New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter V - Office Of Vocational Rehabilitation › Part 246 - Workshop Programs › Section 246.1 - Sheltered employment program (SEP)

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) The purpose of this program is to provide
				  employment on a regular basis to mentally and physically handicapped persons
				  who, as a result of their disability, are unable to participate in the
				  competitive labor market. Under this program, State assistance is given to
				  approved workshops which provide sheltered employment to eligible
				  workers.
(b)
Definitions.
As used in this section:
(1)
Agency
means the New
				  York State Education Department, Office of Vocational and Educational Services
				  for Individuals with Disabilities.
(2)
Homebound employment
				  workers
are those who, in view of the severity of their handicaps and
				  unique problems, are working under the supervision of a workshop which is
				  certified for homebound work by the Wage and Hour Division.
(3)
Long-term sheltered
				  worker
means a physically or mentally disabled worker who is receiving
				  employment, as defined in paragraph (4) of this subdivision, and who meets the
				  eligibility criteria set forth in subdivisions (c) and (d) of this
				  section.
(4)
Employment
means participation in the following activities:
(i)
productive work,
which
				  means remunerative activity for which a commensurate wage rate based on client
				  productivity is paid and a usable product is produced or a useful service is
				  provided for the purpose of generating contract income to the sheltered
				  workshop. Productive work shall be that contracted to the facility by a third
				  party or work produced by the sheltered worker for use by or benefit of the
				  facility. Productive work may be off-site at a community employer if the
				  workshop supervises the worker and pays wages at least at the minimum level
				  required in paragraph (g)(2) of this section;
(ii)
structured rehabilitation
				  activity,
which means participation in any of the following
				  activities:
(a) remedial education;
(b) individual or group counseling;
(c) testing or evaluation services necessary
				  for update of the worker's status;
(d) activities of daily living, including
				  independent travel, grooming and hygiene, cooking and money management
				  services, but not recreational services;
(e) occupational therapy, physical therapy or
				  speech therapy services; or
(f)
				  training or retraining necessary to maintain the worker in sheltered
				  employment, to move the worker into a different level sheltered work task, or
				  to prepare the worker for competitive employment.
(5)
Unit of
				  service
means one hour of employment, as defined in paragraph (4) of
				  this subdivision.
(6)
State
				  financial assistance
means financial assistance provided to workshops
				  under the provisions of the sheltered employment program.
(7)
Support period
means a
				  State fiscal year quarter.
(8)
Workshop
means a place where any manufacture or handiwork is
				  carried on and which is operated for the principal purpose of providing
				  employment to severely handicapped persons:
(i) as an interim step in the rehabilitation
				  process for those who cannot be absorbed in the competitive labor market;
				  or
(ii) during such time as
				  employment opportunities for them in the competitive labor market do not
				  exist.