SECTION 51.5-173. Services for individuals  

A. Vocational rehabilitation services provided by the Department shall address comprehensively the individual needs of each client to the maximum extent possible with resources available to the Department, through the following:

1. An assessment for determining eligibility and vocational 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, and referral necessary to help applicants or clients to secure needed services from other agencies;

3. Diagnosis and treatment of physical or 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 that 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 licensure laws and who are selected by the client;

e. Special services including transplantation and dialysis, artificial kidneys, and supplies necessary for the treatment of clients with end-stage renal disease; and

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

4. 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 institutions of higher education shall be paid for with funds under this article unless maximum efforts have been made to secure grant assistance in whole or part from other funding sources;

5. Maintenance for additional costs incurred while participating in an assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs or while receiving services under an individualized plan for employment;

6. Transportation, including adequate training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems that is provided in connection with the provision of any other services described in this section and needed by the client to achieve an employment outcome;

7. Services to members of a client's family when such services are necessary to assist the client to achieve an employment outcome;

8. Interpreter services provided by qualified personnel for clients who are deaf or hard of hearing and reader services for clients determined to be blind, after an examination by qualified personnel who meet state licensure laws;

9. Rehabilitation technology, including telecommunications and sensory and other technological aids and devices;

10. Job-related services, including job search and assistance, job retention services, follow-up services, and follow-along services;

11. Specific post-employment services necessary to assist the client to retain, regain, or advance in employment;

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

13. On-the-job or other related personal assistance services provided while a client is receiving other services described in this section;

14. Supported employment services which include providing a rehabilitation or other human services agency staff person to assist in job placement, job site training, and job follow-through for the disabled employee;

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

16. Transition services for students with disabilities that facilitate the transition from school to post-secondary life, such as the achievement of an employment outcome in competitive integrated employment or pre-employment transition services;

17. Customized employment for an individual with a significant disability in a competitive integrated setting that is based on the strengths, needs, interests, and abilities of the individual and the business needs of the employer; and

18. Encouragement of qualified individuals who are eligible to receive services to pursue advanced training in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (including computer science fields), medicine, law, or business.

B. Written standards shall be established by the Commissioner detailing the scope and nature of each vocational rehabilitation service authorized herein, the conditions, criteria and procedures under which each service may be provided, and the use of entitlements and other benefits to access these services, when appropriate.

C. In providing the foregoing services, the Department shall determine whether comparable services and benefits are available under any other program unless such a determination would interrupt or delay the progress of the client toward achieving the employment outcome identified in the individualized plan for employment, an immediate job placement, or the provision of such service to any client at extreme medical risk.

1985, c. 421, §§ 51.01-18, 51.5-18; 1989, c. 181; 1992, c. 755; 2001, c. 483 ; 2002, c. 483 ; 2012, cc. 483 , 483 ; 2016, c. 483 .