From School to Work
After special education - what next? Services to help the transition from school to work are legally required for students in special education. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) should be a partner in transition planning. To be eligible for the vocational rehabilitation program, one must have a physical or mental impairment that affects their ability to work. Because priority is given to those who have the most significant disabilities, it is not guaranteed that students in special education will be able to receive VR services. However, in our experience, the majority do qualify for not one but two types of VR services.
Most of the larger reservations, including all reservations in North Dakota, have a tribal vocational rehabilitation project. These are sometimes referred to as "Section 121" projects after the law that sets aside funding for these projects. Any enrolled tribal member, living on or near a reservation who has a disability and needs services to find or keep a job is eligible for VR services. It is not required to be enrolled in the tribe where the office is located. For example, members of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Standing Rock Sioux or Three Affiliated Tribes could receive services from the Spirit Lake Vocational Rehabilitation Project if they lived on or near the Spirit Lake Reservation.
People with disabilities are also eligible for services from the state vocational rehabilitation project. Tribal members can choose to receive services from the tribal VR project or state vocational rehabilitation. It is even possible to share cases, with the same person receiving some services from tribal VR and other services from the state VR.
As with special education, an individual must be assessed and determined to have a disability. It usually is not necessary to go through an assessment all over again, although unfortunately, this happens far too often on most reservations. With permission from the student and his or her family, the results of the last assessment the student received for special education can be shared with the VR office. Often, this is sufficient for the student to be found eligible for vocational rehabilitation services.
