Advocating for Funding Essential Programs with Aliza Hauser, MA., CRC-CVE, PHR

Across organizations and agencies, disability services are reaching peak demand. The Case for Inclusion 2026 report finds that turnover for professionals working with disabled clients is the lowest it has been since 2014, and wages and employment rates are rising for individuals with disabilities. Despite this, funding for private and public programs across the United States is in question. 

How does this make sense? Well, it really doesn’t, and the threat isn’t just to services and programs – it’s to the well-being of the individuals with disabilities who depend on them. 

Aliza Hauser is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and Certified Vocational Evaluator, and the Program Director for the Neurological Vocational Services Unit at the University of Washington Medical Center. Aliza laid out a case for sustained investment in these programs during our conversation, as well as for CRCs as a natural fit for human resources departments across public and private organizations.

Learn more about NVSU at the UW Medical Center here.

Transcript

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 0:04

Welcome back to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. I'm CRCC Director of Communications and Marketing, Taylor Bauer, and I'm excited to bring you another conversation exploring the art and science of rehabilitation counseling. Across organizations and agencies, disability services are reaching peak demand. The Case for Inclusion 2026 report finds that turnover for professionals working with disabled clients is the lowest it has been since 2014, and wages and employment rates are rising for individuals with disabilities. Despite this, funding for public and private programs across the United States is in question. This funding gap is multifaceted across providers and fueled by Congress's approval for nearly$1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and Medicare over the next decade in 2025's One Bid Beautiful Bill Act and the end of additional disability service funding from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. How does this make sense? Well, it really doesn't, and the threat isn't just to services and programs, it's to the well-being of the individuals with disabilities who depend on them. Aliza Hauser is a certified rehabilitation counselor and the program director for the Neurological Vocational Services Unit at the University of Washington Medical Center. Aliza laid out a case for advocating for sustained investment in these programs during our latest conversation for the show, as well as how CRCs are a natural fit for human resources departments across public and private organizations. Please enjoy this conversation. Aliza, I'm so glad to talk to you today on the Inside Rehabilitation Counseling podcast. Thank you for being here. Um really looking forward to kind of hearing about the role you're in now and some of the amazing work you're doing. But I want to kind of start at the beginning of your career. How did you get started on this journey to become a certified rehabilitation counselor and eventually be the program director where you're working?

SPEAKER_01 1:53

It's been uh quite a journey. And I would say from most of the other rehab counselors I've talked to, we fell into this position. Um and so after I had my daughter, I was looking for a new career. I was in retail and um ended up um being a job developer in Chicago for people with mental illness and absolutely loved it. And in a year and a half, I placed 32 people in jobs. I moved to Seattle and ended up working here at Neurology Vocational Services under Dr. Bob Fraser, who um was a wonderful mentor and encouraged me to get my master's degree. So once I had that knowledge, I was doing vocational evaluations and learning and serving people with neurological conditions. And I absolutely loved it. And I had the opportunity to um then for the next 10 years work in HR. And I was working at um King County as a disability service specialist, which um was supporting people who were employed already and providing accommodations and working on interactive processes, writing letters to doctors, um, what kind of accommodations would be best and reasonable for not only the employer, but for the employee. And then I moved from there to working with 34 school districts in the Seattle area in the workers' comp area, working specifically with HR. And so I got my PHR at that time, and it really helped with working with HR specialists who knew that I knew where they were coming from because I had that certification. I knew the employer side and the employee side, and I think that was really helpful. Dr. Frazier, I mentioned earlier, passed away in 2023, and NVSU asked me to return as the director. And I've been here for now two years and some change. Super proud of the work that we're doing to um keep Dr. Frazier's name going.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 4:19

I hear a lot of folks say who are in this field, you know, you get inspired by a mentor and encouraged maybe to um go from working kind of tangentially around rehab counselors to then, you know, going to get your master's degree and becoming a CRC. And I feel like the legacy not only of the certification, but the field in general. I mean, over a hundred years old now since it was codified into law. And it's very much been a labor of love from the folks who have come before everyone. And it's it's I I like kind of that that passing of the torch and keeping it lit metaphor, um, because you know, where would we be without the people who come before us? And uh that foundation, I think, leaves this profession very strong. And then folks like you come in and continue to build on it. I I really liked what you said about kind of that knowledge of both the employee and employer side when working with HR folks. I think one of the things that um we could definitely continue to advocate for when we talk about CRCs is the fact that they're not just there for the employee, right? They're not just trying to find someone a job. It's also about matching that employer to a candidate and an employee who's going to be able to be successful. And uh, you're currently serving as the program director for the neurological vocational services unit at the University of Washington Medical Center. What are some of the key programs and areas of focus your unit is specializing in now? And uh who makes up the entirety of your team?

