Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 33 - CIVILIAN VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION (§§ 37-33-1 — 37-33-263) › VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION FOR THE BLIND (§§ 37-33-51 — 37-33-75) › Section 37-33-53 - Definitions

As used in the Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Law:
(a)
"Department" or "agency" means the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(b)
"Director" means the Director of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind;
(c)
"Executive director" means the Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(d)
"Independent living services" includes, but are not limited to, the following services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act:
(i)
independent living core services (information and referral services, independent living skills training, peer counseling including cross-disability peer counseling, and individual and systems advocacy) and:
(ii)
counseling services, including psychological, psychotherapeutic, and related services;
(iii)
services related to securing housing or shelter, including services related to community group living, and supportive of the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act and of the titles of the Rehabilitation Act, and adaptive housing services (including appropriate accommodations to and modifications of any space used to serve, or occupied by, individuals with disabilities);
(iv)
rehabilitation technology;
(v)
mobility training;
(vi)
services and training for individuals with cognitive and sensory disabilities, including life skills training, and interpreter and reader services;
(vii)
personal assistance services, including attendant care and the training of personnel providing such services;
(viii)
surveys, directories, and other activities to identify appropriate housing, recreation opportunities, and accessible transportation, and other support services;
(ix)
consumer information programs on rehabilitation and independent living services available under the Rehabilitation Act, especially for minorities and other individuals with disabilities who have traditionally been unserved or underserved by programs under the Rehabilitation Act;
(x)
education and training necessary for living in a community and participating in community activities;
(xi)
supported living;
(xii)
transportation, including referral and assistance for that transportation and training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems;
(xiii)
physical rehabilitation;
(xiv)
therapeutic treatment;
(xv)
provision of needed prostheses and other appliances and devices;
(xvi)
individual and group social and recreational services;
(xvii)
training to develop skills specifically designed for youths who are individuals with disabilities to promote self-awareness and esteem, develop advocacy and self-empowerment skills, and explore career options;
(xviii)
services for children;
(xix)
services under other federal, state, or local programs designed to provide resources, training, counseling, or other assistance, of substantial benefit in enhancing the independence, productivity, and quality of life of individuals with disabilities;
(xx)
appropriate preventive services to decrease the need of individuals assisted under the Rehabilitation Act for similar services in the future;
(xxi)
community awareness programs to enhance the understanding and integration into society of individuals with disabilities; and
(xxii)
such other services as may be necessary and not inconsistent with the provisions of the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act;
(e)
"Individual who is blind" means any person with insufficient vision to perform vocational or independent living tasks for which sight is essential;
(f)
"Maintenance" means monetary support provided to an individual for expenses, such as food, shelter, and clothing, that are in excess of the normal expenses of the individual and that are necessitated by the individual's participation in an assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs or the individual's receipt of vocational rehabilitation services under an individualized plan for employment;
(g)
"Physical restoration services" means
(i)
corrective surgery or therapeutic treatment that is likely, within a reasonable period of time, to correct or modify substantially a stable or slowly progressive physical or mental impairment that constitutes a substantial impediment to employment;
(ii)
diagnosis of and treatment for mental or emotional disorders by qualified personnel in accordance with state licensure laws;
(iii)
dentistry;
(iv)
nursing services;
(v)
necessary hospitalization (either inpatient or outpatient care) in connection with surgery or treatment and clinic services;
(vi)
drugs and supplies;
(vii)
prosthetic and orthotic devices;
(viii)
eyeglasses and visual services, including visual training, and the examination and services necessary for the prescription and provision of eyeglasses, contact lenses, microscopic lenses, telescopic lenses, and other special visual aids prescribed by personnel that are qualified in accordance with state licensure laws;
(ix)
podiatry;
(x)
physical therapy;
(xi)
occupational therapy;
(xii)
speech or hearing therapy;
(xiii)
mental health services;
(xiv)
treatment of either acute or chronic medical complications and emergencies that are associated with or arise out of the provision of physical and mental restoration services, or that are inherent in the condition under treatment;
(xv)
special services for the treatment of individuals with end-stage renal disease, including transplantation, dialysis, artificial kidneys, and supplies; and
(xvi)
other medical or medically related rehabilitation services;
(h)
"Prosthetic appliance" means any artificial device necessary to support, to take the place of, a part of the body, or to increase the acuity of a sense organ;
(i)
"Occupational licenses" means any license, permit or other written authority required by any government unit to be obtained in order to engage in an occupation;
(j)
