Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan [13] must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA:
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[13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA
j. 1. B. Who are minorities;
Current Narrative:
The ACS provides data on disability and race by state. Overall, 3.8% of Vermonters are from an ethnic minority. The following table shows the ACS estimates of the incidence of disability by race.
Table 16: Incidence of Disability by Race for Adults Aged 18 to 64
| Race | Total Number of Working Age | Percentage Reporting a Disability | Estimated Potential VR Eligible Consumers |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 346,300 | 11.9 | 41,209 |
| Black/African American | 6,000 | 20.2% | 1,212 |
| Asian | 5,600 | 22.4% | 1,254 |
| American Indian | 1,900 | 16.5 | 313 |
The disability rates for African Americans and Asians in Vermont exceed the average. However, the estimates for the Vermont non-white populations with disabilities are from sample sizes of less than 40 people and too small to be statistically reliable. As a result, this data may substantially over state the actual rate of disability in these groups. In Program Year 2018, 8% of DVR closures were for individuals from an ethnic minority. Given this data it appears that individuals with disabilities from ethnic minorities are accessing the VR program at a higher rate to individuals who are white.