Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

The Division of Rehabilitation Services maintains a considerable number of Third Party Agreements with other units of government, primarily school districts. These Third Party Agreements are designed to increase the availability of vocational rehabilitation services to specific populations of people with disabilities. DRS has a contract with each entity that is consistent with Federal regulations (34CFR361.26) and includes the following provisions: (a) the vocational rehabilitation services to be provided are identified; (b) the local agency assures that non–Federal funds are made available to DRS; (c) the local agency assures that DRS approval is required before services are provided; and (d) the local agency assures that all other State plan requirements, including the Order of Selection policy, are applied to persons receiving services through the agreement.

The following is a list of the Third Party Agreements now in place.

1. William Rainey Harper College

The purpose of this agreement is to provide post–secondary training to students in northern Cook County with hearing impairments, learning disabilities, and other disabilities who are eligible for VR program services. The college is a two–year public community college, which serves the northern part of Cook County. It is located in Palatine, Illinois.

2. The Evaluation and Development Center

The purpose of this agreement with the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale is to provide a continuing program of rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities in Southern Illinois. This agreement provides evaluation and placement, independent living, residential, information and referral, and rehabilitation engineering services to customers eligible for services from the VR program. This program primarily serves the Illinois counties of Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Perry, Saline, Williamson, and Union.

3. Secondary Transitional Experience Program (STEP)

The purpose of this program is to provide rehabilitation services for customers who are still in secondary school. DRS has 144 contractual arrangements with school districts and cooperatives throughout the state. Of that number 135 are third–party contracts and nine are not. These arrangements resulted in VR services being provided to 8,586 in the most recent state fiscal year, and a total of 9,807 as of January 2016. STEP services typically include: classroom instruction focusing on career exploration and the development of job readiness skills; independent living, self–advocacy and community mobility skills training; and multiple work experiences in both school and community–based work sites. DRS anticipates that approximately 10,000 students will be served in the STEP program in PY2016.

Schools with Third–Party STEP Contracts in State Fiscal Year 2016 (July 1 2015 to June 30 2016)

