[Rehab] Policies vs. Regulations

[David Andrews]

I would check with RSA!  I would be surprised if agencies weren't 
required to make their policies public!

I will ask our policy person tomorrow also.

Dave


At 09:45 PM 1/9/2023, you wrote:
>Hello everyone,
>
>In one state, not Vermont, we've been having conversations with a 
>state VR agency about how the agency refuses to make its VR policies 
>public. The agency has a habit of using its policies to justify not 
>doing something but then never publishing its policy manual. The 
>state does make public its regulations in the state regulatory code, 
>but I'm pretty sure this is technically different, especially when 
>the agency staff insist that the state VR policy manual is not for 
>public distribution. This would be a pointless statement if it were 
>the same thing as the published regulations.
>
>I'm trying to figure out how to articulate what the difference is 
>between agency policies and state regulations. My best attempt is as 
>follows, but please help me out if you think you can:
>
>##
>Regulations create a set of rules that must be followed in a program 
>of government and any agency which runs such program. Agencies make 
>their own policies to carry out the functions of the agency (deliver 
>the program), and the policies set by the agency must not contradict 
>the regulations of the program placed on the agency.
>##
>
>To me, it feels like they should be obligated to make the policies 
>of their VR program public. Even the Client Assistance Program in 
>this state doesn't have a copy of the VR agency policies, which 
>seems ridiculous.
>
>Thank you,
>
>Justin
>
>
>Justin Mark Hideaki Salisbury
>he/him/his
>
>Phone: 808.797.8606
>Email: President at Alumni.ECU.edu<mailto:President at Alumni.ECU.edu>
>LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-salisbury
>ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Justin_Salisbury
>
>
>"Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot 
>un-educate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate 
>the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are 
>not afraid anymore."
>
>Cesar Chavez