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A policy change limits Department of Vocational Rehabilitation funds for AgrAbility services.

January 7, 2020

4 Min Read
man transferring himself from wheelchair to seat in modified skid steer
RETROFIT: Kentucky offers a DVR program that retrofits a skid steer so a farmer who is disabled can use the machine. Check out the video below.Kentucky AgrAbility Project

When Outagamie County, Wis., beef farmer Keith Posselt needed a lift added to his skid steer to help him get in and out, he didn’t contact the Wisconsin Department of Vocational Rehabilitation for services as he has in the past.

Instead, he made a call to Kentucky, where DVR officials there agreed to help him get the skid steer retrofit that he needed. The cost — other than transportation of the machine to Kentucky and back — will be covered by the Kentucky DVR program.

Posselt, who has about 80 beef animals on his farm near Hortonville, suffered a spinal cord injury when he fell 35 feet in a silo chute in January 1997. He has been paralyzed from the waist down since the accident but has been able to continue farming with the help of the assistive technologies he received through the AgrAbility of Wisconsin program. AgrAbility is a partnership of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, the Easter Seals Wisconsin Farm Program and the Wisconsin DVR.

In recent years, Wisconsin DVR funds have been limited by a policy change that requires farmers to meet stricter wage standards than those in place in other states. Paul Leverenz, vice president of farm and vocational services for Easter Seals, says he believes Wisconsin is the only state in the U.S. that has the stricter wage requirement.

Related:AgrAbility offers services despite funding limitations

Out-of-state help

With a typical skid steer, the operator must climb over the bucket to get into the seat. Posselt’s disability makes that difficult, so he began looking for a retrofit to help him get in and out of the seat.

In his research, Posselt found a video of a Kentucky farmer who had his skid steer upgraded with a remote-controlled seat that lifts out and enables the farmer to get in and out of the machine. The farmer in the video received aid through the Kentucky DVR program (see video below).

Posselt contacted Kentucky DVR and was told if he could get his machine to Kentucky, a technician there could make a similar adaptation, and the DVR program there would cover the cost.

Posselt says he didn’t apply for the services in Wisconsin because he believes he would have been turned down.

“I know their requirements are a lot stricter than they used to be,” he says. “It’s unfortunate that that is the case.”

Posselt says it’s “very inconvenient” that he has to go out of state to get a service that could be provided in Wisconsin. He received assistance in Wisconsin before the DVR policy was changed but says he doesn’t think he would qualify for help now.

Jeff Kratochwill, a rural rehabilitation specialist with the Easter Seals Wisconsin Farm Program, says the application process was relatively easy for Posselt in Kentucky. He was found eligible by way of a conference call.

“He is enrolled as a DVR client in Kentucky,” Kratochwill says. “My understanding is they’re not necessarily limited to the state border. All I know is he’s getting the help he needs, and I don’t really care how he gets it.

“It is safe to say that [Kentucky’s] policy related to serving the farmer is significantly easier than Wisconsin’s.”

Leverenz says DVR programs have “different structures, focuses and positions” in their aim of helping farmers. Kentucky has an engineer who designs and builds assistive technologies for clients who need them. Wisconsin doesn’t have such an individual.

Leverenz says he is frustrated by the stricter standards in Wisconsin, when in the past more help was available through the state program.

“We have seen how critical the services are, and now they’re not there,” he says. “You have to prove before you can receive the service that you meet the [income requirement] before you receive the help that would hopefully get you to that level of income. The policy might be legal, but the question is, is it the right thing to do?”

Creative solutions

Leverenz says he and other Easter Seals officials are trying to be creative in helping farmers get the services they need. They worked with Posselt to help him make the Kentucky connection.

“We can’t control what DVR is doing here,” he says. “If a similar situation occurred in the future where a farmer could get help in another state, we would absolutely help again.”

Leverenz says Easter Seals officials reached out to state agency officials after Gov. Tony Evers was elected to see if the wage requirement might change, but they were told the recent stricter policy would remain in place.

“It’s pretty perplexing to me,” Leverenz says.

Massey lives near Barneveld, Wis.

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