Texas Administrative Code › Title 40 - SOCIAL SERVICES AND ASSISTANCE › Part 1 - DEPARTMENT OF AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES › Chapter 72 - MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH OTHER STATE AGENCIES › Subchapter B - MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING CONCERNING COORDINATION OF SERVICES TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES › Section 72.206 - Texas Commission for the Blind

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Financial and service responsibilities to persons with disabilities.
(1) The Texas Commission for the Blind has
				  primary responsibility for providing services to persons who are visually
				  disabled, except welfare services and services for children provided by
				  regularly established educational agencies and state authorities as provided in
				  the Human Resources Code, Chapter 91.021(a).
(2) The Texas Commission for the Blind offers
				  a continuum of services for persons of all ages who are blind or visually
				  impaired. These service programs include:
(A)
				  Blind and Visually Impaired Children's Program.
(i) State funding is used to provide services
				  which will prevent blindness, restore vision, reduce dependency for children
				  who have permanent visual problems, and prepare the child for enhanced
				  vocational success. Services include counseling and guidance for the child and
				  the family, adaptive aids, educational support services, resource development
				  and utilization, pre-vocational information, and information and referral
				  services. The target population includes children ages 0 through 16 who are
				  blind, blind multidisabled, deaf-blind, or severely visually
				  impaired.
(ii) Youths between the
				  ages 16 and 22 may receive transition services from either the Blind and
				  Visually Impaired Children's Program or the Vocational Rehabilitation
				  Program.
(B) Vocational
				  Rehabilitation Program. This program is funded by both the state and federal
				  governments. All services are provided with the ultimate goal of employment for
				  persons who are blind or visually impaired. The target population for this
				  program includes individuals desiring employment who are blind, blind
				  multi-disabled, deaf-blind, or severely visually impaired.
(i) Services include vocational counseling;
				  vocational training; rehabilitation teacher services; orientation and mobility
				  training; physical restoration; employment assistance in sheltered, supported,
				  or competitive employment; personal and social adjustment training; and
				  rehabilitation engineering.
(ii) To
				  be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, a person must:
(I) have a physical or mental disability
				  (including a visual condition);
(II) have a disability that constitutes a
				  barrier to employment; and
(III) be
				  reasonably expected to benefit from vocational rehabilitation services, in
				  terms of employment.
(C) Independent living rehabilitation. This
				  program is designed to help persons who are blind or visually impaired to live
				  as independently as possible.
(i) Services in
				  this program include counseling, evaluation and skills training, referral,
				  advocacy, and assistance with eye medical problems. Independent living services
				  are for individuals for whom employment is not plausible and, although most of
				  the clients receiving services under this program are elderly, there are no age
				  restrictions.
(ii) Funding for this
				  program comes from the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, under
				  Title VII, Parts A, B, and C, and from state appropriations for serving older
				  clients who are blind or visually impaired.
(D) Deaf-blind services.
(i) Services for persons who are deaf-blind
				  are provided on a statewide basis through the Blind and Visually Impaired
				  Children's Program, the Vocational Rehabilitation Program, and the Independent
				  Living Program.
(ii) Specific
				  services include rehabilitation center training, adaptive skills training,
				  career guidance, job readiness counseling, and employment assistance. Federal
				  funding is provided under the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
				  amended, and a three-year grant for services to persons who are
				  deaf-blind.