Vocational Rehabilitation
Information Sharing

In Ohio, the Rehabilitation Services Commission (RSC) is the designated state agency for providing vocational rehabilitation and other services to people with disabilities. Created by the Ohio Legislature in 1970, RSC is guided by the federal Rehabilitation Act. Other legal authority is contained in the Ohio Revised Code and Title IV of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. RSC is governed by seven commissioners, a majority of whom have disabilities. We also have one of the most extensive agency-supported consumer advisory networks of any State of Ohio entity, with a statewide Consumer Advisory Council and 16 local counterparts providing direct input to our policies and programs. An administrator, appointed by the commission, heads RSC and recommends policies and goals.

Vocational Rehabilitation

RSC helps eligible people with disabilities prepare for careers consistent with their interests and abilities. A counselor works with a person who has a disability to select a vocational goal and plan an individualized program designed to lead to employment. Each RSC consumer actively participates in planning his or her own services, and makes choices about how those services are delivered. They may include evaluation, restoration, vocational training, occupational tools and equipment, adaptive technology or job placement assistance. Rehabilitation may take months or years.

Eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services is based on three factors: (1) a person's physical or mental impairment results in a substantial impediment to employment; (2) that individual has the ability to benefit from services in terms  of an employment outcome; and (3) vocational rehabilitation services are required for that person to prepare for, secure, retain or regain employment.

Maintaining Confidentiality

Under federal and state law confidential information is any information received about any person who has been referred to RSC, has applied for services, is currently receiving services, or has received services. Anyone who has access to information held by RSC is bound to keep such information confidential.

The concept of confidentiality is based on the consumer's right to privacy, expressed or implied by law. It means that disclosure made by the consumer to any RSC staff member will not be revealed to others except under certain circumstances.

Confidentiality regulations, both state and federal, protect the person who is receiving vocational rehabilitation services and ensure that information shared by the person or gathered by the agency will only be used for the person's rehabilitation. In handling personal information, an RSC employee has an ethical obligation and a legal responsibility to assure that the consumer will not suffer embarrassment or other detrimental effect. The consumer should be confident that RSC will use this information constructively on his/her behalf. RSC must provide protection against improper disclosure, and must share pertinent information with appropriate persons at appropriate times in order to provide the best possible service to get the person a job. It is the obligation of RSC staff to promote the rehabilitation of the consumer by following federal regulations and state statues which protect privacy and prohibit the unwarranted disclosure of personal information.

General Consent Required

By signing the general consent on the RSC application for services, the consumer permits RSC to release only that information needed to obtain services from service providers, vendors, other agencies, and facilities; to obtain placement from employers; to report to the referral source; and to provide information requested by parole officers.

If more information than that which identifies the consumer is released to a service provider or a cooperating agency, RSC must inform the provider of the following:

whether any of the information released may have a potentially adverse effect on the consumer, and therefore must be released only to a physician or psychologist;

that the information may not be released to others without the consumer's consent; and

that the information must be used only for the purpose provided.

The consumer may not have access to the following information.

POTENTIALLY ADVERSE

Any medical, psychological, or other information determined by an RSC medical or psychological consultant to have a potentially adverse effect on the consumer may be released only to a person who is designated in writing by the consumer. RSC does not assume the cost for the interpretation of information to the consumer. When such information is present in a case record (and therefore removed from the record before the consumer's review), the consumer must be informed of the procedure for obtaining the information.

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

The consumer does not have access to information received from the Social Security Administration, but must be referred to the local SSA office to obtain the information.

OTHER CONFIDENTIAL

The consumer does not have access to un-purchased information that is marked confidential or which otherwise indicates that it should not be shown to the consumer. If the consumer requests such information, the consumer must be referred to the source.

Consent from the consumer is not needed for RSC to release consumer information for investigations in connection with law enforcement, fraud, or abuse (except where expressly prohibited by federal or state laws or regulations); to protect the consumer or others when the consumer poses a threat to his or her safety or to the safety of others; in response to a court order or to a judicial order; to report a felony as required by law; and if so required by federal law. The consumer's consent is not needed for the following.

FOR AUDIT, EVALUATION, OR RESEARCH

RSC will release consumer information to an organization, agency, or individual engaged in audit, evaluation, or research only for purposes directly connected with the administration of the vocational rehabilitation program, or for purposes which would significantly improve the quality of life for persons with disabilities, and only if the organization, agency, or individual assures that:

The information will be used only for the purposes for which it is being provided

The information will be released only to persons officially connected with the audit, evaluation, or research;

The information will not be released to the consumer;

The information will be managed in a manner to protect confidentiality;

The final product will not reveal any personal identifying information without the written consent of the consumer or representative; and

The release has been approved by the RSC administrator or designee.

Standard Subpoena

The consumer's consent is not needed to testify in accordance with a standard subpoena. However, before testifying, the RSC employee must read section 3304.21 of the Revised Code for the court or into the record.

"No person shall, except for the purposes of sections 3304.11 to 3304.27, inclusive, of the Revised Code, and in accordance with the rules established by the rehabilitation services commission, solicit, disclose, receive, make use of, authorize, knowingly permit, participate in, or acquiesce in the use of any list of names or information is directly or indirectly derived from the records of the agency or is acquired in the performance of the person's official duties."

Licensed Counselors

The Counselor and Social Worker Licensure Bill amended Ohio law to prohibit licensed professional counselors and registered counselor assistants from testifying about any communication with their consumers in a counseling relationship unless certain exceptions apply. Since counselor licensure law does not apply to counselors who are civil servants, the Attorney General was asked if the prohibition on testimony applied to state employees who are licensed or registered. The Attorney General's Opinion concluded that the prohibition does apply.

In light of this, when subpoenaed to testify about a counseling relationship with a consumer, any RSC employee who is also a licensed professional counselor or a registered counselor assistant may not testify unless one of the following exceptions applies:

the consumer gives specific written consent to the testimony; or

the consumer voluntarily testifies; or

the communication with the consumer indicates a clear and present danger to the consumer or others, for example, a consumer states an intention to physically harm himself or others; or

the court determines that the information communicated by the consumer is not germane to the counselor-consumer relationship; or

the executor or administrator of a deceased consumer's estate gives specific written consent to the testimony.

Pre-Employment Inquiries

The confidentiality requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act very strictly limit what information an employer is permitted to learn about an applicant's disability. These limits apply equally to RSC staff when representing a consumer to an employer. The general principle is that an employer cannot obtain from RSC any information that he or she cannot learn directly from the applicant.

An employer cannot ask an applicant if he or she has a disability, or about the nature, severity, history, duration, or prognosis of a disability. An employer may ask about an applicant's ability to perform job-related tasks or, if the disability is known, may ask the applicant to explain or demonstrate how he or she would perform job tasks. Also, an employer who reasonably believes that an applicant will need a job accommodation may ask whether or what type of accommodation will be needed. (This could occur when either the disability is obvious or the applicant has disclosed that an accommodation will be needed.)

With these restrictions in mind, any RSC staff person who is representing a consumer can discuss the consumer's abilities, functional limitations that relate to specific job tasks, and any accommodation that might be needed to perform those tasks. Also, when an accommodation is needed for the job application process itself, RSC staff can inform the employer what type of accommodation will be needed without identifying the disability.

Questions concerning the sharing of information through the Vocational Rehabilitation program should be directed to Linda Wetters, RSC, at (614) 438-1254.