	Vocational Rehabilitation Services Skill Development Training; Vocational Evaluation; Work adjustment; Job Development and Placement; Supported Employment; and Work Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-VOC 4: Vocational Planning and Monitoring

Each individual participates in the development and ongoing review of an individualized vocational plan that is based on his or her goals and preferences and is the foundation for delivery of appropriate services and support.

Interpretation: If the individual is receiving services from any of the agency's other programs, the vocational plan may be part of the overall service plan.

PA-VOC 4.01

The vocational plan is developed within an appropriate timeframe and with the full participation of the service recipient.

Interpretation: Vocational planning is conducted so that the service recipient retains as much personal responsibility and self-determination as possible and desired. Individuals with limited ability in making independent choices can receive help with making, or learning to make, decisions. When the service recipient is a minor, or an adult under the care of a guardian, the agency should follow applicable state laws or regulations requiring involvement or consent of legal guardians.

PA-VOC 4.02

The vocational plan is based on the assessment, and includes:

agreed upon goals, desired outcomes, and timeframes for achieving them;
barriers to employment and methods for minimizing their impact;
services and supports to be provided, and by whom; and
the service recipient’s signature.

Interpretation: The agency recognizes that a continuum of services is needed to meet the vocational goals of service recipients and offers a full array of employment and vocational services, directly or by referral.

PA-VOC 4.03

During vocational planning the agency explains:

available options;
how the agency can support the achievement of desired vocational outcomes; and
the benefits, alternatives, and risks or consequences of planned services.

PA-VOC 4.04

The agency documents in the case record that it has advised the individual about how paid employment may affect eligibility for disability and other benefits and documents efforts made to ensure the individual understands explanations.

PA-VOC 4.05

The vocational plan identifies, as appropriate:

the individual’s vocational goals and preferences;
support services to engage or maintain employment; and
the individual’s informal social network.

PA-VOC 4.06

To ensure that services are coordinated and comprehensive, the agency establishes collaborative arrangements with community service providers, whenever possible, given its geographic, administrative, and budgetary constraints.

Interpretation: Methods that the agency can use to facilitate regular contact among partnering service providers include:

virtual networking;
email/phone;
co-location;
satellite locations or roving vans; and
referral or formal contracting.

PA-VOC 4.07

The direct service provider and a supervisor, or a clinical, service, or peer team, review the vocational plan quarterly to assess:

implementation;
progress toward achieving agreed upon vocational goals and desired outcomes; and
the continuing appropriateness of the goals.

Interpretation: Experienced direct service providers may conduct reviews of their own cases. In such cases, the direct service provider's supervisor evaluates a sample of the provider’s reviews as per the requirements of the standard.

Interpretation: Timeframes for vocational plan review should be adjusted depending upon the issues and needs of the individual and the frequency and intensity of services provided.

PA-VOC 4.08

The direct service provider, the service recipient, and/or a legal guardian regularly review progress toward achievement of agreed upon vocational goals and sign revisions to the vocational plan.

PA-VOC 4.09

The service recipient invites family members, significant others, employers, or other involved advocates to participate in case conferences and to be advised of ongoing progress as desired.

Interpretation: The agency facilitates the participation of involved parties by, for example, helping arrange transportation, or including them in scheduling decisions.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Individuals with disabilities who receive vocational rehabilitation services achieve increased community integration, social inclusion, and self-determination through the realization of their vocational goals.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	CASE RECORD A written compilation that describes the client and the services delivered. Records can be in hard copy and/or electronic format. The case record can be used as a source of information for quality improvement or other evaluation activities, for research purposes, or to demonstrate accountability to funding bodies.


	ELIGIBILITY The degree to which an individual, family, group, or community meets the specific criteria and qualifications required to receive goods, benefits, or services.


	APPROPRIATENESS The degree to which a particular service, placement, treatment, intervention, or activity is: best suited to an individual's needs; not excessive, unduly intrusive, or restrictive; anticipated to be effective in achieving the desired and specified outcomes; and adequate or sufficient in quantity to address the problem.


	SAMPLE A portion or representative percentage of a greater whole.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	CLINICAL The study, assessment, and diagnosis of the client situation followed by direct treatment to help the client achieve prescribed goals.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.