Handicapped farm family members are referred to appropriate agencies for training, rehabilitation, and employment. Since most handicapped persons prefer to continue previous work if possible, local county extension agents have assisted in changing agricultural or home practices to adapt to the needs of the handicapped. An example is the energy-saving kitchen for housewives with heart trouble or confined to wheelchairs. Veterans' Administration The mentally restored.-During the year, 32,000 former mental patients were placed in jobs or were trained for jobs. Forty-six VA hospitals have developed therapeutic inhospital work programs for patients. These programs introduce patients to the world of work so that when they are ready for discharge they also will be ready for jobs. At the VA hospital in Bedford, Mass., 14 ex-mental patients have been hired by the Internal Revenue Service Processing Center under the Government's 700hour program. At the VA hospital in Brecksville, Ohio, the Counseling Psychology Service and Ohio State Employment Service have joined forces to place former mental patients. Of those who have applied for jobs, 75 percent have been placed. At the VA hospital in Minneapolis, Minn., a followup study of 100 exmental patients revealed that at the end of 1 year out of the hospital, 80 percent were working or were training for work. Homebound veterans.-"To Work Again-To Live Again," a compilation of case histories of homebound veterans, was published during the year. Subjects covered: how seriously disabled veterans have been motivated to attempt rehabilitation at home; how community resources have been mobilized to help them; how tailormade training has been developed; how rehabilitated veterans have been able to establish businesses operated from home. Prosthetic and sensory aids.-Nearly 450,000 disabled veterans receive prosthetic appliances and repair services each year from the VA. New prosthetic devices developed through VA's Prosthetic and Sensory Aids Service include hydraulic knee mechanisms for above-knee artificial legs, lightweight below-knee legs which can be worn for long periods of time with no discomfort, custom-made outer footwear permitting orthopedic shoe wearers to be outdoors in all kinds of weather. The blind. The rehabilitation section for visually impaired and blinded veterans at the Hines, Ill., VA hopsital is in its 18th year of operation. This program has opened many new vistas to the blind. For example, a surgeon, after blindness, began taking a residency in psychiatry; blinded lawyers are in general practice, on the bench and in administrative law; there are blinded social workers and public school teachers; other occupations followed by the rehabilitated blind include data programers, auto repairmen, chiropractors, chemists, stock farmers, businessmen, industrial workers. The deaf. During the past year, VA provided hearing aids to more than 5,000 veterans. It also taught more than 1,000 laryngectomized patients to speak again by means of esophageal speech. More than 3,500 aphasic veterans received language instruction. Public information.—As in past years, VA's Information Service handled radioTV promotion for "National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week 1965." This included preparation and distribution of special spot announcements and program materials to all stations in the United States, as well as inclusion of "Hire the Handicapped" messages in VA's weekly radio programs. More than $1 million of public-service time was donated by radio and TV stations to the NEPH Week campaign. Employment.-Handicapped employees make up nearly 9 percent of VA's total work force. Of the 13,000 handicapped men and women on the payroll, more that 1,200 earned grade promotions during the year; 225 were awarded quality performance salary increases; nearly 200 won awards for suggestions; 683 received commendations and citations for outstanding service. Civil Service Commission Handicapped placements in the Federal Government have risen from 2,500 in 1957 to more than 9,000 in 1964. Percentagewise, handicapped accessions went from 0.54 percent in 1957 to 2.10 percent in 1964. Placements for the first 7 months of 1965 have been running ahead of those for a similar period in 1964. Employment of the mentally retarded continued as the main program emphasis in 1965. More than 800 retarded men and women are employed by 39 agencies. Earlier in the program, most placements were being made in Washington, D.C., with relatively few in the field. Today, 61 percent of placements are outside of Washington, demonstrating that the program has been gaining national momentum. Highlights of reports from Civil Service regional offices, giving a national picture of Government activities in employment of the handicapped : Atlanta. Seven conferences for coordinators have been held in recent months. More than 200 attended, representing 110 Federal installations. Two sets of 35millimeter slides on employment of the retarded have been shown to various Federal groups in the area. Boston.-A number of New England States have held meetings for coordinators, stressing employment of the mentally retarded. The Federal Executive Board also urged greater employment opportunities for the retarded. Chicago.-Two coordinator conferences were held during the year. More are scheduled in Federal population centers. These conferences feature tours of rehabilitation facilities for the handicapped, so that coordinators can see for themselves what is being done to prepare the handicapped for work. Dallas.-Coordinator meetings were held throughout the region. Attendance was good. Civil Service personnel also played active roles in the affairs of Governors' and mayors' committees on employment of the handicapped. Denver-The Civil Service Commission in cooperation with the New Mexico Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped issued a booklet, "Guide for Placement of the Handicapped in Federal Agencies." Copies have been distributed nationally by the President's Committee. The Federal Executive Board in Denver launched a special award, known as the Walter E. Adler Award (in honor of the late director of the Denver regional office), going to the Federal employee who distinguished himself by his activities in placement of the handicapped. New York. The Federal Personnel Association (New York and New Jersey) held a session on employment of the handicapped at its conference in Niagara Falls. The employment development officer conducted a 2-day program on “Emotional Problems in the Work Environment," covering employment of the mentally restored and mentally retarded. Philadelphia.