To determine whether the Adult Career and Continuing Education Services – Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) Supported Employment Program achieved its intended objectives, namely, to provide vocational rehabilitation supported employment services for individuals with a disability. The audit covered the period from April 2017 through December 2020.
The State Education Department’s (Department) ACCES-VR program provides vocational rehabilitation services for and supports the employment goals of people with a disability. Its mission is to assist individuals with a disability to achieve and maintain employment and to support independent living through training, education, rehabilitation, and career development.
While unemployment rates among New Yorkers with a disability were higher than for the general population over the past decade, they decreased in 2019 just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, shortly before the pandemic hit, unemployment rates for people with a disability were still more than double that of the general population. The pandemic and resulting economic shutdown led to soaring unemployment rates in New York, which have slowly but steadily declined since peaking in April 2020. However, for New Yorkers with a disability, unemployment rates increased more quickly and have remained stubbornly high, disrupting whatever progress had been made leading up to the pandemic.
The impact for New Yorkers who face unique challenges...
New television ads misleadingly accuse Democratic Senate candidates of voting to enrich big insurance companies. The spots are being run by the Trump-affiliated No Going Back PAC and target New Ham...