[Print This Page] VR Manual > Chapter 8 A

Chapter 8 A

Agency Services - Civil Rights

  1. The services of the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, sex, age, creed, religion, national origin, disability, or political affiliation.
    The above statement is the philosophy and strictly enforced practice of the department in providing services to all customers and in contacts with the general public. It is the duty and responsibility of each worker to see that no discrimination is practiced or permitted. Services will also be provided to civil employees of the U. S. Government, disabled public safety officers who are disabled in the line of duty and to the disabled American Indians on and off the reservation under the same terms and conditions applied to other disabled individuals. Please adhere to the following guidelines:
    1. Everyone with whom the agency deals must be treated with respect and common courtesy. This includes the use of courteous titles in both oral and written communications.
    2. All vendors of services to customers must be in compliance with the Civil Rights Act. These include physicians, training institutions, hospitals, vocational schools, and those providing room and board or housing for customers.
    3. All customers must be informed of their right of appeal of rehabilitation decisions with which they are not in agreement, including mediation as an option.
    4. All customers must be informed of the availability of the Client Assistance Program (CAP) at any time there is a disagreement regarding the provision of rehabilitation services.
    5. Each worker must be familiar with dealing with civil rights compliance requirements.
    6. The Agency's Affirmative Action Plan for Equal Employment Opportunity also offers civil rights information.
    7. Non-discrimination under state grants and program regulations issued by the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy.

Definition of Civil Rights
Customers and applicants have certain civil rights guaranteed by law. Among these rights are the right to receive services on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, sex, national origin, age, political affiliation, or disabling condition; confidentiality of personal information; access (with certain exceptions) to case folders; and access to a Client Assistance Program (CAP). The legal bases for these civil rights are the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1992, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as mended; the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and their implementing regulations.
Other Rights
In addition, VR customers have the right to receive written notification, including the reason, when not accepted for VR services; the right to jointly develop the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) with a rehabilitation counselor; the right to develop their own IPE on forms provided by the agency; the right to comment on the IPE regarding attitude toward the VR program; and the right of notification in writing when his/her case is closed. Additional rights also include an annual review if the customer's case is closed in Statuses 08, 28 or 30 because the individual is in a non-integrated work setting or because of "disability(ies) too severe."

