefits of vocational rehabilitation

Thousands of American men came home from World War I blinded by exposure to mustard gas or with limbs lost in the trenches to enemy fire. Our nation realized these veterans, although disabled, could still lead productive and successful lives if given the necessary support and training.

So Congress created a federal program called Public Vocational Rehabilitation — VR for short.

Today a number of American men and women serving in Iraq are returning home, like those before them, with combat-related disabilities. Thanks to VR and its sister program at the Veterans Administration, our sons and daughters wounded overseas can be assured they will be able to continue working in civilian life in the same way that they faithfully served in our armed forces.

These veterans join millions of other Americans with disabilities. The vast majority are people ready to work and be contributing members of their communities. As a disabled veteran, I have seen the enormous contribution that individuals with disabilities make when given a chance.

They are people like Tom Gordon, a truck driver whose career ended when he lost the use of his right arm in an accident. Tom was able, with VR assistance, to open his own contracting business. Or Laurie Pederson — a high school dropout who suffered from degenerative disc disease — who now owns her own law practice. There was even one woman whose life was so profoundly changed by the program that she made VR a beneficiary in her will.

These are just a few of the more than 14 million people who have been helped by the VR program. Last year it placed 222,000 Americans with disabilities in productive jobs — jobs where they earn wages, pay taxes, and add to the productivity and resilience of our economy. In fact, the taxes they pay cover the cost of their services in just two to four years. Last year, they earned $3.5 billion in wages and paid $1 billion in taxes. This is no small economic contribution.

To do this important job, VR provides prostheses, college education, vocational training, job placement and various support services to a broad range of disabled Americans, as well as assistance to cognitively impaired individuals. All this is done through a community-based network that allows the program to assist an often hard-to-reach population.

And this strategy pays big dividends. More than two-thirds of young adults who receive services successfully enter the work force, significantly reducing their need for long-term public assistance programs such as welfare and food stamps.

No wonder the White House budget office rates VR as one of the government’s most effective programs in meeting its goals. Yet, today VR only has funds to serve around 10 percent of the eligible population, and some states have long waiting lists.

The facts show the VR program not only benefits its participants. It also is a cost-effective way to assure America retains a talented and expanding labor pool that can contribute to all of society. Vocational Rehabilitation represents a critical part of what we pride ourselves on as a great nation: opportunity for all.

Robert Dole, former Senate majority leader from Kansas, 1996 Republican candidate for president and disabled World War II veteran, is special counsel at Alston & Bird LLP law firm, which represents the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation.