MADISON — Wisconsinites with disabilities who have been waiting for career services through the state’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will begin moving off the waitlist after new funding approval from the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance.
The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says the committee approved a request for additional funding to help end the DVR waitlist for new participants. The request provides $600,000 in state general-purpose revenue for state fiscal year 2026 and $6.4 million for state fiscal year 2027.
DWD says more than 7,600 people are currently on the waitlist, with about 1,000 new eligible individuals being added each month. The department says the goal is to eliminate the waitlist by June 30, 2027.
The local connection is the committee’s Assembly co-chair, Rep. Mark Born of Beaver Dam. Born is listed by the Wisconsin Legislature as co-chair of both the Assembly Committee on Finance and the Joint Committee on Finance.
DVR is a state and federal program that helps people with disabilities find, keep or improve employment by working with job seekers, employers and community partners. DWD’s website says DVR began serving individuals from its waitlist effective June 2, 2026.
DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek said the agency has been able to support existing participants, but new applicants have had to wait for services for the last six months. She said the new funding will allow DVR to begin moving people off the list.
DWD says people will be removed from the waitlist by category, beginning with those with the most significant needs, followed by people with significant needs and then other eligible applicants. The agency says waitlist categories are based on how a disability affects areas such as mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerance and work skills.
Pechacek said the money approved by the Joint Committee on Finance will move the state toward closing the waitlist, but she said it will not sustain the program into the next budget cycle.
DVR services are funded through a federal formula grant, with the federal government covering 78.7% of program costs and the state responsible for 21.3%, according to DWD.