SPEAKER_01 5:39

Um, I'll start with our team, and I wouldn't be able to do what we're shooting for the stars for without them. And so I have a program manager and one employment specialist. So we're a small team. We were just able to bring on a fourth person to see how we do because funding has been in question with the or with all organizations, especially in working with the VR system. And um my goal coming here was to expand our our funding opportunities. So um where we are working with people with neurological conditions, and so that can be anything from you know a stroke TBI to um, I think 35 or almost 40 percent of our clients in the last year have been people with autism. Um, and then dual diagnosis of anxiety, um, ADHD, those types of conditions. And we are um doing the full gambit of um vocational evaluation. We're doing job tryouts for people or community-based assessments, as we call them in Washington, um, job placement, job retention. We um also have two new programs, and we'll talk about them in a few minutes. We have a social skills program, and in the past year, we've developed an executive functioning class, which I'm really proud of, and my team for building. We're seeing about a hundred people a year with uh on with three people. So we're busy, and I'm just super, super excited about what we're doing to help people, especially um people with sudden illness like stroke or brain injury, when they can't do the jobs they were doing before. Um, I think that um my prior roles in um understanding benefits and human resources and things like that can help that transition of figuring out where another a person can go if they can't do their job anymore and find those transferable skills to get them working um if they if they can and want to.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 8:00

I think that kind of HR experience with your with your um degree and skills is a really interesting kind of intersection. And I think it goes to show, right, because you're saying you you're not only working with TBI clients and people who have had a sudden intense neurological condition kind of sprung upon them, but it could also be kind of all over the spectrum of neurological disorders, including, you know, uh people experiencing, you know, neurodiversity and things like that, which I think a lot of times when we talk, even on this podcast, maybe we're guilty of it a little bit. When we talk about brain injury or neurological conditions, it's always kind of like, here are the most intense cases. We've seen a lot of people getting diagnosed with things like autism, ADHD, uh, even anxiety later in their life. And that can particularly when you are actually aware of how it's impacting you and you're shown that there are accommodations and things that can be put in place for you to be more successful, maybe in roles where you've been having to mask and struggle uh because you didn't know what you were experiencing. It's so important that those folks as well have access to these sorts of services that your unit provides. And one of the things that is also really interesting to me, and kind of the uh reason that I initially reached out for you to be on the show, is um I'm used to seeing those CRC letters after someone's name when I'm trying to find folks to speak with. Um, you also are a C VE, which I thought was really great. And I was like, oh, hey, you know, to the I I know all sets of those letters from the work we do here. Um PHR is not one of the certifications that we administer, but one that I'm very aware of because for a long time, uh, at least since I've been here uh since 2022, we've been trying to break into more spaces uh in human resources uh associations and things like that to let them know about the work that CRCs do and how great of a fit that is. And, you know, more and more CRCs, even since I've been with this organization, have been finding roles on HR teams and in HR departments. And I think that that's such a natural fit, even though it maybe is something that a lot of employers aren't aware of as an option to add to their team. So for you as someone with that credential, why is human resources a natural fit for a CRC based on the education and training you have?

