Key Players and Their Roles

People say it takes a village to raise a child. Similarly, it takes a support team to help students with disabilities prepare for and achieve their educational and vocational goals. Support teams often include:

• parents/guardians
• teachers
• occupational therapists
• physical therapists
• speech therapists,
• mental health counselors
• orientation & mobility specialists
• VR counselors
• social workers
• employment specialists
• job coaches
• employers

This training focuses primarily on the roles of two key players: the VR counselor and the student with a disability. The counselor's role is to ensure the student has all the information necessary to make informed choices—the counselor is the navigator. The student's role is to evaluate options and make informed decisions—the student is the driver.

The counselor guides. The student decides.

Who Pays for and Oversees VR?

VR's federal partner, the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), invests roughly 80% of the funding necessary to run a state VR program; each state is required to invest the remaining 20%. RSA oversees the state programs by providing technical guidance, ensuring compliance with the law, and evaluating performance according to specified standards and indicators.