Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Department of Human Services › Chapter 401.1 - VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES › Section 17-401.1-2 - Applicable definitions

Current through June, 2024
The following definitions listed in alphabetical order apply
				  to the State VR services program:
"Act" means the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (
				  29 U.S.C.
				  §701 et seq.)
"Applicant" means an individual or representative chosen by
				  an individual, who submits an application for VR services. An individual is
				  considered to have submitted an application when the individual or individual's
				  representative, as appropriate:
(1) Has completed and signed the division's application form;
				  or has completed a common intake application form in a One-Stop center
				  requesting VR services; or has otherwise requested services from the
				  division;
(2) Has provided to the division information necessary to
				  initiate an assessment to determine eligibility and priority for services;
				  and
(3) Is available to complete the assessment process.
"Appropriate modes of communication" means specialized aids
				  and supports that enable an individual with a disability to comprehend and
				  respond to information that is being communicated. Appropriate modes of
				  communication include, but are not limited to, the use of interpreters, open
				  and closed captioned videos, specialized telecommunications services and audio
				  recordings, brailled and large print materials, materials in electronic
				  formats, augmentative communication devices, graphic presentations, and simple
				  language materials.
"Assistive technology device" means any item, piece of
				  equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf,
				  modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the
				  functional capabilities of an individual with a disability.
"Assistive technology service" means any service that
				  directly assists an individual with a disability in the selection, acquisition,
				  or use of an assistive technology device, including:
(1) The evaluation of the needs of an individual with a
				  disability, including a functional evaluation of the individual in the
				  individual's customary environment;
(2) Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the
				  acquisition by an individual with a disability of an assistive technology
				  device;
(3) Selecting, designing, fitting, customizing, adapting,
				  applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive technology
				  devices;
(4) Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or
				  services with assistive technology devices, such as those associated with
				  existing education and rehabilitation plans and programs;
(5) Training or technical assistance for an individual with a
				  disability or, if appropriate, the family members, guardians, advocates, or
				  authorized representatives of the individual; and
(6) Training or technical assistance for professionals
				  (including individuals providing education and rehabilitation services),
				  employers, or others who provide services to, employ, or are otherwise
				  substantially involved in the major life functions of individuals with
				  disabilities, to the extent that training or technical assistance is necessary
				  to the achievement of an employment outcome by an individual with a disability.
				  "Community rehabilitation program" means a program (agency, organization, or
				  institution, or unit of an agency, organization, or institution), that provides
				  directly or facilitates the provision of one or more of the following VR
				  services to individuals with disabilities, as one of its major functions, to
				  enable those individuals to maximize their opportunities for employment,
				  including career advancement:
(1) Medical, psychiatric, psychological, social, and
				  vocational services that are provided under one management.
(2) Testing, fitting, or training in the use of prosthetic
				  and orthotic devices.
(3) Recreational therapy.
(4) Physical and occupational therapy.
(5) Speech, language, and hearing therapy.
(6) Psychiatric, psychological, and social services,
				  including positive behavior management.
(7) Assessment for determining eligibility and vocational
				  rehabilitation needs.
(8) Rehabilitation technology.
(9) Job development, placement, and retention
				  services.
(10) Evaluation or control of specific disabilities.
(11) Orientation and mobility services for individuals who
				  are blind.
(12) Extended employment.
(13) Psychosocial rehabilitation services.
(14) Supported employment services and extended
				  services.
(15) Services to family members if necessary to enable the
				  applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome.
(16) Personal assistance services.
(17) Services similar to the above services (1) through
				  (16).
"Comparable services and benefits" means services and
				  benefits (not including awards and scholarships based on merit), that
				  are:
(1) Provided or paid for, in whole or in part, by other
				  Federal, State, or local public agencies, by health insurance, or by employee
				  benefits;
(2) Available to the individual at the time needed to ensure
				  the progress of the individual toward achieving the employment outcome in the
				  individual's individualized plan for employment in accordance with section
				  17-401.1-13; and
(3) Commensurate to the services that the individual would
				  otherwise receive from the division.
