Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services (Voc. Rehab.)
State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services help individuals with disabilities get job-related skills in order to find and retain employment. The services are wide-ranging and tailored to the individual’s specific needs. Employment service providers across the state provide the services to individuals who are eligible for the program.
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Program Description
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services is a Bureau of Rehabilitation Services program that “helps people with disabilities prepare for, obtain and retain employment.” The program serves many individuals with various types of disabilities, including those whose disabilities aren’t visible. Hoosiers with autism, down syndrome, learning disabilities, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many more types of disabilities may be eligible to get help from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services.
The Indiana Institute on Disability and Community’s Center on Community Living and Careers created an introductory video to help explain the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services program:
The Center on Community Living and Careers developed a video “Working with Indiana VR” to help introduce Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS).
For Spanish speakers, “Trabajando con la rehabilitación vocacional de Indiana” is also available.
Program Services
When a person is eligible to receive Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services, he or she will get a counselor to help reach employment-related goals. The counselor helps the applicant determine which services would serve them best and helps them choose an employment service provider, companies that provide services to Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) recipients. The information in this section and the Bartholomew County Employment Service Providers section comes from the Family and Social Service Administration’s (FSSA) “The ‘Pick List’ - Choosing an Employment Provider in Bartholomew County“ document (pdf) or the Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Manual of Employment Services (pdf).
All Bartholomew County employment service providers offer the following services (definitions for each service are provided as well):
Discovery: An opportunity to explore talents, interests, preferences, capabilities, and ideal work environment in order to identify an appropriate vocational goal. Specific Discovery activities vary based on individual need, but could include vocational testing, job shadowing, or career exploration.
Situational Assessment: Activities that give an employment provider the chance to observe an individual in a certain working environment or doing a specific job task.
Job Shadows: The opportunity to visit an employer in the community and observe different jobs.
Work Experiences: First-hand, work-based learning opportunities that can help determine individual interests and preferences
Job Development/Placement/Retention: The process of working with an employer to either identify appropriate jobs and promote an individual with disabilities as a job candidate or help an individual keep a job.
Job Readiness Training: The process of assisting clients in identifying goals as well as training strategies designed to help an individual meet them.
On-the-Job Supports: Supports provided in the workplace to help an employee learn and maintain a job. These include the use of a job coach or consultation with an employment specialist.
Supported Employment: Paid, community-based employment with ongoing supports that can help individuals learn tasks, be included, and keep their job.
Benefits Information Network: A group of Indiana professionals who have been trained in and have knowledge of federal, state, and local benefits and work incentives. BIN liaisons understand the impact of income on long-term supports and services and can advise workers and families on how best to maintain employment while building more financial independence.
Some Bartholomew County employment service providers offer the following services:
Situational Assessment: Activities that give an employment provider the chance to observe an individual in a certain working environment or doing a specific job task.
Ticket to Work: A free work incentive program from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for some people with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Eligible individuals can assign their “ticket” (not a real paper ticket) to an employment network or to Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services for coordinating job search, placement, and retention services.
Vocational Testing: Vocational testing helps to evaluate and identify an individual’s vocational strengths, aptitudes, abilities, capabilities, interests, and academic skill levels.
According to the previously mentioned document(s), no employment service providers serving Bartholomew County offer the following services (service definitions where were pulled from sources not previously mentioned are referenced):
Assistive Technology: Any equipment, item, or technology used to improve function and capability.
Home and Wheelchair Modification: Any change to a home or workplace environment that can help an employee get to work or access a job site. Examples could include widening a doorway or creating a keyboard tray for a wheelchair.
Audiological Services: Evaluation, treatment, and services of hearing, balance, or related disorders. (source: Texas - Vocational Rehabilitation Services Glossary (docx))
Behavioral Intervention: Principles and methods employed by a provider to help an individual to achieve a positive outcome and to address challenging behavior in a constructive and safe manner. (source: Law Insider - Behavior Intervention)
Driver Education & Training: The goal of driver [education & training] is to aid individuals with disabilities or age-related impairments maintain independent driving and transportation. (source: Wikipedia - Driver Rehabilitation)
Durable Medical Equipment Evaluation: Durable Medical Equipment (DME) is any equipment that provides therapeutic benefits to a patient in need because of certain medical conditions and/or illnesses (source: BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Corporate Medical Policy (pdf)). The evaluation aspect of this service would confirm that a particular Durable Medical Equipment (DME) device would be functional and useful for the recipient.
