VETSUCCESS
Welcome to
VetSuccess Orientation
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
VetSuccess
“...let us strive to finish the
work we are in, to bind up
the nation’s wounds, to
care for him who shall have
borne the battle and for his
widow, and his orphan....”
-President Abraham Lincoln
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VetSuccess Program Intent
• Provide services to assist Veterans and
Servicemembers with service-connected disabilities
to succeed:
• In transition … through services to support transition
back to civilian life
• At work … through services resulting in suitable
employment
• On campus … through services to support them
during education and training
• At home … and in their communities … through
services to maximize independence in daily living
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VetSuccess Eligibility Criteria
Veterans:
Honorable or other than dishonorable discharge
• A final VA service-connected disability rating of 10% or
more or memorandum rating of 10%
• Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
services
Active Duty Servicemembers:
• Expect to receive a honorable discharge
• Apply for Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
services
• Obtain a VA memorandum rating of 20% or more; or
obtain a proposed Disability Evaluation Service (DES)
rating
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VetSuccess Basic Benefit
Information
• Comprehensive Vocational Assessment
• Employment Assistance
• Medical Services as needed
• Independent Living Services
• Personalized Case Management Services
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VetSuccess Basic Benefit
Information
• A maximum of 48 months of entitlement for
Educational and Vocational training
• May utilize vocational rehabilitation benefits
within 12 years from the date of initial VA
disability rating notification
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VetSuccess Process
Application
• Application received
(VONAP or 28-1900)
• Veteran’s eligibility
established
• Schedule Veteran for
initial counseling
appointment if eligible
Entitlement Decision
Evaluation and Planning
Tracks
• Establish vocational or independent
living goal
• Develop written plan of services
Rehabilitated
• On-going case management
• Identify track
• Define services needed
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Employment Services
• Provide employment services
• VetSuccess.gov
• Interview skills
• Job placement assistance
• Referral to One-Stop Career Center
Re-Employment
• Conduct VR&E orientation to include
Five Tracks Video
Rapid Access
To Employment
• Suitably
employed, or
• Determine employment handicap and
serious employment handicap
Self Employment
• Improved
ability to live
independently
• Conduct vocational evaluation to assess
skills, abilities & interests
Employment
Thru Long-Term
Services
• Veteran meets with Counselor
• Determine feasibility for employment
Independent Living
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Track Selection 1
Re-employment Track
• For individuals separating from active duty,
National Guard, or Reserves
• Services focused on return to previous employers
• Services may include:
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Job accommodations
Job modifications
Work adjustment assistance
Consultation with employer
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Track Selection 2
Rapid Access to Employment
• For individuals seeking employment:
• soon after separation or
• who already have the necessary skills to be competitive in
the job market
• Services may include:
• Resume Writing
• Interviewing Skills Training
• Job accommodations
• Refresher Courses
• Licensure and Certification
• Job Search Assistance
• Post-Employment Adjustment Services
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Track Selection 3
Employment Through Long-Term Services
• For individuals needing specialized training and/or
education to obtain and maintain suitable employment
• Services may include:
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Apprenticeships and internships
On-the-Job Training (OJT)
Higher education or vocational training
Tuition/fees/books/tools/supplies
Tutoring
Subsistence allowance
Personalized case management support
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Track Selection 4
Self-Employment
• For individuals who because of their disabilities:
• have limited access to traditional employment,
• need flexible work schedules, or
• a more accommodating work environment
• Services may include:
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Analysis of viability of business concept
Assistance with development of a business plan
Training in small business operations
Marketing assistance
Guidance on obtaining resources
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Track Selection 5
Independent Living
• For individuals who are not able to work at the
current time and need rehabilitation services to
live more independently
• Services may include:
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Comprehensive in-home assessment
Assistive technologies
Independent living skills training
Connection to community-based support services
Personalized case management services
Coordination with VA’s Specially Adapted Housing
Program and/or VA’s Home Improvement Structure
Assistance Program
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VetSuccess.gov
What is VETSUCCESS.GOV?
