Did you know there is a 60.4% unemployment rate for people who have brain injuries?
(Cuthbert et al, 2015)Following a brain injury, an individual can be in a variety of employment situations. These situations can include being unemployed or still being employed but unable to perform current job duties. There are a variety of programs offered through the Department of Human Services that can assist an individual to attain and maintain a job.
Vocational rehabilitation (VR) helps individuals with disabilities get and keep a job that matches their skills, interests, and abilities. VR is a state and federally sponsored program. It is part of the Department of Human Services.
Who qualifies for VR services? Anyone with a physical, mental, or emotional challenge that interferes with that person to attain or maintain a job.
Services include:
Assessment services to measure abilities, skills, and interests
Counseling and guidance services to help the individual reach their job goals
Independent living services: help the individual understand and deal with disabilities and address barriers to them working. These services could include training in self-care, money management, or using public transportation
Assistive technology services
Training services: provides individual with work skills
Employment services: helps with the job search by providing assistance completing application forms, developing a resume, practicing interview skills, identifying job leads, keeping a new job, and getting disability accommodations
They do NOT: provide emergency services (such as rent, housing, food, or medical attention; help with car repairs; long-term medical management, or medical supplies; or Social Security benefit applications).
They do provide referrals to other programs who can help with these things.
How do you get connected with VR?
Call 1-877-277-0513 (toll-free) or visit the local VR office (click here to find an office closest to you)
Self-referral
Referral from a health care provider, case manager, care coordinator, etc
If you apply for Social Security benefits, you will receive information in the mail regarding Vocational Rehabilitation
Step 1- Gather necessary information for the first appointment: complete services questionnaire, gather records to bring to appointment (2 forms of identification that show who you are and that you are authorized to work in the US)
Step 2- Attend intake and apply for services: counselor will go over service questionnaires, ask questions, and have you sign a release to obtain medical documentation about your disability.
Step 3- VR determines your eligibility for services (within 60 days).
Step 4- Complete comprehensive assessment: counselor will assess strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capacities, aptitudes, interests in order to identify job goal and services needed
Step 5- Create an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE): this written plan describes the steps to take in order to meet the identified work goal. Plan includes potential job opportunities in your selected field, the reason why you selected your goal, what services VR will provide, what you can expect from VR, and what your counselor will expect from you
Step 6- Complete the IPE
Step 7- Search & acquire a Job
Step 8- Plan your exit from the program after employment: The VR counselor will check in on the individual after they get the job. If all is well, the case is closed after 90 days
Stay informed about services available to you after exiting the program. VR counselors are available to assist if you start to struggle on the job at any time because of your disability, and help through supervisor or job duty changes, or a job loss. You can ask your VR counselor for “Post-Employment” services.
How do you know your employment rights?
An employee sustains a brain injury on the job. The employer says that they will do whatever they can to get that employee back on the job. But the employer has little knowledge about the impact of brain injuries and the employee believes that they can go back on the job. So they return, because they want to be helpful. On their first day back, the employee is unable to perform the essential job duties but does not realize it because he is lacking insight from his brain injury. The employee's quality of work declines and they end up getting fired from their job for poor work performance.
What does VR do? VR would hire a job coach and could come in and determine which tasks need to be broken down. This job coach can do onsite training, check in with employers and employees, and build natural support from the site.
Things to consider:
If an individual needs long term job support, VR doesn’t offer this. The goal of VR is to get the individual competitively employed and maintain employment, but this does not mean they offer long term support in order to do this. This is a major gap for the brain injury population. In contrast, the IDD/DD population there are many long-term supports and services in place.
The Office of Developmental Disabilities is dedicated to providing 24 hour comprehensive support services to the IDD/DD population in Oregon
Who educates employers on the brain injury? The role of the job coach is to assist with performance of job duties and build natural supports, but they do not educate the employers or other employees about the effects of brain injuries and what deficits might look like. It could be beneficial in this situation for VR to contract another organization that is qualified to educate the employers on brain injuries.
Federal program that provides Social Security Disability beneficiaries with the choices, opportunities, and support they need to find and keep employment. An individual is enrolled in Ticket to Work once they are actively working on their Individual Plan for Employment (IPE)
Ticket to Work Website or call (866) 968-7842
Has information on discounted services
Tips for how to stick to your budget
Learn who is hiring
Education on starting a new career path
Attend work incentives seminar events
Things to consider:
Ticket to Work is ONLY for individuals receiving SSDI benefits
The goal of Ticket to Work is getting the individual employed and off Social Security benefits.
Free benefits and work incentives counseling program provided by DHS with administration and technical assistance with VR program. WIN helps people know where they are at with Social Security benefits and employment.
Eligibility: Individuals with disabilities who are receiving VR services AND public benefit such as SSI, SSDI, SNAP, Medicare, or Medicaid
Fillable WIN Referral Form 2021.docx: fax form to (888) 503-8263
Contact information: (800) 661-2571 or email win.refer@dhsoha.state.or.us
Things to consider:
How might one get involved in the WIN program? Without referral from a VR counselor, many people don’t know that this program exists and not all counselors will direct their clients to this program.