Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 49, Chapter 11, Part 7.

This bill revises various provisions relative to community-based vocational rehabilitation services, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) This bill changes the name of "rehabilitation centers" to "community-based vocational rehabilitation services," and defines such services as vocational rehabilitation services provided by the vocational rehabilitation program in partnership with the local community as authorized under the present law provisions governing rehabilitation centers;<br /> <br /> (2) Present law requires that the system of rehabilitation training centers for persons with disabilities the 10 Volunteer State vocational centers operated on July 1, 1965, by the Tennessee Association for Retarded Children and Adults, Incorporated, under the terms of OVR grant 956d from the office of vocational rehabilitation of the United States department of human services, and any other existing centers furnishing the same training, and any other rehabilitation centers established pursuant to present law. This bill rewrites this provision to instead require that the system include community-based vocational rehabilitation services established wholly or in part by the department as determined by the commissioner, to support federally authorized rehabilitation services to eligible members of the community in response to local business or community needs;<br /> <br /> (3) Present law requires the department to appoint an advisory board for each center that it establishes. The advisory board for each center is appointed by the commissioner or designee, with the advice of the statewide advisory board, from among the citizens of the county where the center is located. This bill revises this provision to specify that the department will appoint a local advisory board for each community in which the department establishes community-based vocational rehabilitation services. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee, with the advice of the statewide advisory board, will appoint the members of each local advisory board from among the citizens of the community where the services are provided;<br /> <br /> (4) Present law provides that clients of the rehabilitation centers are not state employees for any purpose and that funds paid to these clients for sheltered employment must be paid out of a special fund established from the gross income to the center from contract work. This bill rewrites these provisions to instead provide that customers of community-based vocational services are not considered state employees and that funds paid to these customers for employment must be paid in accordance with all federal vocational rehabilitation program requirements; <br /> <br /> (5) The present law provisions governing the statewide advisory board for rehabilitation centers requires that there be an ex officio member from the Tennessee committee on employment of persons with disabilities. This bill revises this provision to instead reference an ex officio member from an established board or taskforce recognized by the state and charged with focusing on the employment of individuals with disabilities; and<br /> <br /> (6) This bill schedules the advisory board for community-based vocational rehabilitation services for sunset review on June 30, 2027.<br /> <br /> ON MARCH 21, 2022, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 2650, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 changes the sunset date for the advisory board for community-based vocational rehabilitation services from June 30, 2027, to June 30, 2026.<br />