Vocational Rehabilitation
Vocational rehabilitation is a continuum of individualized, restorative
services mutually planned by the vocational rehabilitation counselor,
the claimant, and other stakeholders, to facilitate suitable re-employment.
"excellent skills for assessing claims and providing creative
resolutions for individuals who need adaptive skills …" — b.r.
Basic components include:
- records review
- diagnostic interview
- collaboration with the medical team and
legal team
- transferable skills analysis
- vocational testing
- on-site job analysis
- coordination with
education and other providers
- labor market research
- employer
sampling
- placement planning
- job seeking skills education
- job development
- post-placement
follow-up services
- comprehensive report writing
Vocational case management is the implementation of goal-directed
accountabilities as follows:
- vocational evaluation and plan development
- coordination with medical providers
- direct job development and
job placement
- reporting
On each case, the vocational case manager
- Conducts a thorough file review: Reviews pertinent medical and
vocational records, highlights key findings, addresses rehabilitation
questions with the referral source and makes recommendations.
- Establishes Rapport: Builds positive relationships between case
participants in order to foster best outcomes. Provides a professional
disclosure statement to the claimant, up front, which outlines the
case manager's background and purpose, and confidentiality standards
under HIPAA guidelines.
- Obtains documentation of functional
limitations and/or work restrictions: Interviews medical providers and/or coordinates functional capacity
evaluation (FCE) in order to document the capacities and tolerances
of the claimant.
- Conducts a diagnostic interview with
the claimant: Determines medical
issues, socioeconomic factors, work history, education, abilities,
interests, barriers and current motivation in order to establish
a vocational profile toward assessment and/or planning.
- Performs a transferable skills analysis: Examines and documents
acquired job skills that will allow the continuation of current knowledge
and abilities accross job families, within medically-designated work
capacities.
- Conducts an on-site job analysis: Uses measurement instruments
and photography to document the essential functions and other requirements
of a position, for rehabilitation goal setting. In the case of ergonomic
job analysis, makes recommendations to modify the work site, in order
to prevent or reverse repetitive motion problems.
- Implements placement strategies: Examines both internal and external
job placement potentials. Follows the vocational rehabilitation hierarchy
by first consulting with the employer at injury and presenting transferable
skills there. In external placement, develops a plan using principles
of person-environment job matching.
- Teaches job seeking skills: Educates the claimant in effective
employer approaches to include functional resume' composition, accessing
the hidden job market, resource utilization, job interviewing, and
following up.
- Researches occupations within target
labor markets: Utilizes labor
market data sources to establish statistical incidences of viable
occupations, documenting both the existence of positions, growth
and pay rates.
- Samples employers: Makes direct contact with hiring managers to
document qualifications and requirements, vacancy rates and application
procedures. Shares sampling results with stakeholders on the case
to supplement employability determination and to provide job leads
to the claimant.
- Communicates with claimant: Provides a supportive and informative
environment to diminish re-employment barriers and facilitate suitable
re-employment.
- Follows up: Stays in contact with the newly re-employed claimant
to ensure successful transition back into the workforce.
- Closes case: Leaves claimant with the tools and know-how to adjust successfully
to new work and documents case impact.
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