THE GEORGIA STATE REHABILITATION COUNCIL 
ANNUAL REPORT 
SFY 2009 

We dedicate this report to Mr. Walter Lee Morris, a 2007 appointee to the Council who was 
fully engaged in its activities until his death in September, 2009. A graduate of the Academy 
for the Blind in Macon, Georgia, Walter dedicated his life to improving the resources available 
to all in the disability community. We were fortunate to be his friend and colleague, and we 
honor his memory. 

The Georgia State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) reflects a cross section of the state’s citizenry 
who have a stake in the vocational rehabilitation process, and who bring expertise to the 
Council from myriad perspectives. The Council works jointly with state officials to develop 
VR goals and priorities and review them annually. To sustain this effort, the SRC aims to: 

. Build partnerships among people and organizations that participate in realizing the 
mission and vision of the organization; 
. Forge a spirit of trust and cooperation among all partners; 
. Reach out to people with disabilities and employers throughout the state to create 
a true spirit of inclusion; 
. Be receptive to the concerns and issues raised by people with disabilities, employers, 
and other concerned individuals so that its work can be a catalyst for positive change. 
MISSION 

To work in partnership with the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) / Vocational 
Rehabilitation (VR) program to prepare Georgians with disabilities to enter, return to, 
and/or advance into competitive employment, and to promote their hiring. 

VISION 

To advocate for VR to be the premier organization that assists people with disabilities to 
maximize their work potential and level of independence, and to ensure that each person 
with a disability will have the opportunity to guide his/her own education and career path. 

PHILOSOPHY 

We believe all people deserve the best we have to offer; therefore, we strive to actively value: 

. Meaningful Work 
. Inclusion 
. Informed Choice 
. Self Determination 
. Trust and Integrity 
. Positive and Effective Change 
. Purposeful Collaboration 
FROM THE CHAIR 

On behalf of the Georgia State Rehabilitation Council (SRC), I am pleased to submit the 
annual report for SFY 2009, and to report that the Council had a productive and challenging 
year. Members addressed their individual learning curves and while there is always more 
information to absorb, the Council as a whole took deliberate actions to support decisions 
effecting upcoming issues. 

As a Council we experienced transition and growth through conscientious planning, long 
working sessions, and honest and forthright discussion. We did not solve all the problems the 
VR agency faces: the waiting lists are still too long, the money is still in short supply, the 
political capital must always be replenished. Yet we provided support and direction to a truly 
dedicated Georgia VR staff, offered our assessments and observations in candid and ongoing 
dialogue, and spurred change when and where we could. 

The Georgia VR staff expects to provide exceptional customer service and it does so admirably 
in the midst of a stagnant economy and accompanying budget restraint. Individually and 
collectively the Council listened to those in the trenches, and championed every effort of staff 
to use a different direction to reach a new destination . . . to ensure that the door to innovative 
thinking, creative approaches, and new opportunities would always remain open. 

The Council was quick to embrace a benchmark principle – to speak with one voice that 
reflects one common purpose: to ensure that the Georgia VR program becomes the premier 
organization that assists people with disabilities to maximize their work potential and 
independence. To help craft an environment of increased employment opportunities, the 
Council sought out new alliances, strengthened existing relationships with key stakeholders, 
and enlisted the support of like-minded advocates. 

The Georgia SRC exists to ensure the integrity of the Rehabilitation Act by upholding the spirit 
as well as the letter of the law. We know we will always encounter new challenges and tough 
problems as we move to implement that law. We also know, however, that disability is a 
natural part of the human experience; it will not stand in the way of our consumers achieving 
their goals. 

Sincerely, 
Linda Shepard 
Chair 


FROM THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER 

This year is a testament of the value of the public vocational rehabilitation program. Council 
members and VR staff carried out their respective responsibilities with clear purpose and 
disciplined effort. They engaged in extensive learning and discovery, provided rigorous 
examination of policies and principles, and challenged conventional thinking. Arguably the 
most impactful example of this effort was how completely both Council and VR staff 
embraced the department’s Service Integration Strategy (SIS) concept. 

