Vocational Services for Adults with Mental Disabilities
Raising a child is hard but raising a child with an intellectual or developmental disability provides a unique set of challenges. They often require additional help and resources so that they can fully function within society. There are a multitude of programs and therapies for young children as they progress through their schooling, but parents are often left out to dry once their child turns eighteen. This milestone does not mean that these individuals no longer need help. In fact, in a world with so many different life paths, this is often a time when these individuals need the most help so that they can properly adjust to adult life. Luckily, both at a federal and state level, the government has promulgated policies towards this end. Being informed of the various laws that provide unique services for the mentally disabled is an important tool to ensure that your child receives the help they need to become a productive member in the workforce. Specifically, these laws create Individualized Education Plans and Vocational Rehabilitation services, which provide a variety of support options as these young adults enter the workforce.
At a federal level, there are several laws that require state institutions to aid adults with mental disabilities. First, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ensures that children with disabilities are given extra time and extra resources so that they can complete their high school education. The act institutes the Free Appropriate Public Education, which ensures children with disabilities between the ages of three and twenty-one have access to school regardless of the nature of their disabilities or any disciplinary history from their previous school. For qualifying students, FAPE can extend high school beyond twenty-one. It also forces schools to have an Individual Education Plan, which can include social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health support via aids or services. Additionally, Part B of the act provides extended school year services, so that these children can get additional help during school breaks at no cost to the parent.
Additionally, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 creates VR services to help those with mental disabilities obtain meaningful employment. These services include job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, counseling on post-secondary education opportunities, work readiness training, and more. All of these services will be implemented through an individualized plan for employment. In developing the plan, the individual will be assessed for their specific needs and provided various services depending on their needs. However, every plan must include specific employment outcomes, specific VR services/service-providers, criteria for evaluating progress, and a timeline. The act further ensures that any program receiving federal financial assistance or any program under an executive agency cannot discriminate against individuals with mental disabilities, maximizing the opportunities available.
While these federal acts are important milestones in special needs law, these programs are ultimately implemented at the state-level. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act includes a federal grant for states to provide educational assistance and training for workers. Under Texas’s WIOA plan, individuals meet with VR counselors to create their Individualized Plan for Employment. VR services in Texas include pre-employment services, vocational counseling, vocational assessments, job searching services, collegiate/vocational certifications, on-site job support, tuition assistance, and therapy service. Those individuals still in school can also enroll in Summer Earn and Learn, which places students in real-world work environments during breaks from school.
The Texas Administrative Code provides specific procedures to procure these services. First, individuals must pass the eligibility determination. Then, the individual will take an assessment to determine their strengths, priorities, concerns, abilities, interests, and needs. This assessment is minimally invasive and is limited to information to identify the individual’s vocational needs for their individualized plan. Based on this assessment, VR services will tailor their services accordingly and in line with the Rehabilitation Act. Importantly, while recipients of these VR services may need to pay some fee based on their financial need, such a contribution is not required for counseling or employment services, and these services cannot be denied because of a lack of financial need.
While these programs provide important services, individuals must meet the eligibility requirements. Although each of these programs has slightly different criteria, here is a comprehensive list of requirements that will ensure that your child is able to benefit from all these programs. At the federal level, one must have (1) a physical/mental impairment which constitutes a substantial impediment to employment and (2) prove that they can benefit from VR services. While a private diagnosis is helpful, it may not be dispositive and VR counselors may need to make their own assessment. However, there is a presumption that individuals will benefit from VR services, and if the individual is a beneficiary of the Social Security Act, then they are presumably eligible for the service as a whole. At the state level, the individual must (1) have a disability which impedes employment and (2) must therefore need services to prepare for, fund, and advance in employment. Should an individual not meet the eligibility requirement, they will still be able to benefit from the Client Assistance Program, which assists individuals with disabilities who have been traditionally underserved by VR programs.
It is important to highlight some of the specific VR services that can be provided, especially as they pertain to military families. The Military Exceptional Family Member Program is one such program that applies to military families with a spouse, child, or dependent adult child with special needs. The EFMP defines special needs as a chronic or acquired disability, developmental disability transitioning to adulthood, or a complex need which requires assistance to live on their own. The program, depending on individual need, provides academic services through an individualized education program, transition support as they enter adulthood, legal guardianship, and/or assisted living. There are EFMP family support providers at or near installations for help throughout the process. Project SEARCH is a private, non-profit program with a national reach that works with VR services. The organization’s Transition-to Work Program specializes in employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This program is an employment preparation program lasting one academic year and includes classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotation.
Helping a loved one with special needs secure gainful employment is a difficult task, but there are programs that help. Every individual with special needs has unique goals and needs, which may require additional research and resources. To speak with an attorney in the Fort Bliss Legal Assistance Office on this or any other topic, please schedule an appointment by emailing usarmy.bliss.hqda-otjag.mesg.bliss-legal-assistance-office@army.mil at any time or by calling (915) 568-7141 during business hours.
By Rohit Priyakumar, Fort Bliss Legal Assistance Office