Vocational Provider Newsletter
April 2026
Attention all firm managers, please share with your staff.
In this monthly digest, you'll find important updates, reminders, and resources.
We will still send separate GovDelivery messages when your action is requested or when information is time sensitive.
Updates
Schools and Training Enrollment - Tips and Best Practices is a new resource in the VRC Resource Library. It includes information about the Student Financial Responsibility Agreement (SFRA), how to use the Lookup Tool for training providers, and reminders about enrollment and the importance of verifying programs and class offerings. This resource should help you facilitate a smooth process when enrolling a worker in a school or training program.
Tips and best practices
Communication through EVOC
Claim managers rely on communication from vocational providers to assist with claim progression.
Here are some things to keep in mind to help ensure timely action on your communication:
- Submit an EVOC for claim managers to provide necessary updates between progress reports. Updates may include:
- A Vocational Recovery Plan.
- Newly identified vocational barriers.
- Descriptive information about a worker who may be having difficulties meeting accountability expectations in retraining plan.
The claim manager will review the information at their next review date.
- Call the claim manager when immediate action is required:
- Remember, Washington Administrative Code 296-19A-030 (5) (b) requires written and oral notification when a worker returns to work, is released for work without restrictions, returns to work and is unsuccessful, or fails to cooperate.
- Continue to submit EVOC messages for vocational services specialist action for the following:
- ADMX request.
- Plan development extension request.
- Fee cap exception request.
- Newly identified vocational barriers.
- Information about a worker who is having difficulties meeting accountability expectations in retraining plan.
Reminders
Vocational rehabilitation counselor feedback has returned and will now be utilized by firm quality assurance (QA) managers to evaluate and update the firm's quality assurance plan. Vocational firm QA managers and L&I's vocational firm QA team will discuss the firm's feedback in validation meetings. For details see the GovDelivery message sent on March 31: Feedback returns for vocational rehabilitation counselors.
Feedback
If you have questions, send an email to the Vocational Recovery Project inbox.
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This bulletin will be posted on L&I’s “What’s New for Vocational Counselors” page.
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