Department of Rehabilitation - Oakland, California

zebra's Canvas

This place is a hit or miss for help. I have worked here and been a client twice. The staff are overworked and abused which most certainly affects the quality of service they can provide to clients. I highly recommend documenting every interaction with this office ( phone, email, letters, etc.) double check everything, never assume anything, everyone's case is different, know your rights, and if needed get an advocate. Just know some services or plans take longer to get started and you unfortunately have to be on top of your communication and follow up. Sadly this place is going through a rough patch and needs to be revamped. Keep the faith and never give up on your goals.

Kevin Barba

After a month of waiting which was understandable as they are short staffed, they transferred me to a los Angeles DOR where I missed one call and when I called the next day they did not answer. My case was then dismissed after 24 hours from the first call, had to find this out later.

Datsun510zen

I'm dealing with progressive vision loss, and I found little in the way of assistance with the application process, but that did not reflect on the quality of service the Oakland DOR provides. My case manager was adept at introducing technologies that amplify my natural ability in order to overcome visual limitation. The level of patience, support, and training I received there helped enable the completion of my graduate degree, and helped me make the transition from one career to another. I have nothing but gratitude and praise for the help I was given to accomplish these things.

Jeff Hoffman

I assigned my Ticket to Work to this office in 2015 and did two rounds of case management there. The first time they took six months to get a counselor; then she resigned and it took another two months to get a new one. The second time the counselor assigned me to a job coach two hours away on public transit from my house. The state bureaucrats in this office are mainly focused on protecting their butts but not so much interested in helping clients. It also seems that if you are seeking anything other than a low-wage, low-skills McJob the DOR isn't equipped to help you. I've heard that the Berkeley office isn't much better. Overall, I'd say the DOR is a waste of taxpayer money.

Ms. Luchita Graham (Chida)

FRONT DESK "BRENDA" AWFUL LADY, SHE'S VERY RUDE REFUSES TO MAKE APPOINTMENTS FOR CLIENTS IN DESPERATE NEED OF COUNSELING SERVICES, I'VE BEEN HOMELESS SINCE 11/25/18 AND I'VE BEEN OUT OF WORK SINCE 8/18/18, I'M NOT HAPPY WITH THE SERVICES THAT I'VE RECEIVED THERE AND I NEEDED TO SPEAK WITH THE COUNSELOR OF THE DAY/OR THE OFFICER OF THE DAY, I WAS VERY POLITE AND SHE CALLED THE SECURITY OFFICERS ON ME I GUESS SHE JUST DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WORKING THAT DAY, I GUESS IT WAS A "WHITEHEAD FAMILY " DAY?, SERVICES ARE NOT THE SAME AS IN "2017"

HONESTLY, MS LUCHITA GRAHAM MY PREFERRED NAME IS CHIDA ? ? ☀️ ? ✋️ =THE GOVERNMENT IS WATCHING YOU AND I, NO ONE IS BEING A SNITCH ? ? ☀️ ? ✋️.

Mickey Mishra

.... You know how they tell you that vocational rehabilitation is the way to go and you get the most amount of benefits and I really got to take care of you will let me tell you something it's absolutely like pulling teeth and I would caution you before you take this step I would also let you know that you know what if someone tells you that something is going to be done believe me it's not going to be done and the old adage of vocation abilitations counters lying to you well that's no different here. Matter fact the word on the street here is is that this Oakland office is the worst vocational rehabilitation office on the West Coast. Now I'm not saying there is not really good people working here it's just that with my experience with the counselor I had I did not have a very good experience matter of fact it's been like pulling teeth to get anything done and you know what if there too busy after six months to bother looking in your file folder something tells me that either they're not willing to do the job or something else is going on here and you know what they're not really about trying to make your life easier no way. To be completely honest with you if you really are disabled vet and you really do have a serious cognitive issues good luck ever getting any service you will literally die before you actually get anywhere with these folks it's just not easy going through vocational abilitations. Now I'm not really sure what the big fuss is about supposedly they're all but using tax dollars efficiently but I got to admit I'm not really sure they understand their purpose again is it better to go and spend those tax dollars from another agency and so you may day positive impact on the budget or actually use those dollars to change veterans life they can start paying taxes and it finally give back to the government

Melina Chapula

Awful customer service at the front desk. She kept a pleasant tone but she wouldn't work with me at all. You can't tell someone "Maybe this program just isn't for you" when you don't know who you are speaking to. I tried to apply for this program because I need financial help. And I am only eligible for this program because there is something "wrong" with me. She doesn't know what is wrong. She doesn't know that I have PTSD. She doesn't know if I'm suicidal and just so desperate for any assistance that being told outright that I can't be helped might push me over the edge. She. Just. Doesn't. Know. My issue is that I'm not capable of making the orientation times. SURELY this can be worked out some way. Because YES THIS PROGRAM IS MEANT FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME.

Btw. I'm not suicidal. But many are: #22

Gabrielle Cohen

I’ve worked with department rehab in the past, and my experiences were pretty OK. But this last year and month have been really hard. I have a case worker, and it takes like a week or two to even get through to her. I’m very frustrated with the situation, and nothing has changed with my complaints. I’m going to look elsewhere for help.