Being always mindful of meticulous planning, adherence to policy and fiscal responsibility, 
Council and VR leadership helped to devise, refine and implement a pilot effort (OASIS) that 
essentially increases referrals to the workforce system by persons with disabilities, stimulates 
early assessment for job readiness, fosters fast tracking job search activities, and boosts access 
to employment opportunities. Results were immediate and positive, and the strategy is fully 
engaged across the state. 

Georgia VR must continue to build on such solid ground, but that does not mean our past 
determines our future. We owe it to our consumers to take a leap of faith, to try something 
new – not to always side with the security and comfort of enough time and money. Trial and 
error, uncertainty, and improbability can be allies as well as enemies. 

If we approach our future systemically. . . if we connect people, processes, resources, and 
values, then we become greater than the sum of our parts. We share strengths, expertise, 
creativity and responsibility. And if all goes as planned, our new ideas will have a ripple 
effect: the more they are integrated across the board, the more they will be accepted and the 
better they will work. 

This Council has earned a reputation as one that expresses sincere advocacy on behalf 
of persons with disabilities. Its members demonstrate energy, enthusiasm, and intellect, and 
they will continue to make great strides to ensure that vocational rehabilitation remains a 
significant force in the lives of Georgians with disabilities. 

This Council, coupled with the extraordinary VR staff it supports, will surpass their 
expectations precisely because they have kept and will always keep their eyes on the prize: 
increasing successful employment outcomes and independence for Georgians with disabilities. 

Sincerely, 
Peggy D. Rosser 
Assistant Commissioner for Rehabilitation Services 


BY THE NUMBERS 

Numbers do not define the essence of Georgia’s vocational rehabilitation program, 
but they do help paint a picture of its clients. . . . of the people who are served with 
the resources allotted. Most importantly, each number represents an individual with 
a disability on a personal path of achievement. 


It is pertinent to note that, despite increases in referrals, applicants, work plans and total 
consumers served, Clients Working and Rehabilitated showed slight declines due to poor 
economic conditions and gradually rising unemployment rates. 


The highest average weekly salary was $429.17; the lowest was $226.57. The highest average 
hourly wage was $12.33; the lowest was $7.86. 


The highest average weekly salary was $582.57; the lowest was $259.18. The highest average 
hourly wage was $16.07; the lowest was $7.76. 


PROGRAMS, INITIATIVES AND PARTNERSHIPS 

Many 110-funded initiatives and programs focus on specific populations, extending 
the impact of the Georgia VR program and helping to empower consumers to achieve their 
employment, education and independent living goals. Significant highlights of the efforts of 
both VR staff and Council members to assist people with disabilities to employment and 
independence include: 

Transition -- Transitioning students who are goal directed toward employment, postsecondary 
education and independent living receive a variety of services. In SFY 2009, 86 
school systems participated in 70 VR/DOE Collaborative Agreements to enhance VR services 
to eligible students with disabilities. Within the transition age parameter of 16-21 years, 7,082 
consumers were served; that translates to 20% of the total clients VR served. 

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) -- The GDOL/VR Program continued its 
contract with the Georgia Department of Human Resources, Division of Family and Children 
Services (DFCS) to provide assessments to Georgia TANF recipients. In FFY 2009, VR 
offered assessment services for 47 new TANF recipients with 10 referrals carried over from 
FFY 2008. Of the total 57 recipients receiving assessment services, 14 were referred to the VR 
Program and 23 were referred back to DFCS with recommendations for services; of the 
remaining individuals, six referrals discontinued their assessments and 14 referrals were 
carried into FFY 2010. 

Social Security Administration (SSA) Initiatives -- The SSA’s Ticket to Work (TTW) 
program provides beneficiaries of SSI and SSDI greater choices in receiving employment, 
vocational, and other services they need to go to work and/or increase their earnings from 
work, thus reducing their dependency on cash benefits programs. 

Georgia VR received 848 ticket assignments in SFY 2009. Since the TTW program began in 
2002, more than 5,500 tickets were assigned to Georgia VR; 820 tickets were assigned to the 
other 29 Employment Networks in Georgia. 

