Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 6, September 16, 2024
(a) The Division of
Services for the Blind shall establish the economic need of each eligible
consumer either simultaneously with or prior to the provision of those services
for which the Division requires a needs test. The financial need of a consumer
shall be determined by the financial needs test specified in Rule .0403 of this
Section. If the consumer has been determined eligible for Social Security
benefits under Title II or XVI of the Social Security Act, (SSA), the Division
of Services for the Blind shall not apply a financial needs tests or require
the financial participation of the consumer. A financial needs test shall be
applied for all consumers determined eligible to receive services through the
Independent Living Rehabilitation Program regardless of SSA Title II or Title
XVI eligibility.
(b) The Division
of Services for the Blind shall furnish the following services not conditioned
on economic need:
(1) an assessment for
determining eligibility and priority for services, except those non-assessed
services that are provided during an exploration of the applicant's abilities,
capabilities, and capacity to perform in work situations through the use of
trial work experiences or an extended evaluation and an assessment by personnel
skilled in rehabilitation technology;
(2) an assessment for determining
rehabilitation needs by a qualified vocational rehabilitation
counselor;
(3) vocational
rehabilitation counseling and guidance, including information and support
services to assist an applicant or consumer in exercising informed choice;
and
(4) tuition and supplies for
Community Rehabilitation Program training;
(5) tuition and fees for:
(A) community college and university
educational and vocational programs up to the catalog rate; and
(B) post-secondary education up to the
maximum rate charged for the North Carolina public university system.
The Division shall require eligible consumers applying for
training programs listed in Parts (b)(5)(A) and (B) of this Rule to first apply
for all available grants and financial aid. The Division may grant an exception
to the rate for tuition and required fees for post-secondary education
specified in Part (b)(5)(B) of this Rule when necessary to accommodate the
special training needs of severely disabled individuals who must be enrolled in
special programs designed for severely physically disabled
students;
(6)
interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services for
applicants or consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and tactile
interpreting services for applicants or consumers who are deaf-blind;
(7) reader services, rehabilitation teaching
services, and orientation and mobility services;
(8) job-related services, including job
search, job placement employment assistance, and job retention
services;
(9) DSB Rehabilitation
Center services or fundamental independent living rehabilitation adjustment
services, including transportation and training supplies, contingent on a
consumer's participation in the program;
(10) diagnostic transportation;
(11) on-the-job training;
(12) training and associated maintenance and
transportation costs for Business Enterprises Program trainees;
(13) upward mobility training and associated
maintenance and transportation costs for Business Enterprises Program
trainees;
(14) equipment and
initial stocks and supplies for state-owned (Randolph-Sheppard) vending
stands;
(15) supported employment
services;
(16) personal assistance
services provided while a consumer with a disability is receiving vocational
rehabilitation services;
(17)
referral and other services designed to assist applicants or consumers with
disabilities in securing needed services from other agencies through agreements
developed under Section 101(a)(11) of Rehabilitation Act Amendments (the Act,
P.L.
102-569), if such services are not available under
this Act, and to advise those individuals about client assistance programs
established under the Act;
(18)
transition services for students with disabilities that facilitate the
achievement of the employment outcome identified in the student's
individualized plan for employment, except for those services based on economic
need;
(19) technical assistance and
other consultation services to consumers who are pursuing self-employment,
telecommuting, or establishing a business operation as an employment outcome;
and
(20) provision of
pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities who are 14-21
years of age, whether they are presently a VR client or a potentially eligible
individual.
(c) The
following services shall be provided by the Division of Services for the Blind
and shall be conditioned on economic need:
(1)
physical and mental restoration services that are medical services other than
diagnostic;
(2) maintenance for
additional costs incurred while participating in rehabilitation;
(3) transportation in connection with
rendering any vocational rehabilitation service except where necessary in
connection with determination of eligibility or nature and scope of
services;
(4) services to members
of a disabled consumer's family necessary to the adjustment or rehabilitation
of the consumer with a disability;
(5) post-employment services necessary to
assist consumers with visual disabilities to maintain, regain, or advance in
employment, except for those services not conditioned on economic need listed
in Paragraph (b) of this Rule;
(6)
fees necessary to obtain occupational licenses;
(7) tools, equipment, and initial stocks and
supplies for items listed in Subparagraphs (1) through (7) of this
Paragraph;
(8) expenditures for
short periods, not to exceed 30 days of medical care for acute conditions
arising during the course of vocational rehabilitation that if not cared for,
will constitute a hazard to the achievement of the vocational rehabilitation
objective; and
(9) other goods and
services not prohibited by the Act (P.L. 102-569) that can
reasonably be expected to benefit an individual with a disability in terms of
his employability or independent living skill development.
(d) Notwithstanding Paragraph (c) of this
Rule, the following services shall not be subject to economic need for
individuals being served through the Vocational Rehabilitation Program:
(1) books and other training materials
required for post-secondary training; and
(2) rehabilitation technology, including
telecommunications, sensory aids, and other technological aids and devices for
consumers who have an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) who are working
toward an employment goal that requires specified technology to attain, regain,
or maintain employment and who have the capability to use the
equipment.
(e) The
Division of Services for the Blind shall publish the standard for measuring the
financial need of consumers with respect to normal living requirements, for
determining their financial ability to meet the cost of necessary
rehabilitation services, and for determining the amount of agency
supplementation required to procure the necessary services.
Authority
G.S.
111-28;
34 C.F.R.
361.5;
34 C.F.R. 361.48;
34 C.F.R.
361.52;
34 C.F.R. 361.54;
P.L.
102-569,
Section
103; S.L. 2009-475;
Eff. February
1, 1976;
Amended Eff. August 1, 1976;
Readopted Eff.
November 16, 1977;
Amended Eff. January 1, 1996; June 1, 1993;
October 1, 1990; April 1, 1990;
Temporary Amendment Eff. August 1,
2001;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2002;
Emergency Amendment
Eff. September 23, 2009;
Temporary Amendment Eff. November 16, 2009
to expire on June 30, 2012(See
G.S.
150B-21.1B);
Amended Eff. July 1,
2012;
Readopted Eff. October 1,
2018.