Mental Health Therapy/Counseling: Professional counseling is a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals. (source: American Counseling Association - 20/20: A Vision for the Future of Counseling)
Occupational Therapy (OT): [Therapy that] develops adaptive and self-help skills with focus on developing skills related to sensory-motor integration, coordination of movement, fine motor skills, self-help skills (including feeding). (source: First Steps Service Offering page)
Physical Therapy (PT): [Therapy that] focuses on gross motor skills and the ability to move and effectively use his/her arms, legs, trunk and head. (source: First Steps Service Offering page)
Transportation Training: Transportation means travel and related expenses that are necessary to enable an applicant or eligible individual to participate in a vocational rehabilitation service, including expenses for training in the use of public transportation vehicles and systems. (source: 34 CFR § 361.5)
TABE Testing: TABE® is the most comprehensive and reliable academic assessment product in adult basic education. (source: https://tabetest.com/)
Vehicle Modifications: Vehicle modification services include structural (major) vehicle modifications, non-structural (minor) vehicle modifications and driver evaluation services. Structural modifications may include a lowered floor on mini and full-size vans, raised roof, raised entry, automatic wheelchair lift, automatic door opener, servo primary controls, and reduced-effort steering and braking, and similar modifications. Non-structural modifications may include mechanical hand controls, car-top wheelchair carriers, scooter lifts, steering knobs and similar modifications. (source: Massachusetts’s Initiative to Maximize Assistive Technology in Consumer’s Hands - Vehicle Modification FAQs (pdf))
Work Incentive Planning Assistance (WIPA): WIPA projects are community-based organizations that receive grants from Social Security to provide Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability beneficiaries, including youth in transition, free access to work incentives planning and assistance. Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC) are professionals who work for WIPAs, meet with beneficiaries, and provide important information about your benefits and how working would affect your Social Security income and health care. (source: Social Security Administration - Red Book - Glossary)
Employment Service Providers
According to the Family and Social Service Administration’s (FSSA) “The ‘Pick List’ - Choosing an Employment Provider in Bartholomew County“ document (pdf), there are 10 employment service providers serving Bartholomew County. For individuals who live outside of Bartholomew County, a separate pick list is available for each county on the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) website.
All of the service providers serving Bartholomew County specialize in the serving the following individuals:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Blind & Visually Impaired
Chronic Illness
Criminal Background
Deaf & Hard of Hearing
Intellectual/Developmentally Disabled
Emotional Disabilities
Homeless Population
Mental Illness
Non-Ambulatory
Neurological Disabilities
Physical Disabilities
Transition-Age Students
Traumatic Brain Injury
Unemployed/Underemployed
Veterans
Some service providers serve additional individuals which will be highlighted in the service provider’s section below. The following list is in the same order found in the Family and Social Service Administration (FSSA) document:
Developmental Services, Inc. (DSI)
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 2920 10th Street Columbus, IN 47201
Provider Website: https://www.dsiservices.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Kelly Hoffman
Phone: (812) 376-9404 Ext. 181
Email: khoffman@dsiservices.org
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Legal Barriers
Speech Impaired
LIFEDesigns, Inc.
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 200 East Winslow Road Bloomington, IN 47429
Address (Secondary Service Site): 1531 13th Street Columbus, IN 47201
Provider Website: http://lifedesignsinc.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Wayne Fancher
Phone: (812) 369-3735
Email: wfancher@lifedesignsinc.org
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Legal Barriers
Speech Impaired
Additional Services Offered:
Ticket to Work
New Hope Services, Inc.
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 1531 13th Street Columbus, IN 47201
Provider Website: https://www.newhopeservices.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Tiffany Arnold
Phone: (812) 288-8248 Ext. 121
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Legal Barriers
Post-Secondary
Speech Impaired
Additional Services Offered:
Vocational Testing
Stone Belt Arc, Inc.
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 2815 E. 10th Street Bloomington, IN 47408
Address (Secondary Service Site): 1531 13th Street, Suite #2520 Columbus, IN 47201
Provider Website: https://www.stonebelt.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Jonah Sullivan
Phone: (812) 376-7149 Ext. 422
Email: jsullivan@stonebelt.org
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Legal Barriers
Adult and Child Center
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 222 E. Ohio Street, Suite #400 Indianapolis, IN 46204
Provider Website: https://adultandchild.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Jane Wiles
Phone: (317) 275-8800
Email: jwiles@adultandchild.org
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Bi-lingual
Legal Barriers
Post-Secondary
Speech Impaired
LGBTQQ
Additional Services Offered:
Ticket to Work
Vocational Testing
Child Adult Resource Services, Inc. (C.A.R.S.)
