California. Dept. of Rehabilitation.

Agency History

In 1961 Governor Edmund G. Brown, Sr. established the Health and Welfare Agency as part of his plan for the reorganization of state government ( Stats. 1961, ch. 2037, p.4246). Designed to reduce government costs and improve efficiency, Governor Brown's reorganization plan created eight super agencies within the executive branch of California government (See Stats. 1961, ch.2038, p.4251).

As originally organized, the Health and Welfare Agency consisted of the departments of Social Welfare, Mental Hygiene, and Public Health. In the ongoing effort to further streamline government for maximum efficiency and public utility, the Brown administration added the Department of Rehabilitation to the departmental divisions of the Health and Welfare Agency ( Stats. 1963, ch. 1747, p.3483). In addition, the Citizens Advisory Committee on Aging, established in 1955, and the Office of Atomic Energy Development and Radiation Protection, created in 1959, became organizational components of the Health and Welfare Agency ( Stats. 1963, ch. 1746, p. 3482; Stats. 1963, ch. 1747, Sec. 12, p.3488).

The California government historically developed various agencies and services to aid and rehabilitate the physically and mentally handicapped as well as the deaf and blind. The Federal Rehabilitation Act established the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation within the Department of Education in California as early as 1921. The Department of Education administered the Division of Special Schools and Services. Established in 1946, the division included such services as the California School for the Blind, Training Centers for the Adult Blind, Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, and Schools for the Cerebral-Palsied Children. The Department of Social Welfare, established in 1942, administered the Bureau of Aid to the Needy Blind. The 1963 legislation consolidated the relevant services of these agencies into one Department of Rehabilitation.

The primary function of the Department of Rehabilitation is to rehabilitate and find suitable employment for persons with physical and mental handicaps. The department secures its rehabilitative objective through the application of specific programs administered within departmental divisions. The major divisions of the Department of Rehabilitation are Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Habilitation Services, and Community Services Support.

The department administers its principal service, Vocational Rehabilitation, through statewide district and branch offices. Various subdivisions of the department provide counseling, training, and placement servics. Those subdivisions are Rehabilitation Counseling and Placement; Business Enterprises Program for the Blind (BEP); Orientation Center for the Blind; and Independent Living Rehabilitation Services. The department also works to develop and implement new rehabilitation technology and methodology, and to protect and promote the rights of persons with disabilities.