MassAbility Career Services and Vocational Rehabilitation: How Massachusetts Transition Students Get Job Support

The Agency That Connects Your Child to Actual Employment

MassAbility — renamed from the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission in September 2024 — runs the state's primary vocational rehabilitation program for people with disabilities. For transition-age students, Career Services is the step beyond Pre-Employment Transition Services. Where Pre-ETS build awareness and exposure, Career Services provides individualized, application-based support designed to help your child prepare for, obtain, and maintain competitive, integrated employment.

The difference is significant. Pre-ETS are introductory group activities any student with a documented disability can access. Career Services assigns a dedicated VR Career Counselor who works one-on-one with your child to develop a personalized employment plan backed by funded services.

When to Apply

MassAbility recommends that students apply for Career Services at least one year before high school graduation or their 22nd birthday. That timing matters because the intake process — application review, eligibility determination, counselor assignment, and plan development — takes weeks to months, and you want the Individualized Plan for Employment finalized before school services end.

For students already receiving Pre-ETS through MassAbility's contracted providers, the transition to Career Services should feel continuous. The Pre-ETS provider in the "Preparation" tier is already coordinating with a MassAbility Career Counselor. But the formal application is still a separate step that families need to initiate.

How to Apply

There are two pathways into Career Services:

Self-referral through MassAbility Connect: Families or adult students can submit a referral directly through MassAbility's online portal. This is the most straightforward route and does not require the school to initiate anything.

School-initiated referral: The IEP team can coordinate the referral as part of transition planning, particularly through the Chapter 688 process. If MassAbility is the designated adult agency on the 688 referral, the transition coordinator at MassAbility receives the referral directly.

Either way, the student must be found eligible for VR services. Eligibility requires a documented disability that creates a barrier to employment, along with a determination that VR services are needed to prepare for, secure, or maintain competitive integrated employment.

What Career Services Actually Provides

Once eligible, your child partners with a VR Career Counselor to develop an Individualized Plan for Employment. The IPE is a written agreement that outlines the student's employment goal and the specific services MassAbility will fund to reach it. Services are highly customized and can include:

• Comprehensive vocational assessments to identify strengths and job matches
• Funding for college courses, trade certificate programs, or vocational training
• Assistive technology evaluations and equipment
• Job coaching and supported employment services
• Job placement assistance and employer outreach
• Transportation support related to employment

The VR Career Counselor also coordinates with other agencies — DDS, MassHealth, the Department of Mental Health — when the student's employment plan intersects with residential or healthcare supports.

Career Services vs. the Chapter 688 Referral

These are different things that families often confuse. The Chapter 688 referral is a notification the school district files with the state alerting adult agencies that a student is approaching transition. It is not an application for services. The Career Services application is a separate, direct engagement with MassAbility where eligibility is determined and an employment plan is developed.

Both should happen, and they operate on overlapping timelines. The 688 referral is filed at least two years before the student's expected graduation or 22nd birthday, whichever comes first; the Career Services application should be submitted at least one year before exit. When MassAbility is named as the lead agency on the 688, the coordination between the two processes is tighter — but the family still needs to confirm that the formal Career Services application has been completed.

The Supported Living Program

Beyond employment, MassAbility also administers the Supported Living Program for youth aged 16 and older with severe physical disabilities and additional secondary diagnoses. SLP provides up to 20 hours of monthly case coordination covering PCA management, housing navigation, financial budgeting, and self-advocacy training. It also coordinates the Transition to Adulthood Program through regional Independent Living Centers, offering peer mentoring and independent living skills training.

These programs operate separately from Career Services but are delivered through the same agency, which means your MassAbility counselor can help identify which combination of supports fits your child's needs.

The Massachusetts IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide integrates the MassAbility application timeline alongside DDS, SSI, and MassHealth enrollment into a single chronological workflow so families can manage all the agency referrals without missing windows.

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