North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 10A - HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 63 - SERVICES FOR THE BLIND › Subchapter F - VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION › Section .0400 - ECONOMIC NEED › Section 63F .0402 - ECONOMIC NEEDS POLICIES

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) The Division of
				  Services for the Blind shall establish the economic need of each eligible
				  consumer either simultaneously with or prior to the provision of those services
				  for which the Division requires a needs test. The financial need of a consumer
				  shall be determined by the financial needs test specified in Rule .0403 of this
				  Section. If the consumer has been determined eligible for Social Security
				  benefits under Title II or XVI of the Social Security Act, (SSA), the Division
				  of Services for the Blind shall not apply a financial needs tests or require
				  the financial participation of the consumer. A financial needs test shall be
				  applied for all consumers determined eligible to receive services through the
				  Independent Living Rehabilitation Program regardless of SSA Title II or Title
				  XVI eligibility.
(b) The Division
				  of Services for the Blind shall furnish the following services not conditioned
				  on economic need:
(1) an assessment for
				  determining eligibility and priority for services, except those non-assessed
				  services that are provided during an exploration of the applicant's abilities,
				  capabilities, and capacity to perform in work situations through the use of
				  trial work experiences or an extended evaluation and an assessment by personnel
				  skilled in rehabilitation technology;
(2) an assessment for determining
				  rehabilitation needs by a qualified vocational rehabilitation
				  counselor;
(3) vocational
				  rehabilitation counseling and guidance, including information and support
				  services to assist an applicant or consumer in exercising informed choice;
				  and
(4) tuition and supplies for
				  Community Rehabilitation Program training;
(5) tuition and fees for:
(A) community college and university
				  educational and vocational programs up to the catalog rate; and
(B) post-secondary education up to the
				  maximum rate charged for the North Carolina public university system.
The Division shall require eligible consumers applying for
					 training programs listed in Parts (b)(5)(A) and (B) of this Rule to first apply
					 for all available grants and financial aid. The Division may grant an exception
					 to the rate for tuition and required fees for post-secondary education
					 specified in Part (b)(5)(B) of this Rule when necessary to accommodate the
					 special training needs of severely disabled individuals who must be enrolled in
					 special programs designed for severely physically disabled
					 students;
(6)
				  interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services for
				  applicants or consumers who are deaf or hard of hearing, and tactile
				  interpreting services for applicants or consumers who are deaf-blind;
(7) reader services, rehabilitation teaching
				  services, and orientation and mobility services;
(8) job-related services, including job
				  search, job placement employment assistance, and job retention
				  services;
(9) DSB Rehabilitation
				  Center services or fundamental independent living rehabilitation adjustment
				  services, including transportation and training supplies, contingent on a
				  consumer's participation in the program;
(10) diagnostic transportation;
(11) on-the-job training;
(12) training and associated maintenance and
				  transportation costs for Business Enterprises Program trainees;
(13) upward mobility training and associated
				  maintenance and transportation costs for Business Enterprises Program
				  trainees;
(14) equipment and
				  initial stocks and supplies for state-owned (Randolph-Sheppard) vending
				  stands;
(15) supported employment
				  services;
(16) personal assistance
				  services provided while a consumer with a disability is receiving vocational
				  rehabilitation services;
(17)
				  referral and other services designed to assist applicants or consumers with
				  disabilities in securing needed services from other agencies through agreements
				  developed under Section 101(a)(11) of Rehabilitation Act Amendments (the Act,
				  P.L.
				  102-569), if such services are not available under
				  this Act, and to advise those individuals about client assistance programs
				  established under the Act;
(18)
				  transition services for students with disabilities that facilitate the
				  achievement of the employment outcome identified in the student's
				  individualized plan for employment, except for those services based on economic
				  need;
(19) technical assistance and
				  other consultation services to consumers who are pursuing self-employment,
				  telecommuting, or establishing a business operation as an employment outcome;
				  and
(20) provision of
				  pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities who are 14-21
				  years of age, whether they are presently a VR client or a potentially eligible
				  individual.