Current through February, 2024
(a) All applicants
and eligible individuals or, as appropriate, their representatives shall be
provided information concerning 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, to assist them in exercising informed choice
throughout the rehabilitation process consistent with section 102(d) of the
Rehabilitation Act, as amended, and the requirements of this section.
(b) The division, in consultation with the
State Rehabilitation Council, must develop and implement written policies and
procedures that enable an applicant or eligible individual to exercise informed
choice throughout the VR process. These policies and procedures must provide
for:
(1) Informing each applicant and
eligible individual (including students with disabilities who are making the
transition from programs under the department of education to programs under
the division), through appropriate modes of communication, about the
availability of and opportunities to exercise informed choice, including
support services for individuals with cognitive or other disabilities who
require assistance in exercising informed choice throughout the VR
process;
(2) Assisting applicants
and eligible individuals in exercising informed choice in decisions related to
the provision of assessment services;
(3) Developing and implementing flexible
procurement policies and methods that facilitate the provision of VR services
and that afford eligible individuals meaningful choices among the methods used
to procure VR services;
(4)
Assisting eligible individuals or, as appropriate, the individuals'
representatives in acquiring information that enables them to exercise informed
choice in the development of their IPEs with respect to the selection of the:
(A) Employment outcome;
(B) Specific VR services needed to achieve
the employment outcome;
(C) Entity
that will provide the services;
(D)
Employment setting and the settings in which the services will be
provided;
(E) Methods available for
procuring the services; and
(F)
Ensuring that the availability and scope of informed choice is consistent with
the obligations of the division.
(c) In assisting an applicant or eligible
individual in exercising informed choice during the assessment for determining
eligibility and VR needs and during development of the IPE, the division must
provide the individual or the individual's representative, or assist the
individual or the individual's representative in acquiring, information
necessary to make an informed choice about the specific VR 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 information
relating to consumer satisfaction 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 such information is available.
(d) In providing or assisting the individual
or the individual's representative in acquiring the information required under
subsection (c), the division 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.
(e) The
division shall include in the division's record of services for the individual,
documentation describing the extent to which the applicant or eligible
individual exercised informed choice regarding:
(1) The provision of assessment services;
and
(2) The extent to which the
eligible individual exercised informed choice in the development of the IPE
with respect to:
(A) The selection of the
specific employment outcome;
(B)
The specific VR services needed to achieve the employment outcome;
(C) The entity to provide the
services;
(D) The employment
setting;
(E) The settings in which
the services will be provided; and
(F) The methods to procure the
services.
