State funded employment services may supplement employment services offered through the Community Waiver and Homeward Bound Waiver, per OAC 317:40-7.
- (1) State funded employment services include:
- (A) therapeutic leave, limited to 150 hours per service recipient each fiscal year.
- (i) Each service recipient is eligible for up to 150 hours of therapeutic leave absence per fiscal year if the service recipient receives:
- (I) center-based prevocational services;
- (II) community-based prevocational services;
- (III) enhanced community-based prevocational services;
- (IV) individual placement in community-based services; or
- (V) supplemental supports.
- (ii) Therapeutic leave may be used for:
- (I) legal holidays, maximum of 12 days per fiscal year;
- (II) service recipient or family initiated vacations;
- (III) service recipient medical appointment, concern, illness, or injury;
- (IV) severe weather conditions; or
- (V) service recipient refusal to attend the employment program.
- (iii) When a service recipient is absent for more than five consecutive days due to illness, the service recipient's Team meets to discuss possible:
- (I) program interventions; and
- (II) suspension of the service recipient's employment program to avoid exhausting all available therapeutic leave.
- (iv) When a service recipient refuses to attend his or her employment program for three consecutive days, the Team, including residential staff, meets to discuss possible program changes. The employment provider cannot claim for therapeutic leave beyond the three consecutive days until the Team has met.
- (v) Claims for therapeutic leave require supporting documentation that includes the date and length of absence and specific reason for absence.
- (vi) The provider can claim for therapeutic leave only for the number of scheduled work hours the service recipient missed.
- (vii) The provider cannot claim for therapeutic leave when the:
- (I) provider agency is closed for reasons other than severe weather conditions;
- (II) provider staff is absent, other than on legal holidays; or
- (III) service recipient's absence is caused by the provider’s inability to supply trained back-up staff.
- (viii) The provider pays the direct support staff member the salary that the staff member would have earned if the:
- (I) provider bills for therapeutic leave; and
- (II) direct support staff member is unable to work due to the absence of the service recipient.
- (B) center-based prevocational services;
- (C) individual placement in community-based services;
- (D) community-based prevocational services;
- (E) enhanced community-based services;
- (F) individual placement in job coaching services;
- (G) job coaching services;
- (H) enhanced job coaching services;
- (I) stabilization and extended services; and
- (J) employment training specialist services.
- (2) State funded employment services are available to:
- (A) members of the Homeward Bound class who are not eligible for DDSD waiver services; and
- (B) service recipients who are transitioning from a public or private intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded (ICF/MR), an intermediate care facility, or a skilled nursing facility. If assessment activities occur prior to community placement, state funds for up to 40 documented hours of employment training services may be claimed or assessment, staff training, or meetings.