By Amanda Race, MA, CRC, Coordinator/Certified Rehabilitation Counselor
Our Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation (TVR) Program has been federally funded for 28 years. You may not have heard of us because we maintain strict confidentiality on who we provide services to in the region.
We are in the fourth year of a five year grant ending in September 2024 from the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the Department of Education. We will be submitting a 5-year grant for 2024-2029, due in March/April 2024. The program is one of 11 Tribal programs in Alaska and part of the larger family of 93 American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation (AIVR) Programs nationwide from Alaska to Georgia serving over 6,000 Alaska Native and American Indian people with disabilities. We coordinate with other Tanana Chief Conference (TCC) programs such as Employment & Training, Education, Rural Economic Development Services (REDS), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), General Assistance, the State of Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), Alaska Independent Living Centers (such as Access AK in Fairbanks), and Veteran’s Affairs to provide culturally appropriate vocational rehabilitation services to eligible Tribal Members living in the TCC service area.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR SERVICES?
Anyone enrolled in an Alaska Native Village, Corporation or Native American Indian Tribe from the Lower 48 with a documented permanent physical or mental disability that interferes with their ability to get or keep a job or to fully participate in a subsistence lifestyle may be eligible based on application review and eligibility determination by one of our counselors. This review usually takes up to 60 days of when the application was submitted. Tribal members must live in the TCC service area. Providing current Medical documentation of your permanent disability with your application will help us determine eligibility faster. There are no income restrictions, and this is a voluntary program.
WHAT HELP IS AVAILABLE?
The overall purpose of TVR is to help people go to work, which could be competitive employment, self-employment, or Subsistence (wild resource and harvest lifestyle) activities. The program counselors work one-on-one with each person to begin the process by identifying a goal for the future. Services are coordinated to help individuals to reach their goals. Examples of services provided during the process include vocational counseling and guidance; referral to other agencies and service providers; vocational educational training; purchase of books, tools, equipment, supplies, and materials. If eligible, we can assist with medical and mental health services, such as collaboration for therapeutic treatment; purchase of eyeglasses, hearing aids, and prosthetics not already covered by medical benefits; and job-related services that include job search referrals, on-the-job training, and follow-along services. The type of assistance the program provides is based on individual needs; no two Individualized Plans for Employment (IPE) are identical. ALL information is confidential, and no one is given any information without having written & signed consent from the applicant.
THANK YOU TO ALL THE TRIBES FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!
TCC was awarded this grant on behalf of the Tribes within the TCC service area for the past 28 years. Thank you to the Executive Board for signing Resolution 2019-09 and those Tribal Offices who supported TVR by sending us your ‘letters of designation’ to apply for these federal grant funds on your behalf! We will need a new resolution and new letters of support, so please be on the look for those requests in the next few months. We look forward to another 5-year grant award FY2024-2029. We’ll keep you posted!
HOW TO REACH US:
Please call us toll-free 800-478-6822 or locally at (907) 452-8251, extension 3232. We are part of the Workforce Development Department, including Employment & Training and Rural Economic Development in the Family Services & Supports Division on the 5th floor at the Chief Peter John Tribal Building. Our fax number is (907) 459-3883.
Amanda Race, the Program Coordinator/Counselor, can be contacted by email at amanda.race@tananachiefs.org. We currently have two vacancies for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors. Interested persons may apply for those positions at www.tananachiefs.org/careers
Please check us out at online at www.tananachiefs.org/services/family-services/tribal-vocational-rehabilitation-program/ or we can mail or fax you a short Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Application & Brochure at your request.
Please feel free to stop by the office or stop by when we travel to your village. Please look for our travel fliers posted in your local Tribal Offices. We travel late March through October and bring the services to you!