"Competitive employment" means work:
(1) In the competitive labor market that is performed on a
				  full-time or part-time basis in an integrated setting; and
(2) For which an individual is compensated at or above the
				  minimum wage, but not less than the customary wage and level of benefits paid
				  by the employer for the same or similar work performed by individuals who are
				  not disabled.
"Department" means the department of human services.
"Diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental impairments"
				  (physical and mental restoration services) means:
(1) 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;
(2) Diagnosis and treatment for mental or emotional disorders
				  by qualified personnel in accordance with State licensure laws;
(3) Dentistry;
(4) Nursing services;
(5) Necessary hospitalization (either inpatient or outpatient
				  care) in connection with surgery or treatment and clinic services;
(6) Drugs and supplies;
(7) Prosthetic and orthotic devices;
(8) 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;
(9) Podiatry;
(10) Physical therapy;
(11) Occupational therapy;
(12) Speech or hearing therapy;
(13) Mental health services;
(14) 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;
(15) Special services for the treatment of individuals with
				  end-stage renal disease, including transplantation, dialysis, artificial
				  kidneys, and supplies; and
(16) Other medical or medically related rehabilitation
				  services.
"Division" means the vocational rehabilitation and services
				  for the blind division (VRSBD, DVR) of the department of human services.
"Eligible individual" means an applicant for VR services who
				  meets the eligibility requirements as follows, and as described in section
				  17-401.1-7(b):
(1) A determination by qualified personnel that the applicant
				  has a physical or mental impairment.
(2) A determination by qualified personnel that the
				  applicant's physical or mental impairment constitutes or results in a
				  substantial impediment to employment for the applicant.
(3) A determination by a qualified vocational rehabilitation
				  counselor employed by the division that the applicant requires VR services to
				  prepare for, secure, retain, or regain employment consistent with the
				  applicant's unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities,
				  capabilities, interests, and informed choice.
(4) A presumption that an applicant who meets eligibility
				  requirements (1) and (2) can benefit in terms of an employment outcome from the
				  provision of VR services, unless the division demonstrates, based on clear and
				  convincing evidence, that the applicant is incapable of benefiting in terms of
				  an employment outcome from VR services due to the severity of the applicant's
				  disability.
"Employment outcome" means, with respect to an individual,
				  entering or retaining full-time or, if appropriate, part-time competitive
				  employment in the integrated labor market, supported employment, or any other
				  type of employment in an integrated setting, including self-employment,
				  telecommuting, or business ownership, that is consistent with an individual's
				  strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests,
				  and informed choice.
"Extended employment" means work in a non-integrated or
				  sheltered setting for a public or private nonprofit agency or organization that
				  provides compensation in accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
"Extended services" means ongoing support services and other
				  appropriate services that are needed to support and maintain an individual with
				  a most significant disability in supported employment and that are provided by
				  a State agency, a private nonprofit organization, employer, or any other
				  appropriate resource, from funds other than funds received under this chapter
				  and after an individual with a most significant disability has made the
				  transition from support provided by the division.
"Extreme medical risk" means a probability of substantially
				  increasing functional impairment or death if medical services, including mental
				  health services, are not provided expeditiously.
"Family member," for purposes of receiving VR services in
				  accordance with section
				  17-401.1-6, means an
				  individual:
(1) Who either:
(A) Is a relative or guardian of an applicant or eligible
				  individual; or
(B) Lives in the same household as an applicant or eligible
				  individual; and
(2) Who has a substantial interest in the well-being of that
				  individual; and
(3) Whose receipt of VR services is necessary to enable the
				  applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome.
"Individual who is blind" means a person having:
(1) Not more than 10 percent visual acuity in the better eye
				  after correction, which means a person who has:
(A) Not more than 20/200 central visual acuity in the better
				  eye after correction; or
(B) An equally disabling loss of the visual field as
				  evidenced by a limitation to the field of vision in the better eye to such a
				  degree that its widest diameter subtends an angle no greater than 20
				  degrees.
