By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Think about it: What’s keeping you from working or being independent in activities of daily living? Whatever it is, your state’s vocational rehabilitation program is there to help you. If you’ve stopped working due to injury or illness and want to get back to work, or if your impairment is making it harder for you to get to the job or perform your tasks once there, vocational rehabilitation can help you.
Federal law requires every state to have such a program, frequently a division of the Department of Education, but not always. The official title varies. New York’s Vocational and Educational Services to Individuals with Disabilities, better known as VESID, is quite a mouthful. Check the blue pages of your telephone book under “vocational rehab” or look it up online with the name of your state.
Like many of us, you might need a ramp to negotiate getting in and out of your house, or a personal attendant to help you get out of bed, bathed, and dressed for work. VESID gave me adaptive driving lessons and installed hand controls in my minivan. Sue Kuenzi of Monmouth, Oregon, was outfitted with a scooter to get across campus to finish her master’s degree, and a lift to get the scooter into her van. With modern technology, even if you are quadriplegic, you can drive.
State vocational rehab will do whatever it takes to get you back to work, if that’s what you want. The philosophy is: “It’s ability—not disability—that counts.” Most states will offer vocational training or education at a two-year or four-year institution if you can no longer perform your previous job. They will also offer mobility training and assistive technology, as needed.
The state will also help you establish a home-based business by paying for occupational licenses, tools, and initial stock to help you get started. Wildlife artist Gary Herron of Albany, Oregon, was given a voice-activated computer and scanner so he could make prints of his paintings and a grant to buy art supplies. In my case, I needed home modifications to continue my freelance journalism career. VESID sent workers to create a roll-in shower and widen doors to my bathrooms. Louise Seidl, a Long Island homemaker, is anxiously awaiting a chair lift to get her up two sets of steps in her split-level house.
State vocational rehabilitation typically offers the following services:
- • A vocational assessment to help identify your skills, abilities, and interests, set goals, and establish services you will need.
• A physical and/or psychological examination to help understand how your disability affects your ability to work.
• Vocational counseling, career planning, and referrals to help you resolve whatever problems you may have.
• Short-term medical intervention to improve your ability to work (if not covered by other insurance).
Not everyone with a disability qualifies for state vocational rehabilitation services, but if you’re reading this publication, there’s a good chance you do. In order to receive services, VESID requires that you provide documentation proving that:
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• you have a medically diagnosed physical, developmental, or emotional disability
• your condition(s) creates significant impediments to your ability to work
• there is a reasonable expectation that vocational rehabilitation services will enable you to work
• vocational rehabilitation services are required to enable you to become employed
Regardless of whether you receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits, you may still be eligible to receive rehabilitation services. The first step, of course, is to contact your local state vocational rehab office and make an appointment for an intake interview. They won’t come looking for you to offer services. You’ve got to take the initiative. When you go for an interview, be prepared to tell the counselor what kind of services you are looking for.
Leaving your home to go to a job is not necessarily required for “work.” Vocational rehabilitation services frequently help homemakers to be more independent in caring for themselves and their families. Living in the suburbs, it is vital to have the ability to get in your car and drive to the supermarket or pick your kids up at school and take them to ballet class or soccer practice.
There is no cost for meeting with a state voc rehab counselor or for anything that is needed to see if the state can help you (this would include medical examinations, vocational testing and other assessments). So think about it. What would it take to get you back to work? Call your state vocational rehabilitation office today.
Tamar Asedo Sherman works as an employment specialist at UCP-Suffolk in Hauppauge, NY. She can be reached at action@unitedspinal.org
