(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, the department shall provide rehabilitation services to persons with disabilities who the department determines are eligible for the services.

(2) The department shall:

(a) Cooperate with other departments, agencies, and institutions, both public and private, in:

(I) Providing the services authorized by this article to persons with disabilities;

(II) Studying the problems involved in providing the services; and

(III) Establishing, developing, and providing, in conformity with the purposes of this article, programs, facilities, and services that are necessary;

(b) Enter into collaborative agreements with other states, in accordance with applicable federal law and regulations, to provide services authorized by this article;

(c) Repealed.

(d) Operate through contract and supervise the operation of vending stands and other small businesses, established pursuant to this article and in accordance with the requirements of the federal government for the receipt of federal funds, to be conducted by individuals with severe disabilities, particularly the blind;

(e) Repealed.

(f) Provide home teaching of and teachers for the adult blind; and

(g) Provide medical, diagnostic, physical restoration, training, and other rehabilitation services as needed to enable persons with disabilities to attain the maximum degree of self-sufficiency.

(3) (a) The department shall provide vocational rehabilitation services directly or through public or private instrumentalities to or for the benefit of an applicant or eligible person with a disability who:

(I) Is present in the state at the time of filing an application for the services; and

(II) The department determines, after full investigation, can satisfactorily achieve rehabilitation.

(b) The department shall:

(I) Complete a comprehensive assessment and work with the person with a disability to develop an employment outcome or goal based on the person's strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice;

(II) Authorize those services that are appropriate and necessary to address the rehabilitation needs of the person with a disability, based on his or her documented disabilities and impairments, so that he or she might achieve his or her employment outcome or goal;

(III) Give preference to cost-effective services provided in the state of Colorado, but the department may authorize payment for out-of-state services on a case-by-case basis. The department shall not pay for any services provided outside the United States.

(III.5) (A) Promulgate rules in conjunction with the state medical services board, no later than July 1, 2019, requiring all vendors of supported employment services, including supported employment professionals who provide individual competitive integrated employment outcomes, and excluding those professionals exclusively providing group or other congregate services, to obtain a nationally recognized supported employment training certificate or nationally recognized supported employment certification. The department's rules must include time frames for compliance with the training or certification requirement for existing staff and for newly hired staff and requirements for supervision of newly hired staff until the staff member has completed the training or certification. The time frames established in the department's rules must provide for training to be completed over a five-year period, subject to the availability of appropriations for reimbursement of vendors pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(III.5)(B) of this section.

(B) The training or certification requirement in subsection (3)(b)(III.5)(A) of this section is contingent upon appropriations to the department of health care policy and financing for reimbursement to vendors of supported employment services for the cost of training and certification pursuant to section 25.5-10-204.

(IV) Establish a fee schedule for goods and services that is designed to ensure reasonable cost to the program. The fee schedule established by the department must include the discovery process, as defined in section 8-84-301, as an alternative assessment pursuant to subsection (3)(b)(I) of this section.

(V) Limit payment for services to Colorado in-state tuition or the equivalent for all education and vocational schooling; except that, if the department finds, through its comprehensive assessment, that the person with a disability needs specialized education outside of Colorado to address his or her barriers to employment, the department may authorize payment for out-of-state tuition on a case-by-case basis;

(VI) Establish reasonable time frames within each employment plan for individuals to attain the established employment outcomes or goals;

(VII) Close the record of services in a timely manner and in accordance with federal guidelines for a person with a disability who has achieved his or her employment outcomes or goals; and

(VIII) Establish a review process to allow for exceptions to the requirements of subparagraphs (I) to (VII) of this paragraph (b) in unique cases, in accordance with federal regulations.

(c)

(I) Except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (c), the department shall provide goods or services to a person with a disability only to the extent the department determines, in accordance with paragraph (d) of this subsection (3) and department rules, that the person with a disability requires financial assistance.

(II) The department shall provide the following services at public cost without consideration of financial need:

(A) Diagnostic and related assessments, including transportation necessary to obtain the assessment, that are required to determine eligibility for services and the nature and scope of the services to be provided;

(B) Vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance;

(C) Referral;

(D) Personal assistance services;

(E) Auxiliary aids or services, including interpreter and reader services;

(F) Job search and placement assistance; and

(G) Job retention services.

(d)

(I) The department shall determine a person with a disability's need for financial assistance based on the person's need and income, or the income of the person's legally and financially responsible relative. The department shall determine the need for financial assistance for a person with a disability, or for the person's legally and financially responsible relative, prior to providing vocational rehabilitation services, except for diagnostic, guidance, job placement, and related services. The person with a disability, or the person's legally and financially responsible relative, shall contribute toward the cost of his or her vocational rehabilitation services to the extent that the department determines that he or she is financially able; except that, if the person with a disability has been determined eligible for social security benefits under Title II or XVI of the federal "Social Security Act", 42 U.S.C. sec. 301 et seq., as amended, he or she is not required to further contribute to the costs of any services provided.

(II) As used in this paragraph (d), a "person's legally and financially responsible relative" means the relative who identifies the person as a dependant for federal income tax purposes.

(4) To the extent that the department determines that any goods or services received by the person with a disability were acquired through misrepresentation, fraud, collusion, or criminal conduct, payment for those goods and services may be recovered by the department from the person with a disability.