"Office" means the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind;
(k)
"Regulations" means regulations made by the director with the approval of the executive director and the state board, including regulations pertaining to independent living services;
(l)
"Rehabilitation engineering services" means the systematic application of engineering sciences to design, develop, adapt, test, evaluate, apply, and distribute technological solutions to problems confronted by individuals with disabilities in functional areas, such as mobility, communications, hearing, vision, and cognition, and in activities associated with employment, independent living, education, and integration into the community;
(m)
"Rehabilitation training" means all necessary training provided to an individual who is blind to enable him or her to overcome his or her substantial impediment to employment, including, but not limited to, manual, preconditioning, prevocational, vocational, and supplementary training and training provided for the purpose of developing occupational skills and capacities;
(n)
"Supported employment services" means ongoing support services and other appropriate services needed to support and maintain an individual with a most significant disability in supported employment that are provided by the department (i) for a period of time not to exceed eighteen (18) months, unless under special circumstances the eligible individual and the rehabilitation counselor or coordinator jointly agree to extend the time to achieve the employment outcome identified in the individualized plan for employment; and (ii) following transition, as post-employment services that are unavailable from an extended services provider and that are necessary to maintain or regain the job placement or advance in employment;
(o)
"State board" means the State Board of Rehabilitation Services;
(p)
"Substantial impediment to employment" means that a physical or mental impairment (in light of attendant medical, psychological, vocational, educational, communication, and other related factors) hinders an individual from preparing for, entering into, engaging in, or retaining employment consistent with the individual's abilities and capabilities;
(q)
"Vocational rehabilitation" and "vocational rehabilitation services" mean, for an individual who is blind, services available to assist an individual with a disability in preparing for, securing, retaining, or regaining an employment outcome that is consistent with the individual's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice, including, but not limited to, services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act:
(i)
assessment for determining eligibility and priority for services by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology;
(ii)
assessment for determining vocational rehabilitation needs by qualified personnel, including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology;
(iii)
vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance, including information and support services to assist an individual in exercising informed choice;
(iv)
referral and other services necessary to assist applicants and eligible individuals to secure needed services from other agencies, including other components of the statewide workforce investment system and to advise those individuals about client assistance programs;
(v)
physical and mental restoration services, to the extent that financial support is not readily available from a source other than the State Department of Rehabilitation Services (such as through health insurance or a comparable service or benefit);
(vi)
vocational and other training services, including personal and vocational adjustment training, books, tools, and other training materials, except that no training or training services in an institution of higher education (universities, colleges, community or junior colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of nursing) may be paid for with funds under this law unless maximum efforts have been made by the state unit and the individual to secure grant assistance in whole or in part from other sources to pay for that training;
(vii)
maintenance;
(viii)
transportation in connection with the rendering of any vocational rehabilitation service;
(ix)
vocational rehabilitation services to family members of an applicant or eligible individual if necessary to enable the applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome;
(x)
interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services, for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and tactile interpreting services for individuals who are deaf-blind provided by qualified personnel;
(xi)
reader services, rehabilitation teaching services, and orientation and mobility services for individuals who are blind;
(xii)
job-related services, including job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services, and follow-along services;
(xiii)
supported employment services;
(xiv)
personal assistance services;
(xv)
post-employment services;
(xvi)
occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks, and supplies;
(xvii)
rehabilitation technology including vehicular modification, telecommunications, sensory, and other technological aids and devices;
(xviii)
transition services;
(xix)
technical assistance and other consultation services to conduct market analyses, develop business plans, and otherwise provide resources, to the extent those resources are authorized to be provided through the statewide workforce investment system, to eligible individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting or establishing a small business operation as an employment outcome;
(xx)
other goods and services determined necessary for the individual with a disability to achieve an employment outcome.
Codes, 1942, § 6508.5-02; Laws, 1948, ch. 303, § 2; Laws, 1964, ch. 447, § 1; Laws, 1975, ch. 434, § 1; Laws, 1989, ch. 467, § 1; Laws, 1989, ch. 544, § 91; Laws, 1990, ch. 522, § 7; Laws, 1991, ch. 608, § 28, eff. 7/1/1991 (became law without the Governor's signature); Laws, 2002, ch. 463, § 14, eff. 7/1/2002.