 March 4, 2025
Hello Community Partners and DEED-VRS Stakeholders!
Thank you to all who were able to join us for the February 4th VRS+CP forum. The link to the presentation can be found here, under ‘VRS News’: https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/disabilities/partners/.
Many questions and comments were submitted during the forum and below you will find answers to those questions.
DEED-VRS + Community Partners 2/4/2025 Meeting
Questions and Answers
Budget
How is the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) money distributed to the states? Federal Awards are not distributed in total to each state at the beginning of each Federal Fiscal Year. Due to the federal continuing resolution, funding is received in portions when Congress approves the temporary budgets.
How are the funds being paid with a deficit? VRS is not in a deficit; we are doing budget forecasting to avoid a future deficit
Do we see the VRS budget/funding getting better within the next few years? VRS is paying close attention to the future of federal funding levels. It is currently unclear if VRS will be receiving cuts at the federal level.
Will there be changes to contracted payment amounts for VR services? For example, is VRS going to amend contracts and mandate lower payments for services? No
Is a timeline available in terms of if/when community partners will be notified of which participants they will continue to serve? VRS cannot guarantee any authorizations to a community partner. VRS Counselors will work closely with the participant to determine what services are necessary and what hours will be authorized each month.
What additional efforts have been made to connect with resources outside of VRS? VRS works with their partners to identify grant funding that supports people with disabilities accessing employment services, for instance, Title I Youth Disability Innovation Funding grants.
Is there a projected percentage of individuals that will receive services internally vs. externally? No, service delivery is based on the needs of the participant and the availability of internal VRS staff to provide the services.
What if a community partner disagrees with the number of hours that are authorized? While VRS staff may consult with a community partner regarding the need for services, ultimately it is the VR staff's decision on which services and number of hours are necessary. We encourage partners to discuss any disagreements and rationale directly with the VRS staff or Counselor.
The Minnesota North Star Promise covers tuition. Is this being utilized in lieu of VRS paying for tuition? Yes, the Minnesota North Star Promise is a comparable benefit for participants to utilize rather than VRS funds, if they are eligible for that scholarship.
Will referrals for other services such as benefits coaching, driver’s training, on-the job evaluations, forklift training, and other services continue? Currently, DEED-VRS does not anticipate changes to these types of referrals to our partners.
Will counselors reach out and let us know if the services that were being offered are no longer going to be offered to students in the future? VR Counselors and Rehab Reps have contacted their participants regarding needed services. If there are questions regarding who will be providing the service, reach out to your VRS staff.
How will communication be delivered moving forward and can we expect regular monthly updates on timelines, budgetary decisions, and their outcomes? VRS+CP Forums will continue, and additional information will be shared through the gov.delivery messages as it becomes available.
Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS)
What are the 5 Pre-ETS service areas? The five Pre-ETS service areas are job exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences, postsecondary education counseling, workplace readiness training, and instruction in self-advocacy. Here is a link to the definition of each of these service areas: https://mn.gov/deed/assets/pre-ets-desk-aid_tcm1045-308172.pdf
How are Pre-ETS services determined to be necessary? VRS staff work with the student, family members, and school staff to understand the student’s needs, what is or can be provided by the school, and what VRS should provide. We encourage VRS and school staff to use the Transition/Pre-ETS Inventory to make decisions together about a student’s needs and who will provide what. Note that it is not the role of VRS staff to monitor how a school provides for a student’s needs.
For approved Pre-ETS authorizations, should community partners be sending VRS the reports and invoices earlier than before to know what has been done the prior month, so VRS knows what to authorize once approved by RAM? Yes, although community partners have 90 days after the end of the authorization to submit reports and invoices, we encourage them to send reports and invoices to VRS as soon as possible.
Has communication been shared with Pre-ETS students, teachers, and parents regarding Pre-ETS services? VRS staff have been directed to work with their rehabilitation area managers (RAMs) as to how and what to communicate with students, families, and school staff regarding any changes in services.
How is VR handling travel authorizations for Pre-ETS? If a student has been referred to a community partner for Pre-ETS, then the needed travel/transportation time should be the actual amount that it takes for that time. Agreement should be made between the VRS staff and community partner on how many times in a month the partner should meet with the student before authorizing.
Will Pre-ETS work experiences continue to be authorized? If VRS staff determine that work experience outside of the school day is a needed service, then VRS may support it. VRS may provide that service with internal staff, however, if there isn’t the capacity to support it internally, the student may be referred to a community partner. Keep in mind that when it is determined that work experience is a need, the priority is for students to obtain competitive integrated employment (CIE) work experiences where they are hired on and paid by employers (vs. short-term work experiences where a student’s wage is reimbursed by the community partner).