"Individual with a disability," means an individual:
(1) Who has a physical or mental impairment;
(2) Whose impairment constitutes or results in a substantial
				  impediment to employment; and
(3) Who can benefit in terms of an employment outcome from
				  the provision of VR services.
"Individual with a most significant disability" means an
				  individual with a significant disability who meets the following criteria of
				  the division for an individual with a most significant disability:
(1) Who has a physical or mental impairment (such as
				  amputation, mental illness, or another disability or combination) which
				  seriously limits two or more functional capacities (mobility, communication,
				  self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerance, and work
				  skills) in terms of an employment outcome;
(2) Whose vocational rehabilitation is expected to require
				  three or more VR services; and
(3) Whose vocational rehabilitation is expected to require a
				  period of 12 months or more.
"Individual with a significant disability" means an
				  individual with a disability:
(1) Who has a severe physical or mental impairment (such as
				  amputation, mental illness, or another disability or combination) that
				  seriously limits one or more functional capacities (mobility, communication,
				  self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work tolerance, and work
				  skills) in terms of an employment outcome;
(2) Whose vocational rehabilitation is expected to require
				  two or more VR services; and
(3) Whose vocational rehabilitation is expected to require a
				  period of 6 months or more.
"Individual's representative" means any representative
				  chosen by an applicant or eligible individual, as appropriate, including a
				  parent, guardian, other family member, or advocate, unless a representative has
				  been appointed by a court to represent the individual, in which case the
				  court-appointed representative is the individual's representative.
"Integrated setting" means:
(1) With respect to the provision of services, a setting
				  typically found in the community in which applicants or eligible individuals
				  interact with non-disabled individuals other than non-disabled individuals who
				  are providing services to those applicants or eligible individuals.
(2) With respect to an employment outcome, a setting
				  typically found in the community in which applicants or eligible individuals
				  interact with non-disabled individuals, other than non-disabled individuals who
				  are providing services to those applicants or eligible individuals, to the same
				  extent that non-disabled individuals in comparable positions interact with
				  other persons.
"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 the assessment for determining eligibility
				  and vocational rehabilitation needs or the individual's receipt of VR services
				  under an individualized plan for employment.
"Mediation" means the act or process of using an independent
				  third party to act as a mediator, intermediary, or conciliator to assist
				  persons or parties in settling differences or disputes prior to pursuing formal
				  administrative or other legal remedies. Mediation under the program must be
				  conducted in accordance with the requirements in section
				  17-400.1-6 by a qualified and
				  impartial mediator as defined in section
				  17-400.1-6(a)
				  (5).
"Ongoing support services," as used in the definition of
				  "Supported employment":
(1) Means services that are:
(A) Needed to support and maintain an individual with a most
				  significant disability in supported employment;
(B) Identified based on a determination by the division of
				  the individual's need as specified in an individualized plan for employment;
				  and
(C) Furnished by the division from the time of job placement
				  until transition to extended services, unless post-employment services are
				  provided following transition, and thereafter by one or more extended services
				  providers throughout the individual's term of employment in a particular job
				  placement or multiple placements if those placements are being provided under a
				  program of transitional employment;
(2) Must include an assessment of employment stability and
				  provision of specific services or the coordination of services at or away from
				  the worksite that are needed to maintain stability based on:
(A) At a minimum, twice-monthly monitoring at the worksite of
				  each individual in supported employment; or
(B) If under specific circumstances, especially at the
				  request of the individual, the individualized plan for employment provides for
				  off-site monitoring, twice-monthly meetings with the individual;
(3) Consist of:
(A) Any particularized assessment supplementary to the
				  comprehensive assessment of rehabilitation needs described in section
				  17-401.1-10(b)(3);
(B) The provision of skilled job trainers who accompany the
				  individual for intensive job skill training at the worksite;
(C) Job development and training;
(D) Social skills training;
(E) Regular observation or supervision of the
				  individual;
(F) Follow-up services including regular contact with the
				  employers, the individuals, the parents, family members, guardians, advocates,
				  or authorized representatives of the individuals, and other suitable
				  professional and informed advisors, in order to reinforce and stabilize the job
				  placement;
(G) Facilitation of natural supports at the worksite;
(H) Any other service identified in the scope of VR services
				  for individuals, described in section
				  17-401.1-6; or
(I) Any service similar to the foregoing services.
