Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services help people with disabilities become employed and self-reliant. The program emphasizes individualized community-based services, integration, and consumer choice. Services can include: vocational assessment; counseling and guidance; physical and mental restoration; training; rehabilitation technology; job placement; supported employment; and transition planning for high school students with severe disabilities.
Eligibility criteria for VR services are defined by the federal Rehabilitation Act. To receive services an individual must have a physical or mental impairment that results in a substantial impediment to employment; be able to benefit from services; and need VR services to gain and maintain employment. Individuals receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Supplemental Security Disability Income (SSDI) are automatically eligible for VR services. If there are insufficient resources available to serve all eligible applicants, priority is given to serving individuals with the most significant disabilities. Payment for most services is based upon the individual's financial need.
The Client Assistant Program (CAP) provides ombudsman services to VR applicants and consumers. The CAP program is located in the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, 635 SW Harrison Street, Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66603. The telephone number is (785) 273-9661 or 1-877-776-1541.
Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH) provides advocacy, information and referral, sign language interpreter registration, coordination of interpreting services, and the Kansas Quality Assurance Screening for certification of sign language interpreters.
| Vocational Rehabilitation | |
| Average Monthly Persons | 8,404 |
| Actual Expenditures---SFY 2006 | $19,578,477 |
| State General Fund | $4,083,868 |
Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Kansas Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (KSBVI) offers the programs listed below to assist persons who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.
Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired offers specialized training to participants to help them gain and maintain employment (see VR information above).
Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (RCBVI) is a comprehensive rehabilitation program offering independent living skills training, vocational assessment, and technology services to help consumers identify their employment-related skills, aptitudes, and interests. Mobile teams offer specific services throughout the state.
Rehabilitation Teaching (RT) offers communication, orientation and mobility, and daily living skills. Through this program, rehabilitation specialists go to consumers' homes and provide training to help them adjust to blindness and to increase their independent living skills.
Kansas Seniors Achieving Independent Living (Kan-SAIL) provides independent living skills training in the home communities of older Kansans who experience blindness or visual loss.
Business Enterprise Program (BEP) offers persons who are legally blind the opportunity to manage food service operations. BEP uses funds generated by the food service operations, rather than general finds, to match federal funds.
| Services for the Blind | |
| Annual Persons | 950 |
| Actual Expenditures---SFY 2006 | $2,317,248 |
| State General Fund | $1,778 |
Disability Determination Services
Disability Determination Services (DDS) makes initial and first-level appellate disability and blindness determinations for the Social Security Administration regarding SSDI and SSI claims. DDS also reviews the cases of individuals already receiving benefits to determine if they continue to qualify for benefits; conducts hearings on cases where SSDI or SSI eligibility has ended; and makes Medicaid eligibility determinations for individuals who do not meet the financial requirements for SSI. DDS also refers claimants who could benefit from other services to the VR program and to the Children with Special Health Care Needs program at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
| Disability Determination Services | |
| Average Monthly Claims Processed | 2,935 |
| Actual Expenditures---SFY | $13,456,607 |
| State General Funds | $30,688 |
"Why was I denied some services as part of my rehabilitation plan?"
Rehabilitation service plans are individualized. Concerns should be discussed with a rehabilitation counselor or a supervisor. RS staff can review the program structure, requirements, and limits with the client or advocate and review the client's file to make sure administrative decisions were correctly made.
"How can I expedite my disability determination application?"
Disability determination is heavily reliant on assembling thorough information for the applicant. Applicants may provide additional information to the DDS office if original information was not complete. Applicant or advocates may expedite processing by requesting providers of medical services to supply their records to the DDS office.
"I have been denied SSI. What can I do?"
The applicant may appeal the decision. DDS staff can assist with information on how to file an appeal. The applicant may reapply if their situation has changed since the date of last application.
"What does 'Order of Selection' mean?"
If Rehabilitation Services does not have sufficient resources to serve all eligible persons who apply, the federal government mandates that an Order of Selection procedure be used to establish priority categories for access to services. Through this process, eligible individuals are assigned to priority categories based on the number of functional limitations they have, the number of services they will need to gain employment, and the length of time their services are expected to last. The highest priority is given to people with the most significant disabilities. If this procedure is implemented, individuals who do not receive services immediately will be placed on a waiting list according to date of application.
"What type of jobs do people with disabilities get after receiving VR services?"
Individuals who are employed after receiving VR services often find work in the following fields: service, 36 percent; clerical and sales, 22 percent; professional, technical, and managerial, 14 percent; machine trades, bench work, and structural work, 13 percent; and other, 16 percent.
"How do people with visual loss or blindness do things like cross streets, shop, and go to work?"
RCBVI can teach people these skills. Principles of independent travel are taught, including techniques for traveling with a white cane and use of remaining senses. Exercises in mental mapping teach individuals how to keep track of where they are while traveling through different kinds of environments. Instruction ranges from simple to complex routes. Gradually, through time and practice, individuals gain confidence in their ability to travel independently.