The VR program's federally funded Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) project 
provided direct benefits advisement and guidance to over 565 Social Security beneficiaries 
with disabilities in SFY 2009. 

Assistive Technology (AT) -- During SFY 2009, the VR Assistive Technology unit received 
1,434 client referrals from counselors, and provided 7,038 individualized AT services (devices, 
home and vehicle modifications, work site accommodations) in support of work goals. 

Business Enterprise Program (BEP) -- The Georgia BEP provides work opportunities to 
persons who are blind and who want to manage small businesses, primarily in establishments 
in the food-service industry. 

In SFY 2009, there were 136 BEP sites operated by 99 licensed BEP vendors, who also 
employed 117 other individuals. Total sales equaled $9,900,875 and generated $678,125 in 
sales tax revenue. 


Excluding the BEP contracted vendors who manage the military and Department of Defense 
food service operations, the standard, average annual earnings of a licensed BEP vendor was 
$35,922. The lowest BEP vendor salary was $6,327; the highest was $294,538. 

Including all operating sites, BEP vendors employ more than 200 people with disabilities 
at their various work sites. 

Roosevelt Warm Springs: Vocational Rehabilitation Unit (VRU) -- Two hundred eighty-
two (282) VRU students completed academic education classes in SFY 2009, and received 
such services as academic remediation, GED prep and testing, tech school preparation, 
keyboarding, and Georgia High School Graduation Testing. It is important to note that VRU 
academic education services remained consistent with the number of services offered to 
students this fiscal year, and the VRU maintained its certification from the Georgia 
Accreditation Commission. 

There are three certificate-training programs aligned with the VRU. In SFY 2009, fourteen 
students participated in the new RWSIR Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) on-campus 
training program that was approved as a State Testing Site in SFY09. While the Basic 
Printing Assistant Program is no longer a certificate program with West Georgia Technical 
College, 21 students studied in the RWSIR Basic Printing training program; 23 students 
worked in the Forklift & Heavy Machinery category. The Lawn Care & Maintenance 
Certificate Program was also discontinued by West Georgia Technical College; however, 
during SFY 2009 RWSIR began the development of two new training programs, 
Cosmetology and Car Detailing, which are scheduled to begin during SFY 2010. 

Of the 316 students served in SFY 2009, 299 participated in paid Community Work 
Adjustment Services and 134 VRU students graduated work ready. The Average Length Stay 
for students who graduated work/school ready was 9.79 months 

The VRU offers students a 24/7 dorm life experience coupled with job skills training, 
independent living and academic education classes. VRU students experience vocational, but 
also personal, social, spiritual and recreational growth during their enrollment at VRU. 
Attending the VRU as a student is oftentimes the first instance that many of these young men 
and women have been away from home. VRU programs and services are designed to be as 
close to college life as possible. Because of this environment, the students complete their 
programs as well-rounded young men and women. One current student stated it best when he 
said, “RWSIR is a place where magic happens.” 

During SFY 2009, repairs and renovations on three Transitional Living Cottages were 
completed and referrals were accepted. These cottages provide the opportunity for nine 
RWSIR/VRU students to experience transitional living at any given time. 

Additionally, RWSIR/VRU collaborated with the Georgia VR program to provide improved 
services to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students. For example, hearing screenings are now 
done on all VRU admissions to determine the need for additional specialized services. 


The Cave Spring Rehabilitation Center (CSRC) -- This residential rehabilitation program 
serves VR clients who are primarily ages 18-24, and who need targeted skills building and 
focused assistance regarding job readiness and employment training. While it is a 
comprehensive residential facility for a variety of disability populations, services to people 
who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing are the primary emphasis. 

The CSRC served 103 clients in SFY 2009. Thirty-two (32) clients received a Learner’s 
driving permit and 21 received a Driver’s License while at CSRC. Forty-one (41) clients 
received training in Community Work Adjustment outside the Center. Clients are also 
involved in Community Resources Skills Training. Over half of the clients participated in 
volunteering at Habitat for Humanity and the Soup Kitchen in Polk County. 

