ThiST VIRGINIA (WVDN) – College tuition assistance for people with disabilities in West Virginia will be cut next academic year due to a significant loss in federal funding. The program’s goal is to help more individuals with disabilities live independently as adults.
The state’s Division of Rehabilitation Services provides tuition assistance for thousands of residents with disabilities to use with the goal of employment.
D. Washington, a mother who lives in Dunbar, receives tuition assistance through DRS. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in hopes of becoming an occupational therapist.
She learned recently that due to federal funding change, DRS will cap individuals’ tuition sponsorship at $3,000 per year, down from $5,000 during the 2024 fiscal year.
“I will unfortunately have to stop after just my first year back due to budget cuts at the DRS,” she said. “They reduced funding a lot and I am unable to afford to finish my master’s program without big school loans. With the current interest rates I am not sure I am able to afford to do this.”
The Division of Rehabilitation Services is mainly funded through federal dollars. In FY 2023, the program received $21 million in funding followed by a sharp decrease in FY 2024 to $2.78 million. Following a yearly allotment process, agency leaders said in a letter to clients that the funding loss is “due to circumstances beyond our control.”
“While these changes are extremely unfortunate, they are necessary to ensure continued access to comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services by as many consumers with disabilities as possible,” said Andy Malinoski, spokesperson for the division, in an email to West Virginia Watch.
The division is responsible for operating the comprehensive state and federal vocational rehabilitation program in West Virginia. To be eligible, an individual must have a disability that interferes with his or her ability to get or maintain a job. Not all participants receive tuition assistance, Malinoski said.
“In fiscal year 2024, DRS sponsored tuition assistance for approximately 3,800 DRS consumers participating in degree programs at colleges, community colleges, graduate schools and vocational technical schools,” he said.
Washington said she learned about the DRS tuition assistance program from someone at her local Family Resource Network in Kanawha County.
“This was a game changer. It gave me the courage to go back to school at 34 [years old] and follow my dreams after being fearful for many years,” she said.
A mother of a child who is diagnosed with autism, Washignton had planned to work with children with autism in West Virginia.
The funding change will take effect for the 2025-26 academic school year. Malinoski said that the agency hoped giving program recipients advanced notice would allow them to seek other financial resources, including the state’s Promise Scholarship and federal grants.
Individuals needing or qualifying for $3,000 or less per year will not be affected by the upcoming funding change.
West Virginia’s system of care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities has been strained due to a lack of available beds in independent care facilities, inadequate workforce to help this population and other issues. Earlier this year, lawmakers learned that the state Department of Human Services spent millions of dollars earmarked for people with disabilities on things like in-home COVID-19 tests and contract nurses’ salaries.
Gov. Jim Justice announced in August that his administration would increase funding for state programs that provide in-home care for people with disabilities and seniors through Medicaid. The money was meant to improve pay for direct care workers — they earned around $11 an hour — in hopes of improving staffing.
The workforce shortage meant more people with disabilities unnecessarily ended up in psychiatric care facilities. Facilities can cost the state hundreds of dollars more per patient than in-home care or a community placement.
This article originally appeared on West Virginia Watch.
“West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.”
