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PBA - milestone changes

State Services for the Blind Partner Post

NEWS & Updates From SSB & VRS

Greetings VRS/SSB staff and community partners,

Based on a recent Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) requirement, DEED Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) and State Services for the Blind (SSB) must make changes to the authorization process for placement Performance Based Agreement (PBAs). The change requires VRS and SSB to increase the number of authorizations generated for placement PBA milestones.

Starting February 18^th, VRS and SSB will create a total of three authorizations for a general PBA and a total of four authorizations for an E1MN PBA. This will only apply to new PBAs.

Please note that while both VRS and SSB will be sending out separate authorizations for each milestone, the process looks different by agency. In addition, SSB-specific PBA contracts have a different rate structure.

General PBA (VRS contracts):

Staff will create three separate authorizations:

Milestone 1 ($1,330)

1a. OCSS ($400) (if applicable and on a separate line)

Milestone 2 (VRS authorizes $1)

Milestone 3 (VRS authorizes $1)

General PBA (SSB contracts):

Staff will create three separate authorizations:

Milestone 1, 1a and 1b
Milestone 2
Milestone 3

E1MN PBA:

VRS and SSB staff will create four authorizations:

Milestone 1 ($1,330)

1a. OCSS ($400) (if applicable and on a separate line)

Milestone 2 (VRS authorizes $1)

Milestone 3 (VRS authorizes $1)

E1MN Milestone (VRS authorizes $1)

Changes starting February 18^th:

VRS and SSB request community rehabilitation providers send invoices and reports as soon as possible after services have occurred.
VRS only:

PBA milestone 1 authorizations will have an end date 60 days past start date, rather than the employment plan end date or 9/30/2025.
PBA milestones 2, 3 and E1MN will have an end date based on the employment plan end date or 9/30/2025, whichever is soonest.
All PBA milestones encumbered at $1 will be increased when milestones are invoiced, and reports received

Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you have questions, please reach out to your VRS and SSB community partner liaisons.

Sincerely,

Dee Torgerson and Natasha Jerde

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State Services for the Blind provides tools and training for employment, living independently, and accessing print. We assist Minnesotans who are blind, DeafBlind, experiencing vision loss, or have difficulty accessing the printed word.

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SSB is an equal opportunity employer and program provider.

The Minnesota State Services for the Blind Vocational Rehabilitation program receives 78.69 percent of its funding through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. For federal fiscal year 2024, the total amount of grant funds awarded were $10,410,449. The remaining 21.3 percent of the costs ($2,817,568) were funded by Minnesota state appropriations.