The Client Assistance Program (CAP) The Client Assistance Program (CAP) provides 
information, assistance, and advocacy to applicants and consumers with disabilities who are 
applying for and receiving services from the VR Program. The Law Offices of Martin and 
Jones administer CAP in a manner that informs and empowers people with disabilities to fully 
understand and exercise their rights to services. 

One of CAP's priorities is to resolve problems to the customer's satisfaction. As a result, very 
few issues have to be resolved through the formal appeals process. CAP's experiences with 
resolving disagreements through mediation and informal negotiations have been highly 
successful for VR consumers. During SFY 2009, CAP: 

• Responded to 1,528 requests for information and referral. 
• Provided a wide variety of extended services to 105 clients of the VR Program. 
• Settled the vast majority of client problems through mutual agreement rather than fair 
hearing decisions before an administrative law judge. 
• Represented VR clients in two administrative hearings. 

In addition, CAP furthered the goal of voluntary, efficient resolution of disputes and problems 
between VR and its clients by explaining in the context of presentations to VR counselors and 
others, how CAP could service as a resource not an adversary in each counselor's cases where 
client complaints had been made to CAP. 

CAP also devoted time and resources to service on boards and agencies (e.g., SRC, SILC), to 
systemic advocacy, to underserved populations, and to providing training opportunities and 
information to both counselors and clients through presentations and otherwise. 

The Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, Inc. (SILC) and eight Centers for 
Independent Living (CIL) across the state comprise Georgia’s Independent Living Network. 
People with disabilities govern and staff each organization. 

The SILC works with the VR Program to develop the State Plan for Independent Living, and 
focuses on promoting policies and practices that enable independent living for all Georgians 
with disabilities. The CILs assist people with all types of disabilities to set and achieve 
personal goals toward independence. 


In SFY 2009, Georgia CILs provided a wide range of services to an estimated 2,500 Georgians 
with significant disabilities, including but not limited to: information and referral, independent 
living skills training, nursing home transition, home modifications, advocacy, orientation and 
mobility skills training, assistive technology, and computer skills training. 

Muskogee Vocational Rehabilitation (MVR) is the only Native American Vocational 
Rehabilitation (Section 121) program in Georgia. There are 550 Native American Tribes in the 
United States, but only 77 American Indian VR Programs (AIVR). These 77 VR programs 
comprise CANAR (Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation); MVR 
Director Christina P. Venable (Peggy) serves as Treasurer. Just as each tribe in the nation is 
different, there are many differences among CANAR-member tribes, and this diversity is 
clearly reflected at conferences. GDOL/VR is also a CANAR member as are many other 
national and state organizations and programs, and the Georgia program is typically well 
represented at CANAR conferences, providing both presenters and attendees. 

The state of Georgia works with Muskogee Vocational Rehabilitation as a partner in a 
cooperative agreement and has greatly helped the program in its endeavors to reach Native 
American consumers in the state. The VR regional director and staff from Albany, Georgia 
have been particularly helpful to MVR and have provided considerable support for its 
program. 

MVR provides several activities and planned initiatives that incorporate culturally appropriate 
services to American Indians with disabilities, allowing them to learn within their cultural 
setting, to build self-confidence with Tribal Elders as their mentors, and to receive VR services 
in a manner that reflects the diversity of tribal culture, and acknowledges and embraces that 
culture towards building a successful future. 

In SFY 2009: 

• MVR reported a 100% placement and served 25 consumers. 
• MVR had eight consumers in postsecondary education, including two- and four-year 
institutions of higher learning. 
• Three additional consumers are in job training situations. 
• Mekko Enterprises, which is owned by the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe and 
provides several different services in graphic arts manufacturing, hired four 
persons with disabilities to work in their program. 
• The Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe continued to work diligently with local and federal 
agencies to further educate the public regarding Native Americans and the need for 
education, medical services and employment in the rural counties of Georgia. 
• In addition to hosting a Lunch and Learn for its annual Disability Awareness Day for 
state and local VR staff, advisory board members and business partners, MVR served 
on the planning committee for the 2009 mid-year CANAR conference in Anchorage, 
Alaska, and coordinated the 2009 annual conference in Norman, Oklahoma. 

