Rehabilitation Counselor - Council Bluffs

Job Description

Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services (IVRS) is recruiting to fill a Rehabilitation Counselor position in our Council Bluffs, IA office.

Responsibilities of the position are as follows, with additional duties as assigned:

• Provide counseling and guidance to people with disabilities including students about adjustments to disabilities, vocational testing and test interpretation, occupational information and vocational alternatives, job availability, and community resources.
• Provide counseling to enhance client choices of services and employment opportunities.
• Counsel clients on employer expectations and business needs.
• Help identify necessary accommodations to enhance client abilities to perform work. Delegates follow up to team staff when case is planned.
• Consult and provide technical assistance to community rehabilitation providers who facilitate counseling and employment activities.
• Provide counseling to students attending post-secondary training (e.g., community college, regent schools, occupational vocational training, or on-the-job training).
• Assist and counsel people receiving SSI/SSDI on benefits.
  
  

In the role as a Rehabilitation Counselor, you will consult with businesses and industries about strategies and services that allow people with disabilities to work at maximum potential and create opportunities to connect business and industry with IVRS job candidates for on-the-job training and internships and network with apprenticeship programs and other resources to advance people with disabilities into middle-skill occupations.

The successful candidate will develop jobs to secure employment that match client abilities and employment plans and assist in marketing IVRS services to businesses and develop partnerships with employers where IVRS is an integral part of employer hiring processes and provide job placement services to clients.

Contact employers, Iowa Workforce Development, and other resources for client job development and employer development and provide disability consultation services to employers and provide education and training to employers about diversity.

You will work closely and collaborate with team members to develop and review progress on Individual Plans for Employment (IPE) and participate in student IEP/Transition meetings and develop employment plans before high school graduation. Assist in developing employment plans with job candidates based on talents and abilities, considering interests and preferences, and addresses accommodation needs to minimize employment barriers.

In this role you will coordinate services needed to complete IPE and evaluate assistive technology needs and coordinate plans with IVRS Assistive Technology Specialists in effort to address accommodation and modification needs.

The Rehabilitation Counselor will analyze disability information and determine applicant eligibility or ineligibility and complete eligibility certification and analyze disabilities and determine significance of disability classifications and review case management system for completeness and accuracy.

Rehabilitation Counselors will develop employment plans that address disability issues to maximize the potential of the individuals served. Delegate research on employment needs to team staff and follow and interpret federal regulations in all decision making and apply policies consistently to all cases. Communicate case notes and correspondence, submit files for closure and delegate case management to team staff.

Travel to client contact centers, schools, rehabilitation facilities, businesses, and other community locations and participate in staff meetings, special committees, and in-service training activities.

The successful candidate must be able to pass a criminal background check conducted by the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Agency Overview

As of July 1, 2023, Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services has become part of Iowa Workforce Development.

Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) is a state agency committed to providing employment services for individual job seekers and to connecting employers to available workers through our IowaWORKS partnership.

IWD continually strives to improve processes and align the organization to provide effective, demand driven products and services. IWD staff in Des Moines consists of administrative services, disability determination services, information technology, labor market information, unemployment insurance services, vocational rehabilitation services, and workforce services.

The agency also maintains a statewide delivery system of IowaWORKS Centers and satellite and expansion offices where both employers and job seeking Iowans can receive workforce assistance.

Benefits

Joining the IVRS team and becoming a State of Iowa employee comes with a range of valuable benefits, including:

• Excellent health, dental, and vision insurance.
• Generous paid time off, including nine paid holidays, vacation, and sick leave with no cap on the sick leave accrual.
• Prepare for the future with the IPERS retirement package, as well as an additional optional deferred compensation retirement plan.
• Flexible Spending Accounts for medical and dependent care.
• Free Life and Long-term Disability Insurance with the option to purchase additional coverage.
• Employee Assistance Programs and Discount Programs for support.
  
  

Click here to learn more about all of the amazing benefits the State of Iowa offers.

Hours of Work: Monday – Friday 8:00am-4:30pm. Hybrid telework and alternate work schedule opportunities for eligible classifications after 6-months of employment has been completed.

If you’re looking for a career with a well-respected organization that values its employees and customers, you’ve come to the right place!

Our agency uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.e-verify.gov .

No applicant for employment with the Iowa Department of Workforce Development can have a current, ongoing overpayment balance with Iowa Workforce Development without a payment plan in place. Select positions will be subject to a criminal background check.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, counseling and guidance, school counseling, mental health counseling, social work, psychology, education, business administration, management, finance, accounting, marketing, or a closely-related field.
• Completion of all coursework of a Master’s Degree program in rehabilitation counseling, pending only completion of an internship for graduation.
• All of the following (a, b, and c): a. One year of full-time work experience in professional vocational rehabilitation counseling services; and b. Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in a human services-oriented science which provides a knowledge of the theories, principles, and techniques of counseling, business administration, management, finance, accounting, marketing, or a closely-related field; and c. Twenty-four semester hours of graduate course work in counseling.
  
  

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description .

Additional Qualification Requirements

Travel may be required for positions in this class. Employees must arrange transportation to and from assigned work areas.