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North Dakota Tribal 121 Vocational Rehabilitation Projects

DVR & Tribal 121 VR Projects

Common Ground - A Journey to Understanding Disabilities (115.21 Mb WMV)

The Tribal 121 Vocational Rehabilitation Projects and DVR seek to bridge cultural traditions and values to expand opportunities of employment and self-support. The Tribal 121 Projects offer a greater understanding of the local, cultural, and familial needs on the Indian Nation while DVR offers a broad understanding of the business and college environment off the native lands.

Together, we share a philosophy of:

Respect for individual dignity, personal responsibility, self-determination, and the pursuit of meaningful careers.
Respect for the privacy, rights, and equal access of the individual.
Inclusion, integration, and full participation of the individual.
Support for the involvement of an individual's representative if requested, desired or needed.
Support for individual advocacy, systemic advocacy and community involvement.

The Tribal 121 Vocational Rehabilitation Projects and DVR share compatible core services like:

An assessment for determining eligibility and vocational rehabilitation needs.
Counseling and guidance, including information and support services to assist an individual in exercising informed choice.
Referral and other services to secure needed services from other agencies.
Job-related services, including job search and placement assistance, job retention services, follow-up services.

There are four common eligibility criteria questions shared by both of our programs:

Does the applicant have a physical or mental impairment?
Is the physical or mental impairment an impediment to employment?
Is there a reasonable expectation that the applicant will benefit in terms of an employment outcome from VR services?
Does the applicant require VR services in order to achieve a successful employment outcome?

To receive services from a Tribal 121 Project, the individual must have an official tribal enrollment and must live on or near a tribal reservation.

The Tribal 121 Projects and DVR assist in creating an Individualized Plan for Employment, or IPE. This is a plan of services to help the individual reach their employment goal. As part of this process, the programs:

Provide for the IPE to be developed in partnership with the client.
Provide the client with the opportunity to exercise informed choice.
Has the IPE approved with a client's signature
Give full consideration of comparable services and similar benefits.
Provide a substantial service according to an IPE and wait at least 90 days after the client begins working before closing the case.
Make post-employment services available, if they are needed.