Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
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:
__________
[13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA
m. 1. A. The order to be followed in selecting eligible individuals to be provided VR services
Current Narrative:
The Division’s Director will determine whether resources will be available to provide vocational rehabilitation services to all eligible individuals throughout the program year. If not, consistent with state and federal laws and regulations, the Director will establish restrictions regarding priority categories for selecting the order in which otherwise eligible individuals may be served. Only the Director may establish an order of selection.
The West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) will be operating under an order of selection (OS) with all OS categories open, as long as sufficient fiscal and personnel resources remain available to provide services to all eligible consumers.
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.
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 (VR) 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:
- 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; and
- Will require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time.
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:
- 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; and
- Will require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time.
Individual with Non–Significant Disability.
An individual with a non-significant disability is an individual who:
- Has a permanent disability that results in a substantial impediment to employment; and
- Will not require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time.
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 projects, 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
All OS Categories will be open during Federal Fiscal Year 2021, as long as sufficient fiscal and personnel resources remain available to provide VR services to all eligible applicants with most significant, significant, and non-significant disabilities.
Services necessary for determination of eligibility and assessment of rehabilitation needs are provided to all DRS applicants. Any individual notified by the Counselor of classification as a member of an open priority category shall continue to receive services should that category later be closed.
Plan for Implementing the Order of Selection
All OS Categories will be open during Federal Fiscal Year 2021, as long as sufficient fiscal and personnel resources remain available to provide VR services to all eligible applicants with most significant, significant, and non-significant disabilities.
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, 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.