Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan* must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA:
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* Sec. 102(b)(D)(iii) of WIOA
d. 2. M. i. II. The Justification for the Order.
Current Narrative:
In August 2008, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) determined that sufficient resources were not available to provide rehabilitation services to all individuals with disabilities who apply. Consequently, VR initially established an Order of Selection (OOS) within the state to ensure that individuals with the most significant disabilities are selected first for vocational rehabilitation services, those with significant disabilities second and all other eligible individuals selected last. This decision was based on use of funds in the preceding years, projected funding, projected number and types of referrals, number of eligible individuals, and counselor caseloads.
A historical account of VR’s management of OOS categories is as follows.
• August 4, 2008 – the Order of Selection was initially implemented, closing all categories
• February 15, 2010 – VR determined that sufficient fiscal and human resources were available to serve all Priority Category 1 individuals and opened Priority Category 1
• August 2, 2010 – Priority Category 2 was opened, but Priority Category 3 remained closed
• November 15, 2013 – VR again closed Priority Category 2
• February 19, 2014 – VR again closed Priority Category 1, but received an additional $1.4 million in nonrecurring general revenue. This state match funding allowed VR to draw down an additional $5,172,770 of its federal grant.
• June 2014 – VR opened Priority Category 1 and began a structured release
• February 9, 2015 – Priority Category 1 completely empty
• March 9, 2015 – VR opened Priority Category 2 (as of December 2015, Category 2 empty)
The OOS remains in effect statewide and does not select one type of disability over another. The OOS is not established based on age, sex, marital status, religion, race, color, national origin, or political affiliation, and is not based on the vocational goal of the individual with a disability. Elements that relate to the significance of disability are the only factors used in OOS.
As of March 15, 2016, 1,512 individuals remain in Priority Category 3 of the waiting list. As of December 2015, all individuals previously in Priority Category 2 of the waiting list are receiving services.