Overview
The Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), established on August 6, 1956 under Section 74 of Chapter 6 of the Massachusetts General Laws, is a state agency within the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. According to its website, MRC “helps individuals with disabilities to live and work independently. MRC is responsible for Vocational Rehabilitation, Community Living, and Disability Determination for federal benefit programs.”
MRC has five divisions: Administration, including Information Technology; Office of Financial Management and Budget (OFMB), including Human Resources; Community Living; Disability Determination Services; and Vocational Rehabilitation.
MRC Funding
MRC received funding of $193,060,524 in fiscal year 2019; $217,267,616 in fiscal year 2020; and $189,699,609 in fiscal year 2021. It is funded through state appropriations, federal grants, trusts, and interdepartmental service agreements with other state agencies. The table below outlines the specific amounts allocated to MRC’s divisions for fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
|
Division |
Fiscal Year 2019 |
Fiscal Year 2020* |
Fiscal Year 2021* |
|
Community Living |
$ 76,951,057 |
$ 83,379,638 |
$ 68,109,834 |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation |
66,147,279 |
83,789,366 |
73,089,058 |
|
Disability Determination Services |
49,193,646 |
49,662,098 |
48,000,000 |
|
Administration and OFMB |
768,542 |
436,513 |
500,716 |
|
Total |
$ 193,060,524 |
$ 217,267,616 |
$ 189,699,609 |
* The $1 variance between the total amount of this column and the sum of these items is due to rounding.
On-the-Job Training Services
MRC provides on-the-job training services to secure long-term employment for individuals with disabilities. According to Section 6.07(12) of Title 107 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations,
The term on-the-job training services means the occupational skills training provided by an employer to an individual to enable the individual to develop the skills necessary for employment in a specific occupation or trade. A formal written agreement between the Commission, the employer, and the individual must specify the training to be provided, the duration of the program, and the hourly rate to be paid by the Commission to the employer for on-the-job training services. The formal agreement must also stipulate that the employer will pay wages and benefits to the individual commensurate with the job duties and that, after successful completion of the training, the employer will make a reasonable effort to continue the individual in employment. The employer will be paid for supervised skill development, which is beyond the supervision customarily provided to an employee.
Vendor Contracts
Massachusetts state agencies or departments, such as MRC, award contracts to vendors for various goods and services. The Office of the Comptroller of the Commonwealth (CTR) and the Operational Services Division (OSD) jointly issued a policy, “State Finance Law and General Contract Requirements,” which identifies the minimum contracting requirements that all state departments must follow. One of these requirements dictates that state agencies or departments must check state and federal debarred vendor lists (see Appendix) to ensure that they are not awarding a contract to a debarred vendor.
Debarment
Vendors or contractors may be debarred or suspended—by the federal government or the state—from being awarded public contracts for several reasons. According to OSD’s website, these reasons include, but are not limited to, “fraud, collusion, attempts to improperly influence a bid process or indictment by the bidder/contractor.” As such, there are various lists of debarred vendors.
Do Not Pay
Do Not Pay is a free online service, offered by the United States Department of the Treasury, available to federal agencies and state agencies with federally funded programs. The service helps prevent and detect improper payments by allowing these agencies to check vendors’ eligibility with many data sources at one time before issuing payments or awards. The United States Department of the Treasury developed Do Not Pay because of an executive memorandum the President issued on June 18, 2010, which directed agencies to check multiple data sources before paying a vendor.
CTR’s Pandemic Response Guidance
On September 30, 2020, CTR provided guidance in response to the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic for state agencies. The guidelines help state agencies that are experiencing significant changes identify their goals, objectives, and risks associated with COVID-19. Objectives can include telework; return-to-office plans; risk assessments of the impact of COVID-19 on department operations; changes to the business process; safety protocols for employees and visitors; and tracking of COVID-19-related awards and expenditures, which are tracked separately from other federal, state, and local expenditures.
Cybersecurity Awareness Training
The Executive Office of Technology Services and Security has established policies and procedures that apply to all Commonwealth agencies. Its Information Security Risk Management Standard IS.010 requires that all Commonwealth personnel be trained annually for cybersecurity awareness. Section 6.2 of the document states, “The objective of the Commonwealth information security training is to educate users on their responsibility to help protect the confidentiality, availability and integrity of the Commonwealth’s information assets.”
| Date published: | January 6, 2023 |
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