(a) The commissioner is authorized to establish a system of rehabilitation training centers for persons with disabilities.

(b) The system shall include the ten (10) Volunteer State vocational centers operated on July 1, 1965, by the Tennessee Association for Retarded Children and Adults, Incorporated, under the terms of OVR grant 956d from the office of vocational rehabilitation of the United States department of human services, and any other existing centers furnishing the same training, and any other rehabilitation centers established pursuant to this part.

(c) Rehabilitation centers established pursuant to this part shall be designated as the “Tennessee Rehabilitation Center at ____” (name of city where located).

(d)

(1) The department shall appoint an advisory board for each center that it establishes.

(2) The advisory board for each rehabilitation center shall be appointed by the commissioner or designee, with the advice of the statewide advisory board, from among the citizens of the county where the center is located.

(3) The boards shall be composed of twelve (12) members, who shall serve for staggered terms of four (4) years and shall receive no compensation for their services.

(4) Wherever possible, each rehabilitation center advisory board shall include among its members representation from the professional fields of education, vocational rehabilitation, human services, employment security, psychology, law and medicine. To achieve such representation, the commissioner or designee may appoint to any such board state personnel from any of the fields enumerated in this subdivision (d)(4) who are employed in or reside in a county where a rehabilitation center is located. When appointing members to the advisory board pursuant to this subsection (d), the department shall, to the extent possible, appoint the board's members to ensure appropriate representation on the board based upon gender and ethnicity.

(5) Not more than two (2) of the rehabilitation center advisory board members shall be parents of an individual with a disability.

(e) The advisory board shall have the following responsibilities:

(1) To provide advice, in cooperation with the center's director and the department, regarding the operation of the rehabilitation services program and the clients served by the center for that county;

(2) To assist in coordination of the rehabilitation center's program with the public school system for students enrolled in the center from the public schools of the county where the center is located;

(3) To promote community support and education concerning persons with disabilities and their employment;

(4) To provide placement coordination in the local community for the development of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities; and

(5) To assist the center manager in presenting the proposed local operating budget to the proper local officials for certification.

(f) Clients of the rehabilitation centers established pursuant to this part shall not be considered state employees for any purpose. Any funds paid to these clients for sheltered employment shall be paid out of a special fund established from the gross income to the center from contract work.