DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
DIVISION OF VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
Bureau of Rehabilitation &
Reemployment Services
Presentation at the
Florida Workers’ Compensation Conference
August 24, 2011
Topics

Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150








Elimination of Qualified Rehabilitation Provider Certification
Changes to the Reemployment Status Review and Report
Requirement
Changes to the Reemployment Assessment Requirement
Elimination of Carrier Monitoring by the Bureau
Changes Pertaining to Carrier Notification of Injured Employee of
Bureau Benefits
Changes Pertaining to Vocational Evaluations
Budget Impact on Re-training and Other Vocational Services
Provided by the Bureau
Revisions to Administrative Rules

The BRRS Web Portal

Office Locations and Contacts
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Elimination of Qualified Rehabilitation
Provider Certification
Elimination of Qualified Rehabilitation
Provider Certification

Providers of rehabilitation in workers’ compensation cases
no longer need to be certified by the state or listed in a
provider directory.

The Bureau will no longer certify rehabilitation providers.

The DWC-96 (Qualified Rehabilitation Provider
Application) form is eliminated.

There is no longer a Directory or a $25 biennial fee paid to
the state.

Rules to be repealed by the statutory change are 6A22.001(9), 6A-22.001 (10), 6A-22.001 (13), 6A-22.001
(14), 6A-22.002, and 6A-22.0031.
Elimination of Qualified Rehabilitation
Provider Certification

Under the revised statute, a rehabilitation provider must be a
Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse, a Certified
Rehabilitation Counselor, a Certified Case Manager, a Certified
Disability Management Specialist, a Certified Vocational
Evaluator, or a Certified Occupational Health Nurse.

The Bureau has no regulatory authority to determine who is or
is not a rehabilitation provider. Neither does the Bureau have
any regulatory authority over improper practices performed by
rehabilitation providers who are hired by a carrier or an injured
employee.
Elimination of Qualified Rehabilitation
Provider Certification

The requirement that expert testimony on rehabilitation in
workers’ compensation cases can only be given by a qualified
rehabilitation provider was stricken from the statute.

The administrative rules will be revised in due course to remove
references to “qualified rehabilitation providers.”
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Changes to the Reemployment Status
Review and Report Requirement
Changes to the Reemployment Status Review
and Report Requirement

With some revision, reemployment status review reports
continue to be required from the carrier and must still be given
to the injured employee and the Bureau.

Under the statutory revision, the report will need to include the
following:
 an identification of the carrier and the injured employee,
 the carrier claim number, and
 the Office of the Judge of Compensation Claims case
number, if there is such a case.
Changes to the Reemployment Status Review
and Report Requirement

Under the statutory revisions, the Bureau does not have rulemaking authority to mandate the format of the report.

Therefore, rule 6A-22.003 is to be repealed, and the form
DWC-22 is eliminated.

The electronic DWC-22 has been removed from the Bureau’s
Web Portal. However, the Web Portal will remain capable of
collecting scanned reemployment status review reports that are
not electronic forms.
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Changes to the Reemployment Assessment
Requirement
Changes to the Reemployment
Assessment Requirement

The rehabilitation provider will no longer send reemployment
assessments to the Bureau.

If the carrier refers a case to the Bureau, the carrier shall
provide to the Bureau a copy of any reemployment assessment
it possesses.
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Elimination of Carrier Monitoring by the
Bureau
Elimination of Carrier Monitoring by the
Bureau

The Bureau will no longer regulate carrier rehabilitation
activities.

The DWC-21 is automatically eliminated and has been
removed from the Bureau’s Web Portal.

There will be no bureau policing of carrier rehabilitation
practices and no penalties for a carrier not observing the
statutory mandates regarding rehabilitation.

The Bureau will not perform carrier audits or otherwise collect
data from carriers, other than the case status review reports,
reemployment assessments, or reemployment plans in
connection with carrier referrals of cases to the Bureau.
Elimination of Carrier Monitoring by the
Bureau

The programming for the web portal is a matter of public record.
Anyone may request a copy of the programming as a matter of
a public records request.

The following rules are to be repealed by the statutory
revisions: 6A-22.010 (1), (3), (6), (9), (10), (11), (12), (13).
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Changes Pertaining to Carrier Notification
of Injured Employee of Bureau Benefits
Changes Pertaining to Carrier Notification of
Injured Employee of Bureau Benefits

The rule making authority for the Bureau to mandate the letter
sent by the carrier to the injured employee informing the injured
employee of the Bureau’s services is to be repealed.

This is to repeal rule 6A-22.004.

The carrier must still notify the injured employee of the
availability of training and education benefits. The timing and
format of that notification is left to the carrier’s discretion.
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Changes Pertaining to Vocational
Evaluations
Changes Pertaining to Vocational
Evaluations

The definition of vocational evaluation remains in the statute.

That definition does not define who may do a vocational
evaluation.

The Bureau no longer has rule-making authority to define a
vocational evaluation.

The Bureau is given rulemaking authority to establish training
and education standards pertaining to eligibility, course
curricula and duration, and associated costs.

Until this is done, the Bureau operates only under the
definition of vocational evaluation in the statute.
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Budget Impact on Re-training and Other
Vocational Services Provided by the
Bureau
Budget Impact on Re-training and Other
Vocational Services Provided by the
Bureau

Injured employee entitlement to re-training or other vocational
services from the Bureau remains the same.

The Bureau’s Web Portal will continue to collect documents
associated with this process.

The Bureau will screen all cases for which a DWC-23 is
received, and, if enough information is available, will perform an
assessment on the case under the administrative rule.
Budget Impact on Re-training and Other
Vocational Services Provided by the
Bureau

The budget for re-training, other vocational services, and
evaluations (otherwise known as “purchased client services”)
was cut by 2/3 in the fiscal year 2011-2012 budget.

For Purchased Client Services, the amount budgeted for fiscal
year 2011-2002 is $430,376. When compared with the amount
budgeted for fiscal year 2010-2011 ($1,513,708) there is a
difference of -$1,083,332.

Funds for the fiscal year 2010-2011 budget have been (or are
expected to be) fully expended, which means that there will
need to be absolute cut backs in purchased client services of
2/3 in the coming fiscal year.
Budget Impact on Re-training and Other
Vocational Services Provided by the
Bureau

The Bureau will provide re-training, other vocational services,
and evaluations in the coming fiscal year, as possible.

When funding is not available, the Bureau will refer cases to
other appropriate agencies for the provision of services.
Changes Required by Senate Bill 2150
Revisions to Administrative Rules
Revisions to Administrative Rules

The Bureau will first do a rule revision to make the
administrative rules conform to the revised statute and repeal
rules as required.

After that is done, the Bureau will look at further rule revisions
necessary to otherwise operate under the revised statute and
budget.
The BRRS Web Portal
The BRRS Web Portal

The BRRS Web Portal is a Web site that enables insurance
carriers, third party administrators, and rehabilitation providers
to electronically refer injured workers to the Bureau with Form
DWC-23 and/or upload reemployment assessments,
reemployment status reviews, and case documents.

The website address is https://wc-returntoworkvr.doe.state.fl.us/brrs/login.aspx
The BRRS Web Portal
Upon first accessing the website, the log-on screen appears:
The BRRS Web Portal
On the log-on screen, the user may…

Log onto the system with the assigned UserID and Password.

Request a new User Account.

Find out a forgotten password.

Access the Change Log.

Access the Web Portal User’s Manual

Access the DWC Carrier/TPA Database Web site.

Find out contact information for user support issues.
The BRRS Web Portal
After the user logs on, the BRRS Web Portal Main Menu appears:
The BRRS Web Portal
From the Main Menu, the user may access the…

Injured Employee Referrals Module
 This module enables various parties (insurance carriers,
rehabilitation providers, attorneys, etc.) to refer injured
workers to BRRS for services.
 The system automatically generates a Form DWC-23,
Request for Screening, and sends an e-mail to the
appropriate BRRS office.
The BRRS Web Portal
The user may…

Create Injured Employee
Referral (create a new
referral)

Search for Existing Referrals
(find referrals already
submitted by the user)

Edit My Company’s
Carrier/TPA List (edit the
user’s list of carriers/TPAs in
the database)
The BRRS Web Portal
From the Main Menu, the user may also access the…

Document Upload Module
 Registered Web Portal users can upload reemployment
assessments, reemployment status reviews, and any caserelated document (evaluation reports, medical reports, legal
documents, etc.) of an injured worker via this module.
 The system will notify the BRRS case manager of the
uploaded case document.
The BRRS Web Portal
The BRRS Web Portal
Users may upload ARAMIS Case Documents.
The BRRS Web Portal
Users may upload Reemployment Assessments.
The BRRS Web Portal
Users may upload Reemployment Status Review Reports.
The BRRS Web Portal
On the User Account
Maintenance Module,
the user may change
his/her e-mail address or
password.
The BRRS Web Portal
Finally, the user may
request that a user
account be removed or
disabled in the
Remove/Disable a User
Account Module.
The user must be a
customer administrator
in our database in order
to make the request.
The BRRS Web Portal
Web Portal Privacy
Only registered Web Portal users may use the system, and all
documents are secure.
Office Locations and Contacts
Office Locations
The BRRS consists of 3 Areas:
1)
Area 1 Offices:
Tallahassee, Jacksonville,
Gainesville, Panama City,
and Pensacola
2)
Area 2 Offices:
Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota
3)
Area 3 Offices:
Ft Lauderdale, Ft. Myers,
Miami
Area 1 Office Locations and Contacts
Tallahassee Office
325 W. Gaines Street, Ste 1724
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245-3489
e-mail: Mary.Cilek@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon,
Madison, Taylor, and Wakulla
Panama City Office
2686 Chapman Drive
Panama City, FL 32405
(850) 747-5675
e-mail: Avia.Burris@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf,
Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, and
Washington
Pensacola Office
3670A North L Street, 1st Floor
Pensacola, FL 32505-5217
(850) 595-5500
e-mail: Carolyn.Knight@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Escambia, Okaloosa,
Santa Rosa, and Walton
Area 1 Office Locations and Contacts (cont.)
Jacksonville Office
215 Market Street, Suite 380
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 359-6101
e-mail: Irene.Carter@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Baker, Clay, Duval,
Lafayette, Nassau, St. Johns, and Union
Gainesville Office
2610 NW 43rd St., Suite 1A
Gainesville, FL 32606
(352) 955-2019
e-mail:
Joseph.McCloud@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Alachua, Bradford,
Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton,
Levy, Marion, Putnam, and
Suwannee
Area 2 Office Locations and Contacts
Orlando Office
400 West Robinson Street, Suite 725
Orlando, FL 32801
(407) 245-0895
e-mail: Sandra Ondrus@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Brevard, Flagler, Indian
River, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk,
Seminole, and Volusia
Tampa Office
9215 N. Florida Avenue, Suite 104
Tampa, FL 33612
(813) 930-7546
e-mail: Beatrice Serna@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Citrus, Hernando,
Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and
Sumter
Sarasota Office
1991 Main Street, Suite 115
Sarasota, FL 34236
(941) 361-6939
e-mail: Paul Seguin@vr.fldoe.org
Counties: Desoto, Hardee, Highlands,
Manatee, and Sarasota
Area 3 Office Locations and Contacts
Ft. Myers Office
5264 Summerlin Commons Way, Ste 404
Fort Myers, FL 33907
(239) 278-7150, Ext. 237
e-mail: Shirley Williams
Counties: Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Lee, and
West Glades
Ft. Lauderdale Office
1400 West Commercial Blvd., Suite 1
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
(954) 202-3875
e-mail: Beverly Halle
County: Broward, East Glades, Martin,
Okeechobee, Palm Beach, and St. Lucie
Miami Office
401 NW Second Avenue, Suite
321
Miami, FL 33128
(305) 377-5379
e-mail: Ava Gardner
Counties: Dade and Monroe
Office Locations and Contacts
Go to the BRRS web site (www.rehabworks.org/brrs) to obtain
information about the Injured Worker Program, including







Brochures
Injured Employee Orientation
Rehabilitation Provider Qualifications
BRRS Ombudsman
BRRS Web Portal
References and Forms
Resource Links
Contacts

Reginald Watkins (850) 245-3470
reginald.watkins@vr.fldoe.org

Cheryl Farner (850) 245-3485
cheryl.farner@vr.fldoe.org

Mary Cilek (850) 245-3491
mary.cilek@vr.fldoe.org

Sandra Ondrus (407) 245-0895 x102
sandra.ondrus@vr.fldoe.org

Angel Miranda (954) 747-7900 x4012
cheryl.farner@vr.fldoe.org
Thank you for attending the BRRS presentation at
the 2011 Workers’ Compensation Educational
Conference.
Please complete the survey in your packet and give
it to a presenter as you leave.