Iowa Admin. Code r. 877-33.7

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, December 11, 2024

Rule 877-33.7 - Other eligibility and service determinations

(1)Waiting list.

a. As set forth in the Act and 34 CFR Section 361.36, if the division cannot serve all eligible individuals who apply, the division shall develop and maintain a waiting list for services based on significance of disability. The three categories of waiting lists are as follows, listed in order of priority to be served:

(1) Most significantly disabled;

(2) Significantly disabled; and

(3) Others eligible.

b. An individual's order of selection is determined by the waiting list and the date on which the individual applied for services from IVRS. All waiting lists are statewide in scope; no regional lists are to be maintained. Assessment of the significance of an applicant's disability is done during the process of determining eligibility but may continue after the individual has been placed on a waiting list. Individuals who do not meet the order of selection criteria will have access to services provided through information and referral. The division will provide the individual:

(1) A notice of the referral;

(2) Information identifying a specific point of contact at the agency to which the individual is referred; and

(3) Information and advice on the referral regarding the most suitable services to assist the individual.

c. Job retention services are available for those individuals who meet the requirements for those services.

(2)Options for individualized plan for employment (IPE) development.

a. The division provides information on the available options for developing the IPE, including the option that an eligible individual, or as appropriate, the individual's representative, may develop all or part of the IPE without assistance from the division or other entity; or with assistance from:

(1) A qualified vocational rehabilitation counselor employed by IVRS;

(2) A qualified vocational rehabilitation counselor not employed by IVRS;

(3) A disability advocacy organization, such as the CAP or Disability Rights Iowa (DRI), or any other advocacy organization of the individual's choosing; or

(4) Resources other than those mentioned above, such as the individual's case manager or a representative of the division under the guidance of a division vocational rehabilitation counselor.

b. The IPE is not approved or put into practice until it is discussed and reviewed; amended, if applicable; and approved by the job candidate and the vocational rehabilitation counselor employed by the division.

c. There is no compensation for any expenses incurred while the IPE is developed with any entity not employed by the division.

d. If the job candidate is not on the division waiting list and needs some assessment services to develop the IPE, the job candidate is to discuss the needs in advance with the division counselor and obtain prior approval if financial assistance is needed from the division to pay for the assessment service.

e. For individuals entitled to benefits under Title II or XVI of the Social Security Act on the basis of a disability or blindness, the division must provide to the individual general information on additional supports and assistance for individuals with disabilities desiring to enter the workforce, including assistance with benefits planning.

f. The job candidate's signature on the IPE verifies the ticket assignment to the division unless otherwise directed by the job candidate.

g. The IPE implementation date begins on the date of the division counselor's signature.

(3)Content of the individualized plan for employment (IPE). Each IPE will contain the content specified in 34 CFR Section 361.46.

No expenditures associated with the job candidate-developed plan are the responsibility of IVRS, unless agreed to and approved by the IVRS counselor. Written approval for services must be obtained prior to any IVRS financial obligation.

All IPE services are provided, unless amended and determined unnecessary. The division exercises its discretion in relation to the termination or amendment of the individual's IPE when, for any reason, it becomes evident that the IPE cannot be completed.

(4)Scope of services.

a. Preemployment transition services (pre-ETS). In collaboration with the local educational agencies involved, the division ensures that pre-ETS are arranged and available to all students with disabilities, regardless of whether the student has applied or been determined eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(51). Pre-ETS include:

(1) Required activities. The division is to provide the following activities:

1. Job exploration counseling;

2. Work-based learning experiences, which may include in-school or after school opportunities, or experience outside the traditional school setting (including internships), that is provided in an integrated environment in the community to the maximum extent possible;

3. Counseling on opportunities for enrollment in comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs at institutions of higher education;

4. Workplace readiness training to develop social skills and independent living; and

5. Instruction in self-advocacy (including instruction in person-centered planning), which may include peer mentoring (including peer mentoring from individuals with disabilities working in competitive integrated employment).

