How to Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation Services

This post was co-authored by Dr. Miranda Melcher

Source: Dmytro Zinkevych/ Shutterstock

Neurodiverse individuals, or with learning disabilities, are eligible to receive free vocational rehabilitation (VR) services (see our previous post on alternative paths) to help them achieve their employment and career goals.

These services are intended to empower individuals, enhance their independence, and promote their full integration into society improving the lives of countless individuals with disabilities.

Applying for Vocational Rehabilitation Services

A student or their parents can send a written application and meet with the agency staff. One would fill out the Vocational Rehabilitation Services Application (form DR 222) and return it to the local office.

Obtain an application by contacting the local office, printing the application from our website, or visiting America’s Job Center. Alternatively, someone from your school or your transition team can send the written application and make the referral.

The Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) will contact you for your intake appointment once your application has been received. You will get an eligibility determination or a response within 60 days after you applied unless you and your vocational rehabilitation counselor agreed to an extension.

If you start the application process early in high school, you will receive assessments to write the goals you will need for your postsecondary setting. The goals will be written into your Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) and will be aligned with your strengths, resources, concerns, abilities, interests, and priorities.

The law requires that your plan is developed and signed by you and your vocational rehabilitation counselor. Your parents may also be a part of the team. The law requires that your high school Individualized Education Plan (IEP) corresponds with your Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). As all IEPs already require that an Individual Transition Plan (ITP) be created to address post-secondary school, you, your parents, your transition team, and the vocational rehabilitation agencies should collaborate to create the plan.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Process

The VR process includes the phases of eligibility determination, evaluation of vocational needs, VR planning, VR plan implementation, and completion of VR services (ending in job placement). Although many will move through the process in stepwise sequential phases, VR service providers and policymakers are beginning to recognize that some individuals with disabilities, like those with LD, will require a more flexible sequencing of services (e.g., job placement followed by an evaluation of service and support needs as opposed to the reverse; Rubin & Roessler, 2008). As such, the VR process can be individualized, dynamic, and creative (Kosciulek, 2004).

Four Central Characteristics of VR

Koch (2013) describes four central characteristics of the VR process:

• the VR counselor–consumer working alliance
• informed choice
• self-determination
• empowerment

The Working Alliance

Together with your VR counselor, you will assess your vocational strengths, preferences, employment goals, barriers to goal achievement, and service needs. This discovery process will lead to developing and implementing an individualized plan of action that will result in meaningful employment consistent with your desires, and based on your informed choice (Kosciulek, 2004).

Informed Choice

Informed choice is defined as consumer choice of services, service providers, service procurement, and employment goals. The VR counselor facilitates informed choice by educating you about options and providing you with the resources and tools to learn how to make choices.

Self-determination

Self-determination is the “right and capacity of people to exert control over their lives.” It is an important construct in vocational rehabilitation because it is a right that has historically been denied to people with disabilities and because of a continuously growing body of research evidence indicating that self-determination leads to better VR outcomes (Wehmeyer, 2003, p68).

Empowerment

Empowerment is “the process by which people who have been rendered powerless or marginalized develop the skills to take control of their lives and the environment” (Kosciulek, 2004). Empowerment is critical at each phase of the VR process. Your counselor is committed to maximizing opportunities for you to exert control and authority over what occurs. In the VR planning process, empowerment also means that “people with disabilities have the same degree of control over their lives and the conditions that affect them as generally possessed by people without disabilities. It entails the critical scaffolding of the transfer of power and control over their lives from external entities, such as VR counselors, to the individuals themselves” (Kosciulek, 2004, p 45).

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In the planning process, VR counselors often work with youths with disabilities, who are as young as 14, as part of a formalized transition team to develop and implement individualized plans for the transition from secondary education to employment, and independent living (Koch, 1999). The purpose of transition planning is to coordinate services and delineate transition team member's responsibilities for assisting the student make a successful transition into adult roles.

In addition to the student, parents or guardians, and VR counselor, other members of the transition team may include special education teachers, school psychologists, school counselors, vocational education teachers, adult service agency representatives (e.g., residential, vocational, child welfare), advocates, attorneys, employers, and other community representatives.

The VR Counselor’s Role

The VR counselor’s role on the transition team is to facilitate the career development and employment preparation of the student with a disability. Transition services that may be provided by the VR counselor include career exploration and counseling, psychosocial adjustment counseling, consultation with other transition team members about the vocational implications of disability, classroom and job accommodations planning, work adjustment counseling, coordination of services and support for career planning and preparation, job development, placement and placement follow-up, job analysis, job restructuring, and follow-along support.

They will specifically offer the following services:

• Assessment: The process begins with an assessment of the individual's abilities, interests, and vocational goals. This evaluation helps determine the most appropriate vocational rehabilitation services and interventions.
• Individualized Plan: Based on the assessment, a personalized plan is developed in collaboration with the individual. This plan outlines the specific services and supports needed to attain employment or vocational objectives.
• Counseling and Guidance: Vocational rehabilitation counselors provide guidance and support throughout the process. They assist individuals in exploring career options, setting realistic goals, and developing strategies to overcome barriers.
• Training and Skill Development: Vocational rehabilitation may involve acquiring new skills or enhancing existing ones. This can include job training, vocational courses, on-the-job training, or other educational programs tailored to the individual's needs.
• Job Placement and Support: Assistance with job placement is a crucial aspect of vocational rehabilitation. This can involve job search assistance, resume building, interview preparation, and connections to potential employers. Ongoing support is often provided to ensure a smooth transition into employment and to address any challenges that may arise.
• Assistive Technology and Accommodations: Vocational rehabilitation may include the provision of assistive technology, devices, or accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform their job tasks effectively. This can include adaptive equipment, modifications to the workplace, or assistive software.
• Follow-up and Support Services: After employment is obtained, vocational rehabilitation services may continue to provide follow-up support. This can include monitoring progress, addressing any additional needs, and offering ongoing career guidance or training as necessary.

Here are other resources: parent center hub and The Learning Disabilities Association of America offer links to each state’s labor commission’s disability employment services

Dr. Miranda Melcher is an expert on neurodiverse inclusive education and co-author of the book: NVLD and Developmental Visual-Spatial Disorder in Children.