Narrative: d. 2. M. i. I.

After thorough review and evaluation, BRS has determined that Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) must move to an Order of Selection for serving consumers. VR lacks sufficient resources to serve all eligible consumers, as further outlined below. This determination follows identification and implementation of numerous strategies to improve capacity over the past few years. Despite those efforts, VR continues to experience significant challenges in building and retaining adequate personnel resources to serve all eligible individuals, and meet expectations for timeliness and quality of service provision.

As such, Indiana VR anticipates that available and projected resources will not be adequate to ensure the provision of the full range of vocational rehabilitation services, as appropriate, to all eligible individuals in the federal fiscal year 2017 and federal fiscal year 2018.

VR anticipates that it will be necessary to close two of its three priority categories under the Order of Selection described below. Upon the projected implementation date of July 1, 2017, only individuals determined eligible and assigned to the MSD priority category will be served. This will continue until an evaluation, during the course of the year, indicates that the available personnel and fiscal resources will be adequate to provide services to all applicants and the full range of services to eligible individuals in an equitable and expeditious manner. Additionally, all individuals who had an IPE in place prior to implementation of the order, will continue to be served.

Priority Categories:

Upon implementation of the order of selection (anticipated July 1, 2017), individuals will be served in the following order of priority under the Order of Selection:

• Priority Category 1: Individuals determined to have a most significant disability (MSD);

• Priority Category 2: Individuals determined to have a significant disability (SD); and,

• Priority Category 3: All other eligible individuals (Individuals determined to have a non-significant disability (NSD)).

MSD: An individual who has a severe physical or mental impairment that seriously limits three or more functional capacities (communication, interpersonal skills, mobility, self-care, self-direction, work skills, or work tolerance) in terms of an employment outcome, requires multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time, and has one or more physical or mental disabilities determined to cause comparable substantial functional limitation.

SD: An individual who has a severe physical or mental impairment that seriously limits one or more functional capacities (communication, interpersonal skills, mobility, self-care, self-direction, work skills, or work tolerance) in terms of an employment outcome and whose vocational rehabilitation can be expected to require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time.

NSD: All other VR eligible individuals.

Basis for Order of Selection - Prohibited Factors:

The Order of Selection shall not be based on any other factors, including:

(1) Any duration of residency requirement, provided the individual is present in the State;

(2) Type of disability;

(3) Age, gender, race, color, or national origin;

(4) Source of referral;

(5) Type of expected employment outcome;

(6) The need for specific services or anticipated cost of services required by an individual; or

(7) The income level of an individual or an individual’s family