Vocational Voucher System Can Work!

Sunday, August 1, 2004 | 0

The following letter is reprinted by permission from the CARRP newsletter; California Association of Rehabilitation and Reemployment Professionals. The editors felt this letter was important to demonstrate that there are professionals dedicated to returning injured workers to gainful employment who are not a part of the workers' compensation system per se, the challenges they face in dealing with the system and the satisfaction derived from a job well done. Vocational rehabilitation has now been replaced with the voucher system'. Many doubt it will work. Some take an optimistic approach and are willing to make it work. This letter is from one of the optimists.

CARRP
309 Wall Street
Chico, CA 95928
Dear CARRP Newsletter Editor:

I have been involved in vocational training for the past ten years as an instructor who teaches business technologies. Business technologies involve operating a personal computer and software, knowledge of office procedures and practices, and dealing with financial information. Specifically the course titles are Computer Applications, Medical Front Office, Computer Applications with Accounting, and Front Desk Hospitality. In the past my students had mainly been persons who were trying to gain skills to get them into an entry-level job to support their families and to eventually get off of public assistance. Many had minimal employment experiences and my job was to not only to teach them hands-on skills but also to stress professionalism and the essential employability skills they lacked such as punctuality and positive attitude in the workplace.

I have found in the past three years of my career that I am dealing with a different type of student, the injured worker. Most come to me with excellent work ethic and the knowledge of what it takes to get a job and keep a job. However, the injured worker does not come to me without barriers.

I think the most difficult barrier the injured worker faces in the re-training process is the sense of loss. Loss of a career they thought they would always work in. The loss of self-confidence that goes with knowing your job well and the realization they have to learn all new skills and enter into a totally different work field. Many are concerned about their age and feel they may be overlooked.

My job has been not only to teach new work skills but also to help build the self-confidence loss. I am working with students who have anger and fear that goes along with loss. I find I am helping them realize their worth and their ability to make a valuable contribution to California's workforce.

In the process of re-training, students quickly start to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Most are used to being contributors to the family's finances and soon they start to convince themselves they will again be productive and be able to contribute to the financial well being of their families. Day by day, I see the self-confidence building and the anger and fears melting away.

As students learn the skills needed to succeed in their field, they become driven. The injured worker has been one of the most motivated categories of student I have had the privilege to teach. Many work in pain daily but are not deterred by it and really strive to build tolerance and stamina to be ready for employment. Nearing the completion of their training my students have a huge growth in confidence in their new learned abilities and a bright new outlook and hope for their future. A sound, well-conceived vocational retraining or brush-up program is vital to helping the injured worker regain skills to return to a state of productivity to deal with the loss, fear, and anger of losing a job and possibility dealing with life long pain.

With the implementation of the job displacement voucher system, my hope is that students will be guided in an appropriate manner through early return to work services, with the end result of developing necessary skills in a facility adept at dealing with the myriad of issues facing the disabled worker and their family. They can then focus on work and helping support their family, through rebuilding, where financial devastation once was.

Shoreline Occupational Services
A division of Goodwill Industries

Reprinted by permission from the CARRP newsletter; California Association of Rehabilitation and Reemployment Professionals, www.carrp.org; Keeping California Working since 1975. br>
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