Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 9, § 7149 - Scope of Vocational Rehabilitation Services for Individuals with Disabilities

(a) The Department shall, in collaboration with the local educational agencies involved, provide or arrange for the provision of, pre-employment transition services for all students with disabilities in need of services, without regard to the type of disability.

(1) Pre-employment transition services shall be made available statewide to all students with disabilities, regardless of whether the student has applied or been determined eligible for vocational rehabilitation services.

(b) As appropriate to the vocational rehabilitation needs of each individual and consistent with each individual's informed choice, the Department shall make the following vocational rehabilitation services available to assist the individual with a disability to prepare for, secure, retain, advance in, or regain an employment outcome that is consistent with the individual's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice.

(1) Assessment for determining eligibility and priority for services by qualified personnel including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology in accordance with Sections 7001.5 and 7062 of these regulations.

(2) Assessment for determining vocational rehabilitation needs by qualified personnel including, if appropriate, an assessment by personnel skilled in rehabilitation technology, in accordance with Sections 7001.5, 7128(b), and 7130.5(b) of these regulations.

(3) Vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance, including information and support services to assist an individual in exercising informed choice in accordance with Section 7029.6 of these regulations.

(4) Referral and other services necessary to assist applicants and eligible individuals to secure needed services from other agencies, including other components of the statewide workforce development system, other government agencies, independent living centers, and local extended employment service providers, consistent with the requirements of Sections 7037 and 7038 of these regulations.

(5) Physical and mental restoration services, in accordance with Section 7020 of these regulations, to the extent that financial support is not readily available from a source other than the Department.

(6) Vocational, educational, and other training services, including personal and vocational adjustment training, advanced training in, but not limited to, a field of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (including computer science), medicine, law or business; books, tools, and other training materials, except that no training or training services in an institution of higher education (from universities, colleges, community or junior colleges, vocational schools, technical institutes, or hospital schools of nursing) may be paid for by the Department unless maximum efforts have been made by the Department and the individual to secure grant assistance, in whole or in part, from other sources to pay for that training.

(7) Maintenance, as defined in Section 7019 and provided under conditions specified in Section 7177 of these regulations.

(8) Transportation provided to enable participation in any vocational rehabilitation service, in accordance with the definition in Section 7029 of these regulations.

(9) Vocational rehabilitation services to family members, as defined in Section 7015 of these regulations, of an applicant or eligible individual if necessary to enable the applicant or eligible individual to achieve an employment outcome.

(10) Interpreter services, including sign language and oral interpreter services for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing and tactile interpreting services for individuals who are deaf-blind provided by qualified personnel.

(11) Reader services, rehabilitation teaching services, and orientation and mobility services for individuals who are blind.

(12) Job-related services, including job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services, and follow-along services.

(13) Supported employment services in accordance with the definition of that term in Section 7028.1 of these regulations.

(14) Personal assistance services in accordance with the definition of that term in Section 7019.7 of these regulations.

(15) Post-employment services in accordance with the definition of that term in Section 7021.5 of these regulations.

(16) Occupational licenses, tools as defined in Section 7028.4 and equipment as defined in Section 7013.2 of these regulations, and initial stocks and supplies.

(17) Rehabilitation technology in accordance with the definition of that term in Section 7024.7 of these regulations.

(18) Transition services in accordance with the definition of that term in Section 7028.6 of these regulations.

(19) Technical assistance and other consultation services to conduct market analyses, develop business plans, and otherwise provide resources, to the extent those resources are authorized to be provided through the statewide workforce development system, to eligible individuals who are pursuing self-employment or telecommuting or establishing a small business operation as an employment outcome.

(20) Customized employment in accordance with the definition of that term in Section 7006.6.

(21) Other goods and services, in accordance with Section 7174 of these regulations, that are determined necessary for the individual with a disability to achieve an employment outcome.

(c) The Department may provide for the following vocational rehabilitation services for the benefit of groups of individuals with disabilities:

(1) The establishment, development, or improvement of a public or other nonprofit community rehabilitation program that is used to provide vocational rehabilitation services that promote integration into the community and prepare individuals with disabilities for competitive integrated employment, including supported employment and customized employment, and under special circumstances, the construction of a facility for a public or nonprofit community rehabilitation program as defined in 34 CFR 361.5. Examples of special circumstances include the destruction by natural disaster of the only available center serving an area or a state determination that construction is necessary in a rural area because no other public agencies or private nonprofit organizations are currently able to provide vocational rehabilitation services to individuals.

(2) Telecommunications systems that have the potential for substantially improving vocational rehabilitation service delivery methods and developing appropriate programming to meet the particular needs of individuals with disabilities, including telephone, television, video description services, satellite, tactile-vibratory devices, and similar systems, as appropriate.

