I. Referral
A. Referral received from Third-Party Agency.
1. Schedule appointment for
application.
2. Conduct interview,
advise client of services available and discussion of clients informed choice
in these services; get client release form to obtain records from other
sources, (mental health center, state hospital, physician/ hospital,
etc.).
3. Conduct evaluation for VR
services, authorizing for services or information not available through other
agencies.
B. Referral
received from General VR program, Deaf Services, Deaf/Blind or Transition
counselor.
1. General VR or Specialty
counselor staffs the case with the SE counselor.
2. SE counselor assesses the case for
eligibility for SE services. If the two counselors agree that SE should serve
the case, the case will be transferred to the SE counselor using the
established case transfer procedures. Cases transferred from any specialty
area, for example, Deaf /Blind program, if determined eligible for SE services
should be retained by the SE counselor. The Specialty counselor and the SE
counselor should work closely on the case and the Specialty counselor should
provide technical assistance to the SE counselor to ensure the client receives
appropriate services.
3. If any
questions arise about the eligibility of the client for SE services, the two
counselors will refer the case to their respective supervisors who will,
together, determine the feasibility of the client for SE, the adequacy of the
evaluation process, need for additional evaluating information, etc., and
decide how the case will be handled.
4. In those cases when a client needs
Supported Employment services but is not being served
by a third-party, the SE counselor will explain the SE Program, services and
options to the client as soon as possible after the referral has been made to
the SE Program. The SE counselor will also, advise the client about the
availability of third-party resources in that area. The counselor will assist
the client with obtaining a third-party sponsor for extended services and must
include on the IPE the source and description of the on-going support needed by
the client to maintain the employment. Third-party agreements will be initiated
by the SE counselor and negotiated at the local level regardless of whether
there is a Cooperative Agreement with the Parent State Agency. Third-party
agreements will be finalized by State Office staff. If no third-party can be
located who is willing to provide needed services, the case may be closed as
Unsuccessfully Rehabilitated after staffing with the District Manager. The SE
counselor will document the attempts to assist the client in this way in the
closure letter.
C.
Referral received from VRB counselor:
Generally, it is appropriate for all SE eligible individuals
cases to be handled by the SE counselor. In specialty areas, such as deaf,
deaf/blind and blind, the case is handled with consultation from the
appropriate specialty disability counselor on specific issues related to the
individuals needs. However, in those instances where it is advisable, and is
the clients choice, for their case to be retained by the VRB counselor for the
receipt of supported employment services, the SE counselor will work closely
with the VRB counselor to advise and consult on matters related to the use of
SE funds for the hiring, managing and paying for job trainers and any other
procedural matters related to SE services. The decision to transfer the SE case
to the VRB counselor should be made after staffing with the District Manager.
Upon transfer of the SE case to the VRB counselor, the State Coordinator for
Supported Employment will be notified by the District Manager, and an allotment
of SE funds will be made to the VRB counselor who will handle the case.
NOTE: After any referral to
supported employment, the counselor should check the appropriate place on the
Special Programs page in AACE indicating this is now a supported employment
case. (In the instance of a transferred case, where the IPE has already been
developed, the IPE should be amended with the client to reflect appropriate SE
services; the counselor should record this as an SE case on the IPE and also on
the Special Programs page in AACE.)
II. Eligibility
Individuals with severe disabilities who are appropriate to
receive supported employment services must meet the eligibility requirements
established for the VR program and meet the Order of Selection, Category
I
A. Be an individual who has never
been competitively employed; and/or
B. traditional competitive employment has
been interrupted or intermittent as a result of a severe disability;
and
C. who, because of the nature
and severity of the disability, needs intensive on-going support services that
may include job trainer services, in order to obtain and maintain competitive
employment, and
D. who, because of
the nature and severity of the disability needs extended services that continue
after VR services ends, in order to maintain successful employment
III. IPE DEVELOPMENT
A. IPE Meeting - At the time of the IPE
development the SE counselor should meet either individually or jointly with
the following entities:
1. Client and, if
necessary, client's parents or guardian, advocate or representative.