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Well, to start with, many organizations don't think they need an HR team. So we can start there. And then for larger organizations or even consulting HR companies, you do you're not just doing payroll, but it is human resources and human management. And one of the things that come along with that is managing people that become ill or that um their disability becomes debilitating to where they can't work anymore and they need help to be able to do their job. And just squarely an HR person and specifically a manager does not have the skills of even the knowledge of you know our the CRC ethics of you know providing autonomy and being able to make sure that people um are met where they're at and how they can um be a part of accommodations and meeting meeting them where they're at, and also with the HR side, um knowing what's reasonable, what the um what their budgets are, and the creativity that comes with a CRC all wrapped into one. Um, the risk that is reduced from having, I think a risk is reduced by having a CRC in a role to be able to support these folks. I've seen just from the work that I've done in 10 years in that HR, in those HR kind of roles or accommodation roles, very low rates of EEOC complaints and uh lawsuits and that sort of thing have decreased because they are they have a counselor that they're working with to be able to be supported.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 12:04

Absolutely. Yeah, we have a job board on our website and we'll have HR folks send us listings for positions that, you know, a lot of them will say like vocational rehabilitation counselor and they'll be looking for a CRC. But we've gotten more and more of people in HR departments looking for someone to be like a return to work specialist or an accommodation specialist, and sometimes just email them and be like, hey, we're gonna get this on the job board. Just out of curiosity, like, why are you seeking a CRC? And the first thing they always say on top of, you know, a knowledge of disability and things like that is like compliance. Like it's just such a return on investment for their team to have a CRC there to not only comply with all that disability law, but like you mentioned, the creativity, it's not a knock at like an HR professional to say, like, they don't have that sort of, it's just a kind of like a lens, it's like an enhanced lens where they're seeing the the disability someone's experiencing and what those functional limitations are. They're seeing what the position is that they're being asked to do. And then they're also thinking, okay, how does the employer offer accommodations that are reasonable while also being able to do so in like a monetarily and also just operationally manageable way that made sense for everyone? And um, you know, you can see it on um folks who maybe work in disability services uh who don't have that CRC, where they don't always have that employer side of things, right? So it's just this really unique blend. And um seeing that you had your PHR certification and just knowing that those opportunities are increasing uh for CRCs, you know, first of all, we just love when people are wanting to hire CRCs in general. And um, I can't tell you we went to a Sherm conference. Uh, it's been about a year and a half now, and uh getting to talk to people who nine times out of 10 were like, I've never heard of CRCs before. Where are they? And I'm like, good news. They're nationally everywhere, you know? Uh yeah, and there's more of them than you might think. And they might be in your city or town. And um, even things like hybrid and remote working models have increased opportunities for everyone. And companies that are are thinking that way are thinking also about how they want the top talent that they can attract. And there's a blind spot inherently when you don't have that deep knowledge of disability and how it impacts everything that someone uh does, whether it's you know, everyday life or work or even just maintaining relationships. And um, to me, if I was a hiring manager at a at a company, I would want at least a CRC, if not more, of you on staff to say, look, we don't want to ever, you know, violate laws or get compliance issues issued against us. But I also want employees to know like this is a place where we value you and anything we can do to make you successful, that's what we're gonna do.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

And absolutely. And shout out to CRCC by um providing a where's the CRC in my area? You can add your zip code and um just find CRCs everywhere nearby. So, Sharm, just so you know, that's where you can find your CRCs at.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 15:04

I'm gonna click that and send it directly to the people I met at that conference. Um but yeah, I mean, we we uh we have that find the CRC button right at the top of our website for a reason. And it's because I mean, all 50 states, uh territories, even other countries, there are CRCs, and uh we hope to continue to see that increase. And with that, it, you know, a huge part of that is letting employers, NHR uh hiring managers and executives know that, you know, the challenges that you're facing with hiring in 2026, which, you know, are vast, and um there are a number of things to consider to keep an organization afloat while you're looking for talent to be able to do so. There are a lot of things uh related to disability in the workplace that are often overlooked, and it's not a problem until you run into it. And then it, you know, is something if you're not uh prepared to handle, you could be missing out on a great candidate for a job. You could be completely overlooking them, or, you know, in some cases, worst of all, you could be reducing that person to their disability and not understanding that with the proper knowledge and and expertise, you can find a way for everyone to thrive in that situation.

SPEAKER_01 16:11

Absolutely. Yeah, reducing bias and management is one of the big parts of um being a CRC in an HR role, in my opinion.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 16:20

Kind of on the topic of work and just how disability impacts us, you mentioned that your unit um runs a number of programs, one of which is the NVSU Social Skills Group. And that sort of actually just restarted in 2025 due to popular demand from your clients. Can you tell me a little bit about this program and why were folks so eager to see it return from your unit?