"On the job or other personal attendant services" means a
				  range of services provided by one or more persons designed to assist an
				  individual with a disability to perform daily living activities on or off the
				  job that the individual would typically perform without assistance if the
				  individual did not have a disability. The services must be designed to increase
				  the individual's control in life and ability to perform everyday activities on
				  or off the job. The services must be necessary to the achievement of an
				  employment outcome and may be provided only while the individual is receiving
				  other VR services. The services may include training in managing, supervising,
				  and directing personal assistance services.
"Physical and mental restoration services" (see "Diagnosis
				  and treatment of physical and mental impairments").
"Physical or mental impairment" means:
(1) Any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic
				  disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body
				  systems: neurological, musculo-skeletal, special sense organs, respiratory
				  including speech organs, cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive,
				  genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine; or
(2) Any mental or psychological disorder such as mental
				  retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific
				  learning disabilities.
"Post-employment services" (see "Specific post-employment
				  services").
"Rehabilitation engineering" 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.
"Rehabilitation technology" 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. The term includes
				  rehabilitation engineering, assistive technology devices, and assistive
				  technology services.
"Specific post-employment services" (post-employment
				  services) means one or more of the services identified in section
				  17-401.1-6 that are provided
				  subsequent to the achievement of an employment outcome and that are necessary
				  for an individual to maintain, regain, or advance in employment, consistent
				  with the individual's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities,
				  capabilities, interests, and informed choice.
"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. "Supported
				  employment" means:
(1) Competitive employment in an integrated setting, or
				  employment in integrated work settings in which individuals are working toward
				  competitive employment, consistent with the strengths, resources, priorities,
				  concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice of the
				  individuals with ongoing support services for individuals with the most
				  significant disabilities:
(A) For whom competitive employment has not traditionally
				  occurred or for whom competitive employment has been interrupted or
				  intermittent as a result of a significant disability; and
(B) Who, because of the nature and severity of their
				  disabilities, need intensive supported employment services from the division
				  and extended services after transition as described in this section to perform
				  this work; or
(2) Transitional employment, as defined in this section, for
				  individuals with the most significant disabilities due to mental
				  illness.
"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 division:
(1) For a period of time not to exceed 18 months, unless
				  under special circumstances the eligible individual and the VR specialist
				  jointly agree to extend the time to achieve the employment outcome identified
				  in the individualized plan for employment; and
(2) 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.
"Transition services" means a coordinated set of activities
				  for a student designed within an outcome-oriented process that promotes
				  movement from school to post-school activities, including postsecondary
				  education, vocational training, integrated employment (including supported
				  employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent
				  living, or community participation. The coordinated set of activities must be
				  based upon the individual student's needs, taking into account the student's
				  preferences and interests, and must include instruction, community experiences,
				  the development of employment and other post-school adult living objectives,
				  and if appropriate, acquisition of daily living skills and functional
				  vocational evaluation. Transition services must promote or facilitate the
				  achievement of the employment outcome identified in the student's
				  individualized plan for employment.
"Transitional employment" as used in the definition of
				  "Supported employment," means a series of temporary job placements in
				  competitive work in integrated settings with ongoing support services for
				  individuals with the most significant disabilities due to mental illness. In
				  transitional employment, the provision of ongoing support services must include
				  continuing sequential job placements until job permanency is achieved.
"Transportation" means travel and related expenses that are
				  necessary to enable an applicant or eligible individual to participate in a
				  vocational rehabilitation service, including expenses for training in the use
				  of public transportation vehicles and systems.
"Vocational rehabilitation services":
(1) If provided to an individual, means those services listed
				  in section
				  17-401.1-6; and
(2) If provided for the benefit of groups of individuals,
				  also means those services listed in
				  34
				  C.F.R. section 361.49.