Rehabilitation Support Services Inc history

The Social Security Act of 1935 establishes an income maintenance system for those unable to work by providing benefits to unemployed individuals and retirees.

Congress passes the Social Security Amendments of 1956, which create a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program for workers with disabilities aged 50 to 64.

Section 502: Established the Architectural and Transportation Barriers and Compliance Board to oversee compliance to the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968.

On June 11, 1970, the program was incorporated in Virginia as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and was officially named The Social Center.

Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

The program Vera Mellen had originally designed to serve fewer than a dozen individuals, with one staff member and a handful of volunteers, had, by late 1974, grown to an agency serving over 300 individuals throughout the region, with a professional staff of 18.

In 1975, William DeVita envisioned a better life for people with mental illness.

Both programs opened the same day in December 1979 and were incorporated under the name Rehabilitation Support Services, Inc. (RSS).

By 1989, the agency was providing a range of rehabilitative skill training and support services including vocational, educational, case management, recreational and other services to over 400 individuals.

In 1992, with the support of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board (CSB), the agency opened another center, the Reston-Faraday Clubhouse, based on the original New York City “Fountain House Model.”

The Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996 creates the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program, which provides a federal tax credit to companies that hire workers from populations that face high rates of unemployment, including people with certain disabilities.

In 1998, founder Vera Mellen retired after 35 years, and Wendy Gradison was hired to succeed her.

In 2002, PRS’ opened an Intensive Supported Housing Program providing a non-time-limited residence with 24/7 staffing for eight clients who need full-time, intensive supports.

The new program, larger and more robust than the two programs that melded to create it, opened on July 1, 2009.

The first handful of classes started in July 2010, with three or four offered at each Center.

By January 2011, the Recovery Academy catalog of classes had grown to 42.

In April of 2013, The Department of Behavioral Health in the District of Columbia invited PRS to offer its Recovery Academy in Washington, D.C. PRS now offers Day/Rehab and Supported Employment services in the nation’s capital.