The UH Mānoa College of Education Rehabilitation Counseling Program in the Department of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science (KRS) was awarded a $1M five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The purpose of the project, Building Capacity for the Evolving Field of Vocational Rehabilitation, is to increase the number of qualified vocational rehabilitation counselors for employment in state agencies and their partners to provide vocational rehabilitation and independent living services to individuals with disabilities.
“We are thrilled and forever thankful to receive the RSA long-term training grant,” Assistant Professor and Program Director Kathryn Yamamoto said. “This grant will provide scholarships for graduate students committed to serving individuals with disabilities not only in Hawai‘i but also nationwide.”
The rehabilitation counseling program is geared toward graduate students who are interested in becoming practitioners and administrators in the field of vocational rehabilitation. The program consists of general counseling theory and foundational rehabilitation courses as well as clinical experiences in the student’s own community. It is a 48-credit distance education program that leads to a Master of Science (MS) degree in KRS.
“The faculty is very supportive and encouraging,” said current student, Melissa Scroggins. “They are available and flexible and really put their hearts into their students and passion into their work and advocacy for people with disabilities.” Scroggins is the recent recipient of a $1,000 scholarship from the Dr. Ted Daniels Foundation for her own commitment and academic excellence in the field of rehabilitation.
The quality of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program is ensured by its accrediting body, the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE), which has approved the program’s accreditation through 2017. The deadline for scholarship applications is March 1, 2015. For more information, please contact Director Kathryn Yamamoto at kky@hawaii.edu, or go to the program’s website.