  1. Confidentiality of Information
    The policies and procedures of DBVI for the proper dissemination of information are to comply with the statutes of the Code of Virginia, Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Virginia Privacy Protection Act, and all applicable federal laws. The DBVI Policies and Procedures Manual, Section General, on Information Dissemination/Confidentiality and the Manual, Appendix E, Confidentiality of Information, discusses policies and procedures on confidentiality.
    A translator may be provided to provide information on the Confidentiality policy to non-English speaking individuals. TDD and other specialized modes of communication (Braille, etc.) may be utilized to proved information on confidentiality to deafblind individuals. It is important that DBVI workers have a thorough understanding of these policies.
    Appendix E, Confidentiality of Information, contains a thorough discussion on confidentiality.
  2. DBVI--Service Complaint or Grievance for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Customers/Applicants
    Objective
    It is the objective of this procedure to afford an immediate fair non-judicial method for the resolution of disputes which may arise between DBVI and any citizen of Virginia who is, or seeks to be, a recipient of services.
    Policy
    A service complaint is defined as a complaint or dispute of any citizen of Virginia pertaining to services sought from or provided by DBVI. When such disputes cannot be resolved between the complainant and the employee, who provides or denies the service, it is the policy of DBVI that the complainant may appeal the decision and be afforded a hearing or mediation by higher authority if he/she so desire. A complainant requesting mediation or a hearing shall have at every step the right to present witnesses and/or evidence to support his/her grievance with complete freedom from reprisal. The customer may have access to relevant materials as provided by Section 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia.
    DBVI shall not suspend, reduce or terminate services being provided for the individual pending a decision by a mediator or hearing officer. These services also include assessment and plan development and will continue to be provided unless they have been obtained through misrepresentation, fraud, collusion, or criminal conduct on the part of the individual or the individual's representative. The individual or, when appropriate, his representative may request services to be suspended by DBVI.
    All customers who register a complaint/grievance must be reminded by the counselor or supervisor of the availability of the Client Assistance Program (CAP). DBVI provides the toll-free number for CAP on the copy of the application retained by the customer.  Customers will be provided with the names and addresses of individuals with whom requests for mediation or due process hearings may be filed. 
    Before requesting a hearing, customers of DBVI should make every effort to resolve the dispute through frank discussions with the employee whose decision is in dispute. It is normally expected that virtually all grievances can be handled in this manner. If, however, the grievance is not resolved, the complainant should proceed as follows:
    First Step (Informal)
    If the grievance is not resolved within ten full working days after discussions between the customer and the employee, the grievant must reduce his/her grievance to writing on a form obtainable from regional managers, facility administrators, or supervisors. The fully completed grievance form (DBVI 70-016) shall be delivered by the grievant to the employee of DBVI with whom discussions were held. A copy shall also be delivered to that employee's immediate supervisor. The immediate supervisor of this employee shall meet with the grievant and the affected employee within a reasonable time not to exceed two weeks of receipt of the grievance form. The grievant may have a representative and/or legal counsel of his/her choice present at this meeting. Every effort will be made to reach a mutually satisfactory solution during the first step.
    Second Step (Informal)
    If the supervisor's reply from the first step meeting is not acceptable to the grievant, he/she may request in writing a meeting with the deputy commissioner for services. Such a request must be submitted within a reasonable time not to exceed two weeks after the first step decision is made. The deputy commissioner for services shall meet with the grievant and/or his/her representative or legal counsel and the employee within five full working days of the grievant's request and reply in writing to the grievant within three full working days following the second step meeting. In the event the customer's complaint is with the regional manager or VRCBVI director, the first step meeting will be handled by the deputy commissioner for services and the second step by the commissioner.
    Mediation
    If the grievant is not satisfied with results from the second step meeting, and if both the grievant and the agency agree to participate in mediation, the individual may request the services of a mediator to help resolve the issue. The individual, if mediation is agreed to by the agency,  may elect to go directly to mediation (by passing the first and second steps). A mediator, who is not an employee of DBVI, will provide mediation. The grievant, who is interested in pursuing mediation, will be provided services from a pool of mediators maintained by DBVI. The grievant may also choose to go directly to a formal hearing with any disagreement, and without "considering" mediation services. Once the complaint/grievance enters the formal process, the services of a mediator will no longer be an option available to the grievant.
    Formal Hearing Process
    The grievant may elect to waive the informal hearing process (Step 1/Step 2) and or mediation and enter immediately the formal hearing process.
    If the deputy commissioner for services' reply from the second step meeting is not acceptable to the grievant, or results of mediation is not acceptable, he/she may submit the grievance to the formal hearing process. This involves an impartial hearing officer who is selected on a random basis from a pool of impartial hearing officers. The request for a review before the hearing officer must be received by the VR program director (fair hearing coordinator) within seven working days after the conclusion of the second step and or mediation. The agency will maintain a list of qualified impartial hearing officers, identified jointly by the agency and the Rehabilitation Council. These hearing officers will have a thorough knowledge of vocational rehabilitation, and are not affiliated with the agency. Upon receiving the request from the grievant for a formal hearing, the hearing coordinator will randomly appoint a hearing officer from the list maintained by the agency. The formal hearing must take place within 60 days of the request by the grievant. The hearing coordinator, will arrange for location and time for the hearing.  DBVI will arrange to have someone tape the hearing.  The grievant may have present at this hearing a representative or legal counsel at his/her own expense. The deputy commissioner for services (or his designee) will represent the agency. The deputy commissioner for services (or his designee) will determine the agency's list of witnesses to be submitted to the hearing officer. The hearing officer will receive a copy of the grievance form.  The agency will submit as exhibits any information, case notes/narratives, communications, forms, etc. that are in the case file and are relevant to the hearing issue.  The hearing officer may also convene a pre-hearing conference to discuss procedural rulings or evidence received.
    The conduct of the hearing before the hearing officer will be as follows:
    1. The hearing officer shall determine the proprietary of attendance at the hearing of those individuals not having a direct interest in the hearing.
    2. The hearing officer may, at the beginning of the hearing, ask for statements clarifying the issues involved.
    3. Exhibits offered by the grievant may be received by the hearing officer; when received, they shall be marked and made part of the record.
    4. The grievant and his/her representative and the agency employee shall then present claims, proof, and witnesses who shall submit to questions or other examinations. The hearing officer, at his/her discretion, may vary this procedure, but shall present full opportunity to all parties and witnesses for presentation of any material or relevant proof.
    5. The parties shall produce such additional evidence as the hearing officer may deem necessary to reach an understanding or determination of the dispute. The hearing officer shall be the judge of relevancy or materiality of the evidence presented in the case. All evidence shall be taken in the presence of the parties.

