Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 053 - Workforce Services, Department of › Sub-Agency 0023 - Vocational Rehabilitation - General › Chapter 1 - GENERAL › Section 1-5 - Definitions

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) As used in these rules the terms or
				phrase:
(i) "An Hour of Service" is defined
				as an hour of staff time spent on behalf of a supported employment client
				providing job placement, situational assessment, and/or job coaching services
				as defined. If a staff hour is simultaneously provided to more than one client
				(i.e.: a work crew), this hour will be prorated based upon each client's
				proportionate use (i.e.: Staff spends one hour in a work crew with 4 clients.
				Each client receives 15 minutes of this staff hour).
(ii) "American Indian" means an individual
				that is a member of an Indian tribe.
(iii) "Applicant" means an individual who
				submits a signed application for vocational rehabilitation services but has not
				yet been certified as eligible for DVR services.
(iv) "Appraisal of Current Health Status"
				refers to information that covers the client's medical history and a complete
				systems review, if one is needed.
(v) "Appropriate Modes of Communication"
				means specialized aids and supports that enable an individual with a disability
				to comprehend and respond to information that is being communicated.
(vi) "Assistive Technology device" means any
				item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off
				the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or
				improve the functional capabilities of an individual with a
				disability
(vii) "Assistive
				Technology Service" means any service that directly assists an individual with
				a disability in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology
				device. This could include an evaluation of the individual with a
				disability.
(viii) "Automobile
				Dealership" means any organization selling vehicles that can be found in the
				yellow pages and/or that have a tax ID number and dealer plates.
(ix) "Community Rehabilitation Program" means
				a program that provides directly or facilitates the provision of vocational
				rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities; and that provides
				services for an individual with a disability to enable the person to maximize
				opportunities for employment, including career advancement.
(x) "Client Assistance Program (CAP)" is a
				federal program initiated under the Rehabilitation of 1973 available to
				clients, applicants and former clients of the Wyoming Division of Vocational
				Rehabilitation to identify, explain and resolve any problems a client may be
				having with their rehabilitation program, or an applicant may be having with
				the application process.
(xi)
				"Comparable Services and Benefits" means services and benefits that are
				provided or paid for in whole or part, by other Federal, State, or local public
				agencies, by health insurance, or by employee benefits, and are available to
				the individual at the time needed to ensure the progress of the individual
				toward achieving the employment outcome continues, and commensurate to the
				services that individual would otherwise receive from the DSU.
(xii) "Competitive Employment" means work in
				the competitive labor market that performed on a full time or part time basis
				in an integrated setting and is compensated at or above the minimum wage, but
				not less than the customary wage and level of benefits paid by the employer for
				the same or similar work performed by individuals who are not
				disabled.
(xiii) "Designated State
				Agency" (DSA) means the Department of Workforce Services
(xiv) "Designated State Unit" (DSU) means the
				Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.
(xv) "Disability" means, for purposes of
				Title I services - physical or mental impairment that constitutes or results in
				a substantial impediment to employment.
(xvi) "Division" means the Division of
				Vocational Rehabilitation, Wyoming Department of Workforce Services
(xvii) "DVR" means the Division of Vocational
				Rehabilitation.
(xviii) "Eligible
				Individual" means an applicant for vocational rehabilitation services who meets
				the eligibility requirements.
(xix)
				"Employment Outcome" means entering or retaining full-time or, an appropriate,
				part-time competitive employment in the integrated labor market; supported
				employment; or any other type of employment, including self-employment,
				telecommuting, or business ownership that is consistent with an individual's
				strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests
				and informed choice.
(xx) "Extreme
				medical risk" means a determination by a licensed medical doctor/psychologist
				that a probability of substantially increasing functional impairment or death
				if medical services, including mental health services, are not provided
				expeditiously.
(xxi) "Extended
				Employment" means work in a non-integrated or sheltered setting for a public or
				private nonprofit agency or organization that provides compensation in
				accordance with the Fair Labor Standards Act. This represents an interim step
				in the rehabilitation process rather than an end point of that
				process.
(xxii) "Extended Services"
				means ongoing support services and other appropriate services that are needed
				to support and maintain an individual with a most significant disability in
				supported employment and that are provided by a State agency, a private
				nonprofit organization, employer, or any other appropriate resource.
(xxiii) "Family Member" for the purpose of
				receiving vocational rehabilitation services, means an individual who is a
				relative or guardian, lives in the same household, who has a substantial
				interest in the well being of eligible individual and whose receipt of
				vocational rehabilitation services is necessary to enable the individual to
				achieve an employment outcome.
