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Biography
Joseph Mark LaRocca (November 23, 1908 – September 27, 1996) was a career civil servant who was considered a pioneer of medical and vocational rehabilitation programs, and advised many organizations and agencies which were developing such programs, especially in war-torn countries.
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from Cornell University in 1930, and completed training at the Graduate School of Applied Social Sciences of Western Reserve University. In 1934 he entered government service and directed sharecropper assistance programs in Atlanta, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida for the Works Progress Administration. He later worked for the Social Security Administration and served in the Navy during World War II. In 1946 he transferred to the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration where he became an expert in rehabilitation programs for disabled persons. After leaving government service in 1967 he became a consultant for a number of private organizations, such as the International Rescue Committee, the Urban Institute, and the World Rehabilitation Fund.