 Specialized job bank and “Job Central” bank of over
500,000 jobs
• National Association of State Workforce Agencies
• Direct Employers – Fortune 500 companies
• Job resource tools
• resume builder
• interviewing skills
• career resources
• Link to other VA benefits and services
• on line application for VR&E – Chapter 31 services
• Educational Benefits
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Programs of Services
• Chapter 31 : Services to obtain and
maintain suitable employment and/or to
achieve maximum level of independence
in daily living
• Chapter 36: Educational and vocational
counseling for
• Comprehensive in-home assessment
• Assistive technologies
• Independent living skills training
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Programs of Services
• Chapter 18: Vocational training and
rehabilitation benefits for children born
with Spina Bifida of certain veterans who
served in Vietnam or Korea
• Chapter 35 : Educational counseling for
children and widows/spouses of veterans
who have a permanent and total service
connected disability.
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WE CARE FOR ALL OF OUR
VETERANS
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INDEPENDENT LIVING
The purpose of independent living services
is to enable the individual, to the maximum
extent possible, to live independently and
participate in family and community life.
Independent living services are also
provided to increase the individual’s
potential to return to work by providing
services designed to lessen or
accommodate the effects of the disability
(ies).
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INDEPENDENT LIVING
CRITERIA FOR IL
1. The individual must have a service
connected disability (SCD) rating of at
least 20%.
2. The individual must have a serious
employment handicap resulting in
substantial part from the SCD(s).
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CRITERIA FOR IL (cont)
3. The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
(VRC) must determine that the
achievement of a vocational goal is
not currently reasonably feasible.
4. The individual must have limitations in
activities of daily living that impact
his/her level of independence.
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CRITERIA FOR IL (cont)
5. There must be a reasonable likelihood
that the services provided will
increase the individual’s level of
independence.
6. There must be a reasonable likelihood
that the gains in independence will
continue following completion of the
program of independent living
services.
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PLANNING
The individual must be found ineligible for
needed special equipment, such as home
modification to improve access, under
other programs and benefits administered
by VA before any services can be
authorized and provided by VR&E.
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HOME MODIFICATIONS
If the comprehensive evaluation indicates
that home modifications are needed to
maximize the individual’s independence,
the VRC must coordinate those services
with other VA programs.
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HOUSING GRANTS
VA has four main grant programs to assist
Servicemembers and Veterans with disabilities
obtain necessary home modifications
1. Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant
2. Special Housing Adaption (SHA) Grant
3. Temporary Residence Assistance (TRA)
Grant
4. Home Improvements and Structural
Alterations (HISA) Grant
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SRT
Special Restorative Training
Purpose: To assist eligible individuals
overcome or lessen the effects of a
physical or mental health disability and
enable attainment of an educational,
specialized vocational or other appropriate
goal
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SRT ELIGIBILITY
Eligible participants include a dependent
child between the ages of 14 and 31 and a
spouse, or surviving spouse, who qualifies
for Chapter 35 benefits and may need SRT
because of a disability.
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SAMPLE TRAINING
Speech and voice correction or retention
Language retraining
Speech (lip) reading
Auditory training
Braille reading and writing
Training in ambulation
One-handed typing
Courses at special schools for those with
physical or mental health disabilities
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SOME LIMITATIONS
• SRT does not include medical or
psychiatric treatment
• SRT may not exceed 12 months without
prior approval
• Services may not be provided in a VA
facility
• Training must be pursued on a full-time
basis
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VETSUCCESS ON CAMPUS
VSOC is designed to provide on-campus
benefits assistance and adjustment
counseling to help Veterans complete their
college education and prepare them to
enter the labor market in viable careers.
Middle Tennessee State University
Austin Peay State University
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CONTACT
Department of Veterans Affairs
VARO/VRE
110 Ninth Avenue S
Nashville, TN 37203
Vickie.Blair@va.gov
615-695-6155
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QUESTIONS????
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