Veterans Pioneered Vocational Rehabilitation

Necessity is the mother of invention. Injured veterans returning home to the United States from World War (I) was the birth of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), as our injured soldiers suffered many permanent injuries such as amputations, vision and hearing losses, and trauma. VR created a jobs program to help identify other jobs our veteran soldiers could do after injury to support themselves and their families. Our pioneers of VR recognized the need for soldiers to get back to their lives as much as possible, and jobs are an essential part of people's lives. Paid or unpaid jobs give us structure, and identity, create camaraderie, build friendships and give us self-worth by being productive.

The first federal VR program, the Soldier's Rehabilitation Act, became law in 1918. Under this act, the Federal Board for Vocational Education was primarily responsible for developing VR programs for and providing VR services to disabled veterans who had a disability (resulting from military service) that presented a handicap to employment. For example, veterans often suffer psychological symptoms that make it more difficult to sustain employment.

Employment had to be feasible due to the VR training or, at minimum, the identification of another type of job within a soldier's capabilities.

The Smith Fess Act passed in 1920 extended VR services and programs to civilians physically disabled. It, too, was administered by the Federal Board of Vocational Education. Because the Rehabilitation Act provided federal funds to states on a 50-50 matching basis, it strongly incentivized states to pass similar legislation.