Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Blind)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan [13] must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA:
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[13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA
d. 2. C. Roles and responsibilities, including financial responsibilities, of each agency, including provisions for determining State lead agencies and qualified personnel responsible for transition services;
Current Narrative:
The roles and responsibilities of each department are clearly outlined in the MOU under these categories: A.) Outreach & Identification of Students With A Disability; B.) Consultation and Technical Assistance; C.) Information and Referral; D.) Transition Services; and E.) Section 511 and 14 (c) Assurance. Each section describes the activities and which agency is responsible. The MOU describes how various entities will be notified of the MOU and its intent. It also identifies training opportunities to include pre-employment transition services with descriptions of the services. The MOU describes how transition services will be coordinated between the entities. Transition services to mean coordinated activities for a student designed to be a process that focuses on improving the academic and functional achievement of the student with a disability to facilitate student movement from school to post-school activities, i.e., postsecondary, vocational education, adult education, integrated employment, independent living or community participation.
Section E. of the MOU outlines how Section 511 and 14 (c) assurances will be handled by each department. DOE and DBVI are committed to providing competitive, integrated employment opportunities for all Maine youth with a disability as they transition from high school. On March 18, 2020, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed a bill, sponsored by Assistant House Majority Leader Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, forbidding employers from paying workers less than minimum wage if they have a mental or physical disability. It takes take effect June 16, 2020.
The most recent MOU is posted: https://www.maine.gov/rehab/mou/MOU_MDOE_DVRDBVI_June2018.pdf
It is the expectation that in the development and implementation of services, DOE and DVR/DBVI will provide in–kind resources and will promote cost efficiency and non–duplication through collaboration. Therefore, this agreement does not involve any financial compensation or exchange of funds between DOE and DVR/DBVI. However, nothing in this agreement relieves either party of the responsibility to provide or pay for any transition service that the agency would otherwise provide to a student with a visual impairment who meets the eligibility criteria of that agency. If a participating agency, meaning a state or local agency that is financially or legally responsible for providing transition services to the student (other than the educational agencies responsible for the student’s education), fails to provide the transition services to a student as outlined in the IEP, the education agency shall reconvene the IEP team to identify alternative strategies to meet the transition objectives for the student.
Direct services are provided by specially trained staff - Teachers of the Visually Impaired, Orientation & Mobility Specialists, and Blindness Rehabilitation Specialists. These qualified staff work with the student (and parents), and the school in the development of the IEP. The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and sometimes a Vision Rehabilitation Therapist join the student's blindness rehabilitation team to provide transition services.