Advocacy Matters: OVR and Anti-Discrimination Oversight

Disability Matters Radio Show with Joyce Bender

September 16, 2019

#AdvocacyMatters Segment –  OVR and Anti-Discrimination Oversight

There is great news here in Pennsylvania.  The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation has received an additional $27 million dollars from the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration.  These funds are year-end unspent federal dollars from other OVR programs.

Disability Rights Pennsylvania has written to OVR and urged them to open the Order of Selection and begin serving all eligible OVR clients immediately.

The OVR has not issued a statement as to how those funds will be spent.

We have talked about Pennsylvania’s OVR program on previous #AdvocacyMatters segments.

Earlier this year, OVR put out a notice stating they did not have enough funding to provide services to everyone who was eligible for OVR programs.  So OVR temporarily closed the order of selection and created a wait list for new clients on July 1, 2019.

We do not know how OVR will utilize the additional $27 million dollars; however, we hope they open the order of selection and begin serving clients who have been waiting for services.

We have one more news item.

This Thursday (September 19, 2019), the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services will hold a hearing to examine the policies and priorities of 2 federal agencies: the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.  The hearing begins at 2:00 pm.

https://edlabor.house.gov/subcommittees/civil-rights-and-human-services

Recently, both agencies have provided public notice about regulatory changes they seek to make.  It is anticipated that the Subcommittee will question agency representatives about changes to the civil rights enforcement of anti-discrimination laws related to employment.

#AdvocacyMatters and we are happy to see the U.S. House of Representatives conduct an oversight hearing on policies and priorities of the EEOC and OFCCP.