1. (a)

   1. (1) All training must be designed to achieve the specific employment outcome, which is chosen by the individual consistent with the individual’s:

      1. (A) Unique strengths;
      2. (B) Resources;
      3. (C) Priorities;
      4. (D) Concerns;
      5. (E) Abilities;
      6. (F) Capabilities;
      7. (G) Career interest; and
      8. (H) Informed choice.
   2. (2) The documentation should show that there is adequate labor market demand to support the employment outcome.
   3. (3) If relocation would be required, the individual must agree to relocate to an area with sufficient labor market demand for the chosen employment outcome prior to the signature and initiation of the IPE.
   4. (4) The individual should acknowledge that they are familiar with the entry-level wages that are common in the chosen vocation.

2. (b)

   1. (1) Training services are those services needed to prepare an eligible individual without transferable and/or marketable skills for work.
   2. (2) These services are individualized and are jointly developed by the individual and counselor through the process of informed choice.

3. (c) Vocational training includes the following broad categories:

   1. (1) On-the-job training;
   2. (2) Short-term specialized training;
   3. (3) Vocational/technical;
   4. (4) Community college; and
   5. (5) College/university.

4. (d) An individual is eligible for training if:

   1. (1) The individual meets basic eligibility requirements;
   2. (2) The individual is mentally, physically, and temperamentally capable of completing the training and performing the resulting job;

   3. (3)

      1. (A) The individual meets the admissions criteria to enter the training program.
      2. (B) If the training program is a college or university program, the individual must meet the admissions criteria to enter into a State of Arkansas public institution that confers the degree being sought;
   4. (4) The individual has no marketable or transferable skills that, within the limitations of the disability, can be used to reach the employment goal specified in the IPE; and
   5. (5) There is adequate labor market demand for which the individual is to be trained.

5. (e)

   1. (1) Labor market demand can be found on O*NET, from the United States Department of Labor, and at local workforce centers.

   2. (2) If there is no evidence of adequate labor market demand or demand is unknown, training will require:

      1. (A) Justification and documentation to support potential competitive integrated employment outcome; and
      2. (B) Manager’s approval.

6. (f)

   1. (1) It is the policy of Arkansas Rehabilitation Services to perform assessments and require evaluations and/or testing to ensure individual-appropriate training services feasible to achieve employment.
   2. (2) Individual-appropriate services reflect the unique strengths, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, and career interests of each eligible individual.
   3. (3) These assessments and evaluations should show that the individual is a good candidate for the training program.
   4. (4) They should also address the individual’s potential for success, including identifying and addressing the potential barriers.

7. (g) To the extent needed, the following should be addressed:

   1. (1) An analysis of pertinent medical, psychiatric, psychological, neuro-psychological, and other pertinent vocational, education, cultural, social, recreational, and environmental factors, and related functional limitations, that affect the employment and rehabilitation needs of the individual;

   2. (2) An analysis of the individual’s:

      1. (A) Personality;
      2. (B) Career interests;
      3. (C) Interpersonal skills;
      4. (D) Intelligence and related functional capacities;
      5. (E) Educational achievements;
      6. (F) Work experience;
      7. (G) Vocational aptitudes;
      8. (H) Personal and social adjustments; and
      9. (I) Employment opportunities;
   3. (3) An appraisal of the individual’s patterns of work behavior and services needed to acquire occupational skills and to develop work attitudes, work habits, work tolerance, and social and behavior patterns suitable for successful job performance; and
   4. (4) An assessment, through provision of rehabilitation technology services, of the individual’s capacities to perform in a work environment, including in an integrated setting, to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with the individual’s informed choice.

8. (h)

   1. (1) Arkansas Rehabilitation Services recognizes that the transition from high school to post-secondary training is a crucial time and is a period of change and stress.
   2. (2) Training options beyond the vocational-technical level must have documentation based on the assessment of rehabilitation needs that the individual can be successful in the selected training area.

Codification Notes: “IPE” means individualized plan for employment.