FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Christie Hansell drives four hours to attend graduate classes in rehabilitation counseling at the University of Arkansas. Her experience and ambition motivate her, but what makes it possible for her to pursue her master’s degree is a rehabilitation counseling traineeship.

The Rehabilitation Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Education awarded nearly $250,000 to Richard Roessler, University Professor, and Brent Williams, assistant professor, to address both the high unemployment rate of people with disabilities and the shortage of rehabilitation counselors and placement specialists. The grants focus on providing financial assistance to graduate students.

 “These grants will make it possible for us to offer significant financial support to approximately 10 to 12 master’s students a year, who will be prepared to fill the critical need for rehabilitation counselors,” said Barbara Hinton, head of the department of rehabilitation, human resources and communications disorders.

Hansell has worked in the rehabilitation field as a case manager with Friendship Community Care in central Arkansas. She knows the value of the work she does and anticipates being able to do even more with a master’s degree. While continuing to work in assisted living for adults with developmental disabilities, she hopes to advance to performing testing.

“I chose this program because of the professors,” Hansell said. “Dr. Roessler is well known in the field in the United States.”

To balance graduate school and time with her husband and two children, she needs the training stipend to supplement lost time from work. Like many of the rehabilitation counseling students, she says that she couldn’t do it without financial assistance.

Jim Mather, who works with the Arkansas Support Network assisting individuals with community employment, echoes Hansell’s enthusiasm for the academic program. He, too, says that the traineeship is crucial to permitting flexibility with his work hours while still paying his bills.

Mather is impressed by the depth of knowledge he has found in the faculty, and the immediate applicability of his studies to his job. He takes what he learns in the classroom in the morning and applies it on the job that afternoon. His goal is to use his degree and experience in the field to direct a human services organization.

U.S. Department of Labor projections show an increasing need for highly trained professionals such as Hansell and Mather. Estimates are that more than 43 million Americans have physical, mental or psychological disabilities that restrict some of their activities and prevent them from obtaining or maintaining employment. Each year, about a million people with disabilities are assisted through independent living and public vocational rehabilitation programs to become independent members of society.

“Current estimates suggest that available candidates in the next five years will meet less than half the projected demand for rehabilitation counselors in the federal and state systems, not to mention the not-for-profit and private sectors,” Roessler said.

Roessler explained that 40 percent of current state and federal rehabilitation counselors are more than 50 years old, and retirements in the next 10 years will create many openings. In addition, he noted, the field is projected to grow due to an aging population, increased survival rates of people with disabilities and requirements of nondiscrimination laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Over the next five years, the turnover rate for vocational rehabilitation counselors employed by the state of Arkansas is projected to be about 18 percent, and more than 20 rehabilitation counselors are expected to be hired.

The five-year federal training grants to the university will be used to prepare professionals in rehabilitation counseling at the master's level. The project emphasizes recruiting and retaining racially diverse groups and students with disabilities.

The initial group of master’s students enrolled in fall 2004 and includes individuals with sensory, mobility and cognitive conditions. Many of them sought out a rehabilitation graduate program, Roessler said, so that they could help others with disabilities overcome barriers to inclusion and productivity.

Roessler and Williams encourage individuals interested in the field of vocational rehabilitation to apply for traineeships. To support students pursuing a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, the traineeships provide funds for tuition and a monthly stipend of $550. Information about fall 2005 admission is available from program coordinator Brent Williams at btwilli@uark.edu.