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In a sense, VR became too successful for its own good. In the 1960's, President Johnson was running a "War on Poverty", and he used the Rehabilitation Act of 1968 to harness the VR system in the fight against all types of problems faced by "the disadvantaged". Suddenly the term "disability" included drug abuse, alcoholism, repeated criminal convictions, and many non-medical conditions. Vocational rehabilitation programs opened offices in prisons, welfare offices, and urban neighborhood storefronts. VR counselors found themselves working with anyone needing any kind of help to "level the playing field" in looking for a job.

This created huge problems for the system of state and federal programs. The number of VR staff and VR offices quickly doubled. To handle the task, administrators created generic services ("jobs programs") that were very good at preparing lots of people for a very limited set of jobs. These services helped more people than ever before, but in more limited ways. VR counselors had to abandon two main principles that had previously guided them - the use of individualized programs and the flexibility of those programs to meet a person's specific needs. Still using the medical model, VR became more like a mass production system than ever, which sometimes made people with disabilities feel like parts of a huge machine.

This new system worked well, but there were also problems. The streamlined version of VR found many jobs for people with prison records, in the welfare system, or with "mild" disabilities. However, people with severe disabilities - things like severe mental retardation, quadriplegia, or cerebral palsy - could not get the specialized VR services they often needed. With the huge flow of people, people with severe disabilities often got lost in the shuffle.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 corrected some of these problems and started the modern age of vocational rehabilitation. It marks the beginning of person centered values as a major part of US law. With this law, Congress told VR staff to go back to the way they used to operate. Other departments of government took over vocational services for people with prison records or in the welfare system, reducing the workload for VR. VR returned to mostly serving people with severe physical or mental disabilities that kept them from working. Vocational rehabilitation counselors created Individualized Written Rehabilitation Programs (IWRPs) for each person. In addition, the person with a disability was more involved in creating that plan and selecting the services included. The 1973 Rehabilitation Act used specific definitions of "severe" disabilities, and for the first time gave people with disabilities the right to appeal decisions about their services.

Since 1973, Congress has updated this new "Rehab Act" about every five years, but kept the central ideas. Most of the updates are better definitions of issues - what a "severe disability" is, what kinds of services VR is authorized to provide, what "independent living" means, the kind of "due process" and legal rights available to people with disabilities, and what "supported employment" means. Using this language, the Rehab Act defined a new belief in equal rights for people with disabilities. This worked so well that other laws have copied the language and beliefs of the Rehab Act. These include the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1974 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). The Rehabilitation Services Agency (RSA) is the part of the Federal Government that carries out the vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs defined by the Rehab Act.

When Congress was considering the ADA law in 1990, people with disabilities rallied in support of it. The implementation of person centered values, through laws and through the VR system, had created a new feeling of political power among people with disabilities and they "advocated", or spoke up, for themselves. On the day President George Bush signed the ADA into law, people with disabilities marched in the streets of Washington to celebrate. They called the ADA "The Civil Rights Act for Persons with Disabilities", because it set in law the new philosophy that they had the same rights as everyone else. Under ADA, all public places have to provide "disabled access." So do all programs funded by the Federal Government. When they interview people for a job, all employers have to treat people with disabilities equal to any other applicants - the employers have to look only at qualifications for the job, not at disabilities. Under the ADA, people with disabilities can expect the freedom to have "regular" jobs, "regular" education, and "regular" lives in their communities. If they do not get those freedoms, they can sue in court under the ADA law.

Together, the Rehabilitation Act, IDEA, and the ADA constantly re-enforce the ideals of person centered values. IDEA helps people with disabilities get the same basic education as everyone else. The Rehabilitation Act helps people with disabilities prepare for and find career jobs. The ADA makes sure they have a fair chance of getting those jobs if they are qualified. Because Congress periodically revises and adjusts these laws, you can think of them as "living documents" that adapt to different situations. There are still controversies and debates about, for example, who monitors the use of taxpayer dollars spent on rehabilitation. But two principles of the rehabilitation system do not change - 1) employment and productivity lead to independence and 2) independent living is the right of all American citizens, with and without disabilities.

Under these principles and person centered values, the role of rehabilitation staff changed. From the 1920's through the 1960's, they were often thought of as gatekeepers who chose only certain kinds of people to receive services - only the people they were sure would be successful. The older, "medical model" of disability service sought to cure and protect persons with disabilities, often by confining them in "safe" institutions and sheltered workshops. Under the medical model, VR service providers gave people with disabilities jobs they were "fit" for. The new "person centered" model of service seeks to help all persons with disabilities live as equal members of their communities, with "normal" jobs, friends, homes, and families. Under person centered values, VR service providers find jobs for people with disabilities jobs that they find fulfilling. Today staff members act more like consultants for "clients" by helping the clients choose their own careers and supports. This is the new "consumer controlled" system of Rehabilitation Services.

In the "Findings, Purpose, and Policy" section on the public VR program, the Rehab Act says:

"Disability is a natural part of human experience and in no way diminishes the right of individuals to live independently, enjoy self-determination, make choices, contribute to society, pursue meaningful careers, and enjoy full inclusion and integration in the economic, political, social, cultural, and educational mainstream of American society."

The Act is intended

" to empower individuals with disabilities to maximize employment, economic self-sufficiency, independence and inclusion and integration into society"and provide "respect for individual dignity, personal responsibility, self-determination, and pursuit of meaningful careers, based on informed choices inclusion, integration, and full participation of the individuals."

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