SPEAKER_01 16:42

Yeah, so um I knew it was successful. We had a licensed uh mental health counselor developed it um many years ago. And after uh she left, it kind of kind of just went off onto the back burner. And with the jump in people with autism coming and working with NVSU, I felt like it would be a really good opportunity not to teach people how to mask, but to actually teach people like interview skills and reduce that anxiety and get some practice in. And so it's seven sessions of you know, um how to ask for accommodations, how to work um with coworkers and you know, tell people how you're feeling without the shame of the anxiety around being able to talk to people and still be able to get your work done. Um, and so the seven sessions are um a hybrid in person and online. And I will say that every single person that's come has really enjoyed being in person again. Like they they've been a lot of people still are kind of just at home. Um our eighth session is doing informational interviews or practice interviews with community members of um companies that they would be interested in working for. So um we interview our clients before they start the class and we start looking for people who would be open to coming to do these um these interviews. And so it's a speed, speed dating interview process, and um it's we're getting ratings of 4.5 out of five. So we're we're really excited about it.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 18:37

Sometimes just having those concepts facilitated through interaction and engagement with you all and even with with the clients themselves interacting with one another is such a like a confidence booster. I think of any time professionally where I've been a little intimidated to go into any sort of new experience or opportunity, you kind of feel at ease most when there's someone around you kind of letting you know, like, no, like you're meant to be here and you know, be you, be confident. And I think some something like the social skills group is such an incredible way to facilitate that and encourage that.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Thank you.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 19:10

Yeah, and it's at a great time as well because NVSU saw a 26% increase in clients during 2025 at a time when state and federal reimbursement is causing a huge concerning funding gap for a lot of organizations. Um, and I think a lot of listeners, based on town halls we've done in the past and uh emails we've received from CRCs and infotes all across the country can relate to seeing the need for these services increase as access to public funding is decreasing. What should lawmakers and public partners, or even just CRCs listening to the show, know about the impact of investment in programs like yours?

SPEAKER_01 19:49

I think that it's important for the public in general to know that anyone can become disabled at any time. And without these kinds of services, people will be floating. We could have more people on the streets, we could have people with a decreased um sense of self, and not have um our service in particular. We feel so um niche. Um we're not working with people with developmental disabilities, and they have a lot of funding, they've done a great job. That community has done a great job with um getting funding for their children and for their loved ones and for their community, and especially for our folks, there the funding for for them is lost. Um just remember that you know there are organizations like us that can we need to find grants, we need to be able to find opportunities to continue. Um, if we go away, then um, you know, that's over 200 people a year that will be impacted and not have jobs or not have the service. So um please remember that disability can happen at any time. And so to continue to get funded is important.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 21:20

For people like yourself, um, and even like me and us here at CRCC, it kind of seems like such a no-brainer that by taking away funding to these sorts of programs and these these departments, units, whatever it might be, you're not just, you know, shaving dollars off of a budget or cutting costs. You're literally negatively impacting people who are, like you said, becoming more confident to be able to be employed, um, be like functioning autonomous members of a community where otherwise they might have felt like they didn't really have a place. Um, even just the level of independence that comes from getting a service, providing. By your unit. You know, you have the things like, oh, they were able to get a job that you can point to, which is fantastic, or, oh, you know, you can see it in the way that they speak. They're more confident, they feel more capable. But it's also just mentally those things going on on the inside where it can really shift someone's uh entire outlook on life to feel like they belong. And I think belonging is such kind of like an abstract concept. It might mean something different to everyone. But for the people with disabilities who are constantly overlooked in every aspect of society, essentially, um, belonging is huge. And it can go a long way to have programs such as yourself or such as yourselves present and available for those, like you said, who might not be thinking about disability much in their day-to-day life because they're not currently experiencing it. But there are a number of ways that people suddenly are living with a disability and your entire worldview shifts. You start to see how, you know, many places in society really aren't built for you and aren't primed to make sure that you are able to participate in as many ways as possible. And um, it shouldn't be something that you have to experience directly to see the value and importance of making sure that programs like yours continue to be funded. We're just super grateful uh for your, you know, service and your time with your team. And um, we hope to continue to be able to, you know, be a champion for the work that you do and other CRCs do so that folks know how important it is.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Thank you, Taylor. You said that very well.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 23:30

I appreciate that. Thank you. I didn't have to pay you to say that. Thank you. And like I mentioned, you know, we know these services uh from NVSU and other organizations like yours are life-changing. Um, and I'm always curious when we talk to people who are directly, you know, working or overseeing uh departments where you might be, you know, interacting with clients regularly. Is there like a client or a challenge recently that your team tackled that illustrates why now is the time to continue to support these programs as enrollment has increased and the client seeking these services?

