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Speaker: Matthew Deans
Transcription provided by: Caption First, Inc.
>>áMATTHEW DEANS: Hi. My name is Matthew Deans. I'm a vocational rehabilitation counselor
with the Virginia Department of Rehabilitative Services.
Today, I want to talk to you about the eligibility and prioritization process of accessing the
state vocational rehabilitation services. Currently, I'm working as a statewide coordinator
helping to support the VR offices in our state to -- with technical assistance and training
of counselors in the offices throughout the state. I've worked with DRS in Virginia way
back when I was 16 years old and -- as a client of the agency, as a result of a car accident
that I was involved in. I've served as a VR counselor working with adults, having an adult
caseload, as well as a transition caseload, serving five high schools in the Chesterfield
County area of Virginia.
Today, we're going to be hopefully helping to dispel some myths that may be involved
in the eligibility and referral process, depending on your school systems. Hopefully, the following
questions will be answered as a result of this presentation. You'll understand what
vocational rehabilitation services are and why you may need them. You'll understand with
the referral, application, and eligibility determination process is for VR agencies.
And you'll know what to expect when you approach VR for services.
So what is a vocational rehabilitation? Basically, it's a process which enables persons with
disabilities to overcome barriers to their employment. Services range and are very comprehensive.
And vocational rehabilitation isn't necessarily only provided by VR agencies. There are several
different service providers in the community that also are considered involved in vocational
rehabilitation process. VR services range from vocational evaluations to job placement,
career counseling, vocational and academic training, rehabilitation and assistive technology,
physical restoration, and personal assistance services. VR works closely with private and
nonprofit centers for independent living, and as I said, as well as private community
rehabilitation providers or CRPs known nationally. Here in Virginia, we call them ESOs or Employment
Service Organizations, otherwise known as job coaching and supported employment. We
also work with medical equipment vendors, as well as community service boards to help
serve the needs of the student or client.
Vocation rehabilitation services are -- supports the needs of individuals based on their functional
limitations. Employment with -- for vocational rehabilitation purposes is defined as working
independently in the community earning minimum wage or better. That's the goal at least.
Transition services are specialized VR services for youth with disabilities who are still
enrolled in postsecondary, high school education programs. Transition services help prepare
students for their transition from high school to employment and life after high school.
Transition services include the full range of regular VR services based on the student's
time line of their transition planning. Typically, consultations with IEP teams are very normal
for transition, meeting with students or parents that may be interested in services and learning
more about what vocational rehabilitation is. It's often for transition counselors to
provide evaluations that are specific for the student to help determine what their career
goals are and what supports they may need to pursue those goals.
Employment supports when the student is ready to go to work involve a coordination and collaboration
of VR agencies, as well as the school systems, parents, and other providers such as community
service boards, all part of what we call the transition team.
So when should the transition team include VR services? Basically, our motto is "Early
and Often."áHow early should you start? There's really no such thing as too early as far as
transition goes. If you have questions or concerns, it's important that you speak up
and ask questions. Someone in -- who is involved with the VR agency, you can ask your school
teacher or case manager, as well as the local office is easily found in the -- in the directory.
It's -- ideally the transition involves vocational rehab agencies three years out from graduation.
Graduation is sometimes a moving target, but basically, that means exiting high school
by either obtaining a high school diploma or accepting a special education diploma or
certificate or aging out at the age of 21.
Students' goals frequently change, as I said, resulting in the VR process lasting anywhere
from several months to even years. It's not uncommon for transition cases to last multiple
years, but you have to take into account picking up a student in high school who may be interested
in going on to college or additional training programs and then going on to employment.
Transition services, from the VR agencies, carry that student from high school all the
way to that first job or that agreed upon employment goal.
So what to expect with regards to VR services and the VR culture. Transition counselors
tend to have large caseloads. As I said, they are working with students who are in high
school, and they are referred on a regular basis and consistently which is a good thing.
Counselors must serve every open active case on their case load. It's important that you
keep that in mind as it's not uncommon for a transition counselor to carry a caseload
of 150 or more clients. Now, those clients are all in some continuum of services. Often,
a large portion of those are still in high school so services are more consultation and
evaluation, as opposed to more intense supports or services that may be needed for pursuing
employment or obtaining training while on the job.
