Vocational Rehabilitation

To be eligible for services through VR, your child must meet some guidelines, including:

• A documented physical, mental, emotional, or learning disability significantly impacting one’s ability to get a job.
• Inability to secure employment without VR services
  
  

VR Eligibility Checklist

Contact a guidance counselor, teacher, principal, or other school representatives to get a VR application and referral for your child. You also can contact your area’s VR office directly to get an application and set up an interview with a VR counselor.

Each state has unique eligibility criteria, application processes, and methods for deciding the level of support. If your child is determined to be eligible, the VR counselor will work with you to develop an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). The IPE covers job goals, the services needed to succeed in those job goals, and the review process for progress toward goal achievement, such as obtaining a college degree.

VR might not cover all of your child’s expenses related to college. Contact Gallaudet’s Financial Aid and Scholarship Office about other sources of financial support, including scholarships.

No. According to the Rehabilitation Act, federal regulations ensure that state agencies cannot establish policies that “effectively prohibit the provision of out-of-state services.”

A state agency “may establish a preference for in-state services,” as long as there are provisions to ensure that you can receive a necessary service. For example, if a more expensive out-of-state program is preferred, the state VR agency will pay up to the in-state program cost, not the total cost of the out-of-state program.

If no program within the state will enable your student to meet their employment goal, the state must have a process to fund the out-of-state program.

As a parent/guardian, your participation in the VR process is essential, especially if the student is under 18 years old.

A few questions you can ask VR to help you understand the process include:

• How does my state decide the amount of funding my child will receive?
• How long will it take to determine if my child is eligible?
• If I claim my child on my taxes, does that affect VR support?
• How do SSI benefits help eligibility for VR funding?
• Does VR support cover the cost of career-related summer programs for high school students?

Contact your VR counselor. If you are unable to reach a solution, contact the following individuals:

1. The direct manager of your VR counselor
2. The administrator in charge of the VR manager and counselor
3. The state VR central office

Every state VR agency has policies and procedures to review if disagreements arise or services are denied. Your VR agency should provide you with information on your rights and remedies.

Yes, a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) must be completed in your student’s last year of high school and each year while attending college. The FAFSA is available starting October 1 of your student’s senior year.

Through Pre-ETS, VR may support your student to participate in activities related to their transition, such as the Gallaudet Youth Programs for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

By participating in transition programs like our Youth Programs, your student begins the process to prepare for life after high school. Through self-assessment and hands-on activities, your student will learn more about matching their interests, personality and skills to career and career-education options.

Online transition planning programs also are available for your student to help them learn about their career interests and goals.

Contact the VR office closest to your home. VR programs can go by different names in different states, but you can find information in your local telephone directory under “State Government.”