Arizona RSA interactions with Native American populations - Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration

American Rehabilitation, Spring, 1989 by Lawrence E. Powers

Arizona RSA Interactions with Native American Populations

The Arizona Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) has long been involved in the special and unique needs of Indian populations residing both on and off reservations in Arizona. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in 1986, with particular emphasis on tribal interaction in the delivery of RSA services, is a direct outgrowth of the demonstrated effectiveness of Arizona RSA in the development of the Navajo Vocational Rehabilitation Program (NVRP). This model of effective cooperation between state and tribe should form the basis of successful program accomplishments across the nation, utilizing the Arizona NVRP model where appropriate, while also encouraging other service delivery models to be developed by state and tribal partnerships.

From March 10, 1921, when the Arizona Legislature passed the Vocational Rehabilitation Act, until the 1950's, vocational rehabilitation (VR) staffing in a rural state with two large metropolitan areas dedicated very little, if any, special outreach to disabled Native Americans.

From the 1950's until the early 1960's, while VR counseling staff increased in general, some special attempts were initiated by staff through regular visits to some Arizona reservations to solicit referrals while developing cooperative relationships with other ancillary service providers such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS).

In 1963, the Arizona Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, through a cooperative relationship between the Flagstaff VR office and the School of Education at Arizona State College, Flagstaff, participated in an RSA Research and Demonstration (R&D) Grant that lasted until 1966. The Navajo Project was the result of a joint Arizona VR and Navajo Tribe Education Planning Committee meeting that was held several months earlier. The purposes of the R&D project were to:

* develop vocational evaluation techniques for disabled Navajos;

* demonstrate procedures for coordinating and involving all agencies (tribal, USPHS, BIA, etc.) in Northern Arizona, and;

* gather and analyze data to determine the effectiveness of the project.

From 1963 to 1972, the Northern Arizona Office of Arizona VR expanded service delivery to the Navajo, Hopi and White Mountain Apache Tribes, building upon the demonstrated success of the Arizona State College Navajo Project. All staff were sensitized to the special needs of this diversified client population, and Native American VR counselors were recruited and hired whenever possible. Special activities during this period included Arizona RSA participation in a summer VR work experience placement in 1969 at the Sage Memorial Hospital in Ganado, Arizona, under the supervision of the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Division for Research and Training in Rehabilitation. Graduate interns in VR are still recruited and several Native American VR counselors have gained valuable experience working in the Arizona program. Arizona commitment was also demonstrated in supplying data for a study of American Indian VR service delivery conducted by the University of Oklahoma in 1969. From 1969 to 1970, staff from the Flagstaff Office served on the technical steering committee for the Four Corners Mental Retardation Project that was successful in identifying special needs among the mentally retarded of the four corners of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. Special activities among the Hopi included VR participation in a joint Hopi/USPHS Alcoholism Project and the early stages of the development of the present Hopi Center for Human Development.

From 1970 to 1973, the Pima Indians on the Gila River Reservation, south of Phoenix, were recipients of an RSA Innovation and Expansion Grant along with the subsequent Arizona RSA Establishment Grants. The disability focus was alcoholism, and indigenous VR counselors worked alongside staff funded by a Model Cities Grant that was the first of its kind awarded to a tribal government in the United States.

In October 1973, a delegation from the Navajo Tribal Council and Arizona RSA met with RSA Region IX staff in San Francisco; eventally, this culminated in an RSA Innovation and Establishment Grant being awarded to the Navajo Tribe. Continuation grants in subsequent years included a joint funding effort in 1979, with Arizona taking the lead in eliciting funds from RSA in New Mexico and Utah. Subsequent events, including testimony by the Navajo Nation at the Congressional Subcommittee on the Handicapped and at the Oversight Hearing on P.L. 93-112, resulted in the Navajo Vocational Rehabilitation Program receiving direct federal funding under Section 130 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Throughout the development of the Navajo Vocational Rehabilitation Program, Arizona RSA, along with Dr. Herb Leibowitz of the Region IX Office, has maintained a close, positive working relationship with the Navajo Nation and continues to provide technical assistance and guidance in all phases of this unique system of RSA service delivery. Specific to this effort has been assistance in counselor training, manual and procedure development, Case Review System reporting, and assistance in developing new strategies in the areas of recreation, transitioning, comprehensive services for independent living, transitional employment training, and supported employment.