THE KEY MANDATES 

The Rehabilitation Act defines the State Rehabilitation Council as a policy partner to the VR 
program. Its responsibilities center on identifying systemic issues and trends that need to be 
addressed to improve the quality, quantity and availability of deliverable services. The Council 
reviews programs, advises on policies and procedures, and analyzes service delivery methods 
as they relate to supporting clients in their education, training, independence and employment. 

Additionally, the Council takes an active role in the development and review of state goals for 
the VR program, as well as for other initiatives that receive 110 funding, and participates in 
preparing the annual state plan and other required evaluations, assessments and reports. It also 
coordinates with other statewide councils, committees and advocacy organizations on disability 
issues and initiatives in order to eliminate duplication of efforts, to cultivate productive 
relationships and to promote purposeful collaboration. 

The members of the Council work in strategic partnership with the Georgia VR program to 
make certain that Georgians with disabilities receive the services and supports they need to 
become productive citizens through gainful employment and self-sufficiency. Council 
members are dedicated and dynamic volunteers from diverse populations, representing 
individuals with disabilities, VR professionals, advocates, educators, business people and 
service providers, among others. 

TAKING STOCK 

The SRC acted diligently as it worked to help empower Georgians with disabilities to achieve 
success in employment and independence in their communities, and devoted considerable time 
to training and orientation, either refining its knowledge of existing policies and programs or 
receiving information about new ones. As is usual, the Council held meetings in various 
locations – from the Cave Spring Rehabilitation Center (CSRC) in north Georgia, to mid-state 
at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, to the coastal city of Savannah, where members also 
attended a joint Georgia Rehabilitation Association – Southeastern Region National 
Rehabilitation Association conference. 

At each meeting, the Council listened to reports from the Vocational Rehabilitation Leadership 
Team (VRLT), which is comprised of VR administrators and the VR regional directors. This 
meeting format built upon the success of the SRC-member/VR staff liaison teams from the 
previous year, which easily facilitated Council members interacting as much as possible with 
VR staff to learn first hand about their achievements and challenges. 

Last year the Council established working committees that broadly reflect the state plan 
priorities, each with access to at least one designated GDOL/VR employee-liaison who assists 
with the flow of information and aids the Council’s education. Since this structure proved 
eminently workable, it carried forward into the new fiscal year. Committees to date are Public 
Relations/Human Resources, Native American, Education & Transition, Legislative, 
Policy/Procedure/Monitoring & Evaluation, and Sensory; pertinent highlights included: 


• Education & Transition – The committee continued its collaboration with transition 
specialists from the Georgia Department of Education, the VR program, Tools for Life 
and other partners to update and revise the interagency transition council web site, and 
to increase the number of Collaborative Agreements in school systems to enhance VR 
services to eligible students with disabilities. The Education Committee also discussed 
at great length the Business Enterprise Internship Program. The program proved a 
positive step forward for transitioning students who are blind, but economic cutbacks 
necessitated the program be discontinued after one year. Students and the BEP vendors 
themselves want to be able to continue the internship project. The committee believes 
every effort should be made to find funding and will do its utmost to bring about a 
favorable outcome. 
• Public Relations & Human Resources – The committee was active in its analysis and 
discussion of local and national salary information for rehabilitation professionals, as 
well as turnover rates and trends, in order to understand thoroughly the circumstances 
surrounding hiring issues, particularly in light of the lean budget. Members continued 
to be concerned about the vacancy rate and the lengthy recruitment /hiring time to fill 
vacancies, and offered assistance to agency personnel officials in any way deemed 
appropriate. Committee members also contributed their expertise to help ensure that 
facility counselors at Roosevelt Warm Springs be charged with performing the same 
responsibilities as the VR field counselors, thus assuring that they meet the CSPD 
standard for CRC and become eligible to be compensated accordingly. 
• Sensory – The SRC fully supports Georgia’s service delivery model for persons with 
sensory impairments, which establishes Deaf, Deaf/Blind and Blind statewide regions, 
and is well into successful implementation for its second year. The ultimate goal is a 
substantial increase in the quality and quantity of employment outcomes for individuals 
with vision, hearing and/or dual sensory loss. The committee consistently advocated 
for adequate staff to be able to address the needs and resolve the concerns of this 
population, and assisted in shaping the new Deaf unit at Roosevelt Warm Springs. 
Additionally, the Sensory committee and the SRC at large will continue to encourage 
significant improvements at CSRC, including new construction, renovation, program 
service design and pertinent off campus service components, and to offer input as 
requested. 
The linchpin for the Council’s very existence is to help in bringing about increased 
opportunities for employment services to clients, and to take actions that swiftly and 
effectively address customer needs. Without question, then, the Council’s most critical activity 
of the year was its collaborative role in and support of the department’s Service Integration 
Strategy. This unique approach creates an opportunity to help people go to work by 
consolidating VR services and working with Career Center staff on assessments, career 
exploration and job readiness. 

