MDRS provides applicants and clients with opportunities to exercise informed choice throughout the VR process, including making decisions about the employment goal, VR services, service providers, settings for employment and service provision, and methods for procuring services.
To enable an individual to make such decisions, MDRS provides information, support and assistance needed by the individual. MDRS has implemented policies, procedures, and practices and developed resources that enable applicants and clients to exercise informed choice throughout the entire VR process; these policies, procedures, and practices are consistent with Federal statutory and regulatory requirements.
Specifically, MDRS ensures that the individual, or if appropriate, the individual through his or her representative:
* makes decisions related to the assessment process and to selection of the employment outcome and the settings in which employment occurs, vocational rehabilitation services, service providers, the settings for service provision, and the methods for procuring services;
* has a range of options from which to make these decisions or, to the extent possible, the opportunity to create new options that will meet the individual's specific rehabilitation needs;
* has access to sufficient information about the consequences of various options;
* has skills for evaluating the information and for making decisions, or, to the extent possible, the opportunity to develop such skills or support and assistance in carrying out these functions;
* makes decisions in ways that reflect the individuals strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, and career interests; and
* takes personal responsibility, to the extent possible, for implementing the chosen options.
For individual Areas of Responsibility, see the OVR/OVRB Resource Guide.
32 Miss. Code. R. 21-1-1.1.2