Tribal
Vocational Rehabilitation Program
A guide to understanding Alcoholism as a Disability and ways
you may be eligible for Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Alcoholism is considered a disability. However, because of the
uniqueness of the disability, it is hard to measure at what
point it is considered appropriate to provide vocational
rehabilitation services. In order to do this we must first
look at Vocational Rehabilitation as a whole.
Clients who are determined good candidates for application to
a Vocational Rehabilitation program must answer yes to two
basic questions:
1) Do you have a disability?
2) Is your disability an impediment to employment?
Clients must be able to demonstrate how their disability is an
impediment to employment. Let me give you an example of how a
person’s disability can be an impediment to employment:
A fisherman is out fishing and injures his back by doing too
much heavy lifting. He goes to see a doctor. The doctor tells
him he should not continue to do this type of work since he
will continue to injure his back. This person needs to get
into a different field of work. This is where vocational
rehabilitation services can help. A service that may be
provided is training in a new field of work. Now, back to the
argument for needing services.
The fisherman’s disability is Bad Back. The disability is an
impediment to employment since this person cannot do the heavy
lifting required and the doctor supports the conclusion that
this person should not continue to do this type of work.
Usually, before the person applies for vocational
rehabilitation services, they have gone to see their doctor
and got the medical condition diagnosed. This is just one
example of how a person can demonstrate that they are in need
of vocational rehabilitation services.
Now back to Alcoholism as a disability.
Just because a person has a drinking problem does not mean
they need or qualify for vocational rehabilitation services.
There must be ways that they can demonstrate that their
drinking is creating problems with their ability to enter
into, engage in, or retain employment.
Let me give you some examples of how this is done.
1) The person demonstrates a lengthy history of alcohol abuse.
2) The person demonstrates problems with school because of
drinking.
3) The person demonstrates problems at work related to their
drinking which can include:
a) Person quits jobs because of drinking.
b) Person loses jobs because of drinking.
c) Person calls in sick because of a hangover.
d) Person does not return to work after lunch because of
drinking.
e) Person cannot find work due to employer prejudice—employers
know the person’s history of alcoholism.
When determining need for vocational rehabilitation services,
these points alone are not sufficient to demonstrate need.
However, we can tie these points into characteristics that can
be used to demonstrate the need for vocational rehabilitation
services. Here’s how:
*The person who quits jobs, calls in sick when they are hung
over, or does not go back to work after drinking during lunch
hour has demonstrated poor decision-making. Poor
decision-making is an impediment to this person’s employment.
*Another point may be alcohol dependence – Drinking gets in
the way of the person showing up for work or continuing with
work because the person does not know when to stop drinking.
This person is demonstrating impaired judgment.
*The person who is fired, terminated, or laid off from a job,
or who is not hired for a job because the employer knows of
the person’s drinking problem/history, has demonstrated
problems engaging in employment as a result of the disability,
and, therefore demonstrating an impediment to employment.
Please remember that these are just some of the examples of
demonstrating the need for vocational rehabilitation services.
Each case is unique. Please be prepared to provide examples of
the problems associated with work, and how your disability
creates an impediment to your employment.
Maintaining Sobriety:
To be considered a good applicant for services from the Tribal
Vocational Rehabilitation program, the person must be willing
to demonstrate their commitment towards maintaining their
sobriety. This involves setting up a support system. If the
person does not have a support system in place, they must be
willing to set this support system up, or accept our help in
setting this up. Two ways a support system can be established:
a) If a person has completed an Alcohol Treatment program,
they have taken steps towards their sobriety. Usually
counseling is established during treatment, and upon
completion of the program, the person is encouraged to set up
this support system. Usually we will monitor the clients to
ensure that this support system is in place, and the post
treatment recommendations are followed.
b) If the person has not completed a treatment program, then
we would consider other local support systems just as good in
demonstrating the person’s willingness to stay on track with
their sobriety. This usually involves this type of support:
*Seeking counseling with a certified AA counselor, and
demonstrating attendance. Or
* Seeking out counseling from the local pastor/priest if there
is not a certified AA counselor in their community.
*Seeking out and attending local AA group meetings, and
demonstrating attendance.
*Seeking out and using a sponsor.
From a Vocational Rehabilitation standpoint, these types of
support systems are important, as the person has to be willing
to stay on track with their sobriety. And, we do not want to
have any drinking problems to occur while the person is
receiving vocational rehabilitation services.
Back to top>
IHS CLINIC
CHANGES HOURS IN NOVEMBER
The Colville Indian Health Center has offered extended clinic
hours for the past eight months. After evaluation of the
effectiveness of the longer clinic day, there will be some
changes in the hours. The data has consistently shown that the
added hour from 4:30 to 5:30 pm has had low utilization by
patients, on average. The number of staff needed to provide
this additional hour has often decreased how many employees
are available during the earlier morning hours. One informal
patient survey done in June indicated that the majority of
patients had no strong preference of continuing or
discontinuing the extra hour; what has been shown to be very
popular is the extended pharmacy hours.
Beginning Monday October 31 the hours will be as follows: All
direct patient care departments will be open from 8:00 am to
4:30 pm Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with Pharmacy open
until 5:00 p.m. On Wednesdays, patient hours will be 12:30 pm
to 5:30 pm, with Pharmacy open until 6:00 pm. On Fridays, all
department hours will be 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, including
Pharmacy. There will be no change in the dental department;
their hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except for
Wednesdays, which are 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
There is a suggestion box in the main lobby of the clinic, and
patients are encouraged to submit their comments and
suggestions at any time.
As in the past, patients can schedule regular 30-minute
appointments in advance, or schedule a 15-minute Same Day
Appointment; patients’ provider of choice will be honored
whenever possible.
Back to top>
Women’s Health Clinic in Omak
The Colville Indian Health Center, in
collaboration with Tribal Health Program staff in Omak, will
be offering women’s health exams at the Tribal Health facility
in East Omak on a monthly basis. These will be on the second
Tuesday of each month, and appointments can be made by calling
Amanda at 422-7416.
Back to top>