State vocational rehabilitation services (VR)

The Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services awarded $3,728,325 to the Maine Department of Labor, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired on October 1, 2025 under the Rehabilitation Services Vocational Rehabilitation Grants to States program (CFDA 84.126), a formula grant supporting State VR operations.

The division delivers comprehensive vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with visual disabilities across Maine, including vocational assessments, career counseling, job training, and workplace accommodations to enable employment and independent living outcomes. The award covers the period from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, with place of performance in Augusta, Maine. The division operates as a sub-entity of the Maine Department of Labor and administers the VR program directly to serve Maine residents with visual disabilities, with no identified sub-recipients passing funds through to other organizations. State VR agencies under this program are required to maintain financial and programmatic records for three years after submission of the final financial report and must operate under an approved VR services portion of the State's Unified or Combined State Plan submitted under WIOA.