MDRS Pre-ETS Mississippi Referral

What Pre-ETS Are and Why They Matter for Mississippi Families

Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) are the earliest employment-focused supports available to Mississippi students with disabilities. Administered by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS) through its Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, Pre-ETS serve students aged 14 through 21 who are currently enrolled in an educational program and have a documented disability.

Pre-ETS cover five core service areas:

1. Job Exploration Counseling — career exploration, interest inventories, and discussion of high-demand local industries
2. Work-Based Learning Experiences — structured internships, job shadowing, and informational interviews in real workplaces
3. Counseling on Postsecondary Opportunities — exploring training programs, vocational-technical options, and inclusive college models
4. Workplace Readiness Training — building soft skills, social interaction strategies, independent living capacities, and mobility skills
5. Instruction in Self-Advocacy — teaching rights awareness, peer mentoring, and the self-determination skills needed for adult autonomy

These services are provided at no cost to the family. The catch is that they require a referral — they don't activate automatically when a student gets an IEP.

The Potentially Eligible Student Pathway

Here's the detail that trips up many families and school staff: a student does not need to undergo a formal vocational rehabilitation eligibility determination to receive Pre-ETS. MDRS operates a "Potentially Eligible" (PE) student pathway that bypasses the intensive VR intake process entirely.

Any student aged 14 through 21 with an IEP or 504 plan can be referred as a Potentially Eligible student. Once referred, the student can access group-based Pre-ETS programming — career exploration workshops, classroom-based workplace readiness sessions, and structured self-advocacy training.

This matters enormously because of MDRS's Order of Selection (OOS). When the agency doesn't have enough budget to serve all eligible applicants for full VR services, it prioritizes by disability severity. If your child's priority category is closed when they formally apply for VR, they could be locked out of individualized services. But here's the safeguard: under Mississippi Administrative Code Title 32, Part 10, § 32-10-6-6.4, if a student has already begun receiving at least one Pre-ETS as a Potentially Eligible student before applying for formal VR, they can continue receiving all five Pre-ETS even if their OOS category is subsequently closed.

In plain terms: start Pre-ETS early, and your child retains access to services regardless of budget shortfalls. Wait too long, and they may fall into a gap.

How to Submit the Referral

The referral process requires:

1. Complete the Pre-Employment Transition Services Referral Form. This is a standard MDRS form available from your child's school or directly from the MDRS website. It asks for basic student information, disability documentation, and current educational enrollment status.

2. Attach documentation of the student's disability. A copy of the current IEP face sheet or 504 plan is sufficient. You don't need a separate medical evaluation for the PE pathway.

3. Sign a Release of Information. This authorizes the school to share educational records, current evaluations, and the active IEP with the MDRS transition counselor assigned to your area.

4. Submit the packet to the local MDRS Vocational Rehabilitation transition counselor. Each school district has an assigned MDRS contact. If your school doesn't know who that is, call MDRS central intake and ask for the transition counselor covering your county.

The school can submit the referral on the family's behalf, or the parent can submit it directly. Either way, the signed Release of Information must be on file before MDRS can access school records.

When to Refer: Earlier Is Better

Mississippi requires transition planning by the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 14, or earlier if the IEP Committee determines it appropriate. That's also the earliest age a student can receive Pre-ETS. The strategic move is to submit the Pre-ETS referral at or near age 14 so the student is already engaged in at least one Pre-ETS service before any formal VR application happens later.

For students with higher support needs who will eventually need individualized VR services (paid work-based learning, postsecondary tuition assistance, assistive technology), the formal VR application should begin around age 16 — at least two years before the anticipated high school exit. That formal application requires a more comprehensive documentation package: the original Psychological Evaluation and Assessment Team Report (MET evaluation), a current re-evaluation within the last three years, the active IEP, and acceptable I-9 documentation if the student will participate in paid work experience.

The Connection to Your Child's IEP

Pre-ETS should be explicitly referenced in your child's transition IEP. When the IEP team discusses transition services at age 14, one of the coordinated activities should be the MDRS Pre-ETS referral. If the school doesn't bring it up, ask: "When will the school invite the MDRS transition counselor to our IEP meeting, and when will the Pre-ETS referral be submitted?"

The Mississippi IEP Transition to Adulthood Guide includes the complete Pre-ETS referral checklist alongside the year-by-year IEP milestone timeline, so you can see exactly where VR coordination fits into the broader transition plan.

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