OARP Newsletter

President's Message

Treasurer's Report

RRU Update

Editors' Notes

OARP Business Mtg

Injured Worker Fund

RAU Update

Fall Conference

Justin Dart ADA

What I found was an agency in turmoil and many workers genuinely concerned about its current philosophy and direction . Because of misguided service integration efforts on the part of the Department of Human Services (DHS), the core administrative structure of OVRS has been severely gutted. Additionally, service delivery is increasing compromised because more counselors must provide counseling in cubicles that do not offer reasonable privacy protections for clients. The problem has reached the point that there is a real fear that Oregonians with disabilities are being significantly shortchanged in what and how services are provided.

These changes have not gone unnoticed by the consumers of disability services nor by the federal agency overseeing the expenditure of the federal portion for funding that amounts to 80% of the OVRS budget. The state advisory board for OVRS as well as federal regulators have repeatedly pointed out concerns about service delivery and the increasing lack of administrative support to DHS, to no avail. The result is an increasing estrangement between top DHS administration and both workers who provide the services and clients who receive them.

Why should counselors not working for OVRS be concerned? While there are numerous reasons the particular policy choices are not suitable, I ask you to think about what it means to the counseling profession as a whole when the counseling process itself is minimized and degraded . As counselors, we all know how important it is to provide a setting in which clients can feel comfortable. Without an environment that fosters openness and trust, it is difficult to reach the level of emotional connectedness required for meaningful behavior change. Timing can also be critical as issues do not necessarily arise on a scheduled basis; asking someone to stop sensitive and revealing behavior until a more private room can be arranged is both unworkable and demeaning. The real message of the new policy is that the process of counseling is unimportant in providing services.

The counseling profession has come a long way in professionalizing the way we do our jobs. Counseling techniques are more sophisticated and there is a much greater awareness of ethical considerations. Education and experience standards for practitioners have increased, as evidenced by the fact that all OVRS counselors will be required to have Master’s degrees by 2010. What the DHS policies do is "dumb-down" the process to the point the job becomes an information sharing exercise rather than counseling.

You all know the value of using professional counseling techniques in assisting clients make life choices. Our profession deserves a much higher level of recognition and appreciation for the professional services we provide and the positive outcomes our clients are able to achieve.

Heather Grogan has left RRU and is now doing worksite modifications for RAU in the Medford area.

The new permanent 120 Rules for Vocational Assistance went into effect July 1, 2002. A copy is available on the website at www.oregonwcd.org or www.cbs.state.or.us then click on Rules.

The OARP Board has been working with IARP and through several revisions on its own to modify the OARP Bylaws to make them more appropriate given the inclusion of members from the public as well as the private sector in the organization. We hope that many of you will join us at the Business Meeting.

The OARP Board would like to call to all members’ attention that we will be having a Business Meeting for all interested members at the Fall Conference in Newport. It will be held the morning of October 12 (Saturday), during the conference. Please review the current and proposed new Bylaws on the website at www.oarp.org (or call Adriane Gaffuri at 503-292-2828, ext. 24, to request a paper copy) and come prepared to discuss/vote on the changes.

The OARP Board, especially the members of the Program Committee, have been very busy putting together the agenda and arranging for the facilities for the Fall Conference that will be held in Newport at the Hallmark Resort on October 11 and 12, 2002. We are all grateful to Margaret Moore, Sandy Johnson, Grace Smith, Cheri Ballantine, Linda Hill, Debbi Cross and Adriane Gaffuri for their hard work in contacting speakers, vendors, and making all the other arrangements to prepare for what looks like it will be an exciting and informative conference.

The Board of OARP would like to thank Linda Hill for her willingness to continue to administer the OARP Injured Worker Fund. Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the fund to keep it going over the years.

As always, please continue to provide feedback about OARP At Work or anything else related to OARP or the Rehab community to any Board member (names and phone numbers are listed on the front of this issue). The opinions expressed in any OARP At Work article are those of the author of the article only and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the OARP Board or any of its members.

Standard Insurance donated $500 to the Injured Worker Fund. During the past few months the OARP Board of Directors approved a $500 donation to the fund. The fund currently has a balance of $1100.00.

Several requests have been made to the fund in the last three months. Anyone who wishes to make a contribution or who want to request information about the fund can contact any board member or you can contact:

Oregon Injured Worker Fund

C/o Linda L. Hill

833 SW 11^th Avenue, Suite 507

Portland, OR. 97205

OARP would like to thank each of you who have contributed to the fund for your generous donation.

