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Panel helping disabled on hold for review
By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE -- State auditors say they've wasted money, didn't follow the law and should be disbanded. Members of the Occupational Access and Opportunity Commission don't agree, but they did vote Friday to stop issuing new contracts for job training until they can review and respond to several critical investigations. Commissioner Suzy Hutcheson said she urged commissioners to pause so they can sort out things. "Where did we go right and where did we go wrong?" Hutcheson asked. The commission, created in 1999 to help privatize job training for the disabled, has been criticized for cronyism and awarding contracts to former and current board members. A recent state audit suggested the group be disbanded and its duties absorbed by other state agencies. Commissioners have until Jan. 22 to respond. The program is a partnership in which the federal government pays $4 for every $1 the state pays. Under the old program, state workers counseled disabled workers on their options for training, including training provided by private companies. Now, private companies can provide the counseling and training services. Opponents say private companies that counsel disabled workers have a conflict if they also provide the training. "My concern is that this is a runaway train. This is nothing more than seven commissioners trying to feather their own nest using the federal government and the disabled," said Bill Weber, a Tampa businessman who has worked with the state's vocational rehabilitation program. The privatization effort also has caught the eye of the federal government, which has classified the state as a "high-risk" receiver of federal grants. Commission members have denied wrongdoing and say putting providers of disabled education on the board gives the commission a sense of what disabled workers need. And they point to a report that supports the concept. Above all, several commissioners said, their decision to delay the issuing of new contracts until the end of April should not be seen as a retreat from privatization. "I don't want information getting out there that we are doing anything but pausing for the shortest period of time," said commission member Pat Hardman.
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From the Times state desk Lucy Morgan
From the state wire
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