Commissioner Cary F. Boswell’s retirement reception (video, photo gallery)

Members of the Rehab Family gathered June 24 to honor Commissioner Cary F. Boswell for his decades of leadership and service to Alabamians with disabilities. Attendees included friends, family, community partners, and colleagues as well as former ADRS Commissioner Lamona Lucas.

Board names Burdeshaw next ADRS commissioner (photo gallery)

The Alabama Board of Rehabilitation Services has appointed Jane Elizabeth Burdeshaw to succeed Cary Boswell as ADRS commissioner. Boswell, who will be retiring June 30, has served in the department’s top spot since 2009. Burdeshaw has been with ADRS almost 20 years, having served as a SAIL case manager, vocational rehabilitation counselor, staff training and

Early Intervention Update valuable for parents, professionals (photo gallery)

  Parents and early intervention providers and other professionals gathered June 14 in Tuscaloosa for the 15th Annual Early Intervention Update. The event was sponsored by the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (for Alabama’s Early Intervention System), the Three Rivers Early Intervention District VII Coordinating Council, and Auburn University at Montgomery. Some 200 participants attended the

Mississippi State-ADRS study examines efficacy of summer work program

VRS-Blind Services is partnering with Mississippi State University for a two-year study on the impact of job skills training on students with visual impairments who are participating in the department’s summer work experience program. The test group includes students age 16-22 who receive one-week job search skills training developed by Mississippi State University’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on

Thirty-five students graduate 2016 edition of Youth Leadership Forum (photo gallery)

Thirty-five students with disabilities are now graduates of this year’s Alabama Governor’s Youth Leadership Forum (YLF). The 18th edition of the program took place last week on the campus of Troy University and was sponsored by ADRS. YLF is an innovative, intensive, five-day career leadership training program for high school juniors and seniors with disabilities throughout Alabama. Program activities focus

ICC honors retiring commissioner (photo gallery)

  The Governor’s Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) for early intervention services honored ADRS Commissioner Cary Boswell at its June 8 meeting. The group presented Boswell, who is retiring June 30, with a signed and inscribed copy of the book ‘Sweet Dreams: 5-Minute Bedtime Stories.’ Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind President John Mascia, who serves on

Opelika CRS, VRS team up for ‘School’s Out Bash’ (video, photo gallery)

  With beautiful skies overhead, the Opelika Children’s Rehabilitation Service office opened the summer vacation season Friday with this year’s School’s Out Bash for children with special health care needs. Approximately 150-200 families from Lee, Tallapoosa, Macon, Chambers, Randolph, Russell, and Montgomery counties attended the event. Sharon Henderson, parent consultant for Opelika CRS, coordinated the