VOCATIONAL
REHABILITATION
DIVISION
Client Services Handbook
Vocational Rehabilitation Division
CUSTOMER SERVICES HANDBOOK
Assisting People with Disabilities to Go to Work
Thank you for contacting the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) / Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Division. The purpose of the VR Division is to help eligible persons with physical, mental or emotional disabilities to prepare for a job, get a job and/or keep their current job.
If you are looking for help in going to work, the VR Division will help you decide on a good work goal, and our team of VR professionals is ready to work with you to make employment a reality.
This handbook will help you learn more about VR services. It gives you information about qualifying for services, the rehabilitation process, important facts about things you need to do, and your rights from the beginning to the end of the VR process. When you apply for services, a VR professional will go over the information in this handbook with you. You will then sign an acknowledgment form that you reviewed and received the handbook, and that you understand the information provided.
Keep this booklet handy so that you can look at it as your go through your rehabilitation program. It will give you an idea of what to expect from the VR Division, and what the VR Division expects from you. If you have questions, VR staff will be able to help you. Also, visit our website at http://gvs.georgia.gov/ for extra information about the GVRA/VR Division.
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The Vocational Rehabilitation Process
Your Responsibilities
You are the most important person in the vocational rehabilitation process, so your active participation is important to its success. You, your VR counselor and others on your rehabilitation team will work together to help you plan for, prepare for and achieve your employment goals.
Here is a list of the main things for you to do in order to help us serve you better:
• Be a part of your VR services by making your choices, needs and interests known to your counselor;
• Maintain regular communication, and meet with your VR counselor as required, throughout your vocational rehabilitation program;
• Keep and be on time for appointments with your VR counselor, other VR staff and service providers. When this is not possible, please let your VR counselor's office know as soon as possible so your appointment can be rescheduled;
• Give honest and complete information, and provide your VR counselor with access to information and records that will help your VR counselor in making decisions about your eligibility, your services, and your financial need;
• Be sure to tell your VR counselor about changes in your situation; for example, changes in your address, phone number, medical or psychological condition, as well as changes in your SSI/SSDI check and other finances.
Your Rights
The VR Division wants you to succeed in your rehabilitation program! We also want to make sure VR staff are being fair and helpful to you. You have the right:
• To apply for services;
• To be considered for services without regard to your gender, age, race, birthplace, nationality, religion, sexual orientation or type of disability;
• To be tested to find out if the VR Division can help you with employment related services;
• To have enough information to make the right informed choices from options available to you throughout the rehabilitation process. Informed choice means we provide the pros and cons for each of your options in order to help you make the best choices. Your choices include the choice of your work goal; the specific vocational rehabilitation services you are to get; the providers from whom you get services; and how to obtain and/or pay for your Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE/Work Plan) services;
• To know of any decisions that affect your case, the reasons for those decisions, and to know about important changes in your process before they happen;
• To make a written appeal of any decision affecting your case;
• To know that your personal information will be kept private within the limits of the law;
• To request consideration for an exception to policy due to specialized needs or unusual circumstances;
• To ask for help and/or guidance from the GVRA/VR Customer Care Unit ;
• To ask for help and/or guidance from the Client Assistance Program.
Application
Any person who is available for assessment and services in the state of Georgia, and who has a physical, mental or emotional disability that interferes with his or her ability to work, may apply for vocational rehabilitation services. A VR staff member will help you in filling out an application for services. By finishing an application, you are letting us know you want to go to work.
It is important that you understand that your participation in the VR Division program could affect benefits you may be receiving, such as Social Security (SSI and SSDI), Food Stamps or Georgia Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). For example, your benefits may decrease or be stopped once you go to work and earn money.
Eligibility
To be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, you must have a physical, mental or emotional disability that seriously interferes with your ability to work. You must also have a need for, and be able to benefit from, vocational rehabilitation services to get ready for or go back to work or to stay on your job. If you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) based on your own disability and you plan to go to work, you probably qualify for vocational rehabilitation services.
Your VR counselor will use your current medical, psychological, vocational and assessment information about your disability. But, if needed, and at no cost to you, your VR counselor will also get new information to help find out whether or not you qualify to get services.
Order of Selection
Due to a limited budget, the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Division operates under an Order of Selection system. This system makes sure that people with the most serious disability related obstacles to employment are placed in the highest priority category and receive services first. Therefore, it is possible to qualify for services but be placed on a wait list for future assistance. If you cannot be served immediately, you will receive information and referral services to other programs that may be able to assist you in looking for employment or independent living needs.
Work Needs Assessment
After you have been approved for services and assigned a priority category, you and your VR counselor will begin the process to develop your Individual Plan for Employment (IPE)/Work Plan. At that time, further tests may be required to help you determine the right vocational goal, and to identify the services needed to achieve that goal. This is called the needs assessment. Needs assessment activities may include additional medical, psychological or other specialist tests, as well as a vocational and/or work evaluation. (If you have been placed on the wait list, your plan will not be developed until you are moved from the wait list to the service list.)
