Return To Work
If early intervention is not successful in returning the injured
worker with the employer of injury,
vocational rehabilitation services
will be assigned. This service is provided by a contracted company,
currently CorVel. Vocational consultants and staff are located in
Bismarck, Fargo, Minot, Marion, Watford City, and Grand Forks, with
a national network to provide vocational rehabilitation for out-of-state
injured workers.
Vocational rehabilitation utilizes workers’ functional
capabilities, education, employment history, experience,
and transferable skills to develop a return-to-work plan.
To identify the appropriate rehabilitation option the
injured worker may be required to complete vocational or
capabilities testing.
The vocational rehabilitation consultant will assist
the injured worker in understanding the process, share
information relating to the injured worker’s medical and
vocational status, and attend medical appointments as
necessary to review medical status. They are available
to the injured worker to answer questions, explain job
goals, transferable skills, assist with job readiness
skills, and explain test results of any required testing
i.e. Functional Capacity Assessment (FCA), or Test of
Adult Basic Education (TABE).
The injured worker and the vocational rehabilitation
consultant review the rehabilitation options in the following order:
- Return to same position (same employer)
- Return to same occupation (any employer)
- Return to modified position (same employer)
- Return to modified or alternate occupation (any employer)
- Identify appropriate jobs within a local job pool
- Identify appropriate jobs within the statewide job pool
- Short-term training (one year or less)
- Long-term training (two years or less)
The vocational rehabilitation consultant will submit a
vocational consultant’s report (VCR) to WSI for approval.
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