Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 111 - Blind, Department for The › Chapter 10 - Vocational Rehabilitation Services › Rule 111-10.6 - Consideration of Comparable Services and Benefits

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1) Prior to providing any vocational
			 rehabilitation services, except those services listed in subrule 10.6(3), to an
			 eligible individual or to members of the individual's family, the department
			 must determine whether comparable services and benefits exist under any other
			 program and if those services and benefits are available to the individual.
			 Full consideration is given to any comparable service or benefitavailable to an
			 eligible blind person under any program, except for grants or awards from
			 organizations of the blind.
(2) To
			 the extent that an individual is eligible for comparable services or benefits,
			 they are utilized insofar as they are adequate and do not interrupt or delay:
(1) the progress of the individual toward
			 achieving the employment outcome identified in the individualized plan for
			 employment or an immediate job placement; or
(2) the provision of vocational
			 rehabilitation services to any individual who is determined to be at extreme
			 medical risk.
(3) The following
			 services are exempt from a consideration of comparable services and benefits
			 under subrule 10.6(1) above:
(1) assessment
			 for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs;
(2) counseling and guidance;
(3) referral services to other agencies;
(4) job-related services, including
			 job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up
			 services, and follow-along services;
(5) rehabilitation technology services; and
(6) postemployment
			 services.
(4) The
			 consideration of comparable services and benefits under any program does not
			 apply if such a consideration would delay the provision of vocational
			 rehabilitation services to any individual who is determined to be at extreme
			 medical risk as defined by rule
			 111-1.4 (216B), based
			 on medical evidence provided by an appropriate qualified medical professional;
			 or an immediate job placement would be lost due to a delay in the provision of
			 comparable services and benefits.
(5) In the event that severe revenue
			 shortages make budget reductions necessary, the department may invoke a
			 limitation on payment of tuition each semester to a rate no greater than the
			 maximum tuition rate effective at institutions operated by the Iowa board of
			 regents for each semester of the individual's enrollment. When it is necessary
			 to invoke this limitation with general notice to the public and to individuals
			 potentially affected, exceptions may be made in cases in which a reasonable
			 necessity for a waiver can be demonstrated, the individual's counselor
			 recommends a waiver, and the program administrator approves the waiver before
			 the individual's enrollment. In no case, however, shall this rule be construed
			 as discouragement of an individual's attending private or out-of-state
			 institutions when utilization of other available funds makes it possible to do
			 so.