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 210 North Dormeyer Avenue Rockville, IN 47872
Provider Website: http://cars-services.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Megan Vincent
Phone: (317) 989-6339
Email: mvincent@cars-services.org
Secondary Contact Information:
Name: Jeff Uhey
Phone: (765) 569-2076
Email: juhey@cars-services.org
Additional Individuals Served:
Post-Secondary
Speech Impaired
Additional Services Offered:
Vocational Testing
Gateway Services
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 3500 North Morton Street Franklin, IN 46131
Provider Website: https://www.gatewayarc.com/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Sherri Fisher
Phone: (317) 738-5500
Email: sherri.fisher@gatewayarc.com
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Legal Barriers
Speech Impaired
Additional Services Offered:
Ticket to Work
Help the World Foundation
Address: 105 South Denny Street Indianapolis, IN 46201
Provider Website: https://www.helptheworldfdn.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Phone: (317) 384-1576
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Bi-lingual
Legal Barriers
Post-Secondary
Speech Impaired
Additional Services Offered:
Vocational Testing
Indiana Mentor
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 820 East Tipton Street Seymour, IN 47274
Provider Website: https://www.in-mentor.com/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Barry Crane
Phone: (812) 276-3922
Email: barry.crane@thementornetwork.com
Additional Individuals Served:
Addictions/Alcohol/Drug Substance Abuse
Bi-lingual
Legal Barriers
Post-Secondary
Speech Impaired
Shares, Inc.
Shares, Inc. is currently only serving the cities of Hope and Taylorsville in Bartholomew County
Address (Main Office & Service Site): 1611 S. Miller Street Shelbyville, IN 46176
Address (Secondary Service Site): 645 S. State Street Greenfield, IN 46140
Address (Secondary Service Site): 521 Conrad Harcourt Way Rushville, IN 46173
Provider Website: https://sharesinc.org/
Primary Contact Information:
Name: Joe Land
Phone: (317) 398-8218 Ext. 308
Email: jland@sharesinc.org
Additional Individuals Served:
Legal Barriers
Speech Impaired
Additional Services Offered:
Vocational Testing
Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE)
While working with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) counselors you’ll create an individualized plan for employment (IPE). This document includes a plan for securing a job that meets your desires. You’ll work with the counselor to discuss what you’d like to do, where you could find work that meets your needs, and which “services, service providers, and supports” would be beneficial. As you continue in the program, you’ll meet regularly with your counselor to review the plan and update it as required.
Applying for the Program
To apply for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services, you’ll need to contact the local office that serves your area or you can call Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services at 800-545-7763.
Order of Selection
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services program does not always have the resources available to serve every potentially eligible Hoosier. In those instances, the program is subject to what’s called Order of Selection. Order of Selection means that each program applicant may not be served until those with more severe disabilities are served.
During the application process, each individual receives a severity determination indicating how much they’re impaired based on their disability. Since the determination is made on a case-by-case basis, the type of disability does not necessarily place an individual into a higher or lower category.
According to the Order of Selection: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Updated January 27, 2020 (pdf) document, “more than 80% of eligible individuals are determined to have a most significant disability”.
Severity Determinations (case-by-case basis) determine Priority Categories:
Category 1 - Individuals with the most significant disabilities
Severe physical or mental impairment that seriously limits 3 or more functional capacity areas in terms of achieving employment outcomes, require multiple VR services over time
Category 2 - Individuals with significant disabilities
Category 3 - all other eligible individuals, individuals with a non-significant disabilities
On the Arc of Indiana’s website, you can listen to Michelle Fischer's 2017 podcast about the Order of Selection. Ronald Hager, from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations Employment and Disability Institute created a document (pdf) that provides additional information about Order of Selection.
Functional Capacity Areas
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services defines several functional capacity areas which are a group of skills and abilities affecting a person’s chances to gain and keep employment. The functional area capacities are listed and defined below (quoted from a 2005 U.S. Department of Education memo (pdf)):
Communication: “[the] accurate and efficient transmission and/or reception of information, either verbally (spoken or written) or non-verbally”
Interpersonal Skills: “the ability of the individual to interact in a socially acceptable and mature manner with co-workers, supervisors, and others to facilitate the normal flow of work activities“
Mobility: “the capability of moving efficiently place to place”
Self-care: “skills necessary to fulfill basic needs such as those related to health, safety, food preparation and nutrition, hygiene and grooming, and money management“
Self-direction: “the capacity to organize, structure and manage activities in a manner that best serves the objectives of the individual“
Work Skills: “the specific job skills required to carry out work functions as well as the capacity for an individual to benefit from training in these work functions“
Work Tolerance: “the ability to carry out required physical and cognitive work tasks in an efficient and effective manner over a sustained period of time“
Contact Information for the Local Office
Bartholomew County residents are fortunate to have a local Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services office. The local office serves all Indiana counties surrounding Bartholomew County as well as several counties to the east. The full list of counties served is as follows: Bartholomew, Brown, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Ohio, Ripley, Shelby, and Switzerland.
The local office’s contact information can be found below:
Vocational Rehabilitation Services Office (Serving Areas 22 & 24)
1248 Washington St.
Columbus, IN 47201-5722
Phone: 812-376-9935
Toll-Free: 877-396-3271 (V/VRS/711)
Toll-Free Fax: 855-455-4261
If you don’t live in Bartholomew County, then you can find the contact information for the local office, that serves your area, in the Local Office Location Map (pdf) provided by the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA).