SERVICES PROVIDED ON AN IPE
One of the reasons we at Spirit Lake Consulting began the Caring for Our People training project is that we were concerned by the number of people we knew who were not getting the services they needed. If you don't have any idea what type of services you can request on an Individual Plan for Employment, it is easy to end up getting far less than the quantity and quality of services to which you are entitled.
We have already discussed a little about services to help an individual search for a job and quite a bit about academic services and the transition plan. There has been a lot of criticism of vocational rehabilitation programs, sometimes deserved, that they just focus on the clients easiest to employ, help them fill out a few resumes or pay for gas to a job interview and then take credit for a successful closure when the person is employed. While it is good to help people who just need a hand to get a job, helping others get employed may seem like it costs an arm and a leg.
There are a lot more services that vocational rehabilitation can provide. We discuss just some of these in the next few pages. The point we want you to take away from this section is - if you think a service can help an individual get a job, put it on the IPE!
Next page, 'soft skills' - becoming employable