The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission provides vocational rehabilitation and independent living services to Massachusetts residents with disabilities. The goal of the Commission is to assure that people with disabilities have the opportunity to live productive, independent lives by ensuring access to employment, federal income benefits, and community-based residences and services.

The Commission's Vocational Rehabilitation program assists more than 4,500 people with disabilities in securing and retaining community-based, competitive employment by providing vocational counseling, supported work, and job placement services. The Commission's Disability Determination Service processes over 85,000 claims for supplemental security income and social security disability insurance annually.

The Commission's independent living programs include a range of services which assist people with disabilities in living independently in their communities. The Statewide Head Injury Program provides supported employment opportunities and family assistance services for people with traumatic brain injuries. The home care assistance program provides services to allow individuals to remain at home, avoiding institutionalization. The Turning 22 and supportive living programs provide community-based living opportunities for individuals who have turned 22 years of age and older adults who need supervised settings in which they learn how to live independently. Independent Living Centers provide a range of individual and community education services to enable people with all types of disabilities to become as independent as possible in their communities.

Objectives

In Fiscal Year 1999, the Commission will pursue the following objectives:

• extend employment services to 50 additional individuals seeking to obtain or maintain competitive employment, thus decreasing their dependence on public assistance;
• improve protective services critical to ensuring the safety of disabled people who have been abused or neglected by their caretakers;
• provide supported living services to six additional individuals;
• expand independent living services for individuals with traumatic brain injuries who turn 22 years of age during the fiscal year;
• provide independent living services to 200 individuals currently awaiting services;
• extend home care assistance to 175 individuals currently awaiting services; and
• maximize collections in the Statewide Head Injury Services Trust Fund through increasing awareness of the Head Injury Trust Fund among trial court judges responsible for assessing the Head Injury Fee.

Budget Recommendations

The Fiscal Year 1999 recommendation includes additional funding of $250,000 for employment services (4120-3000); $100,000 for protective services (4120-4000); $280,000 for Turning 22 (4120-4000); $320,000 for Independent Living Centers (4120-4000); and $500,000 for home care assistance (4120-5000).

This recommendation also includes an additional $500,000 from the Head Injury Treatment Services Trust Fund to support additional services to individuals with traumatic brain injuries through the Statewide Head Injury Program (4120-6001).

In addition, these recommendations include $391,850 to improve salaries for the Commission's lowest paid, contracted, direct care workers. In Fiscal Year 1998, this funding was appropriated as part of a reserve account in the Executive Office for Administration and Finance.

Budgetary Direct Appropriations

MASSACHUSETTS REHABILITATION COMMISSION ADMINISTRATION
4120-1000	For the operation of the Massachusetts rehabilitation commission	365,278

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
4120-2000	For vocational rehabilitation services provided in cooperation with the federal government; provided, that no funds shall be deducted for pensions, group health and life insurance, or any other such indirect cost of federally reimbursed state employees	6,405,313

EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE
4120-3000	For employment assistance	7,150,436

INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSISTANCE
4120-4000	For independent living assistance	4,833,106

HOUSING REGISTRY
4120-4001	For a housing registry for the disabled and elderly	100,000

HOME CARE SERVICES
4120-5000	For home care services	4,502,706

HEAD INJURED SERVICES
4120-6000	For head injured services	6,702,689

HEAD INJURED SERVICES - HEAD INJURY TREATMENT SERVICES TRUST FUND
4120-6001	For head injured services in addition to those provided pursuant to item 4120-6000, which shall not supplant existing services funded by said item	750,000
	Head Injury Treatment Services Trust Fund 100%

Federal Grant Spending

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
4120-0020	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Vocational Rehabilitation; provided, that no funds shall be deducted for pensions, group health and life insurance, or any other such indirect cost of the federally reimbursed state employees	37,500,000

NEW ENGLAND PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION TRAINING
4120-0173	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, New England Psychiatric Rehabilitation Training	200,000

NEW ENGLAND PSYCHIATRIC REHABILITATION TRAINING - FIELD RESEARCH
4120-0174	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, New England Psychiatric Rehabilitation Training - Field Research	120,000

SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM
4120-0187	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Supported Employment Program	990,000

STATEWIDE SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT
4120-0188	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Statewide Supported Employment	200,000

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION - DETERMINATION OF DISABILITY
4120-0511	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Vocational Rehabilitation - Determination of Disability	32,000,000

INDEPENDENT LIVING
4120-0760	For the purposes of a federally funded grant entitled, Independent Living	1,575,000

Trust and Other Spending

4120-0029

VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION TRUST FUND

2,600,000