It's important to also understand that services may be delayed due to a lack of resources
and resources in the terms of time on the part of the counselors to serve all the client's
needs that are on the case load, as well as resources with regard to funding. Funding
changes every year. A large portion of the funding for VR services come from the federal
government, as well as the state government so those things do have a tendency to affect
how -- how -- what the capacity for counselors to serve clients that come to the agency.
You can help your counselor and show them that you're motivated by being an advocate
for yourself. You know, you are your own best advocate as far as it goes. It's important
that you follow up regularly, especially if you're unsure of what your status is in the
process. And it's important that you promptly respond to all phone calls or letters that
may be sent to you by your VR -- by your VR agency.
Services are designed for working in the real world. Part of the VR culture sets expectations
high based on employer expectations in the community. We partner with employers on a
regular basis to understand what it is they need from workers, and then we then take that
information back to our clients to help them understand what it is that they're expected
on the -- on the job.
Typically, employers expect about 100 percent effort. Anything less than that, you may be
fired. I say that because sometimes, we have issues with attendance at school. And these
are -- raise concerns during the vocational rehab process because they may be having issues
at work, and you don't necessarily get ten days of absent on the job as you would, say,
in your school program. So it's important that as you access VR services that you understand
what the culture and expectations of VR has for their clients. The basic expectation is
that you want to work and that you need services because
that -- because of -- of your disability. You should not take your services for granted.
The reality in most states is that transition counselors have large caseloads and serve
several different clients at a time.
Another important difference between school programs and services for folks with disabilities
and adult programs is a shift between a service system that's based on entitlement to a system
that's based on eligibility. Under the federal law, special education services are considered
entitlement in the sense that by law, services are provided to you on the basis that you
have a disability. Students have services until they age out or get a diploma, and schools
are required to provide a free and appropriate public education for all eligible special
education students.
When you look at the vocational rehab services with regards to the shift, documentation is
needed in order to prove your eligibility. That includes documentation of your actual
disability from school records or doctor's records, and we'll talk more about that in
a second, but also documentation that you actually can work. So just because you have
a disability doesn't necessarily mean you will be eligible for services. And that's
that understanding that you may need to have to wait for services. Not everyone who applies
for VR services are eligible. As I said, they must meet the eligibility criteria. And services
are provided only if the agency itself has enough staff, capacity, and resources to serve
those who approach the agency for services. And we'll go into a little bit about what
happens when -- when an agency, state agency, is unable to meet the -- the -- the demands
of the -- of the clients that approach the agency. They go into what's called an order
selection.
So the basic eligibility criteria for vocational rehab services are that you're eligible to
work in the United States, and that includes citizens and noncitizens with a work permit.
You'll need documentation of residence or both. Typically, we look for a government
ID or proof of address, things of that nature. The second thing is that you have a documented
physical or mental disability or impairment that results in a substantial impediment or
barrier to employment.
VR services are needed in order to achieve employment. You have to be able to demonstrate
that although you have a disability, that impairment may be minimal or that services
aren't clear as far as why you need services in order to go to work. And the last is that
the applicants for services, because they are state agencies, must live, work, or go
to school in that VR state. And for certain individuals that receive government
benefits such as SSI or SSDI, they are assumed to meet the first two criteria because of
the eligibility criteria for those programs. But there's still required documentation that
the services are needed and that they still live in the current state that they're in.
With regards to -- not -- the counselor can presume that they can work with VR supports
with the rare occasion that there is clear or convincing evidence that suggests otherwise.
Typically, this is the case. More extensive work place evaluations will be conducted unless
that -- these present a risk to the client or to the persons around them. And these are
very rare situations.
As I said, not all people who have a disability need VR services to go to work, especially
those that have very minimal disabilities, or their disability doesn't present any limitations
as they pursue employment goals.
As I said, the order of selection is an official process or a statement that states make for
basically stating that the VR agencies do not have enough resources to serve everyone
that applies for services. Eligible clients that are -- individuals that apply for services
that are found eligible are then prioritized further based on the severity of their disability
so you have to not only document that you have a disability, but how does that disability
affect you, and that's where we get into the discussions about functional limitations.
This includes an assessment of records intakes, observations of the counselor and any discussions
with the students, parents, or referral sources that can provide further information as to
exactly how the disability diagnosis affects their functional ability to pursue employment.
And the VR looks at possible -- seven possible work-related functions that can be limited
by a disability. We serve those who need us most first. We have a term for that. They're
considered "Most Severe" disabilities or MSD. And the -- with regards to the serious functional
limitations, these are things that -- where how the disabilities affect the individual's
ability to function. As I said, the functional limitations.
