Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
(a) Applicants and
eligible individuals or, as appropriate, their representatives shall be provided
information and support services to assist them in exercising informed choice
throughout the rehabilitation process consistent with the requirements of this
section.
(b) To assist applicants and
eligible individuals to exercise informed choice throughout the vocational
rehabilitation process, the Department shall:
(1)
Inform each applicant and eligible individual (including students with disabilities
who are making the transition from programs under the responsibility of an
educational agency to the Department's programs), through appropriate modes of
communication, about the availability of and opportunities to exercise informed
choice, including the availability of support services for individuals with
cognitive or other disabilities who require assistance in exercising informed choice
throughout the vocational rehabilitation process;
(2) Assist applicants and eligible individuals in
exercising informed choice in decisions related to the provision of assessment
services;
(3) Afford eligible
individuals meaningful choices among methods used to procure vocational
rehabilitation services, consistent with applicable State procurement laws and
regulations and federal policy directives issued by the U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS),
Rehabilitation Services Administration; and
(4) Assist eligible individuals or, as
appropriate, the individuals' representatives to acquire information that enables
them to exercise informed choice in the development of their Individualized Plans
for Employment (IPEs) with respect to the selection of the --
(A) Employment outcome, as defined in and
consistent with Section
7011 of these regulations;
(B) Specific vocational rehabilitation services
needed to achieve the employment outcome, as defined in and consistent with Section
7149 of these regulations;
(C) Entity that will provide the
services;
(D) Employment setting and the
settings in which the services will be provided; and
(E) Methods available for procuring the services,
consistent with State procurement laws and regulations and federal policy directives
issued by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), Rehabilitation Services Administration.
(c) The availability and
scope of informed choice shall be consistent with the Department's obligations under
the Act and federal regulations and with the Department's responsibilities for the
administration of the vocational rehabilitation program. Statutory and regulatory
requirements that affect the exercise of informed choice include all of the
following:
(1) Section
101(a)(6)(C) of the Act
and 34 CFR
361.51, which require that any facility used in
connection with the delivery of vocational rehabilitation services is accessible to
individuals with disabilities.
(2)
Section 101(a)(8)(A) of the Act
and 34 CFR
361.53, which require that prior to providing any
vocational rehabilitation service to an eligible individual, or to members of the
individual's family, the Department shall determine whether comparable services and
benefits as defined in Section
7006 of these regulations are available
under any other program in accordance with and under conditions specified in Chapter
5, Article 3 of these regulations.
(3)
Section 101(a)(9)(B) of the Act
and 34 CFR
361.45, which require that vocational
rehabilitation services be provided in accordance with the provisions of the
Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).
(4)
34 CFR
361.50, which authorizes the Department to develop
and maintain written policies covering the nature and scope of each of the
vocational rehabilitation services specified in Section
7149 of these regulations and the
criteria under which each service is provided.
(5)
34 CFR
361.54, which permits the Department to consider
the financial need of eligible individuals, or individuals who are receiving
services through trial work experience under Section
7062(h), for purposes
of determining the extent of their participation in the costs of vocational
rehabilitation services under conditions specified in Chapter 5, Article 1 of these
regulations.
(6)
2 CFR section
200.317 of the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Guidance, which governs the procurement of property and services under a
grant.
(7)
34 CFR section
361.13, which specifies activities that are the
responsibility of the Department in the administration of the vocational
rehabilitation program. These activities include, but are not limited to:
(A) All decisions affecting eligibility for
vocational rehabilitation services, the nature and scope of available services, and
the provision of these services; and
(B)
The allocation and expenditure of vocational rehabilitation funds.
(8)
34 CFR
361.12, which requires, in part, that the
Department ensure financial accountability in administering the vocational
rehabilitation program.
(9)
34 CFR
361.48 which requires, in part, that vocational
rehabilitation services must be appropriate to the vocational rehabilitation needs
of the individual.
(10)
34 CFR
361.45, which requires, in part, that the
employment outcome chosen by the eligible individual must be consistent with the
individual's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities,
interests, and informed choice.
(d) When assisting an applicant and eligible
individual to exercise informed choice during the assessment for determining
eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs and during development of the IPE,
the Department must provide the individual or the individual's representative, or
assist the individual or the individual's representative to acquire, information
necessary to make an informed choice about the specific vocational rehabilitation
services, including the providers of those services, that are needed to achieve the
individual's employment outcome. This information must include, at a minimum,
information relating to the--
(1) Cost,
accessibility, and duration of potential services;
(2) Consumer satisfaction with those services, to
the extent that this information is available;
(3) Qualifications of potential service
providers;
(4) Types of services offered
by the potential providers;
(5) Degree
to which services are provided in integrated settings; and
(6) Outcomes achieved by individuals working with
service providers, to the extent that this information is available.
(e) In providing, or assisting the
individual or the individual's representative to acquire, the information specified
in (d) of this section, the Department may use, but is not limited to, the following
methods or sources of information.
(1) Lists of
services and service providers.
(2)
Periodic consumer satisfaction surveys and reports.
(3) Referrals to other consumers, consumer groups,
or disability advisory councils qualified to discuss the services or service
providers.
(4) Relevant accreditation,
certification, or other information relating to the qualifications of service
providers.
(5) Opportunities for
individuals to visit or experience various work and service provider
settings.
1. New chapter 1.5
(section 7029.6) and section filed 3-4-2004;
operative 4-3-2004 (Register 2004, No. 10).
2. Amendment of subsections
(c)(5)-(7) and (c)(10) and amendment of NOTE filed 2-17-2023; operative 2-17-2023
pursuant to Government Code section
11343.4(b)(3)
(Register 2023, No. 7).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
19006
and
19016,
Welfare and Institutions Code. Reference:
29 USC Sections
701,
721 and
722;
2 CFR Section
200.317;
34 CFR Sections
361.50 and
361.52; and Sections
19000,
19005,
19011 and
19012, Welfare and Institutions
Code.