After all evidence has been presented, the hearing officer will declare the hearing closed. The hearing officer, for good cause, could reopen the hearing prior to making his/her decision in the case. The hearing office will also have discretion to request the grievant and/or agency to submit information that was not previously considered prior to the close of the hearing.
The hearing officer will send copies of his/her decision to the grievant, the employee, and the Commissioner within 30 days following the conclusion of the hearing. The grievant and all parties shall be informed that the decision of the hearing officer is subject to review by an official from the Governor's office.
The impartial review by the reviewing official from the Governor's office would only occur upon request by one of the parties to the fair hearing; the request must be made within 20 days after the fair hearing decision, otherwise the decision is final. The reviewing official, within 30 days of providing the notice of intent to review the decision of the impartial hearing officer, makes a final decision and provides a full written report of the decision together with the bases for the decision to the applicant or eligible individual or the individual's representative and DBVI commissioner.
The reviewing official must provide an opportunity for the submission of additional evidence and information relevant to the final decision. The reviewing official has the authority to overturn or modify all or a part of the hearing officer's decision. The reviewing official, however, cannot overturn or modify a decision that supports the position of the customer unless the reviewing official concludes, based on clear and convincing evidence, that the decision is clearly erroneous on the basis of being contrary to the State plan, Rehabilitation Act and regulations, or any State regulation or policy that is consistent with federal requirements.
Selection of the Impartial Hearing Officer
The DBVI and the Rehabilitation Council will identify jointly a minimum of three impartial hearing officers, who will be available to serve during the formal phase of the Customer Appeals Process for the Vocational Rehabilitation program. The impartial hearing officers must meet the following requirements:

    1. Must have had previous work experience in the field of rehabilitation
    2. Must be knowledgeable of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
    3. Must not be a current employee of DBVI
    4. Must not have any personal or financial interest that would be in conflict with the applicant/or customer's objectivity

The commissioner of the agency or his/her designee will request on a random basis the service of one of the identified public hearing officers when the informal appeal has completed the second step without resolution; mediation did not result in satisfactory resolution for the customer; or, when the individual elected to bypass the mediation or informal process (steps 1 and 2).
Extension of Time
Reasonable time extensions can be granted in the appeals process if one or both parties show good cause.
NOTE: Nothing in this procedure is intended to circumvent or to modify the existing right of DBVI to do the following--provided that none of these may be exercised in an arbitrary or capricious manner:

    1. Establish and maintain service standards
    2. Determine the methods and means by which services are to be carried out
    3. Direct the work of its employees
    4. Maintain the efficiency of governmental operations and services to customers
  1. Client Assistance Program - Major Objective
    1. The major objective of customer assistance program are to "... inform and advise all customers and customer applicants of all benefits under the Act, and upon request of such customers or customer applicants, assist them in their relationships with the projects, programs, and facilities providing services to them under the Act." Other objectives are:

Please call the CAP manager for assistance in CAP matters. Use the toll-free number 1-800-552-3962 and give this number to VR customers.

    1. Reasonable Accommodation
      Reasonable accommodation is a highly individualized process of helping one person perform the tasks involved in doing one job. The individual's own experience and assessment of needs related to the job in question will produce preferences and recommendations which deserve great consideration. This means that the employer should not look upon the examples which follow as definitive. Rather, they are illustrative and intended to portray a range of alternatives in different categories of accommodation.

1.      Visually Limited Individuals (Depending Upon Limitations)

        1. The following is a partial list of accommodations:
          1. Use oral communications whether in person, on tape, or on the telephone as the primary mode.
          2. Provide orientation to co-workers.
          3. Offer a reader for the blind person.
          4. Place Braille floor indicators on elevators and on important direction signs.
          5. Have training materials and employee information, such as material on rights and benefits, available in Braille, computer disk, large type, and/or tape.
          6. Explore such devices as talking calculators, paperless Braille, and a wide variety of other new technologies.
          7. Interpreters for deafblind.

2.      Summary
Illustrative examples of some possible accommodations have been presented for visually impaired individuals. Many of these are "no cost" accommodations; others involve minor or major financial outlays. The point is not one of cost so much as one of effectiveness which accommodation, or set of accommodations, most meets the need.