La. Admin. Code tit. 67 § VII-117

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section VII-117 - Vocational Rehabilitation Services

1. an assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology;

2. counseling and guidance, including information and support services to assist an individual in exercising informed choice;

3. referral and other services to secure needed services from other agencies through cooperative agreements developed, if such services are not available from LRS;

4. job-related services, including job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services, and follow-along services;

5. vocational and other training services, including the provision of personal and vocational adjustment services, books, tools, and other training materials, except that no training services provided at an institution of higher education shall be paid for with funds under this Title unless maximum efforts have been made by LRS and the individual to secure grant assistance in whole or in part, from other sources to pay for such training;

6. to the extent that financial support is not readily available from a source other than LRS (such as through health insurance of the individual or a comparable service and benefit consistent with LRS policy, Chapter 115 Financial, Comparable Services and Similar Benefits) diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental impairments, including:

a. corrective surgery or therapeutic treatment necessary to correct or substantially modify a physical or mental condition that constitutes a substantial impediment to employment, but is of such a nature that correction or modification may reasonably be expected to eliminate or reduce such impediment to employment within a reasonable length of time;

b. necessary hospitalization in connection with surgery or treatment;

c. prosthetic and orthotic devices;

d. eyeglasses and visual services as prescribed by qualified personnel who meet state license laws;

e. special services, artificial kidneys, and supplies necessary for the treatment of individuals with end-stage renal disease; and

f. diagnosis and treatment for mental and emotional disorders by qualified personnel who meet state license laws;

7. maintenance for additional costs incurred while participating in and assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs or while receiving other services under an IPE and needed by the individual to achieve an employment goal;

8. transportation, including adequate training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems, that is provided in connection with the provision of any other service under an IPE and needed by the individual to achieve an employment goal;

9. on-the-job or other related personal assistance services provided while an individual is receiving other services under an IPE and needed by the individual to achieve an employment goal;

10. interpreter services provided by qualified personnel for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, and reader services for individuals who are determined to be blind, after an examination by qualified personnel who meet s tate license law;

11. rehabilitation teaching services, and orientation and mobility services for individuals who are blind;

12. occupational licenses, tools, equipment, and initial stocks and supplies;

13. technical assistance and other consultation services to conduct market analyses, develop plans and otherwise provide resources to eligible individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting or establishing a small business operation as an employment goal;

14. rehabilitation technology, including telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices;

15. transition services for students with disabilities that facilitate the achievement of the employment outcome identified in the IPE;

16. supported employment and customized employment services;

17. services to the family of an individual with a disability necessary to assist the individual to achieve an employment outcome identified in the IPE;

18. specific post-employment services necessary to assist an individual with a disability to retain, regain, or advance in employment.

B. Scope of Services for Diagnosis and Treatment of Physical and Mental Impairments

1. LRS will not provide ongoing medical rehabilitation treatment services. After medical science has restored the individual to their maximum level of healthy functioning, LRS can provide vocational rehabilitation services to remediate residual deficits medical science could not restore, if such impairments impact the individual's ability to work. LRS can provide all necessary and appropriate vocational rehabilitation services if these services address these functional deficits and assist the individual in performing job functions and/or gaining knowledge or skills necessary to compete for and obtain employment.

2. LRS will not provide experimental services or supplies.

C. Scope of Services in Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRP)

1. Cost Effectiveness

a. In consideration of the cost-effective provision of services in Community Rehabilitation Programs, LRS shall first use publicly-supported Community Rehabilitation Programs to provide assessment services, both for diagnostic purposes and in the provision of trial work periods, before using either private or private-non profit Community Rehabilitation Programs.

b. The only exceptions shall be as follows:

i. the service in a publicly supported CRP is not available;

ii. provision of the service in a publicly supported CRP would create an extreme hardship for the client.

D. Scope of Establishment of Small Business Enterprise

1. The purpose of a self-employment goal for a client is to establish an individual with a disability in a small business enterprise that will provide sufficient income to support the individual and their family, thereby enabling the individual to meet ordinary daily living expenses and business costs. LRS desires to make self-employment an available option only when it is clearly demonstrated that self-employment is the best choice for the client.

2. All other applicable state, federal, and agency laws, policy and procedure must be followed, including state purchasing laws.

3. These policy provisions do not apply to the Randolph Sheppard Program.

4. Ultimate approval of funding a small business enterprise for an eligible vocational rehabilitation client lies with Louisiana Rehabilitation Services.

La. Admin. Code tit. 67, § VII-117

Promulgated by the Department of Social Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services, LR 17:891 (September 1991), amended LR 20:317 (March 1994), LR 25:1274 (July 1999), amended by the Workforce Commission, Rehabilitation Services, LR 41:1775 (September 2015), Amended LR 48306 (2/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 23-3001.