(2) Authorized activities. Funds available and remaining after the provision of the required activities may be used to improve the transition of students with disabilities from school to postsecondary education or an employment outcome by:

1. Implementing effective strategies to increase the likelihood of independent living and inclusion in communities and competitive integrated workplaces;

2. Developing and improving strategies for individuals with intellectual disabilities and individuals with significant disabilities to live independently; participate in postsecondary education experiences; and obtain, advance in and retain competitive integrated employment;

3. Providing instruction to vocational rehabilitation counselors, school transition personnel, and other persons supporting students with disabilities;

4. Disseminating information about innovative, effective, and efficient approaches to achieve the goals of this rule;

5. Coordinating activities with transition services provided by local educational agencies under the IDEA;

6. Applying evidence-based findings to improve policy, procedure, practice, and the preparation of personnel in order to better achieve the goals of this rule;

7. Developing model transition demonstration projects;

8. Establishing or supporting multistate or regional partnerships involving states, local educational agencies, designated state units, developmental disability agencies, private businesses, or other participants to achieve the goals of this rule; and

9. Disseminating information and strategies to improve the transition to postsecondary activities of individuals who are members of traditionally unserved and underserved populations.

(3) Preemployment transition coordination. Each local office of a designated state unit must carry out responsibilities consisting of:

1. Attending individualized education program meetings for students with disabilities, when invited;

2. Working with the local workforce development boards, one-stop centers, and employers to develop work opportunities for students with disabilities, including internships, summer employment and other employment opportunities available throughout the school year, and apprenticeships;

3. Working with schools, including those carrying out activities under Section 614(d) of the IDEA, to coordinate and ensure the provision of preemployment transition services under this rule; and

4. When invited, attending person-centered planning meetings for individuals receiving services under Title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 1396 et seq.).

(4) Completion of the pre-ETS agreement outlines the agreed-upon preemployment transition services needed by the student with a disability. When it is necessary to purchase these services, written prior approval must be obtained from the division.

Once an individual applies for services, the division may provide certain services (e.g., assessments for the determination of eligibility and plan development). The preemployment transition services listed above may continue for students with disabilities (as applicable).

b. Vocational services for eligible individuals not on a waiting list are services described in an IPE and are necessary to assist the eligible individual in preparing for, obtaining, retaining, regaining, or advancing in employment if the failure to advance is due to the disability, consistent with informed choice. Funding for such services is provided in accordance with the division policies. The services include:

(1) Assessment for determining services needed to achieve competitive integrated employment;

(2) Counseling and guidance, which means career counseling to provide information and support services to assist the eligible individual in making informed choices;

(3) Referral and other services necessary to assist applicants and eligible individuals to secure needed services from other agencies, including other components of the statewide workforce development system, and through agreements with other organizations and agencies as well as advising individuals about the client assistance program;

(4) Job-related services to facilitate the preparation for, obtaining of, and retaining of employment to include job search, job development, job placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services and follow-along if necessary and required under the IPE;

(5) Vocational and other training services, including personal and vocational adjustment training; advanced training in, but not limited to, a field of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (including computer science), medicine, law, or business; books, tools, and other training materials, except that no training or training services in an institution of higher education (universities, colleges, community or junior colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of nursing or any other postsecondary education institution) may be paid for with IVRS funds unless maximum efforts have been made by the designated state unit and the individual to secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other sources to pay for that training, in accordance with the definition of that term in 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(6);

(6) Physical and mental treatment may be provided to the extent that financial support is not readily available from another source other than IVRS, such as health insurance of the individual or a comparable service or benefit, as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(39), and said treatment is essential to the progression of the individual to achieve the competitive integrated employment outcome according to the following provisions:

1. The service is necessary for the job candidate's satisfactory occupational adjustment;

2. The condition causing the disability is relatively stable or slowly progressive;

3. The condition is of a nature that treatment may be expected to remove, arrest, or substantially reduce the disability within a reasonable length of time;

4. The prognosis for life and employability is favorable.

(7) Maintenance services as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(34), to the extent that the costs of maintenance shall not exceed the amount of increased expenses that the rehabilitation causes for the job candidate or the job candidate's family. Maintenance is not intended to provide relief from poverty or abject living conditions. Guidance regarding the financial support of maintenance is available from the division's policy manual;

(8) Transportation in connection with the provision of any vocational rehabilitation service and as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(57), to the extent that when necessary to enable an applicant or a job candidate to participate in or receive the benefits of other vocational rehabilitation services, travel and related expenses, including expenses for training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems, may be provided by the division. Transportation services may include the use of private or commercial conveyances (such as private automobile or van, public taxi, bus, ambulance, train, or plane) or the use of public transportation and coordination with a regional transit agency;

(9) Vocational rehabilitation services to family members, as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(23), of an applicant or eligible individual if necessary to enable the applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome;

(10) Interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services, for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and tactile interpreting services;

(11) Supported employment services as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(42);

