Two
Guys From Alaska in a One-Stop
Our funding sources require every eligible participant in
vocational rehabilitation to complete an Individualized Plan for Employment. We
call this your “I.P.E.” It summarizes your past employment problems as they
relate to your disability and other circumstances. It tells what you hope to
accomplish throughout your plan.
It tells what services you now
need to become employable. It also tells whom you have chosen to provide these
services, how you chose them, what they cost and who pays for them.
This is your plan and represents what you need to prepare
for and go to work. You and your rehabilitation counselor normally develop this
together after you both agree on the vocational goal and services you need. If
you prefer, you may develop this plan yourself or with the help of someone else
you trust. Then, when you have it drafted, you bring it back to your
rehabilitation counselor who will review it with you to make sure it is a plan
D.V.R. can support.
To qualify for V.R. services you must have experienced
problems getting a job or keeping it due to your disability. This purpose of
this plan is to identify the services that you need to overcome these problems
and how you will accomplish this.
1.
Name:
Fill
in your name.
2.
Date
this plan begins / ends:
Let you counselor fill this in. It refers to the actual date your plan starts
and when it concludes.
3.
My
disability causes the following employment barriers:
List the
problems you have getting a job or keeping it due to your disability. You and
your counselor already identified these at the time you became eligible for the
V.R. program.
·
Example: “Employers
are afraid to hire me when I tell them about my seizures and the medicine I take.”
·
Example: “I had trouble in school because of my learning
disability and never received any training for a job.”
·
Example: “I can’t see well enough to read or drive because of
vision problems.”
4. I have other
employment barriers not related to my disability including: If you have
any other problems not caused by your disability that interfere with your
ability to work for which you need help, list them here.
·
Example: “I didn’t graduate from high school.”
·
Example: “I don’t have a car or live near a bus line to get to
work.”
5. Description of
the job or other work setting I seek: Explain the type of job, the
location where you hope to work and the organization for whom you hope to become
employed as a result of your rehabilitation program. Examples: “I want to work
as an office assistant in a small company in Juneau. “I want to be
self-employed in a home-based business that designs and prints stationary and
letterhead.” If becoming self-employed is your goal, there is an additional
D.V.R. worksheet you need to complete. You may also need to develop a formal
business plan. Not everyone will be an employee. Your livelihood might be unpaid
and consist of subsistence activities. Example: “I want to return to
subsistence hunting, fishing and resource gathering near my village of Kiana.”
You might profit from the making and selling of handicrafts. Example: “I want
to make birch bark baskets in my home to sell all over Alaska.”
6. These are my
personal qualities, skills, abilities and strengths that support this goal:
List or describe in a statement your unique personal qualities, skills,
strengths and abilities that will help you become successful in your chosen
field of employment. Example: “Am very dependable, a hard worker, have an
outgoing personality and years of experience in this type of work.”
7. Here are my
solutions to overcoming these barriers: List the specific things you
intend to accomplish as part of your plan that will help you prepare for work
and overcome the problems you listed above.
·
Example: “Learn how
to talk to an employer and others about my disability as needed so I can put
them at ease and they won’t be afraid to hire me.”
·
Example: “Make accommodations for my disability.”
·
Example: “See an eye doctor and get glasses or have surgery if
recommended.”
·
Example: “Move closer to town where I can ride a bus to work.”
·
Example: “Get a G.E.D.”
8. This is how I
want my rehabilitation counselor to be involved with me throughout this plan:
Indicate the role you want your D.V.R. counselor to have with you throughout
this plan. Example: “I want my
counselor to meet with me once a month to encourage me.” “I want her to help
coordinate medical appointments for surgery.” “I want my counselor to help
me get a job.”
9. These are the
services I need to overcome my employment barriers so I can work: List all
the services you need to become employable based upon your barriers to
employment.
Service:
Describe a specific service you need in a line or two.
Name of Service
provider: Tell whom you have chosen to provide the service.
How I chose this
person or organization. Describe how you decided to use this person or
organization to provide the service you need.
Cost of service
or product: Who pays for it: List the specific cost for the service or
product you need. List how much you will contribute toward this cost, how much
another program will pay (such as an insurance company, Pell grant, J.T.P.A.,
Veteran’s Administration, etc.)
Amount DVR pays:
Let your counselor fill this in.
Date service
begins: List the date this service begins.
Date service
ends: List the date you expect the service to end.
