Mississippi Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Adults

What MDRS Vocational Rehabilitation Offers

The Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services (MDRS) is the state agency that helps people with disabilities prepare for, find, and keep employment. Their vocational rehabilitation (VR) program provides individualized services, with cost participation for some services based on the participant's financial ability, and is funded through a combination of federal and state dollars.

VR isn't a jobs board or a job fair. It's a structured program where a rehabilitation counselor works one-on-one with your young adult to develop an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). The IPE identifies employment goals, the specific services needed to reach those goals, and the timeline for achieving them.

Services available through MDRS VR include:

• Vocational assessments that evaluate work interests, aptitudes, and functional capacity
• Job training and skills development — including post-secondary education support when employment goals require further training
• Assistive technology — devices and equipment that enable workplace participation
• Job placement assistance — direct help finding positions that match abilities and interests
• Job coaching and supported employment — on-site support during the initial employment period
• Post-employment services — continued support after placement to address workplace issues before they lead to job loss

Pre-Employment Transition Services Start at 14

Pre-ETS is available to students with disabilities beginning at age 14 — well before they exit the school system. These services are specifically designed to prepare students for competitive integrated employment through five core activities:

1. Job exploration counseling — understanding different career paths, workplace expectations, and personal employment preferences
2. Work-based learning experiences — community-based work experiences, internships, and job shadowing in real workplaces
3. Counseling on postsecondary education — exploring colleges, vocational programs, and training options that lead to employment
4. Workplace readiness training — social skills, communication skills, financial literacy, and workplace norms
5. Instruction in self-advocacy — learning to communicate accommodation needs, workplace rights, and disability disclosure decisions

Pre-ETS can be delivered through the school district's transition program or directly through MDRS. If your child's school isn't connecting them with MDRS for Pre-ETS, request that an MDRS counselor be invited to the next IEP transition meeting. This is a covered service — it doesn't cost the family anything.

Project SEARCH in Mississippi

Project SEARCH is a one-year employer-based program for young adults with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities. Mississippi operates multiple Project SEARCH sites, including the program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson.

The program model: participants spend an entire school year embedded in a host business, rotating through three different internship placements. Each rotation lasts approximately 10-12 weeks. A job coach and instructor support participants on-site while they learn real job tasks in departments like food service, environmental services, supply chain, and office administration.

The goal is competitive integrated employment — a real job at or above minimum wage in a community setting — by the end of the program year.

Project SEARCH is typically the final year of school-based transition services (the year the student turns 21 on the Alternate Diploma track). Referrals come through the school district and MDRS working together.

The SOAR Program for SSI/SSDI Applications

SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) is a national initiative that trains case managers and social workers to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness apply for SSI or SSDI. Mississippi has SOAR-trained providers who offer free, intensive assistance with the entire Social Security application process.

SOAR-trained case managers compile medical records, complete SSA forms, and shepherd the application through the system. The SOAR model emphasizes thorough documentation support.

If your young adult is living independently without strong family support, or if the family is struggling to manage the SSI application process on their own, SOAR can be a game-changer. Contact the SOAR technical assistance center at soarworks.prainc.com to find Mississippi-trained providers.

How MDRS Coordinates with the ID/DD Waiver

MDRS and the Mississippi Department of Mental Health operate under memorandums of understanding that coordinate their respective services. In practice, the handoff works like this:

Before a funded ID/DD Waiver slot opens, MDRS VR is typically the primary funding source for job placement and vocational training. Your young adult can receive MDRS-funded supported employment services, assistive technology, and job coaching while waiting on the waiver planning list.

Once a waiver slot activates, waiver-funded supported employment through DMH takes over. The waiver provides longer-term, ongoing job coach support that MDRS VR — which is designed as time-limited — doesn't sustain indefinitely.

This handoff is seamless when both agencies are already involved. The family that connected their child with MDRS at age 14 through Pre-ETS, continued through VR after school exit, and transitioned to waiver-funded supported employment when the slot opened has maintained continuous vocational support across the entire transition. The family that waited until age 21 to contact MDRS starts from zero.

Getting Started with MDRS

Contact your local MDRS office to schedule an intake appointment. You can find office locations at mdrs.ms.gov or call (601) 853-5100. Bring:

• Proof of the qualifying disability (medical records, school evaluations, or SSA award letter)
• The most recent IEP and transition plan (if still in school)
• Any work history or vocational evaluation results
• Identification documents

There is no income or liquid-asset test for basic MDRS VR eligibility, although a financial-needs analysis may apply to some services. Eligibility also requires a qualifying disability that creates a substantial impediment to employment, a need for VR services, and the ability to benefit from those services.

The Mississippi SSI at 18 & Adult Disability Benefits Guide maps MDRS services into the broader transition timeline, showing how vocational rehabilitation fits with SSI, Medicaid, the waiver planning list, and the school-to-adult services handoff.

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