(xxiv) "Impartial Hearing Officer" means an
				individual:
(A) who is not an employee of a
				public agency (other than an administrative law judge, hearing examiner, or
				employee of an institution of higher education);
(B) who is not a member of the State
				Rehabilitation Council;
(C) who has
				not been involved in previous decisions regarding the vocational rehabilitation
				of the applicant or client;
(D) who
				has knowledge of the delivery of vocational rehabilitation services, the State
				Plan under Section 101, and the federal and state rules governing the provision
				of such services and training with respect to the performance of official
				duties;
(E) who has no personal or
				financial interest that would be in conflict with the objectivity of the
				individual; and
(F) an individual
				shall not be considered to be an employee of a public agency solely because the
				individual is paid by the agency to serve as a hearing officer.
(xxv) "Independent Living Core
				Services" means:
(A) information and referral
				services;
(B) independent living
				skills training;
(C) peer
				counseling (including cross-disability peer counseling); and
(D) individual and systems
				advocacy.
(xxvi)
				"Individual with a disability" means an individual:
(A) who has a physical or mental
				impairment;
(B) whose impairment
				constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment; and
(C) who can benefit in terms of an employment
				outcome from the provision of vocational rehabilitation services.
(xxvii) "Individual with a
				Significant Disability" means an individual:
(A) who has a significant physical or mental
				impairment which seriously limits one or more functional capacities (such as
				mobility, communication, self-care, self-direction, interpersonal skills, work
				tolerance, or work skills) in terms of an employment outcome;
(B) whose vocational rehabilitation can be
				expected to require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an
				extended period of time; and
(C)
				who has one or more physical or mental disabilities resulting from amputation,
				arthritis, autism, blindness, burn injury, cancer, cerebral palsy, cystic
				fibrosis, deafness, head injury, heart disease, hemiplegia, hemophilia,
				respiratory or pulmonary dysfunction, mental retardation, mental illness,
				multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, musculo-skeletal disorder, neurological
				disorders (including stroke and epilepsy), paraplegia, quadriplegia and other
				spinal cord conditions, sickle-cell anemia, specific learning disabilities,
				end-stage renal disease, or another disability or combination of disabilities
				determined on the basis of an assessment for determining eligibility and
				vocational rehabilitation needs to cause comparable substantial functional
				limitation.
(D) Additional and
				Substantial Functional Limitations Include:
(I) Inability to make use of public
				transportation unassisted or inability to travel independently in unfamiliar
				area;
(II) Inability to perform
				sustained work activity for six hours or more;
(III) Disfigurement or deformity so
				pronounced as to cause social rejection;
(IV) Speech or communication skills that are
				unintelligible to non-family members, or inability to understand normal speech
				with or without a hearing aid, or inability to interpret printed material as
				used in normal correspondence without use of adaptive aids;
(V) Inability to climb one flight of stairs
				or walk 100 yards on the level without pause;
(VI) Loss of manual dexterity or eye/hand
				coordination sufficient that he/she is unable to fasten buttons, wind a watch,
				or write intelligibly;
(VII)
				Emotionally incapable of tolerating the stress of normal competitive
				employment;
(VIII) Intellectually
				or physically limited to closely supervised, highly structured employment;
				and
(IX) Demonstrated marked
				restriction of daily activities, constriction of interests, deterioration in
				personal habits, and impaired ability to relate to other people.
(xxvii) "Individual
				with the Most Significant Disability" means an individual:
(A) The individual must have an impairment or
				impairments which, singly or in combination, are significant;
(B) The individual must be seriously limited
				from achieving an employment outcome due to significant functional loss in two
				or more of the functional capacities;
(C) The individual must need at least two
				core vocational rehabilitation services* to address the functional losses
				imposed by the significant impairment(s) in order to attain an employment
				outcome; and
(D) Whose vocational
				rehabilitation can be expected to require at least 18 months to complete.
*Core vocational rehabilitation services includes all
				  vocational rehabilitation services other than supportive services (maintenance,
				  transportation, services to family members, and personal assistance services);
				  services secondary to core vocational rehabilitation services, such as training
				  materials and supplies when training is being provided as a core vocational
				  rehabilitation service; or, generalized counseling, guidance, and placement
				  which are provided during the vocational rehabilitation process in connection
				  with the provision of vocational rehabilitation services but are not identified
				  as a needed vocational rehabilitation services on the IPE.
