Facing a growing budget shortfall, the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will institute wait list for employment services for people with disabilities. (Luis Alvarez/Getty Images)
Editor’s note: This story was updated 10:08 a.m. Tuesday to include a statement from the U.S. Department of Education.
Facing a worsening budget shortfall, an Idaho state government agency that helps people with disabilities gain and retain employment has been offered another $10 million in federal emergency funds that will help the agency continue to pay for people it already committed to support.
But for the foreseeable future, the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will process new applications through an order of selection, which lets the state implement a waitlist.
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In May, the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration — part of the U.S. Department of Education — notified Idaho that it placed the state’s vocational rehabilitation grant on “high risk” status due “significant concerns” about the Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s ability “to ensure appropriate financial accountability,” according to a letter the Sun obtained in a public records request.