South Dakota Department of Human Services: Vocational Rehabilitation Services

What Is Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational Rehabilitation is a program that provides individualized vocational rehabilitation and supportive services to assist eligible individuals with disabilities to get and keep jobs compatible with their skills and abilities.

Who Is Eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation

To be eligible to receive vocational rehabilitation services from the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS), you must:

• Be an individual with a disability, i.e. an individual who has a physical or mental impairment which constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment,

• Be able to benefit from vocational rehabilitation services in achieving an employment outcome; and

• Require vocational rehabilitation services to prepare for, enter, engage in, or retain gainful employment.

DRS will gather and review your medical records, educational back-ground, work history, and related information, as needed, to determine specifically how your disability affects your ability to be employed and how vocational rehabilitation services might be of assistance to you. A qualified Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Counselor will determine if you are eligible for vocational rehabilitation services.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services

The Division of Rehabilitation Services can offer a variety of individualized services but the services must be included on your IPE and be determined necessary to meet your employment outcome. Before DRS can pay for the vocational rehabilitation services, four criteria must be met:

• Individuals must meet the order of selection criteria to receive services.

• Some services require a financial needs test to be completed. This is best described in the section "Will you have to pay for some of the services?";

• Some services require DRS to see if other agencies or funding sources are responsible for the cost and would need to pay their portion first; and

• All services must be identified, agreed upon by you and your counselor and be preauthorized.

Following is a description of services available through the Division of Rehabilitation Services:

• Assessment for determining eligibility and VR needs â€“ These services consist of medical and psychological evaluations as well as a wide-range of vocational assessments that are designed to help your VR Counselor determine whether you are eligible for VR Services. Diagnostic services may also be needed to gain an understanding of the nature and implications of your disability and to help determine the services you will need to attain your employment goal.

• Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling â€“ This is one of the most important services that you can receive. This service is provided by your VR Counselor throughout the VR process. Your VR Counselor can also help you better understand and adjust to your disability; help you choose your employment goal; help you develop a plan to attain your employment goal; and help you adjust to the changing circumstances caused by your disability. If needed, your counselor can counsel your family members to help them to better understand your disability and to help them learn how to be supportive of you during the VR process.

• Physical and Mental Restoration â€“ These services are aimed at enhancing your employability by removing or reducing the effects of your disability. These services may include limited medical or psychological treatment or therapy, orthotic and prosthetic devices, and other services and devices that are likely to remove or reduce the limitations caused by your disability.

• Vocational/ Other Training Services â€“ These services may be provided to help you gain the specific knowledge and skills required to perform the job indicated on your IPE. Training for employment can be obtained at a public or private vocational school, college, or rehabilitation facility. Other options include on-the-job training and job coaching.

• Maintenance â€“ Maintenance is financial support for expenses such as food, shelter, and clothing that occur due to the individual’s participation in a program of vocational rehabilitation services. These expenses must be a direct result of participating in a vocational rehabilitation program and cannot be the normal living expenses.

• Transportation â€“ DRS can provide financial support for transportation services when you have travel associated with obtaining vocational rehabilitation services.

• Services to Family Members â€“ DRS can help pay for services to family members if the services are necessary to enable you to obtain an employment outcome.

• Interpreter Services - Interpreter services can be provided for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or individuals who are deaf-blind and require tactile interpreting services. Other types of language interpreting can be provided while receiving other vocational rehabilitation services.

• Job Related Services - These services include assistance with your job search, job placement services, and a number of other services designed to help you keep your job once attained. DRS can provide some of these services directly while in other situations may purchase these services from providers who specialize in this service area.

• Supported Employment â€“ Supported Employment services consist of job training and specialized services for individuals with the most significant disabilities to help them obtain and maintain employment. DRS Supported Employment services most often consist of job placement, job coaching and assisting the individual on the job site to help assure successful employment. The DRS services are time limited with long-term support services provided by another agency or funding source.

• Personal Assistance Services â€“ This category consists of a variety of services to assist an individual to perform daily living activities on or off the job. These services are intended to help individuals gain greater control of their lives by aiding their ability to perform everyday activities as independently as possible. The services must be necessary to the achievement of an employment outcome and provided only while the individual is receiving other vocational rehabilitation services.

• Rehabilitation Technology - These services consist of rehabilitation engineering, assistive technology devices and assistive technology services. Services may initially consist of an evaluation by an assistive technology specialist to help identify accommodations, assistive devices and services that can help you overcome barriers to your independence in a training situation, at a job-site, or in your home (if needed to enable you to obtain and retain employment). Assistive technology specialist sometimes recommends modifications to vehicles to make them usable for people to have independent access to employment.

• Transition Services â€“ Transition services consist of a variety of services needed by high school students or other secondary school students with disabilities to make the adjustment from school to employment. VR Counselors can participate in a student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) to provide vocational rehabilitation consultation and technical assistance to students, parents, and faculty members as they plan for the student’s future after high school. The most common services provided by DRS for transition students are Project Skills (paid work experience program) and post secondary preparation programs called Youth Leadership Forum and Catch the Waive.

• Technical Assistance and Other Consultation Services - DRS can assist individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting with market analysis, development of business plans and other resources if needed.

• Self-employment Services - DRS can assist individuals whose goal is self-employment with such things as occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks and supplies when needed. DRS has a self-employment policy defining the level of financial participation from the vocational rehabilitation program. If you are seeking self-employment, please consult with your VR Counselor on this policy and other resources to assist you.