Our Employment Exploration Services are a group of services that help a person gain a better understanding of competitive, integrated employment opportunities in their community. These services include exploration activities and experiences that strengthen a person’s knowledge, interests and preferences so they can make informed decisions about competitive employment. Employment exploration includes:
- Individualized educational activities
- Learning opportunities
- Work experiences
- Additional related services identified in the person’s coordinated services and supports plan (CSSP).
Eligibility
To receive employment exploration services, a person must both:
- Be eligible for BI, CAC, CADI or DD waiver services
- Have employment exploration services as an assessed need in their coordinated services and supports plan (CSSP)
Requires direct contact
Covered employment exploration services that require direct contact with the person may include:
- Educational visits to community businesses to learn about various companies, products, services and employment opportunities.
- Career education activities to learn about specific types of occupations, job positions and work opportunities
- Ongoing educational information and counseling assistance about jobs/careers that interest the person
- Peer-to-peer mentoring opportunities to meet and learn from people with disabilities who are employed in competitive, community jobs
- Job shadowing and try-out experiences for work involved in different occupations
- Employment education support groups (e.g., job clubs)
- Individualized work experiences, including volunteer work experiences
- Education about post-secondary educational opportunities that enhance employment, community employment resources and use of transportation services
- In-service transportation
- Progress review and reporting meetings.
Does not require direct contact
Covered employment exploration services that do not require direct contact with the person may include:
- Performing benefit(s) fact gathering, review and analysis to determine how benefits will interact with employment
- Planning and coordinating related to the person’s needs for assistive technology (e.g., ergonomic workstations, magnifiers, speech-to-text or text-to-speech software, captioning, audio or visual cueing, etc.)
Planning and coordinating related to the person’s needs for adaptive accommodations (e.g., modified work tasks or responsibilities, flexible schedules, telecommuting, etc.).
Reauthorization
Employment exploration services are time-limited and should end after a maximum of 12 months following the initial authorization of the services. In some circumstances, a person might need to receive continued employment exploration services after 12 months. ManNasia can reauthorize employment exploration services when the person:
- Has not made an informed decision about competitive, integrated employment
- Experiences a debilitating health condition or life event that significantly interrupts service delivery.
- Changes service providers.
Not Covered Services
Employment exploration services do not cover
- Incentive payments (e.g., payments to an employer to encourage or subsidize the employer’s participation in an exploration program)
- Payments for vocational training that is not directly related to the person’s exploration program
- Direct compensation to supplement a person’s wage
- Special education services available and funded under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (see CBSM – Guidance for employment services authorization)
- Vocational services available and funded under Section 110 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (see CBSM – Guidance for employment services authorization)
- Vocational services in facility-based or sheltered workshop settings.
