204.00 Assessment Policy
(Rev. April 1994)
Table of Contents
Description
Assessment is a means by which a vocational rehabilitation counselor works with an individual and his/her family to determine eligibility for VESID services and plan for vocational rehabilitation needs. Assessment means a review of existing information. If additional data is needed, a comprehensive assessment may be required. All assessments should be conducted in the most integrated settings possible.
Policy
Assessment for Eligibility
An assessment for determining eligibility must be first a review of existing medical, psychological or other documentation to determine whether an individual is eligible for vocational rehabilitation services based upon VESID's eligibility criteria. Documentation is reviewed to determine:
- the existence of a impairment which, for the individual, is a substantial impediment to employment;
- can the individual benefit in terms of achieving an employment outcome; and
- does the individual require vocational rehabilitation services to prepare for, enter, engage in or retain gainful employment.
Documentation may be obtained from an individual's treating physician, certified treatment program, a licensed or certified practitioner skilled in the diagnosis and/or treatment of the disability, school personnel or other qualified personnel or sources that confirms the existence of the disability and how the disability is a substantial impediment to employment. Documentation may also include direct information from the individual with a disability or the individual's family and counselor observation.
Comprehensive Assessment
If existing information is insufficient for a vocational rehabilitation counselor to determine eligibility or to identify an eligible individual's vocational rehabilitation needs, a comprehensive assessment should be undertaken. A comprehensive assessment may include: obtaining information about the individual's unique strengths, resources, priorities, interests, and needs, including the need for supported employment. The comprehensive assessment is also used to make a determination of the goals, objectives, nature, and scope of vocational rehabilitation services to be included in the person's individualized plan for employment (IPE). A comprehensive assessment:
- is limited to information necessary to identify the rehabilitation needs of the individual and to develop the individual's IWRP;
- uses existing information as a primary source of such information, to the maximum extent possible and appropriate and in accordance with confidentiality requirements;
- relies on information provided by the individual and, where appropriate, by the family of the individual as much as possible;
- may include, as needed, an assessment of the personality, interests, interpersonal skills, intelligence and related functional capacities, educational achievements, work experience, vocational aptitudes, personal and social adjustments, and employment opportunities of the individual, and the medical, psychiatric, psychological, and other pertinent vocational, educational, cultural, social, recreational, and environmental factors that affect the employment and rehabilitation needs of the individual;
- may include an appraisal of the patterns of work behavior of the individual and services needed for the individual to acquire occupational skills, and to develop work attitudes, work habits, work tolerance, and social and behavior patterns necessary for successful job performance, including the utilization of work in real job situations to assess and develop the capacities of the individual to perform adequately in a work environment;
- includes referral, where appropriate, for an assessment of the need for rehabilitation technology services to assess and develop the capacities of the individual to perform in a work environment.
Reference:
Rehabilitation Act:
- Section 7; Section 102
Policy:
Procedure:
- 206.00P IPE Procedure