123 SELF-EMPLOYMENT

123.1 The Rehabilitation Services Administration shall assist a client with a vocational goal of self-employment with starting, maintaining, or expanding his or her own business in the District of Columbia. This chapter shall also apply to a person wishing to acquire an existing business owned by another person or entity.

123.2 A proposed business must:

1. (a) Be organized as a for-profit entity and designed with the intention of ultimately serving as the person's primary, steady, long-term source of income;
2. (b) Be located in an integrated setting within the community as defined in section 199 of this chapter; and
3. (c) Comply with all applicable federal and District laws and regulations.

123.3 When an eligible person elects a self-employment outcome, the vocational rehabilitation counselor shall:

1. (a) Explore and discuss with the person the nature and focus of the desired business, the feasibility of the business, and the person's preparation for operating the business;
2. (b) Assess the person's:
3. (1) Entrepreneurial interest;
4. (2) Past training and related experiences;
5. (3) Practical skills for operating a business; and
6. (4) Command of the skills necessary to operate a business or be self-employed in accordance with the entrepreneurial goal;
7. (c) Determine training required to prepare the person to open and operate the determined business;
8. (d) Assess how the person's disability may affect his or her ability to operate the business; and
9. (e) Determine supports or services the person may require to participate in entrepreneurial training, prepare the business plan, and/or operate the

business.

(f) Develop a Self-Employment Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) that addresses the person's entrepreneurial goal, training needs, and supportive services.

123.4 The Rehabilitation Services Administration may purchase goods and services for a business enterprise, including the occupational licenses, tools, equipment, initial stocks, and supplies necessary to open the business, in accordance with sections 119 and 120 of this chapter, subject to determination of financial participation and only after the person:

(a) Demonstrates that he or she, or an appropriate support person when necessary, possesses the basic knowledge and skills required to manage a business through either:

(1) Successful completion of training as required in the person's IPE;

(2) Successful completion of related courses; or

(3) Past work experience or entrepreneurial experience.

(b) Submits a business plan completed in accordance with subsection 123.7, and approved by the State Director of the Rehabilitation Services Administration;

(c) Submits a request for funding; and

(d) Provides documentation of any additional funding secured for the business.

123.5 In accordance with subsection 123.4(a)(3), a person or a support person may demonstrate knowledge and skills required to manage a business through past work or entrepreneurial experience by providing the following documentation:

(a) A detailed description of the work or entrepreneurial experience that he or she believes demonstrates the knowledge and skills required to operate a business;

(b) The nature of the business;

(c) Clientele served;

(d) Numbers of clients/customers;

(e) The location of the business;

(f) The number of years he or she operated the business; and

(g) The reason why the business ceased to operate or why the person ceased to function with the business.

123.6 In accordance with subsection 123.4(b), a person must provide a business plan that:

(a) Describes the nature of the business and the income source;

(b) Identifies funding sources other than the Rehabilitation Services Administration and projects income streams that are sufficient to maintain the business;

(c) Provides a Five-Year Plan for the business that addresses:

(1) Five years of projected sales;

(2) The targeted clientele;

(3) The full range of services to be offered; and

(4) Sustainability of the business for a five-year period and in a down-turned market;

(d) Identifies the specific items and costs for which the business is seeking funding from the Rehabilitation Services Administration and states the role they are to play in the operation of the business and generation of business income; and

(e) Is approved by the State Director for the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

123.7 The Rehabilitation Services Administration, directly or through its training sources, shall assist the client in identifying a lending institution to which the client may apply for a business loan, if the client successfully completes all of the required training and develops a business plan that meets the Rehabilitation Services Administration's approval. The Rehabilitation Services Administration shall not be a primary source of income or monetary support for the business.

123.8 A person who is receiving services under an IPE which specifically identifies a vocational goal of self-employment before the effective date of this section shall

continue to be served in accordance with their IPE until the vocational goal identified in the IPE is achieved or their record of service is closed.

123.9 The vocational rehabilitation counselor can determine a successful self-employment outcome has been achieved when all of the following criteria are met:

1. (a) The provision of services under the person's IPE has contributed to the achievement of the self-employment outcome;
2. (b) The self-employment outcome is consistent with the person's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice;
3. (c) The self-employment outcome is in the most integrated setting possible, consistent with the person's informed choice;
4. (d) The person has maintained the self-employment outcome for a period of at least ninety (90) days;
5. (e) The person has submitted a monthly report of income and expenses from the business during at least ninety (90) days of monitoring showing that the person is receiving competitive compensation comparable to that of persons without disabilities in similar occupations or performing similar tasks who possess the same level of training, experience, and skills; and
6. (f) The person and the vocational rehabilitation counselor consider the self-employment outcome to be satisfactory and agree that the person is performing well in conducting the business of self-employment.

123.10 [Repealed].

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 50 DCR 6189 (August 1, 2003); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 54 DCR 6020 (June 22, 2007); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012929 (December 10, 2021).