Welcome

Welcome to the National Interpreter Education Center (NIEC) online module, Vocational Rehabilitation:  History, System & Process.  We also call this course “VR 101”.  This resource is designed to expose interpreting education students to the history of the Vocational Rehabilitation System and to foster interest in working this setting.  The module contains information on the history and process of VR.

The module was reviewed and updated in 2016 by the NIEC team.

Intended Use of Module

This module is designed to be integrated into your learning environment.  All the content is available as PDFs that can be downloaded and inserted in your institution’s Learning Management System (LMS) such as Blackboard, Moodle, etc. We have also provided “doc” versions of the content that you may use to customize according to your needs as long as you follow the copyright language at the bottom of each page.  Also, all video content is provided with links that you can copy and paste in your LMS.

We offer you this content free of charge and encourage you to incorporate it into your curriculum.  We ask that you retain the citation information available on the downloaded documents.

Best wishes!

Overview of Module

A comprehensive overview of the VR history and processes is not possible in this module.  Our intent is to provide a primer on some of the salient characteristics of the VR System.   We also touch upon related federal legislation that impacts the lives of Deaf VR consumers as well as interpreters.  Again, our purpose is not to provide a comprehensive, in-depth learning experience regarding VR and related federal laws. It is to expose students to these important factors that students will certainly encounter as they embark upon their careers.
The four main components of the module are:
•    Understanding the History of the Vocational Rehabilitation Program
•    The Vocational Rehabilitation Act
•    Other Significant Legislation
•    Understanding the VR Process
Each of these components may include at least a short reading, a PowerPoint presentation synthesizing the reading and related activities & assessment information.
The module also includes a pre and post-test to gauge the extent of learning as a result of participating in this module.
The Instructor Guide section includes a summary of all the resources and activities, as well as an option for integrating them into your learning management system.

VR 101:  HIstory, System, and Process-Acknowledgements

The mission of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) is to build and promote effective practices in the fields of interpreting and interpreter education. The NCIEC was formed as a vehicle for sharing knowledge, expertise, leadership, and fiscal resources among the member Centers and for establishing important partnerships with consumer, professional, and academic organizations and institutions. The involvement of consumers and vocational rehabilitation service providers in the development and implementation of all educational initiatives ensures that programming is grounded in the realities of everyday life. This classroom module on Interpreting in VR settings is one of the products of the 2010-2015 cycle.

In an effort to better understand the nature of specialized competence needed to interpret in this setting, a work-team comprised of members of the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) was formed. The members of this work team are Anna Witter-Merithew, Team Leader and Director of the MARIE Center, Trudy Schafer Project Coordinator for the NIEC, Lillian Garcia Peterkin, Outreach Specialist for the NIEC, Pauline Annarino, Director of the WRIEC, and Anna Davis, Project Coordinator for the Regional Interpreter Education Center at Northeastern University. This team worked diligently to develop content specifications for curriculum development and products to support this initiative.

Sincere appreciation and gratitude is extended to all the other Directors and Principal Investigators who make up the NCIEC and administer one of the member six (6) Centers—Ms. Pauline Annarino (WRIEC), Dr. Cheryl Davis (WRIEC), Ms. Cathy Cogen (NIEC), Dr. Dennis Cokely (NIEC), Ms. Diana Doucette (NURIEC), Ms. Bev Hollrah (GURIEC), Mr. Richard Laurion (CATIE), Dr. Laurie Swabey (CATIE), Ms. Anna Witter-Merithew (MARIE) and Dr. Leilani Johnson (MARIE). Without their leadership and fiscal support, this project would have been impossible.

Mr. Doug Bowen-Bailey of Digiterp Communications co-constructed this module and shared his technical expertise unstintingly as the content took shape. We are grateful for his contribution.

The MARIE Center has graciously shared resources developed for its own VR professional development effort for use in this module. We are grateful for their contributions.

A team of interpreters at the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission has shared their expertise with us in several ways. Examples include developing a PowerPoint presentation on interpreting in VR settings and several interpreters shared their personal and professional insights in the Interpreter Perspectives section of the module.

We are indebted to this team for their contribution.

Purpose:

The purpose of this module is to provide a primer on some of the salient characteristics of the VR System.   We also touch upon related federal legislation that impacts the lives of Deaf VR consumers as well as interpreters.  Our purpose is not to provide a comprehensive, in-depth learning experience regarding VR and related federal laws. It is to expose students to these important factors students will certainly encounter as they embark upon their careers.

Objectives:

By the end of this module, the learner will be able to:

• Describe the benefits of the public VR system.
• Understand the historical progression of federal legislation regarding programs and services for people with disabilities.
• Describe four key pieces of federal legislation effecting Deaf people and people with disabilities.
• Understand the impact of disability rights legislation on the need for a larger and more highly educated interpreting force.
• Understand the definition of “qualified interpreter” under the ADA.
• Know the eligibility criteria for VR services: verifiable disability; such disability is an impediment to employment, and, that there is a presumed benefit from receiving services.
• Know of the existence and impact of an “Order of Selection”.

Copyright © 2013-2016 by the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC).

This NCIEC product was developed by the National Interpreter Education Center (NIEC) at Northeastern University.  Permission is granted to copy and disseminate these materials, in whole or in part, for educational, non-commercial purposes, provided that NCIEC is credited as the source and referenced appropriately on any such copies.