AERO Special Education Cooperative Burbank, IL Allendale Association Lake Villa, IL Alton Community School District 11 Alton, IL Anna Jonesboro Community High School Anna, IL Aurora West Pub Schl Dist 129 Aurora, IL Ball–Chatham Community Unit School District 5 Chatham, IL Belleville Township High School District 201 Belleville, IL Bethalto Community Unit 8 Schools Bethalto, IL Black Hawk Area Special Education District East Moline, IL Board of Education Evanston, IL Board of Education City of (Peoria) Peoria, IL Bradley–Bourbonnais Community HS District 307 Bradley, IL Cahokia Unit School District 187 Cahokia, IL Canton Union School District 66 Canton, IL Chicago Board of Education District 299 Chicago, IL Childrens Home Association Peoria, IL Collinsville Community Unit School District 10 Collinsville, IL Community High Schl District 155 Crystal Lake, IL Community High School District 218 Oak Lawn, IL Community High School District 99 Downers Grove, IL Community Unit School – Woodstock Woodstock, IL Community Unit School Dist 95 Lake Zurich, IL Community Unit School District 200 Wheaton, IL Community Unit School District 203 Naperville, IL Community Unit School District 220 Barrington, IL Community Unit School District 300 Algonquin, IL Community Unit School No 2 Serena, IL Cons High Schl Dist 125 Lincolnshire, IL Cook County High School Dist Cicero, IL County of Jackson (dba Comm Unit School Dist 186) Murphysboro, IL County of Kankakee 5 Manteno Manteno, IL Decatur Public Schools District 61 Decatur, IL Dixon Unit School District 170, LCSEA Dixon, IL DuPage High School District 88 Villa Park, IL East Alton – Wood River Community High School Wood River, IL Eastern IL Area Special Education (Mattoon) Charleston, IL Edwardsville Community Unit 7 Edwardsville, IL Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Elmhurst, IL Elmwood Park CUSD 401 Franklin Park, IL Evanston Township High School Evanston, IL Exceptional Children Have (Opportunities) South Holland, IL Fenton High School District 10 Bensenville, IL Frankfort Community High School District 168 West Frankfort, IL Franklin Community Unit School Franklin, IL Freeport School District 145 Freeport, IL Galesburg Community Unit School District 205 Galesburg, IL Geneseo Community Unit School Geneseo, IL Glenbard District 87 Glen Ellyn, IL Granite City Community Unit School District 9 Granite City, IL Hancock–McDonough ROE 26 Macomb, IL Harlem Consolidated School Machesney Park, IL Harvard School Dist 50 Harvard, IL Highland Community Schools District 5 Highland, IL Hinsdale Township High School Hinsdale, IL Huntley School District NO 158 Algonquin, IL Indian Prairie School Dist 204 Aurora, IL Iroquois Special Education Association Cresent City, IL Jacksonville School District 117 Jacksonville, IL JAMP Special Education SVCS Grand Chain, IL Jersey County CUSD 100 Jerseyville, IL Johnsburg Community Unit School Johnsburg, IL Joliet TWP H S DIST 204 Joliet, IL Kankakee Area Special Ed COOP Kankakee, IL Kankakee School District 111 Kankakee, IL Kendall County Special Ed Cooperative Yorkville, IL LaGrange Area Dept. of Sp Ed LaGrange, IL LaSalle–Peru Township High LaSalle, IL Leyden High School District 21 Northlake, IL Lincoln–Way Com High School New Lenox, IL Livingston County Special Serv Pontiac, IL Lockport Township High School Lockport, IL Maine Township High School Park Ridge, IL Marengo High School Dist 154 Marengo, IL Mascoutah Community Unit 19 Mascoutah, IL Massac County USD 1 Metropolis, IL Mattoon Community Unit School District Mattoon, IL McHenry Community High School District 156 McHenry, IL Mid–State Special Education – Christian County Morrisonville, IL Mid–State Special Education – Fayette and Bond Counties Morrisonville, IL Mid–State Special Education – Montgomery County Morrisonville, IL Mid–Valley SPEC ED Joint Agrmt St. Charles, IL Moline School Dist 40 Moline,IL Mt. Vernon Township High School Mt. Vernon, IL Niles Township District 219 Skokie, IL Northern Suburban Spec Ed Dist Highland Park, IL Northwest Sp Ed District Freeport, IL Northwest Suburban Special Ed Mount Prospect, IL Oak Park & River Forest High Oak Park, IL O’Fallon Township High School O’Fallon, IL Ogle County Educational Coop Byron, IL Ottawa Township High School Ottawa, IL Perandoe Special Education District Red Bud, IL Plainfield School Dist 202 Plainfield, IL Princeton Township High School Princeton, IL Proviso Township High School Forest Park, IL Putnam County Community Unit Granville, IL Quincy Public Schools Quincy, IL Regional Office of Education (McLean,–Dewitt) Normal, IL Rochester CUSD 3A Rochester, IL Roxana Community Unit School Roxana, IL Rural Champaign Co Sp Ed Coop Rantoul, IL Sangamon Area Sp Ed District Springfield, IL School Assn for Special Educ (DUPAGE CO.) Naperville, IL School District 131 (Aurora East) Aurora, IL School District 205 Board of Rockford Rockford, IL School District 234 Ridgewood High Norridge, IL School District Unit 46 Elgin, IL Seneca High School Seneca, IL South Eastern Special Educ Ste. Marie, IL South Macoupin Association Staunton, IL Southern Will County Coop 22 Joliet, IL Southwest Cook County Cooperative Assoc. for Special Education Oak Forest, IL Special Education Association Bartonville, IL Special Education District of Lake County SEDOL Gages Lake, IL Special Education Services Aurora, IL SPEED Special Education Joint Agreement, District 802 Chicago Heights, IL Springfield Public School District 186 Springfield, IL Streator Township High School Streator, IL Sycamore CUSD 427 Sycamore, IL Tazewell Mason Ctys Sp Ed Assn Pekin, IL The Hope School Springfield, IL Thornton Township High School District 205 South Holland, IL Triad Comm Unit Sch Dist 2 Troy, IL Tri–County Special Education Murphysboro, IL Valley View School District 36 Romeoville, IL Vermillion Association of Sp Ed Danville, IL Villa Grove C U Dist 302 Villa Grove, IL Wabash and Ohio Valley Special Education District Norris City, IL Warren Township High School Gurnee, IL West Central IL Sp Ed Coop Macomb, IL West Washington Community Okawville, IL Whiteside of Carroll Counties Sterling, IL Williamson County Special Marion, IL Winnebago County Special Rockton, IL Woodford County Special Ed Assoc Metamora, IL