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Um I wish I could just list off like all our success stories, but I I think that one of the big things is to let people know that just because they were a clay modeling filmmaker for video games, there's not going to be that many jobs out there. And what can what are the transferable skills for anybody? And how can we utilize them in the now workforce compared to you know five five, 10 years ago? Um, and that's the discussion we're having at our job club every week. You know, what else is out there? If you need to be employed, let's find another opportunity for you to be using all of your most of your skills, if you're a clay modeler, um, to be able to be a part of a work community. And like you were saying earlier, um, just having um having community and having a place of belonging um is what most people want along with a paycheck. And so um finding flexible opportunities for people to still be successful and enjoy themselves is where I think NVSU has really strived to be. Um and just like a couple quick examples. Somebody with aphasia um has a really hard time interviewing, and they're the most delightful person. And we set up an opportunity as an accommodation for them to just do a job tryout to show that they could do the job. They can weld, they can do all those things, they just can't speak as fluently as you and I. Um, they got the job and um are doing very well. Um, we had an artist come in and um not sure what to wasn't, they were a sculptor and um we got them a job um doing molds for prosthetics. So you don't know, you know, where people can be used. And so um being creative is one of the things that we really try to do. Um, and that challenge in itself is the fun part of it.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 26:26

It it'd be really hard for me to see somebody who is has done one thing their whole life and come up with like a natural fit based on those skills because I don't, I'm not a CRC, I don't have that training. So I could make guesses and that might be like, oh, maybe that's kind of what you are doing. But I think that ability to break down like what's the core of these, you know, job functions that you are still capable of doing and what work settings have you maybe not considered. I don't know, it's like a puzzle that I think a lot of folks would have a very hard time solving. And CRCs are kind of, you know, primed to be that person who comes in and, like you've said, gets creative with, you know, you maybe haven't thought of this, but this might be a really natural fit for you. And when you hear clients who are doing something that they never expected they'd be doing, um, and they feel fulfilled, and like you said, they're getting a paycheck and they're continuing to work. That's kind of, you know, the the aha moment of like why this work is so important and and worth, you know, spreading the word about. For sure. I really appreciate everything that you've shared throughout this uh conversation today. And I just want to kind of close with something that I like to ask all of the CRCs I talk to. Um, you know, talked about like, you know, abstract thoughts of belonging. And I guess this is kind of an abstract question too, but I'm always really curious to kind of hear your take on it. A lot of CRCs say that they felt like called to work with people with disabilities or to help others in the work that they do. So I'm really curious what brings you joy in your work as a CRC?

SPEAKER_01 27:54

Um, you mentioned puzzles earlier, and I definitely feel like completing a puzzle, finding person job, um, and um helping them stay there and uh is completing a puzzle, in my opinion. And so um getting a kick of just seeing your work completed is um is is the joy, period. Being able to see people happy and be able to buy a video game or be able to pay their rent without worrying about it, um that's that's my joy.

Taylor Bauer, CRCC 28:33

A big thank you to Aliza for an excellent conversation on this episode of Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. If you in your organization where you are employed are advocating for funding or looking for ways to explain the impact of certified rehabilitation counselors and the services they provide, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at contact us at crccertification.com. That's where you can also let us know if you have any comments or insights to share about today's topic. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by searching CRC Cert and like, subscribe, and rate the show on your favorite podcast platform. It's a huge help to us, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to us today. And hey, if you have an idea for a future episode of the show, or you want to come on and tell us about the work that you're doing as a certified rehabilitation counselor, get in touch. I'd love to have you join us. Thanks for listening to Inside Rehabilitation Counseling. I'm CRCC, Director of Communications and Marketing Taylor Bauer. Take care.