Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services OVRS:

1
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
(OVRS)

• What you need to know about OVRS to help students
  with disabilities transition to employment.

2
OVRSs mission

• To assist Oregonians with disabilities to achieve
  and maintain employment and independence.

3
What is OVRS?

• The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
  (OVRS) is a program within the Department of
  Human Services.
• OVRS is supported nationally by a federal agency
  called the Rehabilitation Services Association
  (RSA).

4
History of the VR program

• Roots of the VR program go back to WWI, helping
  injured soldiers go back to work.
• Over the years more and more people were found
  eligible for services that did not necessarily
  have a disability but had barriers to employment.
  
• As a result, people with most significant
  disabilities were lost in the shuffle.

5
History continued

• The Disability Rights Movement resulted in the
  1973 Rehab Act.
• Under the new act, VR was to primarily serve
  people with significant disabilities.
• Counselors and consumers work in close
  partnership to individualize services.
• This act reestablished VRs commitment to
  supporting and collaborating with schools for
  effective youth transition.

6
History continued

• Due to amendments in the 90s, VR increased the
  role of the consumer and consumer choice, cannot
  deny services because a disability is very
  significant, and increased consumer options for
  high quality jobs.

7
Your OVRS Counselor

• Typically has a bachelors or masters degree in
  human services field with an emphasis on
  disabilities and has a CRC (Certified
  Rehabilitation Counselor) accreditation
• State caseload averages 75 people per counselor
• Works with adults with disabilities as well as
  youth transitioning from high school
• Needs advance notice for meetings
• Enjoys working on teams (i.e. school staff,
  parents, employers, other social service
  agencies) for the benefit of their consumers
• Note it is helpful to have monthly meetings to
  staff cases and discuss new referrals

8
The Rehabilitation Process

• Application (OVRS file opened)
• Eligibility Evaluation
• Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE)
• VR Plan Services
• Job Placement
• Job Retention for 90 days
• Employment (OVRS file closed)
• Post-closure services

9
Application

• Students must apply to OVRS to be considered for
  services.
• OVRS is not an entitlement program, it is an
  eligibility program.
• An intake meeting can take place at the local
  OVRS office or the high school.
• Students need to be prepared to talk about their
  employment goals, their strengths, their work or
  volunteer history, who supports them, and their
  disability.

10
Eligibility Evaluation

• Must have a verified physical and/or mental
  disability.
• Have substantial impediments to obtaining or
  maintaining employment. (key difference between
  school eligibility and OVRS eligibility
  requirements)
• And require OVRS services to achieve employment.
• Note your student must be eligible for OVRS if
  the student is going to participate in the YTP
  program.

11
Qualifying Disabilities

• Orthopedic (birth, childhood or adult onset and
  injuries likely to result in long term or
  permanent limitations)
• Organic/Physiological
• Deafness or substantial hearing impairment
• Blind or severely vision-impaired (Oregon
  Commission for the Blind)
• Speech impairments
• Mental illness
• Personality disorder
• Learning disability
• ADD/ADHD
• Alcohol or Drug Addiction

12
How you can help the student during the intake
meeting?

• Help the student provide the VR counselor their
  IEP or 504 documentation and a copy of the
  testing documentation provided by the school
  psychologist. (Note IEP and 504 alone will not
  qualify a student eligible for OVRS services)
• Provide the VR counselor the name, address, phone
  and fax of the person who provided the diagnosis
  the student (i.e. school psychologist, medical
  doctor, or psychiatrist).

13
Individual Plan for Employment (IPE)

• After the applicant is determined eligible, the
  student and VR counselor as well as teachers,
  transition specialists, and/or parents (with
  consent by the student if over 18) prepare a
  written rehabilitation plan together.

14
VR Plan Services may Include

• Vocational counseling specializing and guidance
• Physical restoration (i.e. physical therapy)
• Medical treatment
• Assistive devices
• Gang tattoo removal
• Job search techniques
• Interviewing skills
• On the job training
• Negotiation for ADA accommodations

• Job search assistance and job placement
• Transportation (i.e. bus pass, or gas)
• Job development
• Job coach
• Specialized job placement
• Follow-up services
• Tax credit incentives for employers

15
What OVRS can not pay for

• Food
• Housing
• Bills not preauthorized by OVRS counselor
• Federal loans
• Long term job coaching

16
Job Placement

• The counselor works with the student in
  partnership with YTP staff to find and secure
  suitable employment.

17
Job Retention Services

• Monitor the job for 90 days
• Help with disability-related issues
• Continue counseling and guidance to aid work
  adjustment
• OVRS counselor and YTP staff work together to
  support the students employment

18
Employment

• Once a student has been successfully employed for
  90 days, and there are no other services required
  to maintain employment, the students OVRS file
  will be closed.

19
Post-closure Services

• VR files can be re-opened to provide services to
  help students maintain their jobs and overcome
  employment barriers.

20
Questions?

• Contact information
• Brenda Nulty, MS, CRC
• University of Oregon
• 541-346-0732
• bnulty_at_uoregon.edu