Source: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/01/20/2010-882/vocational-rehabilitation-and-employment-program-self-employment
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 04:05:03
Document Index: 149701875

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 21', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', 'art 21', 'art 21', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921', '§\u200921']

75 FR 3168
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2010-882 https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2010-882
This document amends the vocational rehabilitation and employment regulations of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) concerning self-employment for individuals with qualifying disabilities. We are making changes to conform VA's regulations for self-employment programs for veterans, and for servicemembers awaiting discharge, to statutory provisions, including provisions limiting eligibility for certain supplies, equipment, stock, and license fees to individuals with the most severe service-connected disabilities. We are also making related changes in VA's regulations affecting eligibility for such assistance for certain veterans' children with birth defects in self-employment programs. In addition, we are amending our regulations regarding the approval authority for self-employment plans to make certain requirements less restrictive and less burdensome, to remove a vague and overly broad requirement, to make changes to reflect longstanding VA policy, and to make nonsubstantive clarifying changes.
Applicability Dates: Except as noted in the Supplementary Information section, this final rule applies to claims pending on or after February 19, 2010.
In a document published in the Federal Register on April 28, 2009 (74 FR 19164), we proposed to amend VA's regulations concerning self-employment in 38 CFR part 21 that are applicable to benefits and services under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31, Training and Rehabilitation for Veterans with Service-Connected Disabilities, and 38 U.S.C. chapter 18, Benefits for Children of Vietnam Veterans and Certain Other Veterans. We provided a 60-day comment period that ended on June 29, 2009. We received comments from one individual in support of the proposed changes. Consequently, we make no changes based on the commenter's submission.
The Veterans' Benefits Act of 1996, Public Law 104-275 (enacted October 9, 1996), amended 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(12) regarding the special assistance and supplies that VA can provide for individuals pursuing self-employment programs. Prior to the enactment of Public Law 104-275, only “the most severely disabled” individuals who required self-employment were, under 38 CFR 21.258, entitled to the special supplies, equipment, stock, and license fees described in 38 CFR 21.214(e). Public Law 104-275 amended 3104(a)(12) by restricting the provision of those special supplies, equipment, stock, and license fees to individuals “with the most severe service-connected disabilities who require homebound training or self employment.” VA implemented the statutory amendments upon enactment but until this rulemaking did not incorporate them in VA's regulations. This rule conforms VA's regulations to the statutory provisions and prescribes (in § 21.257 rather than current § 21.258) criteria for providing such special supplies, equipment, stock, and license fees for individuals who require self-employment.
We are revising some of the requirements under § 21.254 pertaining to a service-disabled veteran trained for self-employment under a State rehabilitation agency. We are eliminating the burdensome and restrictive requirement under § 21.254 for certification by an official of the State rehabilitation agency with responsibility for administration of self-employment programs. Instead, we are listing the conditions under which an individual who has trained for self-employment under a State rehabilitation agency may be provided special supplies, equipment, stock, and license fees if there is a VA determination that the qualifying criteria are met.
In addition, we are eliminating the requirement currently in § 21.254 that, prior to authorization of any supplies, the Director, Vocational Rehabilitation and Education (VR&E) Service, must approve the request if the cost of supplies is more than $2,500.
We are amending the criteria for approval of self-employment as a vocational goal for an individual. Current § 21.257(a) is overly restrictive because it maintains that self-employment is only available to an individual if access to the normal channels for suitable employment is limited by his or her disability(ies). Current § 21.257(b) is vague because it does not specify what other circumstances in the individual's situation warrant consideration of self-employment. Self-employment as a mode of employment is authorized for all program participants for whom it is deemed appropriate for achieving rehabilitation. We are revising § 21.257 to remove the above-referenced restriction on authorizing self-employment as a suitable vocational goal and to limit consistent with the amendment to section 3104(a)(12) the self-employment special assistance under 38 CFR 21.214(e) to “individuals with the most severe service-connected disability(ies) who require self-employment.”
The approval requirement of costs related to self-employment programs is in accordance with 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(12). We are amending § 21.258 to reflect existing VA policy that requires approval of costs of the provision of special supplies, equipment, stock, and license fees for self-employment programs. Section 21.258 will require that a self-employment plan having an actual or estimated cost of $25,000 or more must be approved by the Director, VR&E Service.
Many of the amendments to 38 CFR part 21, subpart A, in this final rule are Start Printed Page 3169also applicable to the vocational rehabilitation program under 38 U.S.C. chapter 18 regarding benefits for children of Vietnam veterans and certain other veterans (see 38 CFR part 21, subpart M). In subpart M, §§ 21.8020, 21.8210, and 21.8380 provide for the applicability of §§ 21.214, 21.254, 21.256, 21.257, 21.258, and 21.430 in a manner comparable to their application for a veteran under the chapter 31 program. Accordingly, we are amending § 21.8020 to clarify how we will apply § 21.257 to the provision of services and assistance under subpart M in a manner that we consider to be comparable to its application for a veteran under the 38 U.S.C. chapter 31 program. Under § 21.8020, an individual who has been determined to have limitations affecting employability arising from the effects of the individual's spina bifida or other covered birth defects, which are so severe as to necessitate selection of self-employment as the only reasonably feasible vocational goal for the individual, will also be deemed to have met the requirements for application of § 21.257(e)(1) and (2). We are making a related clarifying change in § 21.8020(d), intended to remove the possible implication that self-employment is not among the employment options for a participant's program under subpart M.
This final rule conforms VA's regulations to the provisions of 38 U.S.C. 3104(a)(12), as amended, and regarding those provisions is applicable to claims pending on or after the effective date of the amendments, October 9, 1996.
For the reasons stated above and in the notice of proposed rulemaking, the proposed rule is adopted as a final rule without change.
The Secretary hereby certifies that this final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities as they are defined in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601-612. This final rule will not directly affect any small entities. Only individuals will be directly affected. Therefore, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 605(b), this final rule is exempt from the initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis requirements of sections 603 and 604.
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers and titles for the programs that will be affected by this final rule are 64.116, Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Veterans; and 64.128, Vocational Training and Rehabilitation for Vietnam Veterans' Children with Spina Bifida or Other Covered Defects.
(c) Individuals with service-connected disability(ies) trained for self-employment under a State rehabilitation agency. An individual with service-connected disability(ies) who has trained for self-employment under a State rehabilitation agency may be provided supplemental equipment and initial stocks and supplies similar Start Printed Page 3170to the materials supplied under 38 U.S.C. chapter 31 to individuals with the most severe service-connected disability(ies) who require self-employment as defined in § 21.257(b) if VA determines that the following conditions are met:
(e) Special self-employment services for individuals with the most severe service-connected disability(ies) who require self-employment. Individuals described in paragraph (b) of this section who are in a self-employment program may receive—
[FR Doc. 2010-882 Filed 1-19-10; 8:45 am]