Frequently Asked Questions
- The most suitable job goal for the client is sheltered employment (status 51), supported employment follow-along (status 52), or supported employment crew (status 60); and
- The individual is willing to wait for employment services and is available and ready for such services to begin once his or her name has reached the top of the Waiting List.
- Return to VR and receive regular services; or
- Ask the CRP to search for a job that he or she can do and initiate job coaching under the EE funding stream.
- If the client requires or requests assessment of the feasibility of employment in a community setting, he or she will be referred to VR for this purpose. The client will then be placed in status 53 (EE services interrupted) unless extended employment services are to be continued during the assessment period.
- If supported employment follow-along or supported employment crew employment is determined to be suitable for the client, then VR will begin providing time-limited services and RMR will assign status 58 to the client’s case. The provision of time-limited services for any new case involving a determination of eligibility or an IPE is at the discretion of VR. When the client has achieved stability in a community-based job, RMR will assign status 52 or status 60 to his or her case as appropriate.
- Should a VR assessment determine that community-based employment is not feasible, the client may resume his or her position in the sheltered/segregated setting (status 51).
- It is legal.
- No harm will come to the client.
- An appropriate existing placement will not be jeopardized.
How do I know if it is appropriate to place a client’s name on the Waiting List?
There are two conditions for placing a client’s name on the Waiting List:
I am a VR counselor and I have been notified that a CRP has an EE opening. The name of one of my clients is at the top of the waiting list, but the client has informed me that he/she is unavailable to begin receiving EE services. What action do I take?
In this situation, the VR counselor first documents the reason for the client's unavailability. If it seems likely that the client will never be available for EE services, the counselor must decertify him/her from the program. On the other hand, if it appears the client will be available to work in the future, his/her name will be retained on the waiting list, but it will be bypassed only once. As soon as a bypassed name reaches the top of the waiting list a second time, the client's VR counselor must contact him/her. If the client indicates that he/she remains unavailable for services, then the VR counselor immediately decertifies the client from the program. In either case, the counselor must notify RMR in writing of the client's status.
I am a CRP representative and our CRP has the capacity to serve a new client from the Waiting List. Whom do I contact to obtain the name of the next person to be served, Rocky Mountain Rehab (RMR) or the district VR liaison?
The CRP should contact RMR to obtain the name of the client who is next on the Waiting List. If the client is awaiting a status 52 or status 60 placement, RMR will provide the name of client’s VR counselor. If the client is awaiting status 51 services, his or her contact information will be provided.
Are there separate Waiting Lists for status 51, status 52, and status 60 clients?
Yes. If a CRP has capacity to serve a status 51 client, then the status 51 client whose name appears at the top of the Waiting List will be referred. If a CRP has the capacity to serve a status 52 client, the client at the top of the status 52 waiting list will be referred for services. Finally, if the CRP serves status 60 clients and has the capacity to serve another such individual, RMR will provide the name of the client whose name is at the top of the status 60 waiting list.
On the Service Agreement form RMR indicates that it has the right to reject an application for services. In what case would this happen?
This would most likely happen if a CRP has signed a Service Agreement for an individual whose name is not yet at the top of the Waiting List. In the rare event that a Service Agreement is rejected, RMR contacts the CRP and discusses the matter with its representative.
Does the “first come, first serve” policy still apply if alternative funding for services is available to a particular client on the Waiting List?
No. The EE program was established to assist individuals who cannot fund their own extended employment services. If an individual or a CRP has alternative funding to support the necessary services, the CRP may begin serving the person regardless of his or her position on the Waiting List.
If alternative funding is available will the client’s name be removed from the Waiting List?
Not necessarily. For example, by using alternative funding a CRP can provide services to the client until his or her name has reached the top of the Waiting List and then apply for EE funding. At that point in time the alternative funding will cease and EE funding will begin. However, if the client has permanent alternative funding then he or she will be decertified from the EE program.
What happens if a client has received job coaching for a significant period of time but he or she has not become stable in a job? Does the CRP then refer the client to VR?
There are two options for an EE client who changes jobs:
The client and those working on his or her case will make this decision jointly. If the client is changing jobs to a position similar to his or her previous one and needs only minimal job coaching, then the EE funding stream may be continued. Alternatively, if the client requires re-training at significant expense, then a referral to VR would be appropriate to determination the extent of the client’s need for services.
What happens if a client wants to cease working in a sheltered employment setting and instead work on in a community setting?
When a client wants to leave sheltered employment and begin community-based employment the procedure for such transition is as follows:
What happens if a client has received job coaching for a significant period of time but has still has not become stable in his or her job?
The time frame recommended by the Rehabilitation Services Administration for VR-funded job coaching is eighteen months. A client’s case must be reviewed individually as the end of the eighteen-month period approaches. Once the reason for the client’s failure to achieve stability has been determined, the client and the team providing services must decide whether or not to continue job coaching. If it appears the client will not become stable on the job, then one of three courses of action may be taken, depending on the reason why the client has not achieved stability.
If it is determined that the position chosen by the client is inappropriate for his or her functional level, then a new IPE must be written with a job goal that matches the client’s abilities. If it is apparent that neither supported employment follow-along nor supported employment crew employment is a realistic goal, then consideration of employment in a sheltered setting is warranted. Finally, if there are medical or mental health issues preventing stabilization on the job, a suspension of the IPE is warranted until the client has achieved medical or psychological stability.
My client needs services in addition to extended employment (medical case management, social services, etc.). May I provide such services and then bill RMR for them?
No. The purpose of the EE program is to provide employment-related services to ensure that a client retains his or her job. All services that CRPs provide to EE clients must therefore be job-related. For example, if an EE client has a medical or psychological condition and case management is needed, then another party must provide such services.
The Annual Review form lists the documents that must be included in a client’s file. CRPs are encouraged to obtain from VR all documents missing from client files, if possible. If VR does not have the needed documents and they are not available from any other source, then a letter from VR stating that the information could not be found will suffice for the annual review.
I need to decertify an individual from the EE program. Do I use the original Referral form or a new Referral form?
A new form must be used to record decertification of a client from the EE program. To do this, you will first input the client’s name and the last four digits of his or her social security number in Part A. Then you will complete Part C of the Referral form and send it to RMR. This is the only form that will be accepted for decertification.
Whose responsibility is it to complete forms?
Parts A and B of the Referral form must be completed and signed by a VR counselor. Part C is completed and signed by either a VR counselor or a CRP representative, depending on the client’s status. If a client’s status is either 50 or 58, the VR counselor completes Part C; if his or her status is 51, 52, or 60, a CRP representative completes it.
A CRP representative must complete the Service Agreement application. An Extended Employment Plan (EEP) is written by a CRP representative with the client’s input.
May I use clients’ names when I send e-mail?
Since electronic mail, or e-mail, is neither secure nor confidential, client names should not be used in message sent online. If you have to refer in an e-mail message to RMR paperwork already on file, e.g., a Referral form, then you may use the client’s first name and his or her last name initial. In the event you must send RMR information about a client whom we may have no way of identifying, please call or fax the information to us. For security reasons, RMR will not respond to e-mail letters that use a client’s full name.
Occasionally we have a question to which neither the Program Instructions nor any of the information provided in the FAQs provides an obvious answer. What principles should we observe when deciding on a course of action?
The following criteria guide program personnel in their administration of the EE program. A decision that is not prohibited by the program rules is a good decision if:
