[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 34, Volume 2]

[Revised as of July 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 34CFR361.18]



[Page 262-264]

 

                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION

 

 CHAPTER III--OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, 

                         DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 

PART 361_STATE VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION SERVICES PROGRAM--Table of 

Contents

 

       Subpart B_State Plan and Other Requirements for Vocational 

                         Rehabilitation Services

 

Sec.  361.18  Comprehensive system of personnel development.



    The State plan must describe the procedures and activities the State 

agency will undertake to establish and maintain a comprehensive system 

of personnel development designed to ensure an adequate supply of 

qualified rehabilitation personnel, including professionals and 

paraprofessionals, for the designated State unit. If the State agency 

has a State Rehabilitation Council, this description must, at a minimum, 

specify that the Council has an opportunity to review and comment on the 

development of plans, policies, and procedures necessary to meet the 

requirements of paragraphs (b) through (d) of this section. This 

description must also conform with the following requirements:

    (a) Data system on personnel and personnel development. The State 

plan must describe the development and maintenance of a system by the 

State agency for collecting and analyzing on an annual basis data on 

qualified personnel needs and personnel development, in accordance with 

the following requirements:

    (1) Data on qualified personnel needs must include--

    (i) The number of personnel who are employed by the State agency in 

the provision of vocational rehabilitation services in relation to the 

number of individuals served, broken down by personnel category;

    (ii) The number of personnel currently needed by the State agency to 

provide vocational rehabilitation services, broken down by personnel 

category; and

    (iii) Projections of the number of personnel, broken down by 

personnel category, who will be needed by the State agency to provide 

vocational rehabilitation services in the State in 5 years based on 

projections of the number of individuals to be served, including 

individuals with significant disabilities, the number of personnel 

expected to retire or leave the field, and other relevant factors.

    (2) Data on personnel development must include--

    (i) A list of the institutions of higher education in the State that 

are preparing vocational rehabilitation professionals, by type of 

program;

    (ii) The number of students enrolled at each of those institutions, 

broken down by type of program; and

    (iii) The number of students who graduated during the prior year 

from each of those institutions with certification or licensure, or with 

the credentials for certification or licensure, broken down by the 

personnel category for which they have received, or have the credentials 

to receive, certification or licensure.



[[Page 263]]



    (b) Plan for recruitment, preparation, and retention of qualified 

personnel. The State plan must describe the development, updating, and 

implementation of a plan to address the current and projected needs for 

personnel who are qualified in accordance with paragraph (c) of this 

section. The plan must identify the personnel needs based on the data 

collection and analysis system described in paragraph (a) of this 

section and must provide for the coordination and facilitation of 

efforts between the designated State unit and institutions of higher 

education and professional associations to recruit, prepare, and retain 

personnel who are qualified in accordance with paragraph (c) of this 

section, including personnel from minority backgrounds and personnel who 

are individuals with disabilities.

    (c) Personnel standards. (1) The State plan must include the State 

agency's policies and describe the procedures the State agency will 

undertake to establish and maintain standards to ensure that all 

professional and paraprofessional personnel needed within the designated 

State unit to carry out this part are appropriately and adequately 

prepared and trained, including--

    (i) Standards that are consistent with any national or State-

approved or -recognized certification, licensing, or registration 

requirements, or, in the absence of these requirements, other comparable 

requirements (including State personnel requirements) that apply to the 

profession or discipline in which that category of personnel is 

providing vocational rehabilitation services; and

    (ii) To the extent that existing standards are not based on the 

highest requirements in the State, the steps the State is currently 

taking and the steps the State plans to take to retrain or hire 

personnel to meet standards that are based on the highest requirements 

in the State, including measures to notify State unit personnel, the 

institutions of higher education identified under paragraph (a)(2)(i) of 

this section, and other public agencies of these steps and the timelines 

for taking each step. The steps taken by the State unit under this 

paragraph must be described in a written plan that includes--

    (A) Specific strategies for retraining, recruiting, and hiring 

personnel;

    (B) The specific time period by which all State unit personnel will 

meet the standards described in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section;

    (C) Procedures for evaluating the State unit's progress in hiring or 

retraining personnel to meet applicable personnel standards within the 

time period established under paragraph (c)(1)(ii)(B) of this section; 

and

    (D) In instances in which the State unit is unable to immediately 

hire new personnel who meet the requirements in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of 

this section, the initial minimum qualifications that the designated 

State unit will require of newly hired personnel and a plan for training 

those individuals to meet applicable requirements within the time period 

established under paragraph (c)(1)(ii)(B) of this section.

    (2) As used in this section--

    (i) Highest requirements in the State applicable to that profession 

or discipline means the highest entry-level academic degree needed for 

any national or State-approved or -recognized certification, licensing, 

registration, or, in the absence of these requirements, other comparable 

requirements that apply to that profession or discipline. The current 

requirements of all State statutes and regulations of other agencies in 

the State applicable to that profession or discipline must be considered 

and must be kept on file by the designated State unit and available to 

the public.

    (ii) Profession or discipline means a specific occupational 

category, including any paraprofessional occupational category, that--

    (A) Provides rehabilitation services to individuals with 

disabilities;

    (B) Has been established or designated by the State unit; and

    (C) Has a specified scope of responsibility.

    (d) Staff development. (1) The State plan must include the State 

agency's policies and describe the procedures and activities the State 

agency will undertake to ensure that all personnel employed by the State 

unit receive appropriate and adequate training, including a description 

of--



[[Page 264]]



    (i) A system of staff development for rehabilitation professionals 

and paraprofessionals within the State unit, particularly with respect 

to assessment, vocational counseling, job placement, and rehabilitation 

technology; and

    (ii) Procedures for acquiring and disseminating to rehabilitation 

professionals and paraprofessionals within the designated State unit 

significant knowledge from research and other sources.

    (2) The specific training areas for staff development must be based 

on the needs of each State unit and may include, but are not limited 

to--

    (i) Training regarding the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the 

amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 made by the Rehabilitation 

Act Amendments of 1998;

    (ii) Training with respect to the requirements of the Americans with 

Disabilities Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and 

Social Security work incentive programs, including programs under the 

Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, training to 

facilitate informed choice under this program, and training to improve 

the provision of services to culturally diverse populations; and

    (iii) Activities related to--

    (A) Recruitment and retention of qualified rehabilitation personnel;

    (B) Succession planning; and

    (C) Leadership development and capacity building.

    (e) Personnel to address individual communication needs. The State 

plan must describe how the State unit--

    (1) Includes among its personnel, or obtains the services of, 

individuals able to communicate in the native languages of applicants 

and eligible individuals who have limited English speaking ability; and

    (2) Includes among its personnel, or obtains the services of, 

individuals able to communicate with applicants and eligible individuals 

in appropriate modes of communication.

    (f) Coordination with personnel development under the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act. The State plan must describe the 

procedures and activities the State agency will undertake to coordinate 

its comprehensive system of personnel development under the Act with 

personnel development under the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act.



(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 

1820-0500)



(Authority: Section 101(a)(7) of the Act; 29 U.S.C. 721(a)(7))



[66 FR 4382, Jan. 17, 2001, as amended at 66 FR 7253, Jan. 22, 2001]