DSHS DVR Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

• You will learn to serve a caseload of 50-110 DVR customers.
• Determine each customer’s eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services necessary to achieve their employment goal.
• Provide vocational rehabilitation counseling and support.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments of customer needs identifying the disability-related barriers to employment that require VR services.
• Arrange and interpret results of diagnostic testing and other vocational rehabilitation assessment tools; obtain benefit reports and interpret results to assist and counsel customers.
• Assist customers in developing and implementing an Individual Plan for Employment and monitor progress toward completion of employment goals.
• Maintain close working relationships with those who jointly serve DVR customers; promote DVR programs to the public and employers and conduct outreach in the community to share information about DVR services.
• Lead group orientations, workshops, and related activities to facilitate informed choices and prepare customers for employment.

Who should apply:

• Current Certification as a Rehabilitation Counselor by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).

• Or a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, psychology, counseling, or a field related to vocational rehabilitation (such as one that promotes the physical, psychosocial, or vocational well-being of people with disabilities).

• Or a master's degree with at least 18 quarter or 12 semester credit hours of rehabilitation counseling courses, plus 6 months of paid/unpaid vocational counseling, job placement, vocational assessment, or other areas of rehabilitation counseling experience.

OR

• Bachelor's degree in vocational rehabilitation counseling or reasonably related field, and accepted or enrolled in a rehabilitation counseling or related master's program that will be completed within two years, plus one year paid/unpaid experience consisting of:

• Direct work with people with disabilities in a setting such as an independent living center.

• Or direct service or advocacy activities that provide you with experience and skills in working with persons with disabilities.

Or direct experience as an employer, as a small business owner or operator, or in self-employment, or other experience in education, human resources, recruiting, or experience in supervising employees, training, or other activities that provide experience in integrated employment environments or in areas that assist others find employment (i.e.

WorkSource).

Click here for a complete list of desired qualifications. If you are currently enrolled (or accepted to an accredited vocational rehab master’s program), you may qualify for tuition reimbursement. Please discuss this at the time of interview.

• Apply technical knowledge of medical and psychological aspects of disabling conditions, labor market information, transferable skills evaluations, assistive technology, and job modifications.
• Assist customers in exercising informed choices to make collaborative decisions that are consistent with appropriate vocational rehabilitation practice.
• Support customers in developing a wide variety of social, educational, and financial resources to reach their employment goals by applying multiple counseling techniques to meet the varied needs of customers.
• Manage multiple and competing priorities within prescribed time limits.
• Negotiate with vendors and collaborate with other rehabilitation professionals.