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. I. The Order to Be Followed in Selecting Eligible Individuals to Be Provided Vr Services.
Current Narrative:
In Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) will be operating under an order of selection (OS), as there will not be adequate resources to provide services to all eligible consumers. DRS will continue to place eligible applicants with non-significant disabilities (OS priority categories 3 and 4) on the waiting list in FY 2018. Additionally, DRS will place eligible applicants with significant disabilities (OS priority category 2) on the waiting list, starting in February of FY 2018. DRS has not elected to serve eligible individuals regardless of any established order of selection, who require specific services or equipment to maintain employment.
Description of Priority categories
Priority Categories
Following are the order of selection categories currently applicable to the Division’s vocational rehabilitation program:
Category 1: Eligible applicants with the most significant disabilities.
Category 2: Eligible applicants with significant disabilities.
Category 3: Eligible applicants with non-significant disabilities comprised of individuals with a permanent disability and whose service provision will be completed in less than nine months.
Category 4: Eligible applicants with non-significant disabilities comprised of individuals with a non-permanent disability.
The Counselor will determine the significance of an individual’s disability after conducting a diagnostic study that allows for assessing the permanency of the disability, the number of functional capacities limited by the disability, the number of vocational rehabilitation services needed, and the time in service required to complete those services. These criteria are used when determining whether the individual’s disability is non-significant, significant, or most significant.
Definitions
Individual with a Most Significant Disability (MSD).
An individual who:
a. Has a permanent physical or mental impairment which seriously limits three or more functional capacities (mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerances, or work skills) in terms of an employment outcome;
b. Will require two or more vocational rehabilitation services in addition to counseling and assessment; and
c. Those services will require more than twelve months.
Alternatively, any individual who will be receiving services under an individualized supported employment plan for employment will be determined to be MSD.
Individual with Significant Disability (SD).
An individual who:
a. Has a permanent physical or mental impairment which seriously limits one or more functional capacities (mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerances, or work skills) in terms of an employment outcome;
b. Will require one or more vocational rehabilitation services in addition to counseling and assessment; and
c. Those services will require nine months or more.
Individual with Non-Significant Disability.
An individual who:
a. Has a non-permanent disability, or
b. Has a permanent disability whose service provision will be completed in less than nine months.
Time in Service
For the purpose of determining significance of disability, “time in service” is considered to begin upon implementation of the Individualized Plan for Employment and end upon entering Status 22 (in employment).
Automatic Classification as an Individual with Significant Disability
An individual who is a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiary or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient will be coded automatically as SD. However, if the individual meets MSD criteria, that designation will apply.
Recertification
An individual may be recertified from SD to MSD if all MSD criteria are met. In such instances, the Counselor will note appropriate circumstances in the Action Statement/Details section of the consumer’s case record.
DRS Responsibilities when Implementing an Order of Selection
An OS has no impact on the DRS obligation for case finding and referrals. DRS has a continuing responsibility to make the public and referral sources aware of the services it has to offer individuals with disabilities, especially those with the most significant disabilities. Furthermore, DRS shall ensure its funding arrangements for providing services, including third party arrangements and establishment grants, are consistent with the OS. Any funding arrangements that are inconsistent with the OS will be renegotiated.
Priority of categories to receive VR services under the order
OS Administration Process
DRS will continue to place eligible applicants with non-significant disabilities (OS priority categories 3 and 4) on the waiting list in FY 2018. Additionally, DRS will place eligible applicants with significant disabilities (OS priority category 2) on the waiting list starting in February of FY 2018.
Services necessary for determination of eligibility and assessment of rehabilitation needs are exempted from the Division’s order of selection. Any individual notified by the Counselor of classification as a member of an open priority category shall be exempted should that category later be closed.
Plan for Implementing the Order of Selection
DRS will strictly adhere to federal regulations in administering its OS. DRS will continue to: (1) implement the order on a statewide basis; (2) notify all eligible persons of their assignment to a particular priority category and their right to appeal this assignment; (3) assure continuity of services to all persons who were receiving services under an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) prior to the effective date of the closure order; and (4) assure that funding arrangements are consistent with the OS [34 CFR 361.36(e)].
When the order of selection is implemented, DRS will continue to ensure that an eligible individual who is not assigned to an open OS category has access to services provided under the information and referral system [Section 101(a)(5)(D) of the Act]. Information and referral services include: (1) providing VR information and guidance to assist the individual to achieve employment and (2) appropriately referring the individual to other federal and state programs, including other statewide workforce development programs, that are best suited to meet the individual’s specific employment needs [Section 101(a)(20)(A) of the Act].
When making a referral, DRS will provide the individual with:
-a notice of the referral;
-information about a specific point of contact within the program to which the individual is being referred; and
-information and advice about the most suitable service for assisting the individual to prepare for, secure, retain, or regain employment [Section 101(a)(20)(B)(ii) of the Act and 34 CFR 361.37(b)(2)].
DRS will continue to maintain the individual’s service record to include documentation on the nature and scope of the information and referral services it provides to the individual and documentation on the referral itself [34 CFR 361.47(a)(13)].
DRS will open and close priority categories as needed in FY 2018, so long as the order of the categories is maintained and continuity of services to all individuals selected for services is assured.
DRS will use the individual’s date of application to rank individuals within a priority category. This equitable and reasonable factor provides a method of selecting individuals from a waiting list when DRS has enough resources to serve some, but not all, individuals in that OS priority category.