Vocational Rehabilitation

A vocational rehabilitation expert may compare documented work restrictions, prior employment, vocational abilities, job requirements, training needs, accommodations, rehabilitation services, and progress with the proposed return-to-work plan. The analysis can address whether the plan is consistent with the available vocational and functional information, while medical diagnosis and medical restrictions remain matters for appropriately qualified clinical professionals.

Employability is an important part of vocational rehabilitation, but rehabilitation may involve more than determining whether suitable work is available. Services can include vocational assessment, counseling, training, accommodations, assistive technology, job development, placement, and support intended to help an individual prepare for, obtain, retain, or return to employment.

The two areas overlap substantially. Vocational rehabilitation professionals may perform vocational assessment, job analysis, transferable-skills analysis, accommodation assessment, labor-market analysis, counseling, training, and placement activities within their qualifications. On this site, Vocational Rehabilitation focuses on the rehabilitation process and services supporting employment, while the broader Vocational page focuses more on litigation-related employability, occupational alternatives, labor-market evidence, and earning-capacity issues.