UW-Madison’s Susan Miller Smedema is the project director for a new grant that’s designed to bolster the number of qualified vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors across Wisconsin and the nation.
The award is for a Long Term Training Grant from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA).
The project will grant scholarship support for students in the highly ranked master’s degree program in clinical rehabilitation counseling at UW-Madison, which is directed by Smedema. With a grant of $1 million over five years, a total of 50 students will benefit from this award.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide scholarships to our students for the next five years through this RSA grant,” says Smedema, an associate professor with the School of Education’s Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education. “Our students are absolutely phenomenal, and are passionate about helping improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses. They are well deserving of the financial support that this grant will provide them.”
For more than 60 years, this program has been successful in producing graduates who have gone on to careers in rehabilitation counseling, facilitating the employment of people with disabilities and improvements in their quality of life. Many graduates have become leaders within the profession.
Smedema explains that this initiative will increase the supply of rehabilitation counselors for employment in state vocational rehabilitation agencies.
This will be accomplished through the recruiting, training, and placement of people, including individuals from underrepresented groups, in professional positions in state vocational rehabilitation and related agencies. Students will also have the opportunity to work with cooperating agencies and programs that provide practicum and internship experiences, including the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
Please visit these links for more information about the RSA Training Grant Program.