If your blind child or student plans to attend college, this post is for you! It includes a summary of important information regarding transition services, followed by an overview of our personal experiences with the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA). And even if you don’t live in Georgia this post provides a great foundation for understanding what may be available in your state.
What is vocational rehabilitation?
The Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA) helps individuals with disabilities secure, maintain, or regain employment through personalized services, including career counseling, training, funding, and assistive technology. Serving individuals with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, the agency offers comprehensive, customized support to foster independence and career growth across the state.
(Note: Some states have a Commission for the Blind that specifically services blind and low vision individuals. Georgia does not.)
I’ve heard it’s a real pain to deal with this program. Is it?
Yes, it’s tricky and in Georgia its success rate is low. I think that’s because it’s an onerous and often inaccessible process. Its policies and counselors change often. Students and/or parents need to read and understand the policy handbook, stay up to date on policy changes, stay in constant contact with an ever-changing cast of assigned counselors and provide required paperwork before and after each semester.
As an example, since Kai applied for the program in 2018, we’ve exchanged more than 600 emails – the vast majority of those since 2021.
I asked Kai if he could have managed this system on his own and he expressed that it would have been incredibly difficult to juggle all the bureaucracy on top of his studies. He relied heavily on my understanding of the policies and my connections in the community to figure out how to most effectively get his needs met. Also, many of the processes were not accessible to him. For example, to get educational expenses covered, they required he print and sign each receipt. Then, scan and upload the documents. This would have been very inaccessible and time consuming for him to do without my help. When we asked if they could accommodate him by uploading the receipts he forwarded into a document that allowed him to sign electronically, they said that was not an option. I find it laughable that an organization created to help disabled students gain access to education does not prioritize accessibility.
Ultimately, was the program worth your time?
For us, YES!
GVRA would have covered Kai’s college tuition (but he’d qualified for the Zell Miller Scholarship which paid his undergraduate tuition). GVRA covered school related fees, a living stipend, and assistive technology funding. This, when combined with Kai’s competitive scholarships, allowed him to attend college and live independently throughout his undergrad education without incurring debt.
Is there support for families who need help navigating the system?
Yes, contact The Georgia Client Assistance Program and/or the Georgia Advocacy Office.
Tell Me More
When Kai turned 16, as part of his Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals, he registered for transition services through the Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA).
The assigned GVRA counselor was scheduled to attend Kai’s IEP meetings to develop an appropriate transition plan. Unfortunately, that counselor (the first of many), only called in to attend two meetings.
After graduation, GVRA has an assistive technology (AT) evaluation process that takes time, and funding is based on what they believe to be most critical in reaching the individual’s higher education goals. The representative who conducted Kai’s AT evaluation had little to no experience collaborating with a blind student and no idea what he would need to access music theory at a college level.
Kai’s main needs were: a screen reader, braille display, and music accessibility software. With college quickly approaching, and a delay in getting AT approval from GVRA, an online friend mentioned that Freedom Scientific was seeking a social media content creator. Kai reached out and agreed to create posts and training videos in exchange for a Focus 40 and JAWS. It turned out to be a great partnership.
Kai had always used a Braille Note Touch (BNT) to access Spanish and since he needed to pass three levels of Spanish in college, he needed a BNT. Unfortunately, GVRA did not approve it, so he reached out to a local Center for Independent Living (CIL). After a detailed application process, the CIL bought it for him.
His laptop was getting old and lagged with screen readers. He’d won a few competitive scholarships, so he opted to use some of that money to buy a new laptop, and not to get one through the GVRA program. We’d heard horror stories that if GVRA supplies a laptop they do not allow students to use it for anything personal such as social media, photo storage, or games – and a student we know had the GVRA laptop including her school work wiped clean by a GVRA rep (without notice).
GVRA did eventually approve the accessible programs and hardware that Kai needed for music school, but it arrived a few weeks after classes started – causing him stress from the start.
(Fair warning: I’m climbing on my soapbox now.)
Returning assistive technology (AT) equipment at high school graduation causes undue stress. Why doesn’t the transition process allow students to keep the AT they’ve used to reach their goals? Since Vocational Rehab is involved in the IEP, transition process, and goal setting, why can’t they reimburse the school as part of their services? Or better yet, why can’t the high school foot the bill? Kai’s high school had a surplus of money earmarked for disabled students but getting access to the funds seemed impossible. This gap in services created additional barriers to entry, and I feel it contributes to the dire educational and employment statistics.
Overall, Kai’s experience with GVRA has been successful and I recommend families at least give their state’s services a try. We understand most families report frustration and disappointment in the program, but Kai’s counselors have been kind and willing to learn.
Closing Tips
- Even with VR support your student will need strong self-advocacy and creative problem-solving skills to obtain everything they need to successfully graduate from college.
- Your student can (and should) still apply for competitive scholarships. Since most competitive scholarships require students to perform additional work, current GVRA policy doesn’t deduct the scholarship funds from VR funding. Remember, a scholarship allowed Kai to purchase a new laptop without the harsh use restrictions set by GVRA. (VR does deduct need-based funding such as Pell Grants.)
- Also, all services and funding are based on the individual student’s evaluation outcomes, therefore, levels of individual results will very.
If you have questions, or a personal VR experience that you’d like to share, please comment below. Thanks!
Navigating Blindness 