Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Faces Funding Shortfall, Leading to Waitlist for New Participants

MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) is facing an Order of Selection (OOS) for individuals it serves – a process also referred to as a waitlist. Due to insufficient funding, a waitlist would immediately affect approximately 2,000 individuals (consumers) and 1,000 consumers monthly across the state of Wisconsin until sufficient funding is allocated.

DVR administers the federal Rehabilitation Act program, under which it provides individualized services to eligible people with disabilities who want to work, offers training and technical assistance to employers regarding disability employment issues, and actively engages with roughly 19,000 individuals at any given time who are working toward an employment goal.

These services are funded through a federal formula grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Rehabilitation Services Agency (RSA). Federal law requires that the state of Wisconsin share in the cost of providing these services: Federal RSA funds 78.7% and the state must fund 21.3% of the program costs. In state fiscal year 2025, the VR program had $111.1 million in expenditures, of which $87.4 million were supported with federal funds and $23.7 million were supported with state funds.

In his executive budget for the 2025-27 biennium, Governor Evers proposed sufficient funds to ensure services for all job seekers with disabilities who want to participate in vocational rehabilitation through DVR. The Joint Finance Committee chose a funding amount for this program that was less than the governor’s proposal, despite the Legislative Fiscal Bureau indicating this option could result in the need for additional funding to provide vocational rehabilitation services to all Wisconsinites seeking this support. Under Act 15, the final state budget appropriated $21.3 million of state funds in state fiscal year 2026. This is $2.4 million less than was spent in state fiscal year 2025 and is $4.6 million short of the projected need for this year. Without sufficient funds, DVR will not be able to support new participants to the program gain competitive, integrated employment.

“We want to find a solution to continue to provide employment services for anyone with disabilities who wants to find a job,” said DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek. “We welcome the public to participate in this public hearing and are working with all stakeholders to address this issue.”

Next steps

If $4.6 million in state funding is not allocated to DVR in the coming weeks, DVR will host a virtual public hearing to explain the need to cut off vocational rehabilitation services for new participants due to lack of state funding. The purpose of the hearing is to provide members of the public an opportunity to comment on the implementation of the waitlist. The notice will be posted 10 days in advance of the hearing at Wisconsin’s Public Meeting Notices and Minutes web page and will include an agenda and other details of how the public can join.

Following the hearing, DVR will notify new participants they are being placed onto a waitlist. DVR also will continue to closely monitor monthly spending to allow newcomers into the program as funds become available. The length of time an individual would be on the waitlist is related to the amount funding available, along with the cost of services and number of participants enrolled in DVR. Existing DVR participants who currently have an approved individualized plan for employment with DVR would continue to receive services until they complete the program.

“I invite all those whose families and communities have been improved by vocational rehabilitation services or those who would like to use the program to participate in this public hearing to use your voices to ask your state legislators to sufficiently invest in vocational rehabilitation services for all people with disabilities who want to successfully build careers in Wisconsin as Gov. Evers proposed to do,” said Sec. Pechacek.

Thousands of Wisconsin workers and employers have benefitted from DVR’s services over the years. Read more about these services and recent consumer success stories.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.