-Six area coordinator meetings have been scheduled for late 1965. Coordinators in all Federal installations in the area are expected to attend. Seattle. Successful coordinators' meetings were held in the area, highlighted by representatives of Federal agencies which have been hiring the mentally retarded. They presented a forceful firsthand view of the job strengths of the retarded. San Francisco. The regional medical officer has been active in giving indoctrination talks on the handicapped to personnel of Federal installations in the area. Regional training conferences on employment of the retarded were held. They were well attended by personnel officers, coordinators and other Federal officials. St. Louis.-"Retardate Placement Day" was held for Federal installation officials in the area. Profiles of retarded workers ready for employment were distributed, and arrangements were made for job interviews. Mr. FOGARTY. Your only duty is promoting employment of the handicapped. Mr. McCAHILL. Yes, sir. I wouldn't say it is our only duty. It is a very difficult responsibility and encompasses a great many things. Basically we are a promotional agency. We were not cut out for travel and printing because they are our life's blood. Basically we have no more money for programing and no more bodies and much more to do. PROGRAM FOR RETARDED CHILDREN Mr. FOGARTY. You say on page 22: During the current year the committee has moved ahead on many new fronts and have cooperated with the National Association for Retarded Children in an intensive 3-year program to promote jobs for the retarded. What success are you having in this program? Mr. McCAHILL. I have with me Mr. Bernard Posner who is the Deputy Executive Secretary, sitting behind me. He is the behind-thescenes architect in the very substantial work in this area, both with regard to the mentally restored and the mentally retarded. Mr. FOGARTY. Of course, they don't like to be classed together, you know. Mr. McCAHILL. I know, but this is our responsibility, finding jobs for both groups. My point was, Mr. Posner has a responsibility for promoting jobs for both the mentally retarded and those who have been mentally ill. Mr. FOGARTY. Do you want to say something, Mr. Posner? Mr. POSNER. I think there is a growing ground swell of acceptance of the mentally retarded and I think a large part of it has been due to a cooperative venture between the President's Committee and organizations such as the National Association for Retarded Children. The NARC joined forces with us in establishing an "employer of the year" award, giving national recognition to recognizing the employer who has done the most throughout the United States in opening up new jobs for the retarded. NARC, in cooperation with us, has worked with the Department of Labor to establish a brandnew type of training program, opening up a thousand new jobs in industrial laundries throughout the country for the mentally retarded. NARC, in cooperation with us, has produced a film and a training guide to go along with the film, to be used in approaching employer groups and convincing them of the abilities of retarded workers. There have been at least a half dozen cooperative ventures between our two organizations and it has built up into a ground swell of acceptance. Mr. FOGARTY. I am all for it, I think it is a wonderful thing. To promote jobs for retarded persons I imagine would be mainly in the educable retarded? Mr. POSNER. We are talking about higher level retarded people and really, all we are selling employers is the fact that the laborer is able to work and earn a full day's pay. We are talking about higher level people, yes, sir. Mr. FOGARTY. That is the easiest way to approach it. Mr. McCAHILL. That is a first step, sir. Mr. POSNER. It is almost like taking a cork out of a bottle. Mr. FOGARTY. We are never satisfied with the progress in this field. PROGRAM OF ASSOCIATION OF INDUSTRIAL LAUNDERERS Mr. McCAHILL. I might say we are not either. In fact, Mr. Posner passed the line, so to speak, and went to work as a retarded person 2 weeks ago and the only person who knew he wasn't retarded was the employer. He had quite an experience during that week in working in this industrial laundry. This was in connection with the program which he spoke about. We are working on it with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, NARCE, and other people. It is a $500 million business a year, and after a couple of weeks of discussion, the Association of Industrial Launderers went to work with us and the Bureau. Another group also asked if they could work in this program and we are hoping these first two steps will involve a lot of industrial associations and organizations in this area, Mr. Chairman. Mr. FOGARTY. The president of that association is going to be in town next week and I expect to see him. Does he think you are doing a pretty good job so far? Mr. McCAHILL. Does the president of the Institute of Industrial Launderers, sir? Well, I would guess so. Mr. Posner and Mr. Russell were down in Miami Beach for this annual convention and both of them said it was like a revival meeting. People were popping up all over the large auditorium offering to place people in their plants all over the country. We are hoping this will be the first of a number of opportunities of that nature. Mr. FOGARTY. I was referring to the president of the N.A.R.C Mr. McCAHILL. Of course, this isn't the only thing we are working on, as you know. Mr. FOGARTY. I know of many of the other programs but I have a real interest in retarded children, too, and that is why I brought it out. Mr. McCAHILL. I might suggest that Mr. Russell's letter to you, sir, could be placed in the record. Mr. FOGARTY. We will put it in the record. (The letter referred to follows:) THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT OF THE HANDICAPPED, Hon. JOHN E. FOGARTY, Chairman, Subcommittee on Labor-HEW, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., February 3, 1966. