The Department of Workforce Development, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, is waitlisting about 2,000 individuals due to insufficient state funding.
DVR administers the federal Rehabilitation Act program, which provides services to people with disabilities who want to work, offering training and technical assistance to employers and working with about 19,000 people moving toward employment.
Wisconsin shares in the cost of these services with the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Agency. In fiscal year 2025, the program cost $111.1 million, with $87.4 million paid for with federal funds and $23.7 million by state funds.
Gov. Tony Evers had proposed sufficient funds for the program in his 2025-2027 executive budget, but the Joint Finance Committee chose a funding amount that would not cover the proposal. The state is $4.6 million short of the needs for this year.
“We want to find a solution to continue to provide employment services for anyone with disabilities who wants to find a job,” DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek said in a statement.
If $4.6 million in state funding is not allocated to DVR in the coming weeks, DVR will host a virtual public hearing to explain the need to cut off vocational rehabilitation services for new participants due to a lack of state funding.
“We welcome the public to participate in this public hearing and are working with all stakeholders to address this issue,” Pechacek said.
