CHAPTER 50-06.1
VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION 50-06.1-01. Definitions. In this chapter, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires: 1. "Department" means the North Dakota department of human services. 2. "Division" means the vocational rehabilitation division. 3. "Division executive director" means the director of the vocational rehabilitation division. 4. "Rules" means rules adopted by the division executive director with the approval of the executive director of the department. 50-06.1-02. Acceptance of benefits of federal acts in vocational rehabilitation Cooperation with federal government. The state of North Dakota hereby accepts all of the provisions and benefits of the acts of Congress of the United States to assist states to provide for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons in accordance with state statutes and policies of the department, and the department shall comply with such conditions as may be necessary to secure the full benefit of such acts. The department shall cooperate pursuant to agreement with the federal government in carrying out the purposes of any federal act pertaining to vocational rehabilitation and shall adopt such methods of administration as may be found by the federal government to be necessary for the proper and efficient operation of such agreement. 50-06.1-03. Custody and payment of vocational rehabilitation funds. The department is charged with the duty of administering all funds that are received from federal and state sources for vocational rehabilitation purposes. All such moneys received must be placed in the custody of the state treasurer and must be paid in accordance with legislative appropriations by the office of management and budget as directed by the division executive director. 50-06.1-04. Division executive director - Duties - Relationship of division to department. The department is responsible for vocational rehabilitation. The division executive director must be appointed in accordance with established personnel standards and on the basis of the person's education, training, experience, and demonstrated ability. In carrying out the division executive director's duties under this chapter, the division executive director, with the approval of the department: 1. Shall make regulations governing personnel standards, the protection of records and confidential information, the manner and form of filing applications, eligibility and investigation and determination thereof for vocational rehabilitation services, procedures for fair hearings, and such other regulations as the division executive director finds necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter relating to vocational rehabilitation. 2. Shall establish, with the approval of the department, appropriate subordinate administrative units within the division. 3. Shall appoint, with the approval of the department, such personnel as the division executive director deems necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the division. 4. Shall prepare and submit to the department annual reports of activities and expenditures and, prior to each regular session of the legislative assembly, estimates of sums required for carrying out the provisions of this chapter relating to vocational rehabilitation, and estimates of the amounts to be made available for this purpose from all sources. 5. Shall make certification for disbursement, in accordance with regulations, of funds available for vocational rehabilitation purposes.
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Shall take, with the approval of the department, such other action as the division executive director deems necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this chapter relating to vocational rehabilitation. May delegate, with the approval of the department, to any officer or employee of the division such of the division executive director's powers and duties, except the making of regulations and the appointment of personnel, as the division executive director finds necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter relating to vocational rehabilitation. Shall appoint such advisory bodies with emphasis on consumer participation as deemed necessary for compliance with any federal act pertaining to vocational rehabilitation or for the proper and efficient carrying out of the duties of the division.
50-06.1-05. Administration of vocational rehabilitation. Except as otherwise provided by law, the department shall provide vocational rehabilitation services to disabled individuals determined by the division executive director to be eligible therefor. In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the division, among other things, may: 1. Cooperate with other departments, agencies, and institutions, both public and private, in providing for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled individuals, in studying the problems involved therein, and in establishing, developing, and providing, in conformity with the purposes of this chapter relating to vocational rehabilitation, such programs, facilities, and services as may be necessary or desirable. 2. Enter into reciprocal agreements with other states to provide for the vocational rehabilitation of residents of the states concerned. 3. Conduct research and compile statistics relating to the vocational rehabilitation of disabled individuals. 50-06.1-06. Rehabilitation services provided to any disabled individual - Eligibility. Vocational rehabilitation services must be provided to any disabled individual: 1. Whose vocational rehabilitation the division executive director determines, after full investigation, can be satisfactorily achieved; or 2. Who is eligible therefor under the terms of an agreement with another state or with the federal government. 50-06.1-07. Rehabilitation services provided to disabled individuals requiring financial assistance. Except as may be otherwise provided by law or as may be specified in any agreement with another state or with the federal government, rehabilitation services must be provided at public cost to disabled individuals found to require financial assistance. 50-06.1-08. Gifts - Authorization to accept and use. The division executive director, with the approval of the department, may accept and use gifts made unconditionally by will or otherwise for carrying out the purposes of this chapter. Gifts made under such conditions as in the judgment of the department are proper and consistent with the provisions of this chapter may be so accepted and must be held, invested, and reinvested, and used in accordance with the conditions of the gift. 50-06.1-09. Maintenance not assignable. The right of a disabled individual to vocational rehabilitation maintenance under this chapter is not transferable or assignable at law or in equity. 50-06.1-10. Hearings allowed to aggrieved persons. Any individual applying for or receiving vocational rehabilitation who is aggrieved by any action or inaction of the division is entitled, in accordance with regulations, to a fair hearing by the department.
