Michigan Administrative Code › Department - Labor and Economic Opportunity › Michigan Rehabilitation Services › General Vocational Rehabilitation › Part 1 - ELIGIBILITY FOR REHABILITATION SERVICE › Section R. 395.54 - General requirements

Current through Vol. 24-12, July 15, 2024
Rule 4.
(1) MRS
				  shall not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, age, national origin,
				  color, height, weight, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity
				  or expression, political beliefs, disability, participant status in a workforce
				  innovation and opportunity act-funded program, or discriminate against certain
				  non-citizens as defined by section 188 of the workforce innovation and
				  opportunity act, 29 USC
				  3248.
(2) MRS shall not impose, as part of
				  determining an individual's eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services,
				  a duration of residence requirement that excludes any applicant who is legally
				  present in this state.
(3)
				  Throughout the individual's rehabilitation program, every opportunity must be
				  provided to the individual to make informed choices regarding the
				  rehabilitation process. MRS shall maintain documentation of opportunities for
				  making informed choices in the individual's case record.
(4) MRS shall establish and maintain a case
				  record for each individual and recipient of vocational rehabilitation services,
				  which includes data necessary to comply with MRS and federal Rehabilitation
				  Services Administration requirements.
(5) MRS shall make administrative decisions
				  about the district and office boundaries in which individuals are served.
				  Individuals do not have a right to select the office or district in which they
				  are served or the counselor who will serve them.
(6) Individuals are served in geographic MRS
				  districts and offices according to their residence. Individuals who change
				  their residence may have the option to have their cases transferred, with
				  supervisory approval, to the district or office to which they have
				  moved.
(7) Individuals have the
				  right to appeal the denial of a request to change counselors within an
				  office.
(8) Case service
				  expenditures, whether assessment or IPE services, require written authorization
				  by MRS before or simultaneously with the initiation of the service. Retroactive
				  authorizations are allowed if the MRS customer made reasonable efforts to
				  ensure MRS was able to provide the service and failure to authorize payment for
				  services is due to MRS error or delay.
(9) Goods and services must be provided
				  subject to the statewide availability of funds. Each IPE must be developed and
				  implemented in a manner that gives the individual the opportunity to exercise
				  informed choice in selecting the vocational rehabilitation services needed to
				  achieve the employment outcome, including the settings in which services will
				  be provided, and the entity or entities that will provide the vocational
				  rehabilitation services.
(10) When
				  appropriate, MRS counselor shall provide the referral necessary to support the
				  individual with disabilities in securing needed services from other agencies
				  and organizations.
(11) The MRS
				  counselor shall inform each individual of the right to obtain review of
				  determinations made by MRS that affect the provision of vocational
				  rehabilitation services, including the right to pursue mediation and provide
				  applicants and eligible individuals with notice of the availability of the CAP
				  to assist the applicant or recipient during mediation sessions or impartial due
				  process hearings.