VR staff wants you to achieve employment success. Your VR team will help you to use job market information, including data on occupational trends and earning potential, to identify the kind of jobs in which you are interested and for which you are suited. Once you and your VR counselor agree on what job would be appropriate and what services are needed to get that job, you are ready to move forward in the VR process.
Individualized Plan for Employment (Work Plan)
Your VR counselor will help you to develop a work plan called the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE/Work Plan) which will include:
• The agreed upon vocational goal;
• Objectives and services that are necessary to reach your vocational goal;
• How your progress will be measured;
• How the services will be provided;
• Your responsibilities; and
• The projected completion date of your work plan.
Your IPE/Work Plan:
• May be developed with the help of a family member, guardian, advocate or other authorized representative;
• Must be completed using the VR Division IPE/Work Plan format;
• Must be agreed upon and signed by both you and your VR counselor before it takes effect;
• May require you to pay part of the costs of your services;
• Must be reviewed by you and your VR counselor at least once a year to review your progress and to determine if changes in your services are needed;
• Will take as much time to complete as is appropriate and reasonable based on your individual needs and approved services. The length of time will be different for each person.
Vocational Services
VR services will include only those services that are necessary, reasonable, and appropriate for you to reach your vocational goal and to become employed. Services received through the VR Division depend upon the availability of VR Division funds. VR payment for some services may require that you meet our financial need criteria. Depending upon your financial need, you may be asked to share in the cost of some services. You may request that your counselor review any special needs or unusual circumstances for consideration of exceptional situations.
Services will be provided directly by VR staff or will be arranged through approved providers. You will be asked to help in choosing your service providers. In an effort to ensure your success, the VR Division defines each service a provider may provide, what credentials and qualifications the provider must have and the cost of the service. All services and items purchased for you must be approved, in advance, by your VR counselor.
You will be required to apply for and use comparable benefits (health insurance, the GI Bill, PELL, VA Benefits, etc.) which pay for some of the same services as the VR Division. Failure to apply for comparable benefits may affect the availability of VR funding assistance for that service. If you are offered a comparable benefit but choose not to accept it, the VR Division will not pay for that particular service. The VR Division will also consider other resources such as family resources and other financial awards when determining funding sources.
When you and your VR counselor agree that you are ready to work, VR staff will help you to become employed. Staff assistance varies according to individual needs, and may include resume development, interview preparation, job referrals and/or employer contact information. Finding the right job is important and your active participation is important. Many clients can and will find their own jobs. Others may need someone to assist them. Whatever your situation, VR Division staff will help make your adjustment to employment successful. After you are employed, VR staff will follow up with you to make sure that you are satisfied with your work.
Case Closure
After you have completed the objectives of your IPE/Work Plan and have been working successfully at your job for at least 90 days, your case will be closed.
Post-Employment Services
You may qualify for post-employment services, even after you have begun working and your case has been successfully closed. In this situation, VR can help you with short-term, relatively minor, and required services in order for you to keep or regain employment.
Information and Referral Services
If at any time it is determined that you cannot benefit from VR services in terms of an employment outcome or that VR Division services are not appropriate for you, the VR Division will provide information and referral to other more appropriate resources to assist you with your needs.
Protection, Use and Release of Personal Information
The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency/Vocational Rehabilitation Division protects your privacy by keeping all information about you confidential. The VR Division wants you to know why and how information in your case file is collected, protected, used and released.
In order to assist you in going to work, the VR Division will need a great deal of personal information about you. A VR staff person will ask for your name, address, birth date, social security number, and your educational, medical and employment history. You will need to provide information about your income and financial resources, and as appropriate, information about the income and resources of parents and/or any individuals who contribute to your support. Because the VR Division uses a team approach, your personal information will be shared with the VR professionals who are working to help you with your employment needs. All this information will be kept confidential and will be used to determine how vocational rehabilitation services can help you to find meaningful work.
Your file with the VR Division will be electronically maintained. Additionally, communication between you and your counselor and your VR team may also be via electronic means. Although confidentiality of electronically exchanged information cannot be guaranteed, the VR Division attempts to protect the confidentiality of information transmitted through the use of computers, email, facsimile machines, telephones, voicemail, answering machines, and other technology. The VR Division uses encrypted and/or password-protected Internet sites and/or email communications and voicemail. You are encouraged to also use encrypted or password protected sites and not share access to your email account with others who you do not want to know your personal information. Any information that you are not comfortable submitting electronically can be submitted in a manner that you are comfortable with but it is your responsibility to make sure that it is provided in a timely manner.
Sometimes, in order to provide you with services, VR Division staff will need to share information about you with another person, agency or employer. In these situations, VR will need your written consent and can only share information that is necessary to help in the delivery of services. The VR Release of Information form states with whom the information is to be shared, the reason the information is to be shared, and the length of time the release is valid.