This -- this describes how the disability affects their work goals and their ability
to go to work. The order of selection priority base is based on the -- the total number of
different functional limitations. So as I said, there's seven different categories of
functional limitations. And services for VR are directly related to those limitations.
So, for example, someone who has limitations in mobility, then that would indicate that
the services needed would need to help them overcome the limitations presented by that
mobility -- the disability that results in mobility limitations.
As I said, with an example of mobility, these are the seven functional limitations related
to work. Number one is communication or expressing and/or receiving information. This may occur
if someone, for example, were -- may not be able to interpret language or understand directions
or be able to read an e-mail or a job application. That would indicate a communication-related
functional limitation.
Number two is self-direction, and this is resulting with regards to planning and organizing
activities related to work. It could be their ability to maintain a work schedule week after
week. It could be their capacity to arrange transportation and that would include, you
know, scheduling the transportation ahead of time or making sure that there's a plan
in place to get to work.
Number three is self-care. And as it -- it's pretty self-explanatory. This is in regards
to anything related to the personal care of the -- of the person with a disability. Things
such as hygiene also come up with regards to this functional ability.
Number four is mobility, as I said, and this is basically the function of getting from
place to place. That includes within the home, into a car or into a vehicle, out of a vehicle
and onto a job site and then within the work setting. How do they get from place to place?
Would that present barriers to employment? And if so, that may indicate a functional
limitation with regards to that disability. Some other things that may come up with regards
to mobility is their inability to get a license as a result of failing the driver's assessment
on several times or taking a class and not being able to absorb the information without
specialized services or supports for that.
Number five is interpersonal skills. This is basically the ability to get along with
others. You may find this as an indicator when we see clients that are acting out in
school or they may get frustrated and maybe express that in an inappropriate way that
may result in issues on the job setting or -- or, you know, in the future if they were
to work.
So number six is work tolerance. This is the ability to tolerate work activities. So there
-- this includes the physical ability to lift and carry and walk, and it also includes psychological
tolerance related to stress. So, for example, jobs that tend to have a busy nature such
as like Wal-Mart at Christmas time, if someone with a disability would really be frustrated
and get confused in those types of situations, that would be an indicator that their ability
to tolerate certain work settings would be limited.
And the last one is work skills. And this is basically their ability to learn work skills.
Sometimes, there may be a need for special visual aids or task lists to help them learn
and commit the information to memory so as students or clients are learning job skills,
if, for some reason, you had a concern that the supervisor on the job alone would not
be able to help this student learn the job or they may get frustrated easily or say I
don't have enough time to devote to this person based on what they need, that would present
some employment barriers related to work skills.
So as I said, the priority categories, there are four priority categories. The first priority
category is what we consider most significantly disabled. This is defined as three serious
functional limitations in three or more areas. They also have to demonstrate that they may
require multiple services. That's defined as two or more over an extended period of
time, and that's defined as six months or more, to achieve employment. That six months
or more, that starts at the moment that the student or client is actually receiving services,
not necessarily when they apply for services. But at the moment when we have determined
what they need in order to go to work, that time period to obtain employment may be extended
beyond six months or more based on our best guess.
There are -- number two and three are what we consider significantly disabled and as
it -- as you can probably presume, serious limitations in one or more areas for number
three and serious limitations in two or more would be number -- the priority category two.
Again, these two categories still require that the client demonstrates that they'll
need multiple services over an extended period of time in order to achieve employment.
And then the last category would be persons with disabilities that do not demonstrate
functional limitations or serious functional limitations as a result of their disability.
And they may not also need multiple services over an extended period of time. Those would
be the last priority of services as a result of an order of selection.
So the following factors are not included when one applies for services with the VR
agency. The duration of residence, and that refers to how long you've lived in that particular
state or how long you're planning on living in that state. That information should not
be taken into account as a result to determine eligibility for services.
Eligibility cannot be based solely on the diagnosis or the disability alone. Again,
we look at the disability-related functional limitations, not just the diagnosis. We don't
look at age, gender, race, color, or national origin as we assess the eligibility for services.
We also assess eligibility without regards to the type of employment goals they may have
or outcomes that they have as they approach services. We also do not consider one eligible
or not eligible on the basis of what services they're going to need or what the costs of
these services are. We do not consider employment-related costs as we determine one eligible for services.
