THE EASTER SEAL SOCIETY

The Rehabilitation Act of 1972 under consideration by this Subcommittee is of direct concern to Easter Seal Societies. For more than half a century, rehabilitation of the physically handicapped has been the primary goal of the National Easter Seal Society. Through our two thousand affiliated Societies, services were extended to 378,390 disabled children and adults in the past year. Easter Seal services include physical restoration, special education, vocational evaluation, training and adjustment, sheltered employment, camping and recreation, information, referral, follow-up, transportation and equipment loan. These services are provided to any handicapped child or adult whose potential for self-realization and independence can be enhanced. diagnostic label, age and economic status are not considerations.

PARTNERSHIP PUBLIC AND VOLUNTARY EFFORT

Cause,

A creative partnership between governmental and voluntary rehabilitation agencies has achieved substantial progress in the nation's rehabilitation program. Major resources for the governmental agencies are the community rehabilitation centers. Planned, developed, directed by local volunteers and staffed by skilled professionals, these rehabilitation centers supply needed services to clients of the state vocational rehabilitation agencies as well as other public agencies and the community at large. Fees for clients' services, grants for construction and initial staffing, for expanding services and upgrading professional staff, and for technical assistance to enhance management skills have been provided through the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. This productive coalescence of public and voluntary programs deserves

continued support.

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CURRENT PROBLEM

Today, many community rehabilitation centers are experiencing a crisis crisis of underutilization created by inadequate funding. A recent survey

a

indicates that one-third of our Easter Seal rehabilitation facilities are operating at 60% capacity and that three-quarters of these facilities receive less than 50% of their operating expenditures from fees for services. Easter Seals' experience

is not unique.

With the community rehabilitation centers operating at their highest level of competence, a reservoir of professional skill lies untapped for lack of funding for rehabilitation services. More importantly, there are an estimated five million Americans who can benefit from rehabilitation services. Americans who with

appropriate services can regain some measure of self-worth if not total selfsufficiency. Public and voluntary agencies can respond only if the existing rehabilitation program is strengthened and expanded. The proposed legislation will not solve the problem, immediately, but can provide the vehicle which can set the direction for the future.

PROPOSED LEGISLATION

The President, in his State of the Union message, said "I am presenting only vital programs which are within the capacity of this Congress to enact, within the capacity of the budget to finance, and which I believe should be above partisanship programs which deal with urgent priorities for the nation--" The proposed Rehabilitation Act of 1972, in our view, is a priority. The National Easter Seal Society strongly supports the purposes and intent of the Rehabilitation Act of 1972 - HR-8395.

we are in accord with the following provisions of HR 8395:

The Increased emphasis upon rehabilitation services for the severely

handicapped in the basic program, Title 1. The more severely

handicapped due to the pressures to serve others have been
neglected by the vocational rehabilitation program and more

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recently the extension of service to the socially disadvantaged has reduced the services available to the physically handicapped.

The addition of follow-up follow-along, and other part-employment services necessary to assist the handicapped to maintain employment and to secure services from other agencies. Such services are essential to the successful placement of the physically handicapped and will increase the potential for sustained employment.

Establishment of a program of grants to states and to initiate or expand services, Incorporating and broadening the expansion grant concept in section 4(a) (2) of the present Act.

Authorization of appropriations under Title II for vocational evaluation and work adjustment, a program in the current law but one which has never been funded.

The establishment of a new Title III

Severely Handicapped.

Improved ability to live independently is an

appropriate goal for the severely handicapped and an important first step in economic self-sufficiency. The ability of the state rehabilitation agency to serve these severely handicapped persons with their highly individualized needs is significantly increased through Title 111.

The authorization of the Secretary to conduct research studies Investigations, demonstrations and evaluation-programs and the specific mention of architectural, transportation, and other environmental and attitudinal barriers in the listing of problems appropriate for the Secretary to support.

The establishment of a "National Information and Resource Center"
which would centralize and facilitate the collection and dissemina-
tlon on needs, problems, and resources for handicapped persons.
Lack of centralized information remains a basic deterrent to
effective utilization. Knowledge of resources is essential to
planning use of existing services and to identify gaps in services.
The National Easter Seal Society has operated an Informational
and educational materials center on rehabilitation since 1923.
Although the services provided are below the scope demanded by
the Act, the demands placed on these limited services would indicate
that there is a real need.

The establishment of a "National Commission on Transportation and Housing for the Handicapped" which would consider, among other matters, how travel expenses in connection with transportation to and from work for handicapped Individuals can be met or subsidized when such individuals are unable to use mass transportation. Two major deterrents to the use of public transportation by the handicapped are the inaccessibility of the vehicle itself and the inability to get to and from transit stops.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS

The National Easter Seal Society endorses the following amendments and strongly supports their inclusion in the Rehabilitation Act. These amendments would provide:

Increased appropriation authority for Title 11 to $50 million for

fiscal year 1973, $80 million in 1974, and $100 million in 1975.

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Evaluation, development and achievement of a realistic rehabilitation
goal for a severely disabled person requires the skills of many
professionals for extended periods. A complex array of services must
be available to the severely handicapped and their highly individual
needs met through provision of compassionate, competent and sustained
service. Such services are available and their use with the
severely handicapped should not be limited by funding.

Increased appropriations for contracts and grants for facility construction and improvement to $60 million for fiscal 1973, $70 million for 1974 and $80 million for 1975. Such increases would bring the authorization to the present level and reflect more accurately the rehabilitation facility needs.

Extension of the mortgage insurance program to all rehabilitation
facilities rather than limit such coverage to new facilities.

Elimination of the limit on the principal amount which could be
Insured under the mortgage insurance program and provide coverage
for 100% of the project cost.

Provision for use of grant and loan program together without

duplication.

We would like to call your attention to the plight of the severely disabled Individual who is homebound. Although the proposed legislation provides for a significant increase in services to the severely handicapped, we would ask specific mention and special provision for the services to the homebound disabled. A recent national survey of state and local rehabilitation agencies, completed by the Programmatic Research Project, funded by Social Rehabilitation Services found that only twenty-five agencies actively offer systematic services to the homebound.