[1] Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program, Region 7, “Module 1: History of Vocational Rehabilitation,” Public Mandate: A Federal Overview (University of Missouri, 2004). Public rehabilitation programs first emerged after World War I, specifically to assist veterans. The Soldiers’ Rehabilitation Act of 1918 established the first federal VR program. In 1943, Congress passed the Baden-La Follette Act, broadening the scope of people eligible for vocational rehabilitation, expanding the types of services that could be provided, and increasing funding for maintenance and specific services. For the first time, people with visual and intellectual disabilities were eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services.
[2] Views of disability have changed significantly over time but primarily follow charity, medical and social/human rights models of disability.
[3] Deaf World War II, “Eric Marzoon,” from Deaf Mosaic hosted by Gil Eastman and Mary Lou Nowitzki, YouTube video, 0:03:44.
[4] Burton Lindheim, “‘Crippled War Workers,'” New York Times, May 31, 1942.
[5] Federal Security Service, U.S. Department of Education, Vocational Rehabilitation Division, Vocational Rehabilitation: Employment Efficiency of Disabled Workers (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1943), p.3.
[6] The Secretary of the Interior has designated Springfield, Massachusetts, an American World War II Heritage City in 2022.
[7] “Letter from Clifford E. Davis to Ernest Swift,” Vocational Rehabilitation, 33.
[8] “Handicapped Gets Job,” Kenosha News, December 16, 1943.
[9] Ann Petersen, “Deaf and Blind Take Wartime Duties: Operate Powered Machines, Work Leather and Metal, Wire Radio Panels,” New York Times, June 28, 1942.