With the impact of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, to the rise of hybrid work, 2025 promises to be a transformative year for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and accessibility.
These changes influenced Geographic Solutions to host a timely discussion on trends in vocational rehabilitation and accessibility with Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation's (CSAVR) Chief Executive Officer, Steve Wooderson and Director of Business Relations, Kathy West-Evans. The panel also included Joe Devon, GAAD Foundation Chair, and the Founder of A11y Audits, a boutique consultancy that derives its name from the numeronym for the word accessibility.
Throughout his career, Wooderson has been acutely involved in public VR programs with over 40 years of service in the industry, initially starting his career as a counselor with the Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. At CSAVR, his guiding principles are still very much intertwined with the programs he supported at the beginning of his career.
“We help folks with disabilities return to work, find new employment, and gain skills necessary to retain employment through a variety of different employment-related services,” said Wooderson during the webinar of his work with VR and at CSAVR.
West-Evans’ career began in 1978 working at the community, state, federal, and national levels during what has become over a 45-year tenure in the industry. At the beginning of her career, she worked as a vocational consultant and manager of the Projects with Industry program at the Hearing, Speech, and Deafness Center. From there, she joined Washington State’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, holding several positions over a 14-year tenure. She worked at the Federal level in the Rehabilitation Services Administration for close to ten years before being hired by CSAVR.
“Twenty-eight percent of people in the United States are individuals with disabilities, and disability can happen at any time during your life, including the employment life cycle,” said West-Evans communicating the importance of VR to the career journey.
Perhaps most well known as co-founder of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Devon is a seasoned tech entrepreneur and public speaker. He’s consistently at the forefront of technological advancements, especially with accessibility.
“Almost everybody does work that is connected to a computer, and any at any place that touches a computer, you need to make sure that there’s digital accessibility,” said Devon.
Devon’s inspiration for accessibility stems from his father. He observed the challenges his father would go through after losing his eyesight and hearing. It would take all day for his father to do a simple task, such as visiting a bank using a standard ride-share program.
In an article that first appeared in the Jewish Journal, Devon stated that he believed developers and designers were not making websites inaccessible out of malice, but simply out of ignorance. Thus, his journey began.
How does this tie in with VR? Keep reading!
VR at its Core: A Brief History
CSAVR, the organization represented by Wooderson and West-Evans, was initially formed to maintain and enhance a strong, effective, and efficient national program of public VR which, in partnership with education and business, and the workforce system, empowers individuals. The Council is made up of chief administrators of public agencies serving individuals with physical and mental disabilities in the states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
Within CSAVR is the NET, or National Employment Team, a network of 78 public vocational rehabilitation programs united in serving its customers. The NET is based on a dual customer strategy, connecting the talents of candidates with disabilities to the employment needs of business.
VR established its roots in the World War I era. The Soldier’s Rehabilitation Act of 1918 helped hundreds of thousands of soldiers returning home with war-related disabilities. The Act essentially sparked the first vocational rehabilitation program, establishing training for injured veterans to find new jobs. The act also created a federally-funded program to help veterans find employment in civilian jobs. The success of this program made it easy for Congress to extend its offerings to civilians through the 1920 Smith-Fess Act.
Since then, there have been a lot of changes to the program. But its core mission remains the same – provide a variety of different services, including career counseling, skills training, job career placement, workplace accommodations, support services, and working with businesses for job placement.
Today, the program is still constantly evolving. Many of the trends that are causing transformation and disruption in similar industries that are tied back to employment, are also affecting VR.
Where Does VR and Accessibility Intersect?
Employment and the activities around finding a job, upskilling, reskilling, or applying for benefits more often are found at this intersection. From legislative mandates, to simply using a mobile device to search for jobs, VR and accessibility have many intertwined waypoints.
“Accessibility and independence for individuals, as well as accessibility in the workplace, are key elements of the work that we do, supporting people in their training, their careers and independence” said West-Evans.
Devon built upon West-Evans’ sentiments adding that as the world becomes more technology driven, there are even more intersections between VR and accessibility.
“When you’re doing work remotely, it’s almost all digital accessibility…this very platform that we’re on is a prime example,” said Devon, referencing the GoToWebinar platform for virtual meetings.
The Influence of AI
There is no shortage of industries that AI has touched. VR and accessibility are no exceptions.
“We’re seeing artificial intelligence being developed and deployed to assist with communications between the VR staff and the VR customer, even to the point of reminders, appointments, and initial information gathering,” said Wooderson. “It still blows my mind.”
Wooderson added that there is still a ways to go in understanding how AI maximizes access to employment for VR customers. He advised that caution still be applied to developing AI tools for employment, especially to combat bias, and that the disability community remain vigilant in the design of products that use AI.
"Hire talent with disabilities to be part of the team that is developing the tools," recommended West-Evans.
Devon hosts a podcast called Accessibility and AI. Being a part of this production has exposed Devon to many AI tools, some because of captioning and transcription. Devon talked about how in this instance, it’s still very important to put a human in the loop.
“The way I view AI is that it’s all very highly connected to disability because artificial intelligence is trying to emulate all of the different sensations, senses, and generative abilities,” said Devon.
What’s in Store for Vocational Rehabilitation and Accessibility?
From AI and automation in vocational training, to the expanded need for digital accessibility for job seekers with disabilities, these two industries will continue to intertwine. Coupled with the rise of hybrid work and the need for personalization in Individualized Plans for Employment, the software industry will have the opportunity to rise to the occasion with new solutions that bring both features that are both accessible and poised to assist in rehabilitation.
Towards the end of Pathways to Employment: Empowering Abilities, Devon imparted wisdom about the uncertainties around AI with regards to both VR and accessibility, and employment in general, but also his innate excitement.
“Don’t let fear stop you from paying attention to AI and playing with it,” said Devon.
Interested in seeing the full webinar that this article is based on? Visit our Pathways to Employment page to watch.