Overview of Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational Rehabilitation
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Vocational Rehabilitation
Overview of Vocational Rehabilitation
Canada has established multiple programs for vocational rehabilitation, most of which deal with veterans, spouses, or common-law partners and survivors. The rationale for these programs is to help reintegrate veterans into society by teaching new skills and competencies tailored to each individual's goals determined through assessment processes. By definition, vocation rehabilitation (VR) entails a process where persons with disabilities or illnesses are enabled to access, return, or maintain employment or other useful occupation (Chamberlain et al., 2009). In other words, VR involved the placement of individuals with disabilities into appropriate employment. The effectiveness of this process requires knowledge of the occupational requirements and the disabilities, adaptabilities, and preferences of the individuals (Dunn & Growick, 2000). Injuries and occupational incidences can disable personnel, especially those working in high-risk occupations. The injuries may prevent workers from returning to their former positions due to changes in their abilities. Rather than facing unemployment, VR helps these individuals secure alternatives that keep them employed. In the Canadian VR programs for veterans, the purpose is to keep the individuals or their spouses engaged in meaningful work as they retire from service. This means equipping them with new skills and placing them in relevant employment.
VR programs tend to differ significantly from each other depending on the target populations and the nature of the programs offered. However, they all have basic characteristics, including that VR programs target people with disabilities. In Canada, the VR policies are designed to help generate cost savings through reductions in benefit savings (Campolieti et al., 2014). The rationale is that people with disabilities are entitled to certain benefits, which can be eliminated by facilitating their employment. A description of these VR programs in the country is discussed, including their beneficiaries, referral pathways, components, planning processes, roles of practitioners, strengths and gaps, outcomes, and a set of recommendations for improvement.
Characteristics of Beneficiaries of VR
From the definitions of VR, it can be observed that the major characteristic of the VR beneficiaries is disability and illness that potentially prevent individuals from working or returning to their previous employment positions. According to Escorpizo et al. (2011), the VR process can be described as a disability management practice considering that the main goal of the programs is to rehabilitate individuals with disabilities. These beneficiaries can fall under different categories. First, there are those who get disability from injuries or incidents from their occupations. For example, the VR programs in Canada that deal with veterans deal with individuals that got their disabilities from their military service. In this case, such individuals cannot serve in the military again and could be placed in other employment options through VR training.
Second, individuals born with disabilities can also be modeled to fit within certain jobs. Employers can have on-the-job VR services that help disabled candidates acclimatize to a workplace to improve their competence and ability to work in certain positions (Wehman et al., 2018). Lastly, some programs target other beneficiaries not directly affected by the disability. For example, the veteran VR programs in Canada also target the spouses or common-law partners of the veterans. In this case, these individuals are direct dependents of the affected person, who is no longer in a position to support them. As a result, VR programs can help dependents to gain employment and reduce their dependence on disabled individuals. Overall, the beneficiaries of the VR programs are people with disabilities and other health issues that prevent them from engaging in meaningful employment.
Developmental and acquired health conditions addressed through VR are diverse. As explained by Frank (2016), health conditions are acquired during childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. Acquired problems during childhood include cerebral palsy, while muscular dystrophies can be acquired during childhood or adolescence. These are developmental health problems associated with an individual's growth. During adulthood, acquired health issues include trauma and stroke. In the case of high-risk occupations, physical disabilities, including loss of limbs, bone fractures, or other physical injuries are acquired during a person's career and are not associated with the developmental processes.
Referral Pathways, Funders, and Stakeholders
In Canada, participation in VR programs is often voluntary. There are no specified referral pathways, but there are eligibility criteria that individuals willing to participate must follow. For instance, the Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program targets the recipients of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit and helps them to return to work (Government of Canada, 2021). Therefore, it can be argued that the CPP is one of the major referral pathways. In addition to receiving the benefit, other criteria include the willingness to participate, the motivation to work, the likelihood of returning to work, and a stable medical condition.
Funding for VR services in Canada is often the responsibility of the Federal government through various agencies and bodies that handle the affairs of people with disabilities. For example, the CPP finances the training for the recipients engaged in the Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program. Other service providers are also contracted either by the government or organizations dealing with the disabled. The Public Works Government Services Canada (PWGSC) has worked on behalf of the Veteran Affairs Canada (VAC) to contract the services of KPMG to help facilitate the delivery of the Rehabilitation and Vocational Assistance Program (KPMG, 2021). The VAC itself is funded by the government as it handles benefits, pensions, and services of war veterans. The funds received are also used to pay for the VR service offered to the VAC members.
The stakeholders in the Canadian VR service programs are also diverse. Most importantly, individuals with disabilities, especially those under the CPP and VAC, are the primary stakeholders since the VR programs are designed for them. the VAC and CPP and other bodies dealing with the needs of the disabled in Canada are also stakeholders, most of whom provide the funding for their members' VR services. The government of Canada is the major funder and organizer of VR services across the country, which mostly deals with the policy issues surrounding VR practices.
Components of a VR Service
VR services typically comprise several components. According to Chamberlain et al. (2009), VR is made up of both assessment and interventions. Assessments focus on the impairments of an individual, functional abilities, and assessment of workplace and work. Functional abilities assessments consider such elements as the psychological, physical, and cognitive abilities of an individual, which are critical in determining whether an individual will be capable of working and in which capacities. The assessment component seeks to determine the interface between the individuals and their work, as well as the potential to return to the individual's work. The most desirable outcome for the VR process is that an individual returns to the same job as before the disability, even if it means modifying the work to fit the new capabilities of the individual. Alternatively, an individual might return to the same workplace but take up a different job and role, or find a new job elsewhere that fits his current capabilities.
The second component is the interventions that are designed to address the restrictions and limitations identified during the assessment. Ideally, a person that becomes disabled is restricted in terms of the roles and tasks that he or she can handle. Interventions are implemented to either return the capabilities or boost others that can allow a person to return to work or be placed under any other employment. Chamberlain et al. (2009) offer some examples of interventions, which include increasing an individual's fitness, addressing depression or anxiety, working conditioning, or boosting confidence. The interventions are developed based on the findings of the assessment, which means that VR services are often tailored to meet the needs of specific clients. For instance, an individual who loses one leg will need to be re-trained to work either with one leg missing or using supports or other mechanisms.
Person-Centered Planning Process
As mentioned above, the interventions implemented are designed based on the needs of an individual, which makes them tailored to specific needs. This is the idea of person-centered planning processes that are implemented during a VR service. According to Hanga et al. (2017), the notion of person-centeredness entails an individually-tailored and holistic approach to meeting the needs of a client and recognizing his or her as an expert and active participant throughout the process of rehabilitation. In this case, the processes involved cover both components of a VR service: assessment and interventions. The elements of a person-centered process...