[JanusunaJ]

Has anyone here ever used a Vocational Rehab service?

If so, what has been your experience with it?

[Gus1234U]

i used Voc Rehab 3 times, to try to return to work. they have a 5 yr term, so you can only use them for 5 yrs, and not again for 5 yrs, or something like that. they are very tight with their information, and they have changed a lot (and not for the better) in the recent financial cut-backs.

essentially, to qualify for their financial assistance, you must be so disabled that you cannot return to work without substantial changes, supports, or retraining; yet you must not be so disabled that you are an obvious 'fail'. they use various questionairres to decide how to label you, so it's important to get help with the paperwork, if you are not good at that kind of thing.

once you are a client (which may take years unless you are on SSI), they really only provide money, not actual services. they use the SocSec "Return to Work Ticket" to get you case management services and other things like that. it is really up to you to make a plan for returning to work, and then they will see what they can do to fund it.

this has been my experience, but as i say, things might have changed in the last 5 yrs. good luck, and be sure to keep copies of any paperwork you submit to them~!

It does depend on which service I think.

I used DRS a couple of times in the past and I got in both times in 3-4 months.

I can't tell you so much about how fast they place you in a job or how helpful they actually are because both times, I wasn't able to take full advantage of their services.

The first time, I didn't get past their assessment because they wanted me to come up there for 8 hours a day for two days in a row just to do some type of assessment which I found to be both impossible for me due to other responsibilities and issues that I had at the time and unacceptable because I couldn't see how they would require me to come up there for 16 hours just to take some tests that could probably be completed in a few hours at most. Because they only gave me a couple week heads up and wouldn't allow me to reschedule the days/times at all or spread things out, I didn't end up going.

Fast forward a year later and I tried to get into DRS again. I was at a very dark place in my life at the time and I was desperate. I signed up for DRS and I got in 3 months later. I met a career coach that seemed to genuinely want to help me and she even fast tracked me into getting in as a "priority 1" case so that I could get in as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the mental health center that I receive services at took their sweet freaking time sending them my information and because of that, my application got put on hold indefinitely due to "funding issues". If the mental health center would have not waited two months to send my information out, than I would have gotten in before the funding crisis in my state got to it's worst point due to me being a "priority 1" case.

So yeah, if you can find a vocational rehab near you that doesn't have a funding shortage and you can handle coming up there for 8 hours a day for two whole days just for an assessment or can find one that will be more flexible with you, than I say go for it.