All clients that have an active Individualized Plan for
				  Employment (IPE) will be served until that IPE is completed.
(xxviii) "Individual with a
				Significant Disability" as used in the Independent Living Program means an
				individual with a significant physical or mental impairment whose ability to
				function independently in the family or community, or whose ability to obtain,
				maintain or advance in employment is substantially limited, and for whom the
				delivery of independent living services will improve the ability to function,
				continue functioning, or move towards functioning independently in the family
				or community, or to continue in employment.
(xxix) "Individual's Representative" means
				any representative chosen by an applicant or eligible individual, as
				appropriate, including a parent, guardian, other family member, or advocate,
				unless a representative has been appointed by a court to represent the
				individual.
(xxx) "Individualized
				Plan for Employment (IPE)" or "Rehabilitation Plan" means a program mutually
				developed by a qualified Rehabilitation Counselor and an eligible client, or as
				appropriate, the eligible client's parent, guardian, or other representative,
				which defines the client's vocational goal and outlines the vocational
				rehabilitation objectives and services necessary to achieve that
				goal.
(xxxi) "Informed Choice"
				means the counselor, through vocational guidance and counseling, will provide
				pertinent information to the client so he/she can make appropriate decisions
				affecting his/her rehabilitation program.
(xxxii) "Integrated Work Setting:"
(A) With respect to the provision of
				services, means a setting typically found in the community in which applicants
				or eligible individuals interact with non-disabled individuals other than
				non-disabled individuals who are providing services to those eligible
				individuals;
(B) With respect to an
				employment outcome, means a setting typically found in the community in which
				the individual interacts with non-disabled individuals other than non-disabled
				individuals who are providing services to those eligible individuals, to the
				same extent that non-disabled individuals in comparable positions interact with
				other persons.
(xxxiii)
				"Job coaching" means services that are needed to support and maintain an
				individual on the job after employment is obtained, such as:
(A) intensive on-the-job skills training and
				other training provided by skilled job trainers, co-workers, and other
				qualified individuals;
(B)
				provision of follow-up services, including regular contact with employers,
				trainees with the most severe disabilities, parents, guardians or other
				representatives of trainees, and other suitable professional and informed
				advisors in order to reinforce and stabilize the job placement;
(C) regular observations or support of
				individuals with the most severe disabilities at the work site;
(D) contact with co-workers to develop
				on-the-job natural supports; or
(E)
				other on-going support services as defined which are necessary to achieve job
				stabilization.
(F) These services
				are based on an assessment by the DVR counselor of the individual's
				needs.
(xxxiv) "Job
				Development/Placement" are services that are needed to identify the most
				suitable employment outcome for significantly and most significantly disabled
				individuals, and to help determine necessary on the job supports, such as:
(A) meeting with the client, parent, and
				significant others to discuss issues such as job preferences, job aptitudes,
				past work experiences, and to develop a plan for job development;
(B) contact with employers regarding job
				possibilities for a specific client, completion of job site surveys, or job
				analysis regarding the appropriateness of employment sites;
(C) accompanying a client on an employer
				visit for the purpose of job exploration or a job interview;
(D) staffing regarding an individual client
				in the job development process;
(E)
				providing services such as job clubs, job shadowing, or career counseling which
				support the development of an appropriate vocational goal; and
(F) other on-going support services as
				defined which are necessary to achieve job placement.
(G) These services are based upon an
				assessment by the DVR counselor of the individual's needs.
(xxxv) "Maintenance" means monetary support
				to an eligible individual for expenses, such as food, shelter and clothing,
				that are in excess of the normal expenses of the individual and are
				necessitated by the individuals participation in an assessment for determining
				eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs or the individuals receipt of
				services under an individualized plan for employment.
(xxxvi) "Ongoing Support Services" means
				services:
(A) needed to support and maintain
				individuals with the most significant disabilities in supported
				employment;
(B) provided at least
				twice monthly:
(I) to make an assessment,
				regarding the employment situation, at the worksite of each individual in
				supported employment, or, under special circumstances, especially at the
				request of the client, off site; and
(II) based on the assessment, to provide for
				the coordination or provision of specific intensive services, at or away from
				the worksite, that are needed to maintain employment stability; and
(C) consisting of:
(I) particular assessment supplementary to
				the comprehensive assessment;
(II)
				the provision of skilled job trainers who accompany the individual for
				intensive job skill training at the worksite;
(III) job development and
				placement;
(IV) social skills
				training;
(V) regular observation
				or supervision of the individual;
(VII) follow-up services such as regular
				contact with the employers, the individuals, the parents, family members,
				guardians, advocates: or
(VIII)
				representatives of the individuals, and other suitable authorized professional
				and informed advisors, in order to reinforce and stabilize the job placement;
				and
(IX) facilitation of natural
				supports at the worksite.
