Which act in 1973 ensured access to vocational rehabilitation services for adults and increased the need for trained rehabilitation counselors?

• A. 1973 Rehabilitation Act
• B. 1973 CORE
• C. 1975 PL 94-142
• D. 1981 CACREP

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how policy shapes access to services and the demand for trained professionals. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 broadened and funded vocational rehabilitation for adults, creating a federal–state system that explicitly aimed to help people with disabilities obtain and keep employment. By expanding eligibility, providing substantial funding for state vocational rehabilitation programs, and establishing nondiscrimination protections in programs receiving federal support, it greatly increased the need for qualified rehabilitation counselors who can assess, counsel, coordinate, and place clients into suitable work.

Other options point to different areas: one is not the foundational act for adult vocational rehab, another (passed in the mid-1970s) focused on education for children with disabilities, and another is an accreditation body that comes into play later in the field of counseling education. These don’t directly account for the access and workforce expansion tied to adult vocational rehabilitation.