What are we encouraged to say to families and students receiving services? VRS staff continue to be committed to the overall mission of serving students with disabilities in Minnesota. Staff should consult with their RAMs if they are unsure about how or what to communicate with students, families or school staff. Community partners should refer students and families back to the VRS staff to provide further information as needed
Has VRS considered scaling back on serving potentially eligible students to serve individuals with higher service needs? The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) federal regulations for the VR program require Introductory Career Services Pre-ETS for potentially eligible students to be available to all students with disabilities, ages 14 to 22, statewide. We are not allowed to limit the availability of these services.
PBA Questions
How will participants receive placement services? VRS is responsible to ensure services provided are allowable, allocable, reasonable and necessary. Given that VRS currently has some internal placement capacity, VRS placement staff must be considered prior to further provider options in those locations.
Will VRS still be paying for all milestones? Yes, the PBA milestone structure and rates remain
How will these changes affect PBA milestones authorized at $1.00? Will the authorization be updated to allow the community partner to bill the correct milestone amount? These changes will not affect the PBA milestones. When a provider invoices VRS for milestones, they will be paid out at the full milestone amount.
E1MN Questions
Regarding the E1MN Find phase, will VRS offices provide a letter stating participants can utilize a waiver provider instead of going through VRS for that service? If services are unavailable from VRS, VRS will provide documentation to the waiver case manager.
How does closing categories/waiting list impact E1MN funding guidelines? If someone has a waiver and gets wait listed for VR services, are they allowed to use waiver funding for employment instead? Per the CBSM guidance Determining VRS/SSB and IDEA availability under Employment Development Services – Find Phase (out of school):
VRS/SSB provides similar services. The case manager can only authorize employment development services – find phase if they determine VRS/SSB services are unavailable to the person based on one of the following reasons:
- VRS/SSB ineligible/not priority status: VRS/SSB determines the person is ineligible, or they do not meet an open priority of service category with VRS/SSB. If the person does not meet an open priority of service category, they will be placed on a waitlist maintained by VRS/SSB.
- VRS/SSB services exhausted: VRS/SSB determines the person can no longer benefit from their services, and the person wants to continue their job search. The person will get a closure letter from VRS/SSB stating the reason for the closure: They can no longer benefit from VRS/SSB services.
- VRS/SSB service transition: If the person is receiving employment development services under the old HCPCS code (T2019 U3) and has a need to extend or add units to their authorization, the case manager can authorize the employment development services – find phase without a referral to VRS/SSB to avoid disruption in the person’s services.
If the case manager authorizes employment development services – find phase for one of the reasons listed above, they must:
- Indicate one of the following reasons in the service notes section of the waiver service authorization:
- Ineligible/not priority of service
- Service exhausted
- Service transition
- Retain one of the following items in the person’s file:
- A copy of the VRS/SSB Ineligibility or VRS/SSB Closed Priority Category letter the person received
- A copy of the VRS/SSB Closure Letter – Referral to Waiver Case Manager for Services indicating VRS/SSB services no longer meet the person’s needs
- Note: For service transition, no documentation is required. DHS will monitor the situation through review of the person’s previous service authorizations.
Are all people on Medicaid waivers category 1? If not, will those job seekers who are in categories 2-4 but have a Medicaid waiver still be served by VRS and referred out to community partners through an E1MN PBA? VRS makes eligibility and priority for service determinations on an individual basis. If someone has a Medicaid waiver and is referred to a partner for job placement services, it is through an E1PBA. VRS’s website under Placement and Retention services.
Can you update us on the conversations occurring to align VRS and waiver funding? The E1MN interagency team is working on this. The team is actively working on an Interagency Alignment Study. E1MN is Minnesota's state agency partnership to advance Employment First outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities. The state agency partnership evolved from Minnesota's Employment First policy adopted by the Olmstead sub-cabinet in 2014. The E1MN Newsletter is a way to communicate important information to professionals (school, VRS/SSB, county, provider staff) who support employment outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities.
Individual Placement and Support (IPS)
What is expected with VRS and their IPS projects? Are these referrals also going to be regulated by RAM decision? IPS referrals will continue to be made to our IPS community partners. IPS is a specific program that utilizes a Mental Health Agency and an IPS community partner to provider services within the project. If VRS closes priority categories, IPS referrals would be included in this wait list process.
Closing Priority of Service Categories
What are the different VRS priority of service categories?
First Priority Category
Persons who have the most significant disabilities, who have serious functional limitations in terms of employment in three or more areas, and who need multiple services over an extended period of time.
Second Priority Category
Persons who have a significant disability, who have serious functional limitations in terms of employment in two areas, and who need multiple services over an extended period of time.
Third Priority Category
Persons who have a significant disability, who have serious functional limitations in terms of employment in one area, and who need multiple services over an extended period of time.
Fourth Priority Category
All other eligible persons. This includes people who have a physical or mental impairment that results in a substantial impediment to competitive integrated employment but who do not have significant disabilities that result in serious functional limitations in terms of competitive integrated employment or who do not require multiple vocational rehabilitation services over an extended period of time.
When a person who is currently enrolled and receiving services from VRS and their Employment Plan needs to be renewed, will that person continue to receive services from VRS regardless of their priority of services category? Yes.
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