Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS)/Environmental Illness(EI)

The Client Assistance Program of Protection and Advocacy System has received several complaints from applicants for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation services. Complaints consist of the unofficial (unwritten) additional eligibility criteria imposed on individuals with MCS/EI such as: the requirement of medical documentation that, not only identifies the disability, but, also, identifies every medication, nutritional supplement, experimental drug, treatment and holistic approach that is used.

They also want to know the time duration for "improvement/cure" of this debilitating condition. What is important to recognize is that not even the medical experts can answer the last question. The response that DVR has given to these specific individuals is that they have been declared "ineligible for vocational rehabilitation services" because they have been determined to be "too severely disabled" to benefit from vocational rehabilitation.

The Client Assistance Program staff has been successful, on a case by case basis, in resolving these barriers through the informal appeals process. A primary focus has been obtaining medical documentation that, specifically, states that the individual "can, with proper medical treatment and nutritional supplements, benefit from vocational rehabilitation services and supports for the purpose of a gainful employment outcome." However, this type of medical documentation is usually not enough. The client should also identify their chosen vocational goal and be able to prove to the counselor that the type of employment chosen is suitable? practical? reasonable? in light of the functional limitations of MCS/EI.

Stay tuned to this newsletter for updated reports of future developments and individual success stories.