My Vocational Rehabilitation Experience
Saturday, June 19, 2004 | 0
My Vocational Rehabilitation Experience
by JOE GRANATA
In early 2001 the cumulative stress to an already
Disability-rated low back had brought me
to the realization that my career as a Police
Captain was nearing the end. After twenty-six
plus years as a dedicated law enforcement professional,
it was time to move on. How to move
on to the next stage in life posed more questions
than I hoped to have to deal with at that
time.
The process of retiring with an industrial
disability was cumbersome to say the least. My
employer resisted the move at every step. In
fact I had been retired for over two years before
final approval for an industrial disability
was granted. The waiting was awkward and I
felt like I was in a state of animated suspension
as I gave serious consideration to what I
would do next in life.
As the saying goes, "all good things come to
those who wait", was never more appropriate
in my case. Along with the industrial disability
approval, the insurance carrier gave notification
that I was eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation.
The carrier had appointed a vocational
consultant and within a week I had an
initial interview. We met twice over a three-
day period for approximately two hours each
time and I found the counselor to be extremely
professional, detailed and caring about my future.
Aptitude testing was performed by an associate
firm, to assist in the final rehabilitation
decision. I found the experience to have a great
deal of value in that it confirmed the direction
we were headed.
While the counselor's work to this point was
important to me, what lay ahead was even more
important and underscores the importance of
having a professional provide their expertise
and advocate a vocational position.
The counselor
combined all the information gathered
and put it into a fairly unique context in an RU-
102 to present to the Rehabilitation Unit Consultant
who had final authority to grant the
request. The big selling point was the utilization
of a "transferable skills analysis" to support
the rehabilitation plan. Also, the distribution
of funds request differed somewhat from
the norm in that it was for a lump sum payment
that in turn would support the necessary
tuition expenses.
This approach is not something
that occurs regularly hence, it was initially
rejected. Due to the counselor's diligence
and a minor rewrite though, the proposal was approved
on the second attempt. I have almost completed
the first year of a two-year graduate degree
program in Psychology and plan to be a Life
Coach upon completion of the course. Needless
to say the process worked for me due in
part to a great deal of help from my vocational
rehabilitation counselor.
__________
Note: Joe Granata was a Police Captain for
the Capitola Police Department in Santa Cruz
County for over twenty-six years. Upon retirement,
he moved with his family to San Diego
County and is now attending the University of
Santa Monica.
Reprinted with permission from the California Association of Rehabilitation & Reemployment Professionals, Keeping California Working since 1975!
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