Post-Employment Services

NC DIVISION OF SERVICES FOR THE BLIND POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION

A Post-Employment Service (PE) means one or more Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services that are provided after the eligible individual has achieved an employment outcome. These services are necessary for an individual to maintain, regain, or advance in employment, consistent with the individual strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and Informed Choice (IC). There is no time limit following employment after which PE services are unavailable.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor shall evaluate with each individual the need for PE when developing the Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) (On-Line DSB-4005b-VR Individual Plan for Employment with instructions) and before determining that the employment outcome has been achieved. Existing information should be used to the maximum extent possible in determining whether PE services are necessary and the type of services required.

In order to provide PE to maintain, regain or advance in employment, these conditions must exist:

1. the individual must have been closed in Status 26 Closed Rehabilitated after State Agency services;

2. additional Agency services are required as a result of the individual’s disability limiting his/her ability to maintain (e.g., conflicts with supervisors or co-workers and mental health counseling is needed); regain (e.g., job is eliminated through reorganization and new placement services are needed); or advance in employment, consistent with the individual’s strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, and interests (e.g., job is entry level clerical worker and the individual may advance to a better suited clerical position if brief additional training in the 10-key adding machine operation is provided);

3. the physical or mental condition is stable or slowly progressive; and

4. services must be limited in scope and duration and do not require a complex or comprehensive provision of services. If the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor determines that the individual requires extensive, long-term, multiple services over an extended period of time, then the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor should consider beginning a new re-determination of eligibility. When the individual’s rehabilitation needs do not require a complex or comprehensive provision of services, a new determination of eligibility is not required.

The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor may authorize PE training services to assist an individual to achieve more suitable employment when the individual meets the criteria in (1) through (4) above and the employment outcome at Case Closure was appropriate at the time, but nevertheless is below the individual’s potential, and the more suitable employment is to maintain the individual in employment closely related to the existing job (i.e., restaurant cashier to store cashier) and does not entail an extended training period and change of occupation (i.e., clerk typist to clerk stenographer).

Services provided under PE are contingent upon Financial Responsibility/Economic Need Requirements (On-Line DSB-4040-VR Economic Need Survey with instructions) and/or comparable benefits and must be provided under an amendment to the IPE (On-Line DSB-4005d-VR Individual Plan for Employment Amendment with instructions) and the individual must be entered into PE Status 32, even if the service is anticipated and identified at closure. Support services, such as maintenance, Transportation (transportation) and Personal Assistance Services (PAS), can only be provided in conjunction with a primary VR service.

Division of Services for the Blind (DSB) gives preference for in-state vendors. The individual may choose an out-of-state vendor that may be at a higher or lower cost than an in-state vendor. If either the out-of-state or the in-state vendor will meet the individual’s rehabilitation needs, the Agency will not be responsible for those costs in excess of the cost of the in-state vendor. However, if the individual chooses an out-of-state vendor at a cheaper cost than an in-state vendor and both vendors will meet the need, the individual may choose the out-of-state vendor. Any exceptions should be reviewed and approved by the Area Vocational Rehabilitation Supervisor or his/her designee as appropriate.

The case record must include a basis or rationale for providing the service(s) as well as a statement as to how the service(s) will be provided. An IPE for Post-Employment Services must be attached to the original IPE and the case must be placed in Status 32. When the IPE-PE service has been achieved, an IPE Closure Amendment is needed to close PE upon completion with the same signature requirements. Closure does not result in a successful closure (case Status 26). Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors shall not code a case as significant disability or more significant disability unless the case was so coded before closure in Status 26 Closed Rehabilitated.