What is your role at DOL, Trudy Smith?  

I am the Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist at the Department of Labor.  I am responsible for monitoring vocational rehabilitation and mediating disputes.

How long have you been in your role?

23 years

What are the priorities of Vermont workers' comp VR?

To return the injured worker to suitable employment in the most expeditious, cost-effective manner.

Many states either do not have VR in statute or offer VR at MMI. How do you think Vermont's workers' comp VR system benefits injured workers and the claimed goal of RTW?

It assists injured workers in situations that they didn't ask to be in and are not prepared to return to work. In some instances it is walking someone through the fact that they can't go back to what they have done their whole working life and finding a new job using skills they didn't even realize they had. In some instances, it is just gently prodding them out of their comfort zone.

What are your recommendations for best practices in successful VR outcomes?

Walking the fine line between helping and enabling is difficult, but that is the line the VR counselor has to walk. Assisting the injured worker with the skills necessary to return them to work but not doing it for them. Preparing an injured worker for the reality that their lives have changed, and while they can spend time being angry about that, it is more productive to move forward using their skills and abilities, likes and dislikes to get them back to work. Sometimes, that is in the same industry, just a different aspect – concrete worker v. concrete estimator. Sometimes it is an entirely new field suited to their new physical reality. To paraphrase a common saying, it is sometimes difficult to get an injured worker to that point, but successful VR is teaching an injured worker to fish instead of fishing for them.

What are the majority of questions you receive from injured employees regarding VR?

• Who is this person, and why did they call me?

• Does the fact the insurance carrier pays them mean they work for the insurance company and don't really care about me but just want to get me off worker's compensation?

• What are my responsibilities?

• Do I have to participate in VR if I know I'm going back to work just because the insurance carrier referred me to someone?

• I don't like the person they assigned to me. Can I change?

What are the majority of questions you receive from claims adjusters regarding VR?

• Do I have to refer this for a screening or can I just refer it to a VR counselor for an entitlement assessment?

• I think this employee is going to go back to work. Do I have to refer them at all?

• Can I dispute the charges?

• Can I request a change in counselor if I don't like the counselor the injured worker has chosen?

• The VR counselor forwarded me the plan, but it went to my junk mail, so I didn't see it. Am I still held to the plan even though I didn't see it and get a chance to respond?

If you could wave a magic wand for one wish in VR, what would that be?

That injured workers get referred for vocational services with a VT-certified vocational counselor either at 90 days of disability or when it is apparent it is necessary (catastrophic injuries such as amputations) instead of requiring a vocational screening be completed.  The sooner an injured worker gets working with a vocational counselor to get back to work the less time they are without an income when they reach maximum medical improvement.