Rehabilitation Service Administration (RSA) 
The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) manages a number of programs for persons with disabilities. One of these programs is the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program. 

Vocational Rehabilitation Program:
If you have a disability, regardless of whether or not you are in Special Education, the VR program may be important as you begin planning your transition from school.  Services may begin while you are still in school (if there are special agreements between the school and VR) or after you exit school. 

After you exit school, the VR program provides opportunities such as: college education; additional formal skill training; work related assistive technology goods/services; and/or job development and placement services; to help you become economically independent through work. 

VR Process
The VR process is not complicated.  It includes: (a) intake/eligibility, (b) planning for employment, (c) services, and (d) follow-along & post employment services. 

Intake/Eligibility process
There are three steps involved in getting  you, the student, started: 

Step 1 - Referral: You are referred to VR by the high school: (a) within two years before exiting school if the school and VR have jointly funded programs (e.g. YTP) available or (b) within one year of school exit if VR services are to be provided after you leave school. The VR Counselor will work with the school to make sure that all necessary paperwork has been provided.

(NOTE: If the student has a developmental disability and the student will need employment support services (ESS) in order to work successfully, the case manager for the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) makes the referral to RSA.  If the student does not yet have a DDD case manager, the student will be encouraged to apply for DDD services first. The Student will be placed on a waiting list for Employment Supports Services (ESS).  Services will be initiated only after ESS funds have been identified)

 Step 2- Intake/Application process: You will be contacted by the VR Counselor to meet and complete the application and participate in an intake interview. This interview will allow the counselor to get to know you, to set clear mutual expectations, and to decide how both of you are going to work together best.  The next process is….  

 Step 3 - Eligibility determination: The VR counselor determines your eligibility based on four factors: existence of a disability, the disability causes you to have significant impediments to employment, you require VR services to overcome those impediments, and you want, and are able, to have meaningful, paid employment.  This last factor is usually assumed.

Planning for Employment - The development of an Individual Plan of Employment (IPE) 

Planning a vocational goal is usually started while you are still in school and is part of the IEP.  The VR IPE is developed between you and the VR counselor. It shows what VR's role is going to be in helping you achieve your vocational goal.  Among other things, it includes: your vocational goal, intermediate objectives, responsibilities that both you and the counselor have accepted, and a list of services that VR will sponsor.  Both you and the counselor must agree and sign the VR IPE.   

Services and Follow-along & Post Employment services

These are planned for in your VR IPE and will be explained to you during the planning process.

There are limits to what the VR program can do.

You need to know that there are limits to what the VR program can do. 

• The VR program cannot sponsor any educational, or educationally related, services while you are still in school.     

• If there is no school agreement in place to sponsor vocational or job related services, VR program involvement (while you are still in school) is limited to completing the intake/eligibility process and planning your VR IPE.  The VR counselor will be available to you to help you through these processes.

Since only VR staff can make commitments for the VR program, you should request the IEP team to invite the VR counselor’s  participation in any IEP planning that might to involve VR services.

 Information about VR is available at any time

Although the VR program does not play a direct planning or service role until the last year or two of school, we want to be available at anytime to answer your questions or to provide you with general information about VR and its services. We plan to provide general orientations about VR at your high school and we hope you choose to attend.

 You may contact the VR Counselor assigned to your high school or call the Regional office for Northern Arizona at 928-779-4147: Central Arizona at (602) 266-6752: or Southern Arizona at 520-628-6810 (ext. 217) .                                

The History of Arizona's School to Work Programs

IGA between RSA, DDD and Department of Education (208kb PDF)

East Valley Transition Fair