The first strategy, referred to as OASIS, focuses on increasing referrals, enhancing service 
capacity and improving customer service. It is a streamlined process and collapses a timeframe 
that essentially allows staff to do more with less. It is budget driven and customer focused, and 
fosters “matchable moments,” i.e., innovative analyses of current funding protocols so that VR 
may increase access to state matching funds. 

The SRC is enthused about collaborating on the next service integration strategies: to review 
the linkages between EMR and RES staff, which are the positions that interface between 
consumers and potential employers, and to explore and refine VR marketing strategies. 

MOVING FORWARD 

The Council’s most visible effort, and arguably its most important one in the upcoming year, is 
the public hearings. The SRC invited the Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC) to 
collaborate on joint public hearings statewide, and four are scheduled in mid-January 2010. 
Since both councils regularly seek input from the public on the needs for vocational 
rehabilitation (VR) and independent living (IL) services leading to greater independence and 
employment for people with disabilities, joint hearings provide a wonderful opportunity to do 
more with less. 

The Georgia VR and IL programs are required to submit plans to the Rehabilitation Services 
Administration (RSA) of how Georgia will use federal and state funds to provide a wide array 
of rehabilitation services to achieve priority goals and objectives in FY 2011-2013. The public 
hearings are opportunities for citizens to provide valuable input for those plans. 

The topics about which comments will be solicited focus on VR and IL program priorities, new 
strategies to improve outcomes, and innovative ways to expand services without increased 
financial resources. Specific areas include, among others: 

• Ways to heighten the integration of VR services and other GDOL employment services 
through Career Centers and One Stop Centers to assist people with disabilities to work; 
• Ways to expand IL services to assist more people with significant disabilities to 
transition from nursing homes to living in their communities; 
• Fostering greater coordination and outreach with school systems to increase appropriate 
referrals to VR and IL services to assist students with disabilities to transition to post 
secondary training, further education and/or employment. 
In conjunction with the public hearings, the SRC will seek to keep the vitality of the VR 
program by maintaining an open line of communication with the consumers of VR services 
and the employers who hire them. The Council will collaborate with VR staff to complete 
designing customer satisfaction surveys for both consumers and employers, and to implement 
them before the end of the fiscal year. 

Assessing customer satisfaction goes beyond being a Council obligation. It seeks to provide 
an accurate snapshot of how well the VR program is meeting client needs, and speaks to how 
participants feel about their involvement with the Georgia VR agency. Most importantly, 
perhaps, it allows the Council a means to identify best practices as well as areas where there 
are indications of a decline in consumer satisfaction. 

Client survey questions will elicit information regarding the level of client participation in 
decision-making, the quantity and quality of interaction with VR staff, the timeliness of service 
provision, and satisfaction with the employment outcome. Questions for employers will focus 
on how employee placements are handled, the fit between the consumers’ work skills and the 
employers’ job vacancies, the performance of VR clients once employed, and the helpfulness 
of specific services. 

