DVR Intranet [HOME][FEEDBACK][CONTACT US][SITE MAP]
DVR Intranet [HOME][FEEDBACK][CONTACT US][SITE MAP]
|
|
Revised 03/2003 INDIVIDUALIZED PLAN FOR EMPLOYMENT IPE
Options
The Federal legislation
regarding the Individualized Plan for Employment can be found in the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, Section 102(b). For the purpose of this
manual, use of the terms must or shall reflect requirements of
Federal law or regulation or state law or administrative regulations and must be
adhered to strictly. The Individualized Plan for
Employment (IPE) must be developed in accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended. The IPE (including amendments) is that portion of the case
record used to plan for services leading to an employment outcome. It reflects
the informed choice of the eligible individual in selecting the employment
outcome, specific services, service providers, and method of procuring services. After determining eligibility,
the IPE is to be developed and implemented in a timely manner.
As a general guideline, the IPE should be developed within ninety
(90) days of eligibility determination. However,
the unique needs of the individual must be taken into consideration.
For example, an individual served in a Community-Based Work Transition
Program (CBWTP) may need a longer period of time to explore career options prior
to plan development. Such
exceptions to the expected practice should be documented in the case record.
The consumer may choose to
develop and write all or part of the IPE with the assistance of a counselor;
alone or with the help of a representative; or may request that the counselor
write the IPE. It must be executed on the Department approved form. The
following elements must be included in the IPE, as appropriate:
The IPE (including amendments)
must be mutually agreed upon and signed jointly by the Department of Vocational
Rehabilitation counselor and the individual and/or, as appropriate, a parent,
guardian, or other representative. The IPE must be reviewed with the consumer at
least annually. A copy of the IPE, amendments
and employment outcome, must be provided to the individual and/or, as
appropriate, the parent, guardian, or other representative. The plan must
additionally be provided in the individual’s native language or mode of
communication if necessary for the full participation of the individual with a
disability. Some counselors have the
misconception that consumer choice limits the role and responsibilities of the
rehabilitation counselor in plan development. The most valuable service the
Department provides is guidance and counseling. Counselors have knowledge and
expertise in disabilities as they relate to employment, assessment techniques,
career counseling, accommodations, employment law, assistive technology, labor
market information, job search activities, rehabilitation services, and local
service providers. It is the role of the counselor to help the individual
explore interests, strengths, abilities, and resources and develop the best
possible plan. Consumer choice is severely limited when the individual does not
have access to the wealth of knowledge of a rehabilitation professional. Quality
guidance and counseling provides the foundation for the individual to make
appropriate informed choices regarding the vocational goal, services, and
service providers necessary for achievement of a successful employment outcome. The IPE is a natural extension
of the eligibility process and the assessment to determine rehabilitation needs.
Services, including expanded services, documented on the IPE should relate to
the limitations and attendant factors identified on the Eligibility Worksheet or
through the assessment to determine rehabilitation needs. Conversely, all
significantly limited areas of functional capacity noted on the Eligibility
Worksheet should be addressed through services on the plan. Services that
contribute to the rehabilitation of the individual should be included on the
plan whether or not the Department is providing or paying for the service. All services should relate to
the achievement of the vocational objective. The Individualized Plan for
Employment form was developed to insure that all mandatory components of the IPE
are addressed. Some counselors find it helpful to add to the form to clarify
content. The IPE form may be added to but no portion can be deleted. The IPE form does not contain a
section for the projected need for post-employment services. That need must be
assessed at the time of plan development and included in the IPE if determined
to be necessary. The counselor may document this need on the IPE in any fashion
deemed most appropriate. INDIVIDUALIZED
PLAN FOR EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS The consumer has several options
in developing an Individualized Plan for Employment. The individual with a
disability may choose to develop and write all or part of the IPE with the
assistance of a counselor; alone or with the help of a representative; or may
request that the counselor write the IPE. An Individualized Plan for Employment
Options and Instructions Packet is to be provided to each consumer interested in
producing a plan without the assistance of the counselor. The packet contains a
brief summary of the required elements of an IPE; instructions for completing
the IPE forms including amendments; information on expanded definitions; and
copies of the necessary forms. The IPE must be on Department approved forms. The
Client Assistance Program is available to provide technical assistance to the
eligible individual on developing an IPE. Regardless of the option chosen,
the IPE must be mutually agreed upon and signed by the consumer and/or, if