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Service:
Example: “G.E.D. classes”
Name of Service
provider: “Adult Learning Center”
How I chose this person or organization: “They are the only school in town that provides this help.”
Cost of service or
product: “$25.00 for books and supplies.”
Who pays for it:
“JTPA will pay this.”
Amount DVR pays: $0.00
Date service begins:
“March 25, 1999” Date Service ends: “June15, 1999”
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Service: “Help
looking for an apartment.”
Name of Service
provider: “Apartment Hunters, Inc.”
How I chose this
person or organization: “My friend got help from them to find an
apartment.”
Cost of service or
product: “$50.00”
Who pays for it:
“I will pay half.”
Amount DVR pays: $25.00
Date service begins:
“March 30, 1999”
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10. This is how I
will know if I am making progress toward my job goal: Example: “I will
have gotten glasses, completed my G.E.D., completed training and found a job.”
11. These are the
services I may need at the end of this plan so I can remain employed: We
normally close your case after you complete your services and have been employed
for 90 days. Can you think of any services you may need beyond that point to
help you remain employed or to advance in your job? Example: “I need my job
coach, Jim, to keep checking up on me.” Developmental Disabilities will pay
for him. Example: “I will need help paying airfare back to Anchorage for a
check-up after my surgery.” Tell how long you think you will need them. DVR
calls these “post-employment services.”
12. TERMS AND
CONDITIONS: These are the specific things you will be responsible for
doing as a result of receiving the above services.
Having developed
this plan, I agree to:
·
Complete it to the best of my ability.
·
Notify my counselor immediately if I need to change this plan.
·
Review this plan with my DVR counselor at least once a year to
decide whether I need any changes made. This is in addition to meeting regularly
to review my progress.
·
Go to work at the completion of this plan.
·
Apply for other resources through the following organizations to
help pay for these services:
·
List the name of other programs or agencies that will be involved
in paying for your services. Example: “Veteran’s Administration”,
“Public Assistance”
·
Meet with my DVR counselor at least once a year to review this
plan.
·
List any other actions you agree to take while participating in
this program. Example: “Provide DVR with quarterly grades from my school.”
·
My right to choose how to develop this plan.
·
Availability of assistance in developing this plan.
·
An explanation of the agency’s guidelines & criteria
regarding who pays for the services I need.
·
Evaluating my ability to help pay for these services.
·
Helping me understand my rights as a participant and how to
resolve any problems if they arise.
·
Providing information to me about the Client Assistance Program
and how I can contact their representative.
·
My right to appeal any action made by D.V.R. with which I
disagree. I understand I must make my dissatisfaction known to D.V.R. within 30
days of the action in question.
13. AGREEMENT AND
AUTHORIZATION OF SERVICES: Sign your plan and date it. If you have a
parent, guardian or other representative, please have them sign it, too.
I chose the above employment
goal, the services I need and the individuals or organizations who will provide
these to me. By signing this plan, I intend to go to work. I authorize the
Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to proceed with these services as funds
become available.
Participant’s
Signature
date
Guardian or
Representative’s Signature as needed
date
14.
AGENCY’S ACCEPTANCE OF PLAN (D.V.R.
must agree to this plan and sign it below before your services can begin).
Qualified
Rehabilitation Counselor’s Signature
date
Regional Manager’s
Signature as needed
date
Signature
of representative
date 
Name
of partner agency:
1.
Name: Write your name again.
2.
Date this change begins / ends: Let your counselor fill this in
for you.
3. I need to make
the following changes to my plan for employment: Describe what change(s)
you need to make to your plan. This might include changing your job goal that
you seek. Or, you may have a need for a new service to help you get through this
plan.
4. I need the
following additional service(s): Describe the new service(s) you need
and why you need it. Fill in the details as you did before by providing the
information about who will provide the service, what it will cost, who pays for
it, etc. Use as many sections as needed to list all the services you need to
add.
I
chose the above employment goal, the services I need and the individuals or
organizations who will provide these to me. By signing this plan, I intend to go
to work. I authorize the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to make these
changes to my plan, as funds become available.
Participant’s
Signature
date
Guardian or
Representative’s Signature as needed
date
6.
AGENCY’S ACCEPTANCE OF
AMENDMENT: As with your original plan, your counselor must agree with the
changes you need and approve this amendment. His / her supervisor may also need
to approve the amendment.
Qualified
Rehabilitation Counselor’s Signature
date
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Regional Manager’s
Signature as needed
date