Navigating the DISID labyrinth

By Tim Rohr

“Dad, when am I going to get my new job?” “I need my job, Dad. I have to get my own house.” Those are words I’ve been hearing nearly every morning, and sometimes several times a day, for more than two years. 

William, my now 21-year-old son who lives with autism and ADHD, has been excited about getting “my own job” and “making my future” (his words) since August 2023, when I filed an application with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation after he came to live with me in Guam.

Things did not start well. At the initial orientation session, counselors were randomly assigned. Upon seeing the name of the counselor assigned to my son, the DVR staff member conducting the session paused, then carefully advised me that I would have to “stay on top of him,” meaning the counselor. 

I wasn’t familiar with DVR or its parent department, the Department of Integrated Services for Individuals with Disabilities, so I just did everything I was told to do.

Months went by, and it was always: the counselor was waiting for this or waiting for that. After one year of no action, I used my own connections to set up what DVR calls “job exposure” at a local grocery store. Even after I set up the connection for the counselor, still many weeks went by with no action. I finally met with the store personnel myself and William was able to get started as a bagger in November 2024.   

Assisted by a job coach supplied by DVR, William worked at the store until the end of February 2025, when his “job exposure” was terminated by the counselor. Aside from a couple of calls from the job coach regarding challenges with William, I was under the impression that, after four months, he had learned how to bag groceries.

However, at a follow-up meeting with the counselor and the job coach, I was effectively advised that William was not fit for employment and was in need of occupational therapy.  Itold the counselor that it would have been helpful for him to advise me of any issues with William’s progress during those four months so I could help address them. My concern was brushed off, and I was told that further training for William would be explored.   

Five months later, and after a pile of emails—most of which went unanswered—I decided to go to the top and requested a meeting with DISID director, Michelle Perez. I met with Ms. Perez and DVR Director Joseph Cameron on July 31, 2025. I presented the pile of emails and expressed my disgust at the absolute negligence by DVR, and the wasting of two precious years of my son’s life.   

I demanded a new counselor for William, and one was assigned. However, the new counselor required that William first be assessed by an occupational therapist. It took another two months to secure the appointment. William was assessed and determined to be “capable of learning how to perform a job.”   

The next hurdle was getting William’s health certificate renewed. While William is very “capable of learning how to perform a job,” the health exam is written and administered after an oral classroom-like presentation, neither of which William responds well to. However, we struggled through it and got the health certificate.   

At the appointment, the occupational therapist noted that she knew of another DVR client who had received vocational training at a local theater. I forwarded the information to William’s counselor, who then set up a meeting with the theater management.

In December 2025, William, the counselor and I met with theater personnel and toured the facility. The counselor asked William if he would like to work there. William responded positively. It was clear that he was very excited, as evidenced by his constant inquiries in the days that followed about when he would start his new job.   

The vocational training was to begin mid-January. Mid-January came and went. Toward the end of January, the counselor advised me that the theater was not willing to accommodate William. Once again, I was told that I would be informed “of any updates as they become available."  Since this was what I had been hearing since August 2023, I decided not to wait for “any updates” and pressed for more information. I also urged the counselor to provide William with other options from other employers. 

I knew there were no other options because, at an earlier meeting with the counselor and Mr. Cameron, I had point-blank asked which employers they were working with to place their clients. Functionally, the answer was none, which is why I had to find and arrange my son’s first job experience at the grocery store.   

Meanwhile, according to DISID’s Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report, the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation reported that it had “served” 315 “participants.” Given my experience, I have to ask: served the participants how? Certainly not with actual vocation training, since, as already stated, the DVR director could not name a single employer the department was placing “participants” with. Moreover, according to the same report, DVR received $2,085,641 in federal funds to help people like my son.   

After expressing my disappointment to William’s counselor, I was told the real reason the theater had declined to accommodate William: the theater was “still waiting to receive payment for a current DVR client.” In other words, despite millions in federal funds, DVR hadn’t paid its bill for just one client.

This information reminded me of an April 2025 story in the Pacific Island Times titled “We are given more money than we need: Guam forfeits $1.5M in DVR funds in 2024.” According to DISID’s 2024 report, DVR received $3,115,000 in federal funds to assist 262 participants. How many of them received vocational training?   

In April, as with every April, we will see autism awareness banners, the Marine Corps Drive waves, government proclamations and all the usual lip service about our compassion for people living with disabilities.

Meanwhile, like many other parents, I wake up each day with children and family members in my home who are desperately in need of the services our government and its agencies claim to provide. It is not only tragic; it is government abuse of our disabled children.   

As of this writing, William’s counselor has secured an opportunity for vocation training with a local business. William is doing janitorial work, and he has a job coach he seems to like. He is very proud of himself and excited about making “real money,” as he calls it. I appreciate his counselor’s efforts. I just regret, for William’s sake, that it has taken three years.

 Tim Rohr is a realtor by trade and creator of the “Jungle Watch” blog.

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