DVR Pre-ETS Washington — Five Core Services and How to Get a Referral
What Pre-ETS Are and Who Qualifies
Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) are free, short-term employment-readiness services funded by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Any student with a disability aged 14 through 21 — extended to their 22nd birthday under SSB 5253 — who is enrolled in secondary or post-secondary education can participate.
The key distinction: Pre-ETS don't require a formal determination of eligibility for full vocational rehabilitation services. The student doesn't need to apply for DVR, go through intake, or wait for eligibility decisions. They just need the Pre-Employment Transition Services Approval Form signed by the student, a school official, and DVR staff.
The Five Core Services
Pre-ETS are structured around five mandated activities:
Job exploration counseling. Students explore career options through interest inventories, labor market information, and informational interviews with employers. The goal is realistic career awareness — not generic "what do you want to be when you grow up" conversations, but structured exploration of specific occupations that match the student's abilities and preferences.
Work-based learning. On-site job shadowing, internships, and workplace tours. The student observes real work environments and, where possible, performs supervised tasks. This is often the most valuable Pre-ETS component because abstract career discussions can't substitute for seeing and doing the actual work.
Counseling on post-secondary education. Guidance on college disability services, financial aid (including the state's specific tuition-waiver programs), and vocational training program options. For students pursuing community or technical college, this includes connecting them with campus disability coordinators at institutions like Bellevue College or Highline College, where specialized transition programs exist.
Workplace readiness training. Practical skills for employment settings: communication with supervisors and coworkers, workplace norms, time management, and using assistive technology in professional contexts. Some DVR-contracted providers run structured social-skills groups specifically for transition-age students.
Self-advocacy instruction. Learning to communicate needs, request accommodations, and navigate systems independently — the same skills the student will need when dealing with adult service agencies after school exit.
How to Get a Pre-ETS Referral
DVR assigns transition counselors to high schools across Washington. The most direct path is to ask the school's special education department or transition coordinator to connect you with the assigned DVR liaison.
If the school isn't proactive about this — and many aren't — you can contact DVR directly through any regional office. DVR's website lists office locations by county, and intake staff can identify the transition counselor assigned to your student's school.
The OSPI Form 3c ("Consent Form to Share Student Information with State Transition Agencies") allows the school to share transition records with DVR directly. The IEP team is supposed to explain and present this form at the first transition IEP meeting, but families often need to ask for it specifically.
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Integrating Pre-ETS into the IEP
Pre-ETS work best when they're written into the IEP's transition services section — not treated as an add-on that happens outside the educational plan. When Pre-ETS activities appear in the IEP, the district has a compliance obligation to coordinate with DVR, and progress toward employment readiness becomes part of the formal transition record.
The Center for Change in Transition Services (CCTS) at Seattle University provides a free, web-based transition portfolio called the T-folio that aligns classroom IEP goals with the five Pre-ETS competencies. If the school uses the T-folio, it creates a documented bridge between what happens in the classroom and what DVR is providing.
Pre-ETS vs. Full DVR Services
Pre-ETS are generalized and short-term. When the student is in their final years of school (typically ages 19-21), they should apply for full vocational rehabilitation services to access individualized job placement support. Full DVR services include a dedicated counselor, an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE), trial work experiences, adaptive equipment, and intensive job coaching.
DVR's mandate is strictly short-term — they fund services to help the student find, secure, and stabilize in a job (usually 90 days of stable performance). After stabilization, DVR closes the file and long-term support transfers to DDA-funded county programs.
The Washington IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide covers the full DVR pathway — from the initial Pre-ETS referral at age 14 through the full application and IPE process, with the specific timelines for when each step should happen.
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