(12) Occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks and supplies;

(13) Rehabilitation technology as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(45), including vehicular modification, telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices;

(14) Transition services for a student or youth with a disability that facilitate the transition from school to postsecondary life, such as achievement of an employment outcome in competitive integrated employment, or preemployment transition services for students;

(15) Technical assistance and other consultation services to conduct market analyses, develop business plans, and otherwise provide resources, to the extent those resources are authorized to be provided through the statewide workforce development system, to eligible individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting or establishing a small business operation as an employment outcome;

(16) Customized employment as defined in 34 CFR Section 361.5(c)(11); and

(17) Other goods and services determined necessary for the individual with a disability to achieve an employment outcome.

(5)Specific services requiring financial assessment.

a. Financial need must be established prior to the provision of certain services at the division's expense and is evidenced by use of the financial inventory needs tool utilized by the division. No financial needs test will occur for the following services:

(1) Assessment for eligibility and priority of services and determining vocational rehabilitation needs under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(2);

(2) Vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(3);

(3) Referral and other services under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(4);

(4) Job-related services under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(12);

(5) Personal assistance services under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(14); and

(6) Any auxiliary aid or service (e.g., interpreter services under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(10) or reader services under 34 CFR Section 361.48(b)(11)) that an individual with a disability requires.

b. Recipients of SSDI/SSI and foster care youth are not subject to a financial needs test but must demonstrate eligibility under subrule 33.6(1) and rule 877-33.5 (84H), as well as demonstrate need in the IPE.

(1) For the determination of financial need, the individual and the individual's family (when applicable) are required to provide information regarding all family income from any source that may be applied toward the cost of rehabilitation services, other than those services mentioned above, where the financial needs test does not apply. Family is considered to be any individuals who are financially responsible for the support of the job candidate, regardless of whether they reside in the same or separate households. A comparable services and benefits search is required for some services. The division shall not pay for more than the balance of the cost of services minus comparable services and benefits for the individual's documented contribution. When an individual refuses to supply information for the financial needs test, the individual assumes 100 percent responsibility for the costs of the rehabilitation.

(2) The division shall observe the following policies in deciding financial need based upon the findings:

1. All services requiring the determination of financial need are provided on the basis of supplementing the resources of the individual or of those responsible for the individual.

2. A division supervisor may grant an exception in cases where the individual's disability caused, or is directly related to, financial need and where all other sources of money have been exhausted by the individual and the guardian of the individual (when applicable).

3. Consideration will be given to the individual's responsibility for the immediate needs and maintenance of the individual's dependents, and the individual is expected to reserve sufficient funds to meet the individual's family obligations and to provide for the family's future care, education and medical expenses.

4. Income up to a reasonable amount should be considered and determined based on the federal poverty guidelines associated with family size, income, and exclusions.

5. General assistance from state or federal sources is disregarded as a resource unless the assistance is a grant award for postsecondary training.

6. Grants and scholarships based on merit, while not required to be searched for as a comparable benefit, may be considered as part of the determination of financial support of a plan when a request is beyond the basic support for college. Public grants and institutional grants or scholarships not based on merit are considered a considerable benefit.

7. The division does not fund services for which another entity is responsible.

8. The division seeks and purchases the most economical goods (items/models) or services that meet the individual's vocational needs.

9. Goods and services are only authorized to those facilities and entities qualified and equipped to provide such goods and services.

(6)Maximum rates of payment to training facilities. In no case shall the amount paid to a training facility exceed the rate published, and in the case of facilities not having published rates, the amount paid to the facility is not to exceed the amount paid to the facility by other public agencies for similar services. The division will maintain information necessary to justify the rates of payment made to training facilities.

(7)Areas in which exceptions are unavailable. Pursuant to federal law, an exception will not be granted for any requirements that do not allow for such an exception (e.g., eligibility, mandatory contents of the individualized plan for employment).

(8)Exceptions to duration of services. As required by the Act and 34 CFR Section 361.50(d), the division will have a method of allowing for exceptions to its rules regarding the duration of services. In order to exceed the duration of service as defined in the IPE, a job candidate must follow through on the agreed-upon IPE and related activities and keep the division informed of the job candidate's progress.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 877-33.7

ARC 6481C, IAB 8/24/2022, effective 9/28/2022; Editorial change: IAC Supplement 8/23/2023

Adopted by IAB April 3, 2024/Volume XLVI, Number 20, effective 5/8/2024