Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 33 - CIVILIAN VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION (§§ 37-33-1 — 37-33-263) › SPECIAL DISABILITY PROGRAMS LAW (§§ 37-33-203 — 37-33-223) › Section 37-33-205 - Definitions

(a)
"Department" or "agency" means the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(b)
"Director" means the Director of the Office of Special Disability Programs;
(c)
"Executive director" means the Executive Director of the State Department of Rehabilitation Services;
(d)
"Independent living services" includes, but is not limited to, the following services in accordance with definitions in the most current amendment of the Rehabilitation Act:
(i)
information and referral services, independent living skills training, peer counseling including cross-disability peer counseling, and individual and systems advocacy;
(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)
"Special disability services" includes, but not be limited to those services otherwise provided as independent living services;
(f)
"Office" means the Office of Special Disability Programs;
(g)
"Regulations" means regulations made by the executive director with the approval of the state board, including regulations pertaining to special disability services;
(h)
"Rehabilitation engineering" means the systematic application of technologies, engineering methodologies, or scientific principles to meet the needs of and address the barriers confronted by individuals with disabilities in areas that include education, rehabilitation, employment, transportation, independent living and recreation;
(i)
"Rehabilitation engineering services" means applying engineering principles to the design, modification, customization and/or fabrication of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities. An assistive technology device is any item, piece of equipment or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified or customized, that is used to increase or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. The areas of practice for rehabilitation engineering typically encompasses job accommodations, computer access, vehicle modifications, architectural modifications and home modifications, augmentative/alternative communications, environmental controls, positioning devices, seating and mobility, sensory aids and learning accommodations;
(j)
"State Board" means the State Board of Rehabilitation Services.
Laws, 2002, ch. 463, § 40, eff. 7/1/2002.