By Brooke Kelly
(JACKSON, Miss.) – The Jackson State University (JSU) College of Education & Human Development has secured a 5-year $875,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The grant will support scholarships for graduate students pursuing their master’s degrees in the Rehabilitation Counseling Program (RCP) within the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation & Psychometric Services.
The funding is made possible under the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration’s new Long Term Training in Rehabilitation Counseling Grant Project which provides $175,000 per year for the five-year period. Frank L. Giles, Ph.D., professor and director of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program, serves as project director for the project.
“Our graduates work for agencies that provide services to help the many Mississippians with disabilities and chronic health conditions live a better life,” said Giles. “Since 2010, as a result of the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) competitive grant funding awards received by the JSU Rehabilitation Counseling Program, there have been 107 RSA scholarship recipients funded with 97 scholars or 90.1% graduating and completing degree requirements.”
Through the program, graduate students train for careers as rehabilitation counselors to provide rehabilitation counseling services to people with physical, mental, developmental, cognitive, and emotional disabilities as well as individuals with chronic health conditions caused by traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe burns and strokes.
According to 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), 17.6% of the state’s population have disabilities and chronic health conditions. This percentage represents more than 500,000 people, and ranks Mississippi 5th overall when compared to other states for non-institutionalized individuals with disabilities who are of working age (between ages of 21-64).
Considering the current and projected job vacancies for vocational rehabilitation counselors, the JSU RCP is exploring the possibility of increasing access to larger numbers of potential graduate students through an online education program.
In 1979, the JSU Rehabilitation Counseling Program became the first HBCU with a master’s degree level rehabilitation counseling program with accreditation from the Council on Rehabilitation Education, Inc. (CORE). CORE and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program (CACREP) merged into one academic accrediting body in 2017.
Giles has secured $12.875 million in external funding for the program, and one of the most significant program outcomes during the previous five-year grant project was receiving notice from CACREP in August 2024, that the JSU RCP received reaffirmation of accreditation. The accreditation period lasts through October 2032, and in 2026, this represents a period of forty-seven (47) years of continuous accreditation since 1979 for the JSU RCP.
The JSU RCP works closely with the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS). Several MDRS employees have received funding to attend the JSU RCP. In addition, for several years, JSU RCP and MDRS have executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which provides practicum and internship field-based training opportunities for JSU graduate students.
For more information regarding the Rehabilitation Counseling Program, please contact Dr. Frank L. Giles by calling 601-979-4188 or by emailing frank.L.giles@jsums.edu (preferred).
About Jackson State University: Challenging Minds, Changing Lives
Jackson State University, founded in 1877, is a historically Black, doctoral university classified R2 by the Carnegie Classification for its substantial research activity and doctoral degree production. Jackson State’s nurturing academic environment challenges individuals to change lives through teaching, research and service. Officially designated as Mississippi’s Urban University, Jackson State continues to enhance the state, nation and world through comprehensive economic development, healthcare, technological and educational initiatives. The only public university in metropolitan Jackson, Jackson State is located near downtown, with four satellite locations throughout the area. For more information, visit jsums.edu.
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