(xxxvii) "Other agency or organization" means
				any individual, group of individuals, private or public entity that provides
				information to Vocational Rehabilitation requiring a release of
				information.
(xxxviii) "Personal
				Assistance Services" means a range of services provided by one or more persons
				designed to assist an individual with a disability to perform daily living
				activities on or off the job that the individual would typically perform if the
				individual did not have a disability. Such services shall be designed to
				increase the individual's control of their life and ability to perform everyday
				activities on or off the job.
(xxxix) "Physical and Mental Restoration"
				means corrective surgery or therapeutic treatment that is likely, within a
				reasonable period of time, to correct or modify substantially a stable or
				slowly progressive physical or mental impairment that constitutes a substantial
				impediment to employment.
(xl)
				"Qualified Counselor" means an individual who meets the criteria to be able to
				sit for the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) examination.
(xli) "Rehabilitated" means a client has
				been:
(A) determined to be
				eligible;
(B) provided an
				assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs and
				counseling and guidance as essential vocational rehabilitation
				services;
(C) provided appropriate
				and substantial vocational rehabilitation in accordance with the individualized
				plan for employment (IPE); and
(D)
				determined to have achieved and maintained suitable employment for at least 90
				days.
(xlii)
				"Rehabilitation Technology" means the systematic application of technologies,
				engineering methodologies, or scientific principles to meet the needs of and
				address the barriers confronted by individuals with disabilities in areas that
				include education, rehabilitation, employment, transportation, independent
				living, and recreation. This term includes rehabilitation engineering,
				assistive technology devices, and assistive technology services.
(xliii)
"
Significant
				Contact" with clients occurs when information pertinent to the vocational
				rehabilitation process is shared between the client and the VR representative
				in face to face, written or verbal form.
(xliv) "Substantial Impediment to Employment"
				means that a physical or mental impairment (in light of attendant medical,
				psychological, vocational, educational, and other related factors) that hinders
				an individual's occupational performance, by preventing his preparing for,
				obtaining or retaining employment consistent with the individual's capacities
				and abilities.
(xlv) "Supported
				Employment" means competitive work in integrated work settings or employment in
				integrated work settings in which individuals are working toward competitive
				work consistent with the strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities,
				capabilities, interests, and informed choice of the individuals with the most
				significant disabilities:
(A) for whom
				competitive employment has not traditionally occurred; or
(B) who, because of the nature and severity
				of their disability, need intensive supported employment services.
(xlvi) "Supported Employment
				Services" means on-going support services and other appropriate services needed
				to support and maintain an individual with most significant disability in
				supported employment that are:
(A) For a
				period of time not to exceed 18 months unless under special circumstances the
				eligible individual and the VR counselor agree to extend the time to achieve an
				employment outcome and; if wages are paid to the client the wages must be paid
				through another party so DVR isn't the employer. Paid work experiences should
				be short term at a low wage.
(B)
				Following transition, as post employment services that are unavailable from an
				extended services provider and are necessary to maintain or regain the job
				placement or advancement in employment.
(xlvii) "Trial Work Experiences" means work
				experiences including supported employment, on the job training and other
				experiences using realistic work settings. Work experience arrangements do not
				have an expectation of employment like an OJT.
(xlviii) "Transition Services" means a
				coordinated set of activities for a student, designed within an
				outcome-oriented process that promotes movement from school to post school
				activities, including post secondary education, vocational training, integrated
				employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education,
				adult services, independent living, or community participation. The coordinated
				set of activities shall be based upon the individual student's needs, taking
				into account the student's preferences and interests, and shall include
				instruction, community experiences, the development of employment and other
				post school adult living objectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of
				daily living skills and functional vocational evaluation.
(xlix) "Transitional Employment" as used in
				the Supported Employment Program, means a series of temporary job placements in
				competitive work in an integrated work setting with on-going support services
				for individuals with the most significant disabilities due to mental illness.
				In transitional employment, the provision of on-going support services must
				include continuing sequential job placements until job permanency is achieved.
(l) "Transportation" means travel
				and related expenses that are necessary to enable an applicant or eligible
				individual to participate in a vocational rehabilitation
				service.