On September 20, Maine's State Rehabilitation Council held a public forum to solicit comments from consumers. The SRC is a governor–appointed advisory board that advises the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. The council specifically asked for feedback on the following questions: What's working in VR and should be preserved/enhanced/expanded? What's not working in VR and needs to be changed or improved? And lastly, What should VR do that it isn't currently doing?

The forum was open to the public, but pre–registration was suggested in order to insure an opportunity to participate. Written comments were also taken. The event was opened with words of welcome by SRC Chairperson Kevin Baack. The facilitator was Steve Pecukonis. Members of the SRC and the Department of VR were on hand to hear comments and suggestions. Notes were taken by the SRC secretary and were projected onto a screen during the forum.

The event took place with a nearly full house. Twenty–seven people shared their experiences and advice and many others submitted written comments. The SRC and the Department will be reviewing the comments and submissions in the near future.

Many of us who attended felt that the event was a great success. The comments were very candid and, for the most part, constructive. It was a moment when people felt free to share deepfelt concerns with the VR Department. I'll not try to summarize all of the comments here, but below are a paraphrase of a few of the comments and concerns that were voiced:

• Praise for how well the system works
• Educational supports are really appreciated
• Clients would like better information about both VR and other resources that might be available to them
• The wait for services is too long
• Several people wanted VR Clients to be able to network with other Clients
• Not enough access to financial supports while going to school
• Need more and longer term supported employement
• Need better access to counselors
• Hard to contact VR
• Where's the website?
• Career Center not always welcoming to people with disabilities
• VR Services not seen as consistent from counselor to counselor

The striking thing was that most people were not acting confrontational. They were sharing heartfelt suggestions to an agency that they count on to help them achieve their employment goals. Many people felt it was one of the most useful forums that they had ever attended. Now it's up to VR and the SRC to evaluate and act on the information.

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