I’m in California and I have to say my experience working with my DOR counselor has been great thus far: it helps when you know what things you need want assistance for e.g. O&M, assistive technology, independent life skills, and braille. I was really vocal and adamant about receiving training for these especially job training and career counseling since I want to rejoin the workforce as soon as possible.

Open and direct Communication is key to having a good rapport with your counselor. They will lay the groundwork for you, but you have to be willing to put in the work. I was just referred to my local career counselor and I am pretty sure that I am still a long way from actually applying for work since most of my training started recently. They prefer that training is if not almost complete before joining the workforce or attempt to.

My counselor advised me to wait until after my training to get in touch with the career counselor, but I insisted because I want to get the ball rolling and all aspects.

I’ve done it for a different disability, but make sure your state actually covers blindness under voc rehab- some states only serve blind people in a vocational capacity under their blind services department. My advice would be to know what you would benefit from and advocate for yourself. So technology training and any specialized devices, o&m, even a degree, training program, or certification needed to achieve your career goals can all be paid for. Education funding really depends on the state but besides that it’s pretty standard state to state.

Idaho has a pretty good program, classes on how to adapt, lots of options, assistive tech the state can buy nearly anything you need if you’re in the vocational rehab program.

Hey guys, I just wanted to chime in here because I’ve both received services from Voc Rehab and am now a Voc Rehab Counselor myself. i can tell you that the quality of the services you receive does depend a lot on the counselor you get. These programs are run by the state, so every state is going to be a little different. I can only speak to the way things are done in Kentucky. Here, we try to let the consumer guide the way as much as they are able or willing to. Every time I take an application, I try to get a very good idea of what the person’s goals are and what specific challenges they are facing in meeting those goals. Then I try to provide them with the services they need to overcome those challenges.
If you feel that you are not receiving services that are helpful to you, you should absolutely contact your counselor and explain, not complain. What I mean is, don’t just go to them and say, you’re not helping, or this isn’t working. Give specifics of what is or isn’t working for you. If you’re having difficulty with something, let them know. If you feel you need more help in a specific area, let them know.
If you do this, and you still feel you are not being served adequately, there should be procedures in place to appeal decisions or to be transferred to another counselor. Sometimes this is going to be speaking to the counselor’s manager. Sometimes states have departments whose job it is to advocate for you and resolve any issues. In Kentucky we have the Consumer Assistance Program, or there is always Protection and Advocacy groups. Make sure you try to work with your counselor before you take these drastic actions though.
Having said all this, a big factor in how successful you will be in any of these programs is going to be the effort you put into it. If you sit and wait for them to send you job leads, it’s going to take a lot longer because you are not their only consumer. some of these counselors are going to have caseloads of 300+ people. If you are proactive in doing the things the counselor asks you to do, returning phone calls and paperwork, trying your best to learn new technology or skills, and searching as much as you can for job leads, you are going to have a much higher rate of success. Also keep in mind that things do take time. You may have to apply for 100 jobs or more before you find something. That’s not unique to people with vision impairments, although I won’t deny that being visually impaired can make that even harder. You have to persevere through it. Don’t give up! If you’re determined and have the skills and abilities to do the job, you will find one eventually.
If you have specific questions, I’d be more than happy to answer them. Best of luck to you.

It's their was or the highway. No wiggle room here in WA state.

I’ll keep it short. A lot depends on your case worker where I love. The first one I had was okay. The second woman was a saint. She went above and beyond and was always available. The third person was useless and I stopped working with them. I’d be happy to answer any other questions.

I'm 72 years old and been blind all my life. I've worked with rehab in Kansas and Nevada. Worth a try, but don't expect much.

I'm interested in this myself. Just got the ball rolling and awaiting an application to be mailed.

I am in California and would not recommend haha! I was not satisfied at all. In the least bit! I actually closed my case two years ago and doing it myself and doing a better job then them.

I spoke up told them what I need and how i needed it. They did not want to help me much and told me no. I wasn’t asking for anything out of the ordinary. To pay for school, books, transport get equipment. It was bad. And they wanted to know my grades all the time. I can’t do full time because I am just slow and the counslor also was very unhappy with this.