This message has been cross posted to the following Discussions: Rehabilitation and Disability Case Management and Forensic .
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IARP has been an active on a number of fronts, and I wanted to take this opportunity to let all IARP members know of the great work of some of your leadership and members.
As was reported in October 2014, IARP was instrumental in making a call out to all the rehabilitation counseling organizations to come together and discuss the future of the rehabilitation counseling profession. As a result of a meeting in October 2014 hosted by IARP, the Rehabilitation Counseling Coalition (RCC) was formed and endorsed by eight rehabilitation counseling organizations with the purpose of addressing and acting upon current and future threats to the field of Rehabilitation Counseling, and strategically planning for and dynamically promoting the profession of Rehabilitation Counseling. Since then, two more organizations have signed onto the RCC, NAMRC and the National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB).
Since the public announcement of the RCC's establishment in December 2014, the RCC has coalesced around a statement related to the "other comparable requirements" provision in CPSD* under WIOA* to define other comparable requirements as the skill domains of personnel providing VR services.
Click here to see RCC public statement.
The Rehabilitation Counseling Coalition will be meeting this weekend (March 22, 2015) with RSA Commissioner LaBreck to introduce ourselves and our mission. We will also be discussing with her the reasons the RCC was established and is making the recommendations regarding the "other comparable requirements" provision in the CSPD which focuses on skill domains.
NRA is graciously hosting the RCC on March 22, 2015 during their Legislative Summit.
In addition, RCC members are scheduled to hold meetings on the Hill with several committee staffers to introduce the RCC and our mission on Monday, March 23, 2015. We are meeting with: staff of House Committee on Education and the Workforce and staff of the Senate HELP Committee. Additionally, RCC members along with Amy Vercillo, IARP's SSVE Section Governmental Relations representative and our lobbyist, Akerman will be meeting with three staffers on the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education & Related Agencies and one staffer on the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Social Security.
IARP members of the RCC include Katherine Dunlap, Bob Paré and myself. Members of the RCC from ABVE, NASPPR, NAMRC, NCSAB and NRA will also be in attendance. A large thank you needs to also go out to Amy Vercillo and Akerman for their assistance in promoting our profession and specifically Social Security Vocational Experts.
Further updates on the efforts of the RCC will be forthcoming, and I welcome dialog from all of you on the RCC's efforts and your vision for our profession.
Yours Truly,
Lynne Tracy, M.A., IARP President
* Comprehensive System of Personnel Standards (CSPD)
* Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
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Lynne Tracy
Vocational Counselor
lynnetracy@sbcglobal.net Calabasas, CA United States
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