(3) Special services to provide nonvisual access to information for individuals who are blind, including the use of telecommunications, Braille, sound recordings, or other appropriate media; captioned television, films, or video cassettes for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; tactile materials for individuals who are deaf-blind; and other special services that provide information through tactile, vibratory, auditory, and visual media.

(4) Technical assistance to businesses that are seeking to employ individuals with disabilities.

(5) In the case of any small business enterprise operated by individuals with significant disabilities under the supervision of the Department, including enterprises established under the Randolph-Sheppard program, management services and supervision provided by the Department along with the acquisition by the Department of vending facilities or other equipment, initial stocks and supplies, and initial operating expenses, in accordance with the following requirements:

(i) Management services and supervision includes inspection, quality control, consultation, accounting, regulating, in-service training, and related services provided on a systematic basis to support and improve small business enterprises operated by individuals with significant disabilities. Management services and supervision may be provided throughout the operation of the small business enterprise.

(ii) Initial stocks and supplies include those items necessary to the establishment of a new business enterprise during the initial establishment period, which may not exceed six months.

(iii) Costs of establishing a small business enterprise may include operational costs during the initial establishment period, which may not exceed six months.

(iv) If the Department provides for these services, it must ensure that only individuals with significant disabilities will be selected to participate in this supervised program.

(v) If the Department provides for these services and chooses to set aside funds from the proceeds of the operation of the small business enterprises, the Department must maintain a description of the methods used in setting aside funds and the purposes for which funds are set aside. Funds may be used only for small business enterprises purposes, and benefits that are provided to operators from set-aside funds must be provided on an equitable basis.

(6) Consultation and technical assistance services to assist state educational agencies and local educational agencies in planning for the transition of students and youth with disabilities from school to postsecondary life, including employment.

(7) Transition services to youth with disabilities and students with disabilities who may not have yet applied or been determined eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, for which a vocational rehabilitation counselor works in concert with educational agencies, providers of job training programs, providers of services under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.), entities designated by the state to provide services for individuals with developmental disabilities, centers for independent living (as defined in section 702 of the Act), housing and transportation authorities, workforce development systems, and businesses and employers. These specific transition services are to benefit a group of students with disabilities or youth with disabilities and are not individualized services directly related to an individualized plan for employment goal. Services may include, but are not limited to, group tours of universities and vocational training programs, employer or business site visits to learn about career opportunities, career fairs coordinated with workforce development and employers to facilitate mock interviews and resume writing, and other general services applicable to groups of students with disabilities and youth with disabilities.

(8) The establishment, development, or improvement of assistive technology demonstration, loan, reutilization, or financing programs in coordination with activities authorized under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.) to promote access to assistive technology for individuals with disabilities and employers.

(9) Support (including, as appropriate, tuition) for advanced training in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (including computer science), medicine, law, or business, provided after an individual eligible to receive services under this title demonstrates--

(i) Such eligibility;

(ii) Previous completion of a bachelor's degree program at an institution of higher education or scheduled completion of such a degree program prior to matriculating in the program for which the individual proposes to use the support; and

(iii) Acceptance by a program at an institution of higher education in the United States that confers a master's degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (including computer science), a juris doctor degree, a master of business administration degree, or a doctor of medicine degree, except that--

(A) No training provided at an institution of higher education may be paid for with funds under this program unless maximum efforts have been made by the designated state unit to secure grant assistance, in whole or in part, from other sources to pay for such training; and

(B) Nothing in this paragraph prevents the Department from providing similar support to individuals with disabilities within the state who are eligible to receive support under this title and who are not served under this section.

(d) If the Department provides for vocational rehabilitation services for groups of individuals, it must--

(1) Develop and maintain written policies covering the nature and scope of each of the vocational rehabilitation services it provides and the criteria under which each service is provided; and

(2) Maintain information to ensure the proper and efficient administration of those services in the form and detail and at the time required by the Secretary, including the types of services provided, the costs of those services, and, to the extent feasible, estimates of the numbers of individuals benefiting from those services.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 9, § 7149

1. Amendment of chapter heading and new section filed 3-4-2004; operative 4-3-2004 (Register 2004, No. 10).
2. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 2-17-2023; operative 2-17-2023 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2023, No. 7).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 19006 and 19016, Welfare and Institutions Code. Reference: 29 USC 723; 34 CFR 361.48 and 361.49; and Section 19011, Welfare and Institutions Code.

1. Amendment of chapter heading and new section filed 3-4-2004; operative 4-3-2004 (Register 2004, No. 10).
2. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 2-17-2023; operative 2/17/2023 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2023, No. 7).