1. (a) The Field Administrator manages the waiting list and is responsible for tracking and communicating with individuals placed on a waitlist.
2. (b) The following procedures are in place for managing OOS and the waiting list.

3. (c) OOS report. By the tenth of each month, the statistician provides a report to the Director of the Division of State Services for the Blind and the Field Administrator with the following information:

   1. (1) Number of applications received that month;
   2. (2) Number of individuals determined eligible, by priority for services category (cumulative since the last time the waiting list was opened and subsequently closed); and
   3. (3) Number of individuals on the waiting list who are sixteen (16) through twenty-one (21) years old.

4. (d) Procedure for opening the waiting list:

   1. (1)

      1. (A) Each quarter, the director will review the status of funds and personnel to determine which, if any, categories can be opened.
      2. (B) If the director determines there are sufficient funds and personnel, they will notify the Field Administrator fifteen (15) calendar days in advance of the:

5. (i) Individuals who can come off the waiting list or the categories that will be open based on the date individuals applied for services (earliest to most recent); and

   1. (ii) Start date the waiting list will be open, or if entire categories will be open.

      1. (C) Priority categories will only be open when all individuals under the priority category can be served;

   2. (2)

      1. (A) When an individual is moved off the waiting list, the Field Administrator or designee will send an Off the Waiting List notification letter and place a copy into the individual’s case record in AWARE.
      2. (B) The notification letter indicates the individual can begin receiving vocational rehabilitation services and has fifteen (15) calendar days to respond.
      3. (C) The area manager for each area will receive a list of individuals by caseload that are moved off the waiting list for their area;

   3. (3)

      1. (A) On the start date of the open waiting list, all affected individuals will be moved to the “Off the Waiting List” status.
      2. (B) This status means the individuals have been removed from the waiting list and have been contacted to determine if they are still interested in receiving services.
      3. (C) The ninety-day countdown for developing an individualized plan for employment begins when the individual has been removed from the waitlist, and not when the individual has contacted the Division of State Services for the Blind expressing interest in receiving services;

   4. (4)

      1. (A) If the individual does not respond within fifteen (15) calendar days, the Field Administrator or designee will attempt two (2) additional contacts over the course of fifteen (15) additional calendar days.
      2. (B) Each contact must be documented in the case management system; and
   5. (5) If the individual does not respond within thirty (30) calendar days from the start date of the open waiting list or they indicate they are no longer interested in receiving services, their case must be closed.

Codification Notes: “OOS” means order of selection.