003 Navigating the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) System with Janice Barrocas

Licensed counselor and certified rehabilitation counselor Janice Barrocas shares insider strategies for successfully navigating the vocational rehabilitation (VR) system for people with vision loss. She explains how this federal-state program helps with employment preparation and reveals practical tips including “magic words” that help prioritize your case, the importance of written communication over phone calls, and how to build confidence before seeking full-time employment.

Janice covers the types of services available (orientation and mobility training, daily living skills, technology training, adjustment counseling for disability), the individualized employment plan process, and how to handle workplace challenges after getting hired. She emphasizes that effective self-advocacy and persistence are key to success in an under-resourced system where services are “subject to availability.”

Janice Barrocas (LOPC, CRC) provides personal adjustment to vision loss counseling through her practice Adjusting to Vision Loss. You can visit her website here: https://www.adjustingtovisionloss.com/

Topics covered: vocational rehabilitation (VR) system, vision loss employment, disability services, self-advocacy, orientation and mobility training, assistive technology, vision rehabilitation therapy, individualized employment plan, federal disability programs, state rehabilitation services, adjustment counseling, job placement, workplace accommodations, independent living skills

ABOUT THE PODCAST

inSight Out is your podcast home for living well with vision loss. Host Matthew Reeves (LPC CRC NCC) is a legally-blind psychotherapist and rehabilitation counselor specializing in helping people thrive while living with disability. Matthew is licensed in Georgia and is a nationally certified rehabilitation counselor.

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