(a) A primary purpose of the workers compensation act shall be to restore the injured employee to work at a comparable wage. To this end, the director shall appoint, subject to the approval of the secretary, a specialist in vocational rehabilitation, who shall be referred to as the vocational rehabilitation administrator. No vocational assessment, evaluation, services or training shall be provided or made available under the workers compensation act unless specifically agreed to by the employer or insurance carrier providing or making available such assessment, evaluation, services or training. Upon such agreement, the vocational rehabilitation administrator may make recommendations for and supervise such assessment, evaluation, services or training on behalf of the employee and such assessment, evaluation, services or training shall not be arbitrarily terminated by the employer or insurance carrier once such agreement is entered into by the employer or insurance carrier. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the employee from obtaining such assessment, evaluation, services or training at the employee’s expense from any provider or through any other public or private funding or agency. The director may appoint, subject to the approval of the secretary, assistant vocational rehabilitation administrators. The vocational rehabilitation administrator and the assistant vocational rehabilitation administrators shall be in the classified service under the Kansas civil service act. The vocational rehabilitation administrator and the assistant vocational rehabilitation administrators, subject to the direction of the vocational rehabilitation administrator, shall: (1) Continuously study the problems of vocational rehabilitation; (2) investigate and maintain a directory of all vocational rehabilitation facilities, public or private, in this state, and, where the vocational rehabilitation administrator determines necessary, in any other state; and (3) be fully knowledgeable regarding the eligibility requirements of all state, federal and other public vocational rehabilitation facilities and benefits.

(b) The director shall approve as qualified such individuals, facilities, institutions, agencies and employer programs as the director finds are capable of rendering competent vocational rehabilitation services and which are referred to in this section as “providers.” The director shall continuously monitor the quality and timeliness of the services of providers found qualified by the director to provide vocational rehabilitation services. No such provider shall be approved as qualified unless the provider is equipped with such physical facilities as the director deems necessary and is staffed with personnel specifically trained and qualified, as the director deems necessary, to provide vocational rehabilitation services.

If the employer or the employer’s insurance carrier do not agree to provide vocational rehabilitation services, the employee may request the vocational rehabilitation administrator to refer the employee to an appropriate provider for vocational rehabilitation services to be provided at the employee’s expense. Referrals for vocational rehabilitation services shall not be made to a provider in which the employer, the employer’s insurance carrier or the claims adjusting company handling the claim has a demonstrable financial interest, unless a full, written disclosure of the demonstrable financial interest has been submitted in writing by the provider to the employer, the employer’s insurance carrier, any claims adjusting company handling the claim, the employee and the vocational rehabilitation administrator. Medical management or medical monitoring services shall not be considered to be providing vocational rehabilitation services and the costs thereof shall not be considered as the payment of workers compensation benefits nor medical benefits.