Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) Individuals must have legal status in the
United States and be authorized to work. Documents that establish employment
eligibility and identity must be consistent with forms required by the United
States Citizenship and Immigration Services.
(2) An individual must be physically present
in the state to qualify for vocational rehabilitation services if he or she is
not a resident of the state.
(3) In
the assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs,
the division shall, to the greatest extent possible, use information that is
available, sufficient, and appropriate for purposes of determining eligibility.
In instances where the division is funding treatment, existing information may
be no older than one (1) year.
(4)
The division shall prepare a preliminary assessment of each applicant that
shall include:
(a) Identification of any
barriers to employment for the applicant;
(b) An appraisal of the applicant's
abilities, functional limitations, and rehabilitation needs;
(c) An initial appraisal of rehabilitation
technology needs to successfully complete an assessment;
(d) A description of the individual's
expectations with respect to assistance from the division;
(e) An appraisal of the individual's
understanding of informed choice regarding the services available from the
division;
(f) Voter registration
form completed or declined; and,
(g) Initiation of the eligibility
assessment.
(5)
Diagnoses.
(a) A signed report, electronic or
otherwise, from a qualified provider containing a diagnosis of the individual's
disability shall be maintained in the individual's records.
(b) Diagnoses by professional staff with less
than M.D. or doctoral-level degree credentials shall be acceptable if such
individuals are employed by licensed/certified facilities with M.D. or
doctoral-level degree oversight. Signature of the individual providing
oversight is not required.
(6) Mental Health.
(a) The diagnosis of a mental health disorder
shall be made by a psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist. A licensed school
psychologist may only be used for developmental diagnoses.
(b) Neuropsychological and specific learning
disability assessments shall be made by qualified personnel approved to perform
such assessments and licensed under appropriate licensure laws.
(c) Diagnosis of mental or emotional
disorders shall be consistent with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders ("DSM") published by American Psychiatric Publishing, 1000
Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1825, Arlington, VA 22209,
appi@psych.org.
(7)
Chemical Dependency.
(a) Individuals who are
actively abusing drugs shall not fall under the category "individual with a
disability." In the context of chemical dependency, an individual is an
"individual with a disability" who:
1. Has
successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program and is no
longer engaging in such use;
2.
Participates in a supervised rehabilitation program and is no longer engaging
in such use; or
3. Is mistakenly
regarded as engaging in such use but is, in fact, not engaging in such use.
Alcohol or drug testing may be used to ensure that the individual is no longer
engaging in the use of alcohol or illegal drugs.
(b) The eligibility decision by the counselor
shall be based upon a current assessment of psychological functioning and a
demonstrated desire by the individual to remain substance free and participate
with available resources, e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous,
local community drug and alcohol awareness centers.
(8) Adjustment Disorders.
(a) Adjustment Disorders are acute
psychiatric/psychological impairments. An adjustment disorder may be in
response to temporary situational conditions that are frequently resolved
within a short period of time, but do cause substantial impediments to
employment.
(b) Six (6) months
after receiving the adjustment disorder diagnosis, the individual must be
reevaluated.
(c) If an individual
with an adjustment disorder is found ineligible for the services provided by
the division, the ineligibility decision shall be based on an assessment of
whether the adjustment disorder causes a substantial impediment to employment
and whether the individual can benefit from the division's services in terms of
an employment outcome.
(9) Borderline Intellectual Functioning.
(a) Borderline Intellectual Functioning is
not an acceptable diagnosis for the purposes of eligibility for the division's
services.
(b) Borderline
Intellectual Functioning is interpreted as an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score
of 70-79 plus or minus five (5) points standard deviation in testing. If
significant adaptive functioning deficits are indicated for those scoring
70-75, it is appropriate to discuss with the psychologist changing the
diagnosis to intellectual disability.
(c) Individuals diagnosed with Borderline
Intellectual Functioning with an IQ score of 76-79 without adaptive functioning
deficits would not be eligible for the division's services.
(10) Intellectual Disability.
(a) The diagnosis of an intellectual
disability shall be made by a psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or licensed
school psychologist.
(b) The DSM
defines the upper range of intellectual disability (also referred to as mental
retardation) as an IQ of 70 plus or minus five (5). This means that an
individual may be diagnosed as mildly intellectually disabled with an IQ as
high as 75 if there are significant adaptive functioning deficits. An
individual's IQ can be as low as 65 and not be coded as intellectually disabled
as long as adaptive functioning is adequate. The lower the IQ, the more
probable the presence of adaptive functioning deficits.
(c) It is reasonable to use an early IQ test
score that is less than 65 and evaluation of current adaptive functioning for
documentation of an individual's disability.
(d) Further assessments may be conducted
after eligibility determination to assist with Individualized Plan for
Employment (IPE) planning if necessary.
(e) Retesting may be ordered for individuals
who have an IQ score of 65 to 75 if the testing was done prior to 9th grade.
The individual's adaptive functioning may have improved and intellectual
disability diagnostic criteria would not be met as a
result.
(11) Specific
Learning Disabilities. A diagnosis of specific learning disability shall be
based on testing done in the 9th grade or later using the Wechsler Intelligence
Scale for Children (WISC) ages three (3) to sixteen (16) and/or the Wechsler
Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) ages sixteen (16) and older.
(12) Hearing Impairments.
(a) "Hard of Hearing" means hearing
impairment resulting in a functional loss, but not to the extent that the
individual must depend primarily upon visual communication. There is usually a
thirty (30) decibel (db) loss in the better ear with speech discrimination
below fifty (50) percent.
(b)
"Deafness" means a hearing impairment of such severity that the individual must
depend primarily upon visual communication such as lip-reading, writing, manual
communication and gestures. There is usually a 70 decibel (db) loss or greater
in both ears and a speech discrimination score of forty (40%) percent or less
in the better ear.
(c) A diagnosis
of a hearing impairment shall be based upon the results of an auditory
evaluation performed by a licensed audiologist.
(d) An ophthalmologic evaluation shall be
obtained in all cases of deafness, retinitis pigmentosa, and usher syndrome.
Individuals suspected of having ear disease should be evaluated by a physician
skilled in diseases of the ear, e.g., an ENT, Otologist, and/or
Otolaryngologist.
(13)
Speech Impairments. Diagnosis of a speech impairment shall be made by a speech
language pathologist.
(14) Vision
Impairments. A vision impairment is a condition resulting in the loss of visual
acuity and/or limiting an individual's field of vision. Individuals who meet
the definition of "blind" in Section
413.033(1),
F.S., shall be referred to the Division of Blind Services, Florida Department
of Education.
(15) Before or at the
same time an individual is accepted as eligible for the division's services,
the division shall certify that the individual has met the basic eligibility
requirements.
(16) Eligibility
Determination Extension. Documentation of an agreement between the counselor
and individual to extend eligibility determination beyond sixty (60) days after
application, including an agreed-upon time frame and stating the specific
exceptional and unforeseen circumstances on which the extension is based, shall
be contained in the individual's records. If the division is unable to obtain
such agreement, a case entry that contains the specific exceptional and
unforeseen circumstances, or work trial experiences and revised time frame,
shall be placed in the individual's records.
Rulemaking Authority
413.22,
1001.02 FS. Law Implemented
413.24,
413.28,
413.30
FS.
New 5-14-12.