By Adriane M. Gaffuri, PhD, CRC, CCM

As of 6/16/02, with the re-organization of the Worker’s Compensation Department, Jerry Rutherford became Manager of the Re-employment Assistance Unit (RAU). The previous RAU Manager, Barbara Smith, is now the Assistant Manager of the newly formed Re-employment and Dispute Resolution Services Section (RDRSS). Nancy Bieber is the Manager of RDRSS.

About that same time, Craig Sorseth left RAU to become Manager of the OSHA consultation unit in Eugene. Bruce Friedrichsen has been re-hired by RAU as a lead worker for re-employment consultants. Heather Grogan, from the Medford Rehabilitation Review Unit is now with RAU, doing worksite modifications in the Medford area.

The Job Match Program has been in operation since this spring and appears to be working well. This program attempts to match preferred workers with employers interested in utilizing the Preferred Worker Program. The web site for the Job Match is www.oregonwcd.org, then click on Job Match. Employers can place job orders on the web site and workers can view the job orders and learn how to apply.

The most recent revision of the rules for the Employer-at-Injury Program and the Preferred Worker Program went into effect October 1, 2001. Information has been obtained from many interested parties and indicates positive feedback from users of the Employer-at-Injury Program.

Finally, Linda Strunk and Kerry King will give a brief presentation on the Job Match program at the OARP Fall Conference in Newport.

The OARP Fall conference is October 11 and 12 with the President's Reception on the evening of October 10. It will be held at the Hallmark Resort in Newport. Special rates for rooms are available, $69 for a Traditional Room with or without fireplace, $79 Traditional with 2 queen beds, $99 for a King Spa room or Double Stateroom, $139 for the Admiral Rooms. Rooms should be reserved by September 17th.

Registration Fees:

Members: $185

Non-Members: $250

Confirmed speakers to date include:

• Dianne Simmons Grab MA, President IARP, with a 2 hour interactive program on Ethics.

• Bruce Growick, PhD, IARP past President, speaking on ACCESS.

• Greg Crosby, "ADD / ADHD and Dyslexia: The Journey Back to Work"

• Esther Gwinnell, MD returns to discuss psychiatric issues

• The Preferred Worker Program with details regarding their new Job Match program.

• Attorney Doug Swanson will speak on new confidentiality laws.

• Tom Tielens, ALJ, will provide information on Social Security.

The OARP Business Meeting will be held during the conference on Saturday.

The schedule of the speakers is still being worked out, but the plan is that the conference will end approximately noon on Saturday, to allow you to enjoy the great weather typical at the coast in the beginning of October.

Justin Dart, Jr., a leader of the international disability rights movement and a renowned human rights activist, died June 22^nd at his home in Washington D.C. Dart was widely recognized as the father of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the godfather of the disability rights movement.

Born into a wealthy family, Dart contracted polio in 1948. Polio left Dart a wheelchair user, but he never grieved about this. Dart attended the University of Houston earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and history. He wanted to be a teacher, but the university withheld his teaching certificate because he was a wheelchair user. Instead, Dart became a successful businessman in Japan and Mexico and used his businesses to provide work for women and people with disabilities.

In Japan, he took severely disabled people out of institutions, gave them paying jobs within his company, and organized some of them into Japan’s first wheelchair basketball team. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan appointed Dart to the vice-chair of the National Council on Disability. In 1986, Dart was appointed to head the Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Administration.

Dart called for radical changes, and for including people with disabilities in every aspect of designing, implementing, and monitoring rehabilitation programs. In 1988, he was appointed, along with parents’ advocate Elizabeth Boggs, to chair the congressional Task Force on the Rights and Empowerment of Americans with Disabilities. In 1989, Dart was appointed chair of the President’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities, shifting its focus from its traditional stance of urging business to "hire the handicapped" to advocating for full civil rights for people with disabilities.

After working tirelessly for passage of the ADA, Dart was on the podium on the White House lawn when President George H. Bush signed the ADA into law in July, 1990. In 1998 Dart received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Time and again Dart stressed that his achievements were only possible with the help of hundreds of activists, colleagues, and friends.

After receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Dart sent a replica of the award to Suellen Glabraith and other disability rights activists across the country.

For the past several years, Dart struggled with the complications of post-polio syndrome and congestive heart failure. He is survived by his wife Yoshiko, their extended family of foster children, his many friends and colleagues, and millions of disability and human rights activists all over the world.

Information for this article was excerpted from Justice for All