New York State has long recognized that the mentally retarded are members of society entitled to all of society's benefits and privileges, as well as to the specialized services they need in order to become all they are capable of being.

Today New York State is looking to a brighter future for the retarded as increased efforts are being made at both the State and community levels to see that each retarded individual is able to develop to the fullest extent of his capacity.

New York State has been a leader in rehabilitating the retarded into employment and placing them in jobs. However, much more remains to be done. Many additional employment opportunities must be made available to the retarded, for they are a hidden resource, frequently overlooked, of stable and reliable manpower.

Through employment the retarded gain greater self-respect and community well-being and acquire economic independence. Like all who are handicapped, the retarded ask nothing more than an honest judgment of their abilities—not rejection for their disabilities. Experience has demonstrated that the mentally retarded are succeeding in being employed in those occupations in which employers have the most difficulty retaining workers.

Short of finding means to prevent all mental retardation, nothing is more important than a major assault on the prejudices, misconceptions and ignorance that so often bar the mentally retarded from utilizing productively the abilities they do have.

Last June I requested that a careful study be conducted and procedures be developed to give employment opportunities for the mentally retarded in the State Civil Service system. Such employment, on the basis of the abilities of the retarded to perform skillfully the duties required, will lead the way and set an example for other public and private employers throughout the State.

The Governor's Council on Rehabilitation, the Interdepartmental Health and Hospital Council, and the Governor's Committee on Employ the Handicapped, in cooperation with the Civil Service Department, have completed this study and developed procedures to provide the maximum assurance of successful employment opportunities for qualified retarded persons in State service.

By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of New York, and in order to promote greater employment opportunities for the mentally retarded, I, Nelson A. Rockefeller, do hereby establish the following procedures to be followed by all State departments and agencies for employing qualified mentally retarded persons in the State Civil Service system and hereby establish an annual Governor's Award to be given to the State department or agency which shows outstanding effort and accomplishment in employing mentally retarded:

1. The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the State Education Department shall extend its comprehensive service program for all handicapped persons and serve as the certifying agency for the employment of the retarded in many competitive and labor category Civil Service positions and as such will administer the major aspects of the program. The Division will:

2. The Interdepartmental Health and Hospital Council Committee on Mental Retardation shall provide all State departments and agencies with a list of the positions which have been evaluated as being potentially appropriate for the employment of the mentally retarded.

3. Each department and agency will, upon receipt of the list of positions, determine the number of vacancies and estimate how frequently the vacancies occur and submit this information to the Interdepartmental Health and Hospital Council Committee on Mental Retardation.

4. Each State department and agency shall notify the nearest district office of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation when vacancies occur in the jobs listed as potentially appropriate for the retarded.

5. Each State department and agency shall notify the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation counselor of any job-related problems that may result from placement of the retarded.

6. The Committee on Retardation will forward to the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation offices the completed list of vacant positions initally reported by the departments and agencies and also forward to the Education Department's Bureau of Mentally Retarded Children, the Department of Mental Hygiene's Division of Mental Retardation and through the Division to appropriate voluntary agency vocational training workshops a list of those jobs reported as frequently vacant so that curriculum may be developed in special classes, State schools and workshops to train the retarded for the skills needed for employment.

7. Each State department and agency will participate in training institutes planned periodically to assure the maximum employment opportunities for the mentally retarded in the State Civil Service system.