Kentucky OVR Order of Selection and Pre-ETS: What's Open and What's Restricted

Parents hear "refer your child to OVR" at transition meetings and assume a counselor will be assigned and services will start. What most schools don't explain is that Kentucky's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation operates under an Order of Selection — a priority system that controls who receives individualized services when funding can't serve everyone. The good news: Pre-Employment Transition Services bypass this entirely.

How the Order of Selection Works

When OVR cannot serve all eligible applicants due to funding constraints, the Order of Selection prioritizes individuals by severity of disability. Individuals with the most significant disabilities are prioritized, while applicants in closed categories are placed on a waiting list and receive no individualized OVR services until their category opens.

This means a student with a moderate learning disability may be found eligible for OVR services but placed in a closed category with no timeline for when services will begin. The eligibility determination and the actual delivery of services are separate steps — and the Order of Selection can create a gap of months or years between them.

Pre-ETS: The Exception to the Order

Pre-Employment Transition Services are federally funded under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and they operate completely outside the Order of Selection. Any student with a disability aged 14–21 who is enrolled in a secondary or postsecondary educational program is eligible for Pre-ETS as a "potentially eligible" individual — students can request Pre-ETS without first applying for traditional individualized OVR services.

Pre-ETS provides five core services:

1. Job exploration counseling — career interest assessments, informational interviews, labor market research
2. Work-based learning experiences — job shadowing, internships, community service opportunities
3. Counseling on postsecondary enrollment — college, trade school, and certification program options
4. Workplace readiness training — social skills, financial literacy, work habits, self-advocacy
5. Instruction in self-advocacy — understanding rights, communicating needs, requesting accommodations

These are real services — not worksheets in a guidance counselor's office. A Pre-ETS referral connects your child with OVR-contracted providers who deliver hands-on career exploration and workplace training.

Getting a Pre-ETS Referral

The referral process requires:

• A completed Pre-ETS Information Release and Consent Form (signed by the parent or guardian for students under 18)
• Documentation of a qualifying disability (IEP, 504 plan, or psychological evaluation)
• Enrollment in a secondary or postsecondary educational program

The school can initiate the referral, or families can contact the regional OVR office directly. The ARC meeting is the ideal place to request a Pre-ETS referral — it should be documented in the IEP transition plan as a coordinated service.

Ask the ARC team at the age-14 meeting: has a Pre-ETS referral been submitted? If not, request one at the meeting and set a timeline for completion. Pre-ETS is the single most accessible employment preparation service in Kentucky's transition system, and waiting until age 16 or 17 to refer wastes years of available support.

When to Apply for Full OVR Services

Even with the Order of Selection, families should submit a formal OVR application during the student's junior year (age 16). This does two things:

1. Establishes the eligibility determination — if the student's category is open, individualized services begin immediately
2. Places the student on the waitlist if the category is closed — which means services start as soon as the category opens

The OVR counselor can also begin co-developing the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) with the ARC, ensuring employment goals are coordinated between the school and OVR before graduation.

Don't Wait for the School to Act

The Kentucky IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes a Pre-ETS referral checklist, the complete OVR application timeline, and worksheets for coordinating OVR services with the IEP transition plan — starting at age 14.

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