Oklahoma Authors
Best Oklahoma Books
Recommended Ok. Books
Library Resources
Nonprint Oklahoma
Oklahoma Centennial Site

  

 

Dr. Morgan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials (NCRTM) - 1961


The National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials (NCRTM) was first established in 1961 by a group of rehabilitation educators realizing the need for a central resource and communication point within the public rehabilitation community.
Curriculum and syllabi developed by vocational rehabilitation

counselors was shared and distributed setting the foundation for the Clearinghouse. Nine years later, the Clearinghouse was awarded a federal grant under the Department of Education, Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA). Its mission is: To promote the exchange of information and enhance the outcome of the public rehabilitation program by collecting, archiving, and disseminating the rehabilitation training materials developed by:
• Rehabilitation Service Administration Grantees
• Rehabilitation Practitioners
• Rehabilitation Educators
• Continuing Education Trainers
• Special Educators
Each fiscal year, approximately 220 rehabilitation education training grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, RSA. NCRTM is one of twelve rehabilitation training programs administered from Washington D.C. and is considered the "sole" clearinghouse of the RSA.
Large volumes of material have been archived and disseminated over the last forty years. To date, the clearinghouse has 7,000 resources/materials concerning rehabilitation of individuals with disabilities served by the public rehabilitation program. The resources have expanded beyond vocational rehabilitation counselor educators to include:


• Interpreters for the Deaf
• Rehabilitation Specialists for Person with blind or Low Vision
• Rehabilitation Psychologist
• Vocational Evaluation
• Work Adjustment Specialist
• Rehabilitation Engineers
• Other Specialties


NCRTM provides a full range of services that include customized research services, locating and delivering training materials, links to other disability and rehabilitation related sites, and administration of several listservs for the national rehabilitation associations. Our resources are utilized by:


• State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies
• Rehabilitation Educators
• Independent Living Center's Information
• Individuals with Disabilities and Families
• Special Educators
• Advocates of Individuals with Disabilities


The history of the program is traced to a volunteer effort by Clayton A. Morgan, Ed.D. of Oklahoma State University. At a meeting of rehabilitation educators in 1961, Dr. Morgan volunteered to collect and distribute the syllabi and other curriculum materials developed by

rehabilitation educators. Dr. Morgan suggested that educators share their syllabi and
curriculum used to prepare Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors for the field. This modest collection of syllabi and other materials was stored in a closet in Dr. Morgan's office. As new materials arrived, Dr. Morgan would send a memorandum to members of the group announcing the arrival of new items. Mimeograph copies were sent to those who responded. Soon the state VR agency human resource directors and RRCEP directors learned about the collection and added materials used in continuing education efforts. Later the Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers and others made contributions to the collection.

The box of 3X5 cards listing available materials to educators has been replaced by an interactive catalog of materials available to all who visit the NCRTM web page. The memorandum circulated to rehabilitation educators has been replaced by the NCRTM Newsletter, distributed to thousands of patrons in the U.S. and around the world on paper and electronically. Dr. Morgan's volunteer effort to save rehabilitation educators time and energy developed into the sole clearinghouse of the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration. The field has expanded from only Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor educator to include Interpreters for the Deaf, Rehabilitation Specialists for Persons with Blind or Low Vision, Rehabilitation Psychologists, Vocational Evaluation and Work Adjustment Specialists, Rehabilitation Engineers, and other specialties within the rehabilitation career field.



Top
Oklahoma Libraries