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50-06.1-11. Misuse of vocational rehabilitation lists and records. Repealed by S.L. 1977, ch. 451, § 2. 50-06.1-12. Limitation of political activity. Repealed by S.L. 1977, ch. 420, § 3. 50-06.1-13. Division to license blind operators and operate vending facilities Continuing appropriation of income. The division shall act as the state licensing agency to license the operators of vending facilities on federal property within the state to the extent permitted or required by the Randolph-Sheppard Act [Pub. L. 74-732; 20 U.S.C. 107]. The division may take any action, consistent with the provisions of that Act, for the purpose of providing blind persons with remunerative employment, enlarging the economic opportunities of the blind, and stimulating the blind to greater efforts in striving to make themselves self-supporting. If there is no blind licensee operating a vending facility on federal property, the division may operate or contract for the operation of a vending facility, provided that all income from such a vending facility is distributed in a manner consistent with the requirements of such Act. There is hereby appropriated on a continuing basis all income from vending facilities which the division operates, or contracts to operate, consistent with the requirements of such Act and the regulations and policies of the United States secretary of education, promulgated thereunder, for the purposes of: 1. Maintenance and replacement of equipment. 2. The purchase of new equipment. 3. Management services. 4. Assuring a fair minimum return to operators of vending facilities. 5. Retirement or pension funds, health insurance contributions, and provision for paid sick leave and vacation time, if it is determined by a majority vote of blind licensees licensed by the division, after the division provides to each such licensee full information on all matters relevant to such proposed program, that income should be used for such purposes. 50-06.1-14. Establishment of rehabilitation teaching program - Authorization of positions. The office of vocational rehabilitation may establish two rehabilitation teacher positions and one half-time teacher and half-time supervisor position for the rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired. Each teacher shall provide rehabilitation teaching services that may include evaluation, counseling, adjustment training, communication, mobility, and other rehabilitation services to the blind and the visually impaired. Those services must be provided in the home of blind and visually impaired individuals, nursing homes, intermediate care facilities, senior citizen centers, and other facilities and centers in which one may find blind or visually impaired individuals. Rehabilitation teachers may provide aids and appliances, as well as assistance with meal planning, medication management, transportation needs, and recreation and social needs. Rehabilitation teachers may provide orientation to blindness instruction for those working directly with or otherwise involved in daily activities of the blind and visually impaired, including home health aids, homemakers, senior companions, staff of nursing homes and other professionals, paraprofessionals, and family members. The administrator of services for the blind and deaf in the office of vocational rehabilitation shall coordinate the activities and the services to be provided by persons employed pursuant to the provisions of this section and section 50-06.1-15. 50-06.1-15. Cooperation between agencies. The office of vocational rehabilitation and other divisions of the department of human services shall work cooperatively to locate eligible clients and to identify and provide them with the services they require to lead a full and meaningful life.
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50-06.1-16. Committee on employment of people with disabilities - Appointment Expenses - Director - Duties. There is established a committee on employment of people with disabilities. The committee consists of three members. The governor shall appoint each member for a term of three years, staggered so that the term of one member expires July first of each year. A vacancy occurring other than by reason of the expiration of a term must be filled in the same manner as original appointments, except that the appointment may be made for only the remainder of the unexpired term. The members are entitled to be paid for mileage and actual expenses incurred in attending meetings and in performance of their official duties in amounts provided by law for other state officers and employees. The committee, with the approval of the governor, shall appoint a full-time director to serve at the pleasure of the governor. For administrative purposes, the director is an unclassified employee of the department and is not included in the classified service. The committee shall coordinate activities and serve as a clearinghouse for information relating to the employment of people with disabilities. The committee shall prepare for and perform followup duties in connection with state, regional, and national conferences, encourage interest, participation, and cooperation with state departments, agencies, and other organizations in developing needed services, facilities, and opportunities, and provide consultant help to local organizations created for the purpose of coordinating activities for the employment of people with disabilities.
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