Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for State Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by sections 101(a) and 606 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA.
- GEPA 427 Form Instructions for Application Package - Supported Employment
EQUITY FOR STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, AND OTHER PROGRAM BENEFICIARIES
OMB Control Number 1894-0005 Expiration 02/28/2026
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1228a) applies to a State applicant submitting a state plan for a formula grant from the US Department of Education. The State applicant is responsible for completing the GEPA Section 427 form that provides a description of the steps the State proposes to take to ensure all program beneficiaries have equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally funded, State-level project or activity.
GEPA Section 427 Form Instructions for State Applicants
State applicants must respond to the following four questions:
1. Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
2. Based on your proposed project or activity, what barriers may impede equitable access and participation of students, educators, or other beneficiaries?
3. Based on the barriers identified, what steps will you take to address such barriers to equitable access and participation in the proposed project or activity?
4. What is your timeline, including targeted milestones, for addressing these identified barriers?
• Applicants identify any barriers that may impede equitable access and participation in the proposed project or activity, including, but not limited to, barriers based on economic disadvantage, gender, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, disability, age, language, migrant status, rural status, homeless status or housing insecurity, pregnancy, parenting, or caregiving status, and sexual orientation.
• Applicants use the associated text box to respond to each question. However, applicants might have already included some or all this required information in the narrative sections of their applications or their State Plans. In responding to this requirement, for each question, applicants may provide a cross-reference to the section(s) in their State Plans that includes the information responsive to that question on this form or may restate that information on this form.
• Applicants are not required to have mission statements or policies that align with equity to apply.
• Applicants that have already undertaken steps to address barriers must still provide an explanation and/or description of the steps already taken in each text box, as appropriate, to satisfy the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
• Applicants that believe no barriers exist must still provide an explanation and/or description to each question to validate that perception, as appropriate, to satisfy the GEPA Section 427 requirement.
Please refer to GEPA 427 - Form Instructions for Application Package
- GEPA 427 Form Instructions for Application Package - Supported Employment
1. Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
Section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1228a) applies to a State applicant submitting a state plan for a formula grant from the US Department of Education. The State applicant is responsible for completing the GEPA Section 427 form that provides a description of the steps the State proposes to take to ensure all program beneficiaries have equitable access to, and participation in, its Federally funded, State-level project or activity.
GEPA 427 - Form Instructions for Application Package
State applicants must respond to four questions.
The first of four questions is:
Describe how your entity’s existing mission, policies, or commitments ensure equitable access to, and equitable participation in, the proposed project or activity.
Current Narrative:
The mission of the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services is to enable Alabama's children and adults with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential. This mission is reflective of the broad nature of the agency which serves children with disabilities, adults who have a physical or mental impairment which constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment, and individuals who because of the severity of their disability(ies) may not at the present time have vocational potential. The three service components are Early Intervention (EI), Children's Rehabilitation Service (CRS), and Adult Vocational Rehabilitation Services (AVRS), including State of Alabama Independent Living. Vocational Rehabilitation Services places primary emphasis on the achievement of a vocational outcome.
Adult Vocational Rehabilitation Services assists eligible individuals with mental and/or physical disabilities prepare for, secure, retain, advance in, or regain competitive integrated employment. The rehabilitation process is based upon an Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) which is directed toward the achievement of a suitable employment outcome. Services provided to individuals with disabilities must be necessary to overcome the impediments to employment imposed by the disability(ies) and must be provided as cost-effectively as possible.
Eligibility for rehabilitation services is determined without regard to sex, race, creed, age, color, national origin, type of disability, type of expected employment outcome, source of referral for services, service needs, anticipated cost of services, income level of consumer or family, employment history, employment status, or educational status.
There is no duration of residency requirement that would exclude from services an otherwise eligible individual who is a U.S. citizen or lawfully present in the U.S. and presently living in the state.
When appropriate, counselors shall provide the referral necessary to assist persons with disabilities in securing needed services from other agencies and organizations.
It is the policy of Adult Vocational Rehabilitation Services that all programs, projects, and activities shall be carried out in a manner consistent with the principles of respect for individual dignity, personal responsibility, self-determination, and pursuit of meaningful careers, based on INFORMED CHOICE.
The Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) recognizes the need or preference for ADRS consumers to refer to themselves by a first name other than their legal first name. As long as the use of this name is not intended for misrepresentation, ADRS acknowledges that a consumer’s “preferred name” should be used where possible.
A person with a disability shall be presumed to benefit in terms of an employment outcome from vocational rehabilitation services unless there is clear and convincing evidence that such an individual is incapable of benefiting in terms of an employment outcome from vocational rehabilitation services.
The State Agency shall have on its staff, or arrange to have available, individuals able to communicate with applicants and individuals who rely on special modes of communication as a result of language barriers or sensory impairments.
All employees working in the Vocational Rehabilitation program that provide services to consumers shall adhere to all applicable provisions of the Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counselors as adopted by the Commissioner on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification, unless otherwise covered by some other professional code of ethics.