appropriate, a parent, guardian or representative and the counselor. As in all areas of the
rehabilitation process, the establishment of a strong counseling relationship is
imperative to the development of a successful plan. When differences of opinion
occur, the counselor should utilize counseling and negotiation skills to resolve
the dispute. If the consumer and counselor cannot come to an agreement, the
counselor does not sign the plan and informs the consumer of all
appropriate appeal rights. GUIDANCE Regardless of the option chosen,
the role of the counselor remains the same: to assist the eligible individual
with a disability in making appropriate choices of goals, services, providers,
etc. in order to achieve a successful employment outcome. The rehabilitation
counselor has unique knowledge and skills for this task. It is the counselor’s
responsibility to provide adequate information and guidance regarding the local
labor market, quality and availability of services, rehabilitation technology,
accommodations, employment laws, comparable benefits, procedures and limitations
for payment, etc. so that the individual can make appropriate decisions. Although the IPE is required to
be in writing, it is imperative that the consumer understands and fully
participates in the development of the plan. All elements of the IPE are to be
explored with the eligible individual in the language and communication mode
that allows fullest participation. Amendments are written anytime
there is a significant change in the IPE. Common reasons for amendments
include changing the employment goal or adding/canceling a service. An amendment
must be signed by the counselor, consumer, and/or, when needed, a parent,
guardian, or representative prior to the delivery of services. Since amendments must be agreed
to and signed prior to a change in service, goal, or provider, the closure
statement cannot serve as an amendment. It may be appropriate, however, to write
an amendment concurrently with the closure to amend services that were planned
but not provided. At least once a year from the
date of the IPE or the last annual review, the counselor and consumer must
review the progress of the rehabilitation plan and make adjustments as needed. A
record of these reviews must appear in the case record. The counselor may use
progress notes or any other format deemed most appropriate for this purpose.
When recording in the progress notes, it is best practice to clearly identify
the note as an Annual Review. If the review results in a significant
change to the rehabilitation program, an amendment must be written. Case
progress should continue to be documented regularly in the progress notes. In developing an IPE for a
student who has an active Individual Education Plan (IEP), the counselor must
consider the relevant elements in this plan while developing the IPE. Goals,
accommodations, and services reflected in the IEP and relevant to the
achievement of a vocational objective should be incorporated into the
Individualized Plan for Employment. The purpose of this coordination is to
provide continuity of services as the student with a disability leaves the
school system and continues working with the Department. Every effort should be
made to insure that obstacles or delays are addressed or resolved prior to the
student leaving the school system. The Department has chosen to
utilize the IPE form in documenting trial work experiences. The counselor and
the consumer and/or, as appropriate, the consumer’s parent, guardian or
representative are to jointly develop a plan for a meaningful work experience to
assess the individual’s ability to benefit from Department services. The IPE
with trial work experience as the goal should be completed to the maximum extent
possible identifying services, service providers, time frames, etc. There is no
specific time period for reviewing the progress of an individual in a trial work
experience. Counselor judgement should be used to develop appropriate time
frames and measurements to assist the consumer in moving toward employment. The purpose of documentation is
to show the progress of a case and should make case reviews easier.
Documentation should be done so that a third party, totally unfamiliar with the
case, can promptly and easily see what is happening with the case and can
understand why counselor made a particular decision. Generally we consider the
progress notes as this documentation. However, the entire case record serves as
documentation and information contained elsewhere does not have to be duplicated
in the progress notes. Notes should include a summary
of counseling sessions, indicate services rendered that are not clearly marked
in other case documents, denote problem areas, collaboration with other
professionals, agencies, etc. Notes can be an overview capturing the content of
a session or event. For initial interviews, some counselors have found a
structured form with key questions, checklist of forms, etc. to be helpful. An entry in the case notes will
give the counselor credit for the many services rendered. Much hard work and
effort is often not reflected in the case. Notes should be kept as objective and
factual as possible. Each case is a legal document that potentially could be
examined in a court of law. Thus, judgmental statements, labels, innuendoes,
etc. should never be included in the progress notes. The best practice is that
progress notes should be written so that if the consumer reads the note, he/she
would not be upset, offended, etc. Rehabilitation assistants may
also write case notes reflecting the conversations and other pertinent work done
with or on behalf of the consumer.
|
|
|