Disability Services Division
The mission of the Disability Services Division (DSD) of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services is to provide services that help Montanans with disabilities to live, work and fully participate in their communities.
The division provides or contracts to provide a wide variety of services for Montanans of all ages who have physical, mental, or developmental disabilities.
Services are provided through five primary programs: Developmental Disabilities, Vocational Rehabilitation including Blind and Low Vision Services, Disability Determination, the Montana Telecommunications Access Program, and the Montana Developmental Center in Boulder.
Among the services DSD provides are residential services, community supports, home-based services for families, case management, a variety of employment outcome-related services, telephone relay service and equipment, rehabilitation counseling, and specialized services for blind and visually impaired individuals which includes low vision evaluations & equipment for older individuals with visual impairments to maintain independence.
The Developmental Disabilities Program provides care and support to individuals of all ages who have developmental disabilities and their families. The focus of the program is to tailor care to the individual and provide it in a natural environment.
Through Montana Vocational Rehabilitation Programs, DSD provides a wide variety of employment-related services, such as:
Career counseling;
Career training;
Transportation;
Adaptive equipment;
Orientation and mobility to people who are blind;
Rehabilitation teaching to people who are blind;
Independent living;
Physical and mental restoration;
Job placement;
Supported employment;
Services to employers;
Disability Determination Services is responsible for medical adjudication of all claims for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income. The program is ranked in the top 10 percent of such programs nationally for accuracy and number of claims processed.
The Montana Telecommunications Access Program makes communication by telephone simple, dependable, and convenient for people who have difficulty using a standard phone. It enables standard telephone users to communicate with people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech disabled through the use of text telephones or other assistive telephone devices.
Page last updated 05/09/2007
