Vocational Rehabilitation director warns of capped federal grant and rising caseloads; department explores $8 million IT upgrade

At a Senate Appropriations Human Resources Division hearing, Jim Fleming, interim director of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program at the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers the program faces growing demand while operating under a federally capped grant that has seen no recent cost‑of‑living adjustment.

Fleming said VR’s federal award is roughly 78.7% federal and 21.3% state; unlike the child support program, VR’s grant is capped so the state cannot draw additional federal funds simply by increasing program spending. Fleming said flat federal funding, combined with rising provider and labor costs, presents a sustainability risk over coming biennia.

Caseload and services: Fleming told the committee that VR received about 2,400 new applications in the last year, completed roughly 1,760…