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I regret that circumstances beyond my control forced me to miss the hearing today after coming down from Boston this morning. The Massachusetts Industrial Accident and Rehabilitation Commission of which I am a member is meeting at 6 p.m. today in Boston. My statement as volunteer Chairman, I believe, speaks for itself. I met with our ad hoc group on a National Conference on Rehabilitation and we agreed on the necessity of such a project as mentioned on page 5 of my testimony. We agreed to defer additional commissions, panels, etc., until after a national conference. In the interim, I will invite the volunteer and staff heads of the major disability groups to meet with us this year and tell us the problems their clients are having in obtaining jobs or training for jobs. In view of my inability to respond to questions from you and the other members. I shall be happy to supply you with written comments to any questions immediately after the hearing. Also, I would appreciate having pages 56-58 of the poverty report of the task force on economic growth and opportunity of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States inserted with my remarks as they point up the increasing reliance of outside groups upon our promotional efforts. Very sincerely, HAROLD RUSSELL, Chairman. P.S.-The next time I am in town, I shall call your office and Mel Laird's and make myself available to both of you. RECOMMENDATION When people with remediable disabilities first come to the attention of physicians, of members of welfare agencies and others interested in the welfare and health of people, no time ought to be wasted to bring to bear all the necessary social, economic, and medical means for the earliest return to self-sufficiency. There is need for closer liaison between welfare workers and rehabilitation agencies. Doctors, hospitals, and health agencies thoroughly familiar with local rehabilitation programs can refer people to maximum help. Communities fully informed of the value of rehabilitation can increase the success of rehabilitation programs. In turn, strong State rehabilitation programs can help encourage public understanding and support. Rehabilitation is a job for community leadership, public and private. Businessmen can make or break rehabilitation efforts by their policies in hiring the handicapped. And businessmen to an increasing extent have come to appreciate the excellent job performance of handicapped workers. Studies have documented that handicapped employees experience less absenteeism, better safety records, often no greater workmen's compensation costs, lower accident rates, and stronger motivation to succeed than able-bodied workers. All this is leading more employers to hire the handicapped not out of charity, which can be futile or harmful, but because it is good business. There are, of course, some problems connected with hiring the handicapped. Misconceptions and rumors still surround the subject. Some employers have had bad experiences. Other employers, having accepted the idea of hiring the handicapped, may face labor union restrictions, including rigid seniority schedules, as well as the opposition of their other employees. Employers must often invest capital in architectural and other changes to help the handicapped perform and get around, and must also deal with inflexible workmen's compensation and minimum wage laws. Yet, these are problems which have been and can be resolved. The excellent work records of the handicapped should be made better known. Special efforts should be made by employers to study industries that successfully hire the handicapped. The use of press. radio, and television to approach the public at large should be boosted. The talents and resources of disabled people who have overcome their handicaps should be employed to help design and carry out informational and educational programs aimed at the general public, employers, and employees. Much of this work could be coordinated and planned by the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, and this Committee should have sufficient staff and funds to do the job. More can also be done by the States to improve their employ-the-handicapped programs. Each State has a Governor's committee on employment of the handicapped or some equivalent. But in only 11 States do these committees have a legal basis for existence and in 26 States these committees have no established source of financing. Further, every effort should be made by States to match fully the Federal funds available for rehabilitation programs. In 1963 only 9 States put up enough funds to receive full Federal allotments. By "handicapped" the task force means the mentally retarded as well as the physically disabled. There is growing evidence that many mentally retarded people can be trained or rehabilitated to take their place among other productive workers. Recent hiring of mentally retarded persons by the Federal Government shows that such persons are better suited for certain jobs than persons of normal intelligence. Retarded persons are seldom bored and dissatisfied in routine jobs. They produce well and have a lower turnover than nonhandicapped persons in the same work. 75 Some outstanding work in rehabilitation and employment of the handicapped is being done by private groups and individuals. Organizations, such as Goodwill Industries and Abilities, Inc., are excellent examples, though there are others. Businessmen can help by supporting these organizations with funds and advice. Labor unions can help by approaching them with enlightened labor policies that recognize the special nature of the employees these organizations hire. In this connection, the task force has learned that at least in one city labor |