State Rehabilitation Council / Member Information / Meeting Schedule

State Rehabilitation Council

A program "for" people with disabilities must be a program "by" people with disabilities.

The Rehabilitation Act affirms the fundamental truths that disability is a natural part of the human experience, that people with disabilities can find their own way. These simple ideas, included in the 1992 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act, are transforming the manner in which vocational rehabilitation services are provided to individuals with disabilities.

In 1998, the Rehabilitation Act was included as Title IV of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). WIA requires the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) and the Governor's Workforce Development Council to work together on Mississippi's workforce issues.

Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act portion of the WIA strengthened the role of the SRC. These Amendments state that the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program is a partnership between the people who are consumers of VR services and the people who plan and deliver VR services. The voice of people with disabilities, their advocates and their families spoke loudly for these changes. The message was clear, that there must be increased participation.

The Mississippi SRC stands for a philosophy of consumer-control, self-help, self-determination, equal access and independence for individuals with disabilities.