Is There Coordination Between the Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies and the Financial Aid Offices?
Most states have developed working agreements between state associations of financial aid administrators and Vocational Rehabilitation administrators. These agreements, while not legally binding, allow for a coordinated effort in providing funds for students with disabilities in participating states. The agreement, or memorandum of understanding, establishes the process a VR agency and postsecondary educational institution should follow in determining the aid to be granted to the VR client/student. Students served by VR are required to apply for student financial aid under the guidelines of the Vocational Rehabilitation/Financial Aid Cooperative Agreements discussed below. Through standardized information exchange forms, the two offices (VR and Financial Aid) are kept abreast of what the other is doing. The process is not a simple one; it takes time and requires a constant determined effort by both offices and the student. Often a student’s aid package is recalculated several times as
