SECTION 121 Projects
A "Section 121 Project" is just another name for a tribal vocational rehabilitation project, named after the section of the law that provides funding. An enrolled tribal member living on or near a reservation has the choice of receiving services from EITHER a tribal program OR the state vocational rehabilitation program or BOTH. Let's say Joe has the chance to get a job in an office as a book keeper. He has been out of work a long time due to an accident and doesn't have anything he could wear to the interview. His counselor at the tribal program gets a purchase order for Wal-Mart and Joe gets a suit for the interview. Success! He gets the job. The first week on the job, he is having trouble reading the numbers on the orders that come in. He goes in to talk with the counselor at the state program, which is right down the street from his new job. The last thing he wants to do is take a day off the first week to talk to his VR counselor! The person from the state program suggests maybe he needs a new prescription for glasses. She calls the closest eye doctor and makes an appointment. When Joe gets his new glasses, they are charged to the tribal program.
Most individuals who live near a section 121 program will get services from the tribal program and it has not been very common, in our experience in North Dakota, to see shared cases between the state and tribal programs. The important point however, is that this is an option for the individual and all consumers served by programs, whether state or tribal, should be made aware of their options.
Click here for the Spirit Lake Vocational Rehabilitation Project Consumer Handbook. Although this is specifically designed for the Spirit Lake Nation, most of the information would be common to any vocational rehabilitation program.
Click here for the Spirit Lake Vocational Rehabilitation Project website. Here you will find newsletters, a copy of the project brochure and links to pages providing information on vocational rehabilitation.
Click here for the Turtle Mountain Vocational Rehabilitation Project website, serving enrolled members of federally-recognized tribes living on or near the Turtle Mountain Reservation.
Whether employed by a tribal program or the state, to assist an individual with a disability to find or keep a job, a vocational rehabilitation counselor might try a variety of options. These include job analysis, job carving, supported employment, employment preparation for college students and rehabilitation counseling services. We review each of these in the next few pages, starting with vocational rehabilitation counseling.
Next page, vocational counseling