2. If possible, a representative from the
source who will be providing and/or funding the extended services.
3. Representative(s) from the Mental Health
Center who will be providing Transitional Employment/Supported Employment
services.
B. Writing of
the IPE.
1. The SE counselors need to utilize
the information from assessments, including information gathered from Person
Center Planning, and input from the client in establishing a vocational goal.
The IPE should include a brief rationale as to the reason that the particular
vocational goal was selected. The SE counselor, along with the client, will
estimate an anticipated time during which the client is expected to reach the
goal.
2. Each service that will be
provided will be listed. These services should include all the supports needed
by the supported employment client in order to reach the stated goal and should
include at a minimum, two of the following:
a.
Placement Services
b. Training:
Supportive Services (inc. Job Coach)
c. Counseling and Guidance
d. Extended Employment
e. Extended Services (this service may be
listed under "Other Goods and Services" and then customize the service by
specifying Extended Services.
f.
Other appropriate services
Every Supported/Transitional Employment IPE should include
Extended Services and Rehabilitation Counseling.
3. The source of funding for each service,
the estimated cost of the service(s) or the utilization of comparable benefits
must be listed.
4. Information
should be included which indicates any understandings and responsibilities
between the client and the SE counselor or any other individual or entity
deemed critical to the success of the vocational program.
5. Extended Services, which are on-going
services, should be indicated as such on the IPE. A Memorandum of
Understanding-Extended Services Agreement should be developed for each
Supported/Transitional Employment client and a copy should be kept in the
client's file. These agreements should be coordinated through the State Office.
Extended Services can be provided by more than one source. Sources for Extended
Service provision may include:
a. state
agencies,
b. private non-profit
organizations,
c. employers,
co-workers, families or friends,
d.
Any other appropriate resource not funded by the Agency.
Counselors have the primary responsibility for negotiating
these agreements; however, they must be formalized and signed by the Director
of the Agency. Telephone or write the State Coordinator for Supported
Employment to obtain copies of the agreements and to obtain details on putting
these agreements in place. The beginning date for extended services should
coincide with the date of movement of the case into employed status. Generally
it is best to have these agreements in place at the time of the IPE
development, or before, however they are required before closure of a
successfully rehabilitated case and a copy of said signed Extended Service
Agreement should be placed in clients file upon closure as successfully
rehabilitated. If it is not possible to identify the source of the extended
service provider at the time the IPE is developed, a statement describing the
basis for concluding that there is a reasonable expectation that such sources
will become available, should be addressed in the IPE.
IV.
Placement
The responsibility for placement of SE clients lies primarily
with the SE counselor with assistance by the Vocational Training Instructors
(VTIs). The decision to place a client into a TEP versus a permanent employment
situation will be done after careful consideration of the client's condition
and with input from the third party representative. The decision to place a
client in a particular job must be based on an assessment and documented in the
case file.
V. Training
A. Securing Job Trainer, as well as
overseeing work performance of the trainer regarding the actual knowledge and
implementation of training, will be the primary responsibility of the SE
counselor. However, the VTI will need to be responsive to the day-to-day
management of the placement, contacting the SE counselor assistance when
needed.
B. The SE counselor, with
assistance of the VTI, will be responsible for ensuring that all trainers are
adequately educated in how to provide appropriate training.
VI. Authorizations for Trainer
Services
A. The vendor for all job trainer
authorizations will be AbilityWorks - Jackson-Reimbursement
B. The following forms should be completed
and mailed to MDRS Finance Department, Post Office Box 1698, Jackson, MS
39215-1698 - upon appointment of a Job Trainer to work with a client:
1. Application for Employment
2. I-9 form, with copies of drivers license
and social security card. (The Counselor should sign the I-9 Form under Section
2 "Signature of Employer or Authorized Representative).
3. W-4 Federal Withholding Form
4. State Withholding Tax Form
5. Drug-Free Workplace Form
These forms may be sent either in advance of, or along with
the initial Authorization for Services for a Job Trainer. It should be noted
that a copy of the Workers Compensation Notice of Coverage should be furnished
to the Job Trainer when hired.
a.
After authorizing for a planned service indicate the Job Trainer's name in the
General Comments Section 3 of the Authorization.
b. A 13.57 percent processing fee to
AbilityWorks - Jackson-Reimbursement should be added to the unit cost (per hour
rate) for job trainers and added to the total estimated cost for job trainer
services. The processing fee should be calculated in the following manner:
(per hour rate) x 13.57%=
(processing fee) + (per hour
rate) = (hourly service fee) x
(no. of hours) = (total service
cost)
C. The procedures for processing payments
through AbilityWorks - Jackson-Reimbursement are as follows:
Step 1: Upon completion of a work period (2 weeks in most
instances) the SE counselor will obtain signatures of the Job Trainer and the
client on the Job Trainer Time Sheet. The Time Sheet should also be verified
for accuracy and signed by a VR/SE staff member. After checking the Job Trainer
Time Sheet for accuracy, a Statement of Account (SOA) should be prepared that
matches the amount of the Job Trainer Time Sheet. If the original Authorization
does not match the amount to be paid indicated on the Job Trainer Time Sheet,
the Authorization should be modified to agree with the amount on the Job
Trainer Time Sheet.
Step 2: The SOA should be completed indicating the type, the
amount and dates of
service. Then the SOA should be approved for payment in AACE,
signed by the approving SE counselor, attached to the Job Trainer Time Sheet
and mailed as previously instructed (mail only one Authorization/SOA, and one
original Time Sheet per client).
Step 3: Finance will write the check to the Job Trainer based
on the information they receive after checking it for accuracy, (if errors are
found by Finance they will mail the documents back to the counselor for
corrections, delaying payment to the Job Trainer).
Finance will process payments to job trainers on Thursday of
each week. All Authorizations/SOAs received by 10:30 a.m. on Thursday will be
processed and mailed by 5:00 P.M. that day. Authorizations/SOAs received after
noon on Thursday will be held over to the next Thursday for processing.
VII. Status Movement
Supported Employment cases should be moved through the VR
case statuses as indicated below:
A.
After eligibility determination is completed place the case in eligibility
status.
B. After the IPE is
planned, developed, and signed, the case will be moved to service
status.
C. The case is moved to
employment status when the client meets the criteria for movement into extended
services and the Job Trainer has faded completely. This occurs when the client
has demonstrated that he/she can perform the job to the employer's
expectations. Also, there should be a concurrent agreement between client,
counselor, VTI, job trainer and extended service provider that the client can
perform the essential functions of his job with the provisions of extended
services. This agreement should be the outcome of a meeting between the above
parties and any other appropriate parties. Also, at this time, if the Extended
Service Agreement has not been previously executed, it can be executed by the
appropriate parties and placed in the file. In every instance, a copy of the
Extended Service Agreement should be placed in the clients file upon being
determined successfully rehabilitated.
D. The case is closed rehabilitated when the
client has been in employed status for at least 90 days and continues to
perform the job with minimal assistance from the extended service provider and
is considered successful by the employer.
VIII. Supported Employment Closures
The following Supported Employment special
outcome criteria must be met in order to close a case
rehabilitated in Supported Employment:
* working in the competitive labor market;
* working in an integrated work setting; and
* receiving extended services at the time of closure
It is an integral part of the closure process that the SE
counselor ensures that the client is transitioned to the appropriate third
party for on-going support services. The case file will be well documented
showing this effort.
NOTE: When supported employment
cases are closed in AACE, the counselor needs to be sure the SE outcome is
completed correctly on the closure page.
