Resource

Model Cooperative Agreements Between VR Agency and Medicaid, Mental Health, and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agencies

| Tool/Manual

Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by Title IV of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requires that the state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency include in its State Plan an assurance that it has entered into a formal cooperative agreement with the State agency responsible for administering the State Medicaid plan and the State agency with primary responsibility for providing services and supports for individuals with mental health needs, intellectual disabilities and developmental disabilities, with respect to the delivery of VR services, including extended services for individuals with the most significant disabilities. In addition, the State plan must assure that the Governor, in consultation with the entity responsible for the state VR program and other appropriate agencies, will ensure that an interagency agreement or other mechanism for interagency coordination take effect between the designated State VR unit and any appropriate public entity, including the State entity responsible for administering the State Medicaid program, to ensure the provision of VR services.

In order to facilitate the entering into cooperative agreements, the LEAD Center has created the following documents, with input from the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) and State Directors who shared state MOUs and participated in teleconferences to discuss content.

The model MOU is intended to serve as a template for VR and other agencies to use when discussing and negotiating MOUs with state partners from Mental Health, Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities and Medicaid. The MOU has been reviewed by the Rehabilitation Services Agency (RSA). However, this does not constitute an approval of this template. It is expected that States will use the model MOU and other documents in a manner that facilitates discussion between the VR agency and partner agencies and will not be used as a “cookie cutter” MOU that the VR agency and other agencies simply sign. Negotiating the terms of these agreements is key to assuring compliance with the intent of WIOA. This MOU template is an excellent tool to facilitate your moving forward with these discussions and negotiations.