In a setting chiefly marked by a slow recovery from a severe recession, other future endeavors 
will likely reflect an attitude that promotes listening first, then advocating for balanced actions 
that foster practical and reasonable changes. 

The Council will seek to invigorate collaboration with veterans programs to better assess and 
serve returning military personnel, especially those with traumatic brain injury and 
posttraumatic stress syndrome, and other related emotional disorders, as well as to provide 
training for VR staff that focuses on these common disorders. Initiatives already underway in 
the Augusta VR region and at Roosevelt Warm Springs (RWS) provide a foundation for 
further exploration. 

Additionally, the Council supports continuing the integration of appropriate aspects of medical 
and vocational programs at RWS to reinforce the seamless continuum of rehabilitation 
services. Somewhat analogous to a modern interstate system, the rehabilitation system has 
numerous on and off ramps, clover leaf points of distribution to specialized services, hills, 
detours, cautions and HOV lanes. Such a service integration strategy may also allow greater 
access to federal dollars and therefore state matching funds. Also at RWS, the Council will 
track the progress of a new VRU dorm. Ground was broken in fall of 2009 for the new 
residential village structure at RWS, which will be totally and fully accessible for any person 
with a disability. 

The SRC will strive to further the success of transition services by exploring new ways to serve 
students with disabilities that will help make them more independent. For example, VR is 
looking into providing authorized postsecondary funding directly to students so that they take 
the responsibility to “divvy up” the monies to all necessary parties. While the Council 
supports providing a tracking support system for the client, it also fully embraces VR’s role to 
teach self-advocacy and to cultivate independent decision-making. 

Lastly, the SRC intends to examine the feasibility of designing and implementing a two-week 
transition summer camp at RWS modeled after a similar Helen Keller Institute program for 
deaf-blind students. Proposed to be a collaborative effort between Georgia VR and Georgia 
DOE and funded by stimulus dollars, the curriculum will stress independent living skills 
training and social skills development. 

Collaborating on activities such as these are integral to the Council’s effective operation, and 
signals its intent to operate with integrity, accountability and originality, and to sustain an 
environment where all people have an opportunity to express their talents. 


MEMBERS OF THE GEORGIA STATE REHABILITATION COUNCIL 


Linda Shepard, Chairperson 

Parents Educating Parents &
Professionals, Inc. 
Douglasville 

Joe Tedesco, Vice Chairperson 
Alternative Access Media Center 
Athens 

James Ashworth 
AirTran Airways 
Atlanta 

Dexter M. Brown 
Bank of America 
Atlanta 

Cornelius L. Butler 
Butler New Media, LLC 
Bainbridge 

Fred Cannon 
AirTran Airways 
Atlanta 

Ashley Carraway 
Georgia Client Assistance Program 
Decatur 

Thomas W. Dennis
Newnan 

Russell C. Fleming (Resigned) 
Georgia School of the Deaf / Cave Spring 
Rome 

Michael G. Hale 
Synovus Financial Corporation 
Bogart 

Virginia C. Harris 
BAIN, Inc. Center for Independent Living 
Bainbridge

Charles W. Lamb, Jr. 
The Lamb Law Firm, P.C. 
Albany 

Wes Massey 
Commerce High School 
Commerce 

Walter Morris
(Deceased, September 2009) 
Conley 

B. Lu Nations-Miller, Ph.D. 
Georgia Department of Education 
Atlanta 

Bennie Butler Newroth 
Columbus Regional Healthcare System, Inc. 
Columbus 

Alice Ritchhart 
Brunswick 

Shelia H. Thomas 
Easter Seals of East Georgia 
Augusta 

Dorie Tuggle (Retired) 
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. 
Austell 

Christina Peggy Venable 
Lower Muskogee Creek Indian Tribe 
Whigham 

Charles F. Wells, CRC 
GDOL / VR Program 
Macon 

EX-OFFICIO 
Peggy D. Rosser 
Assistant Commissioner 
GDOL / Rehabilitation Services 
Atlanta