And the -- lastly, we do not consider the income level of the applicant or their family
as we determine eligibility for VR services. Now, I should say that income information
may impact how services are funded later such as and supported employment training or tuition
for college or transportation to go to work, but that's not considered during the eligibility
process. That's later down the road when services are determined based on an assessment.
The big thing is don't let the wait list scare you off. We see this every -- every time we
have a wait list here in Virginia, referrals tend to drop off. It's interesting because
our wait lists tend to only last for a few months. And if you think about the transition
plan of a student in high school, their services aren't emergency-related, so to speak. Their
services are going to last through high school and beyond. So for the best, you know, transition
plan approach is to -- is to consider an idea of vocational rehabilitation taking at least
two and a half years.
Here in Virginia, the average open case that results in a successful employment outcome
was two and a half years old. And that's from the date that they receive services or sign
their employment plan to when they found a job and were closed -- closed their case.
So that's important to keep in mind as well as you approach VR that has a wait list is
that this isn't a quick process. It takes time in order to get through to determine
what supports you need, to provide those supports, and then to find employment in the community.
With regards to that interesting data as well is that the average nondisabled worker takes
about ten months to find work, or they spend ten months in unemployment before they're
able to find a job. Now, you can only guess that a person with a disability is going to
take much longer than that so that's another thing important to keep in mind as you're
considering whether to apply as a result of a wait list or not.
Also, typically, special education students are very appropriate referrals for vocational
rehab services. Their transition plans should anticipate all these factors with regards
to whether VR services are needed or not.
So with regards to the eligibility process, step one is that the student is referred to
VR through a form or student referral form or even a verbal referral. As an adult counselor,
we got referrals from the -- from the community. People would just walk in and say, hey, I
need services. I've been told to come here because I have a disability. And that's okay.
You don't necessarily have to have paperwork in order to receive services or in order to
be considered a referral. However, you should keep in mind the referral process with your
particular school system because it's very helpful for us to determine eligibility and
to understand one's disability when we know all the persons involved in the process.
So once you're referred, VR will then respond to the referral typically by letter inviting
you to a meeting or an intake. At that point, the student then meets with the VR counselor
to discuss services. They may or may not apply for services at that time. They may just be
getting information. The VR counselor may determine at that point that they're at the
wrong place and they may all agree that at this point, VR is not necessarily needed.
But at some point, though, students will decide that VR is needed, and the counselor will
also agree that services are potentially -- that the person would be eligible for services.
So then the student has to sign, officially sign the application for VR services. And
this initiates their application. So at that point, eligibility is determined within the
next 60 days. That's a deadline. It's not -- it's not a goal so it's important that
there -- if additional assessments or documents are needed, that they are provided in a timely
manner. And this is why I suggest that you know your status in the eligibility process
at all times, that if there's anything that you can do to help with records, often that
helps. And it's important that you check in on a regular basis so that you can keep the
ball rolling.
So parents sometimes will say, you know, I'm concerned that my student will never be able
to work independently in the community. And that's an -- sometimes very appropriate and
normal response with regards to certain disabilities. It's good to know that voc rehab presumes
that all applicants are employable in the sense that they -- with services, that
their -- their ability to work is -- is -- is worth determining what services they need,
basically. So in very -- as I said, in very rare occasions, employability is concerned
based on, as I said, clear and convincing evidence that they can't work independently,
even with VR support.
Employability is not based on just a test or just a file review. It's based on various
work experiences, and if those don't exist, we provide those to you through what we call
trial work assessments. So if employability is a concern for certain students, and the
VR counselor agrees that I am also concerned that they may not be able to go to work, they
may do what's called trial work assessments where they'll work such as, you know, at the
local retail store or in a different setting in the community, and we'll provide the services
and supports that we would as if they were eligible and try to see if that we can see
some progress and some positive information that suggests that this could be possible.
So -- but at some point, it's important to remember that VR services are designed to
provide short-term supports to clients to eventually work on their own independently
in the community.
So what -- what to expect when you're working with VR is that all VR clients both want and
need services in order to go to work. Therefore, clients are expected to contact VR to request
services, to respond to all meeting requests, to attend all meetings, or call as soon as
possible to cancel or reschedule a meeting. They're expected to help contact doctors for
disability documentation. They're expected to participate in evaluations as needed, and
you should always know where your application is in the process.
