DSHS DVR Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Join the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and our hard-working team of professionals as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 1-3 in Training at our Everett Office. This role is suited for individuals committed to the economic prosperity of students, youth, and adults with disabilities who are seeking good-paying jobs and career advancement.

About the role

You will provide vocational rehabilitation counseling and case management services to assist people with disabilities in obtaining and maintaining employment. DVR may offer relocation assistance for out-of-state hires. In cooperation with other agencies and service providers, you will work with customers to complete comprehensive assessments and develop an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) to achieve their employment goals.

In this role, you will independently provide vocational rehabilitation counseling and case management to a caseload of students, youth, and adults with disabilities to assist them in achieving competitive employment outcomes.

Responsibilities

• Learn to serve a caseload of 90-110 DVR customers.
• Determine each customer’s eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services necessary to achieve their employment goal.
• Provide vocational rehabilitation counseling and support.
• Conduct comprehensive assessments of customer needs, identifying disability-related barriers to employment that require vocational rehabilitation services.
• Arrange and interpret results of diagnostic testing and other vocational rehabilitation assessment tools; obtain benefit reports and interpret results to assist and counsel customers.
• Assist customers in developing and implementing an Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) and monitor progress toward completion of employment goals.
• Maintain close working relationships with those who jointly serve DVR customers; promote DVR programs to the public and employers, and conduct outreach in the community to share information about DVR services.
• Lead group orientations, workshops, and related activities to facilitate informed choices and prepare customers for employment.

Qualifications

To qualify, you must meet one of the following:

• Current Certification as a Rehabilitation Counselor by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC).
• A master's degree in rehabilitation counseling, psychology, counseling, or a field related to vocational rehabilitation (such as one that promotes the physical, psychosocial, or vocational well-being of people with disabilities).
• A master's degree with at least 18 quarter or 12 semester credit hours of rehabilitation counseling courses, plus 6 months of paid/unpaid vocational counseling, job placement, vocational assessment, or other areas of rehabilitation counseling experience.
• Acceptance/enrollment in a rehabilitation counseling or related master’s degree program that will be completed within two years, and a bachelor’s degree. One year of paid experience may be substituted with unpaid experience consisting of:
  • Direct work with individuals with disabilities in a setting such as an independent living center.
  • Direct service or advocacy activities that provide experience and skills in working with individuals with disabilities.
  • Direct experience as an employer, small business owner, or in self-employment, human resources, recruitment, or supervising employees/training.

If you are currently enrolled (or accepted) in an accredited vocational rehabilitation master’s program, you may qualify for tuition reimbursement. Discuss this at the time of the interview.

Skills

• Demonstrate professional skills in applying technical knowledge of medical and psychological aspects of disabling conditions, labor market information, transferable skills evaluations, assistive technology, and job modifications.
• Ability to assist customers in exercising informed choices to make collaborative decisions consistent with appropriate vocational rehabilitation practice.
• Support customers in developing a wide variety of social, educational, and financial resources to reach their employment goals by applying multiple counseling techniques to meet the varied needs of customers.
• Manage multiple and competing priorities within prescribed time limits.
• Negotiate with vendors and collaborate with other rehabilitation professionals.

The goal class for this role is Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor 3. We may consider applicants at the VRC1 or VRC2 level, with a training plan to advance to VRC3. Education and experience determine qualifications at each level and are evaluated by the hiring team. Starting salary depends on your qualifications. Thoroughly submitted application documents will assist in determining your experience and education in this area.

Prior to hire, a background check including criminal record history may be conducted. Employees driving on state business must have a valid driver's license. Employees driving a privately owned vehicle on state business must have liability insurance.