When an individual applies to VR services, there's several criteria considered in order
to determine if they're eligible for services and what priority they will have in the state
under an order selection. So as I said, additional assessments may be needed due to a lack of
existing disability documentation. We may send you to a psychologist for testing. We
may request additional trial work experiences if employability is an issue. When there -- and
again, is there evidence that the ability or capacity to work, despite services becomes
a concern.
So why do you need services? It's okay if you don't know this answer. Your counselor
is specially trained to help you explore this together, and they will do that from the first
meeting by asking you several questions about your past history. It's important that you're
-- be open and honest with the counselor. They may ask questions like why did you lose
your last job. This -- the information from these answers
is very helpful for us to know what went wrong and what we can do differently as we move
forward. We may ask why are you unemployed. We may ask
how -- have you ever tried to get a job. And we may want to know what do you think you
need in order to get a job. It's important, as a person with a disability, that we -- that
you know and understand what your limitations are, and, therefore, what supports and services
you need from VR.
If not, it's important that you ask questions like what can you do to help me. What services
do you provide that can help me get a job? And our number one service is -- is vocational
counseling and guidance by the -- by the vocational counselor. They are the center point to several
different services and assessments and community providers in the VR process, and it's pivotal
that the services are received are involved with a VR counselor.
So with regards to obtaining documentation and records, we may look at school records
along with the referrals. Those should come at the same time. It's very helpful, and it
speeds the process up. It's helpful to have close contact with the office support staff
that are at the school. As a transition counselor, I had the secretaries of the special education
department's phone numbers and e-mails, as opposed to trying to go through a teacher
or through a case manager. The relationship was built with the records staff, and I was
able to get records very quickly as a result of that which sped up the process of determining
eligibility.
Students and parents may need to help VR get -- get records, as I said. With regards to
HIPAA, sometimes doctors or other medical providers have strict laws and limitations
as to what they can release to other people, but they can give you your own records, and
then you can turn those over to VR. It's important to know the referral process of your school
system, as I said before. And if you don't know, you can ask your case manager or the
local VR office about how to access services.
How VR keep students engaged, student engagement is important throughout the process in order
to help students maintain the motivation to pursue employment. Counselors typically will
meet with the student for the first time -- alone, and then meet with the parents afterwards.
It's important that we get an understanding of what the family dynamics are, how students
may -- may -- may act in front of their parents and then alone or away from their parents.
Students may be asked, well, why were you referred to VR or what did they tell you that
you needed services. In the first meeting, it may just be a short meet and greet. There
may not be an intake at that point. There may not be an application for services. It
may just be an opportunity for the counselor to get to know the student. This is something
that takes time. You know, typically, many appointments are -- are used to help keep
the student engaged, as well as assess and gather information that may not be readily
available in the first impressions.
Additional activities for students may include weekly social job clubs or weekly job searching
activities. And students are also encouraged to visit the VR office which may have what
we call an employment resource library that has all kinds of information with regards
to disability, with regards to services, with regards to community services in the local
area, as well as what supports or employers are in the local area that are hiring. So
we maintain a library of information at the office to help our clients pursue employment.
So during the application process, it's important that you don't screen yourself out thinking
that you won't be eligible or that because of the wait list, you're not going to get
services or have to wait forever. VR counselors want to help you be successful, period. Counselors
are creative problem solvers that think out of the box. Oftentimes, I find myself, as
a counselor, trying to convince the client that they can work or even the parent. Trust
me. Your son or daughter can work because I've seen it happen. You are typically in
a very small, you know, confined area as a person with a disability. You may not know
someone else like you, but with -- with the VR agencies are very experienced and have
seen a variety of different disabilities, as well as services. And we're constantly
trying to sharpen our ability to serve clients, especially those with more significant impairments
that we're beginning to see more and more of. And so the eligibility decisions typically
are made as soon as possible. There's been times when I've been able to determine eligibility
at the first meeting. By the end of the meeting, I knew that they were eligible. The decisions
were made. And we were able to make another appointment to get started with services.
So you don't have to wait 60 days to receive services or even don't wait 60 days to check
on services or check on your application for services.
Throughout the whole process, it's important that you ask, what can I do in the meantime.
This shows motivation on your part to work and to -- to receive services. It shows that
you are dedicated to this process, and it also helps yourself by doing, as I say, two
heads are better than one. So as I said before, it's important that you know where you're
at in the process and to help keep the ball rolling at all times if possible.
Thank you very much.
[End Video]