Brain Injury Services Unit

The Brain Injury Services (BIS) Unit, located within DARS' Division for Community Living in the Richmond Central Office, serves as a point of contact for internal and external customers seeking general or agency-specific information about brain injury resources. BIS manages over $10 million in programs, contracts, and federal grants involving brain injury services throughout the Commonwealth. As part of its oversight responsibility of nine state-funded Brain Injury Services (BIS) Programs, DARS prepares an annual report on number of people served by each program; types of services provided; and success in attracting nonstate resources. DARS also maintains the BIS Programs SCORECARD which reports quarterly data on how the state-funded programs are helping consumers achieve their personal goals, as well as the number and nature of community awareness and education events conducted by each program. BIS Unit also manages the Commonwealth Neurotrauma Initiative (CNI) Trust Fund, the Brain Injury Discretionary Services (BIDS) Fund, and provides staffing for the Virginia Brain Injury Council (VBIC). DARS was awarded a three-year (2018-2021) federal TBI Act systems change grant, Project REACT (Realizing Enhanced Access and Community Ties). Federal grant activities are carried out through a contract with the Brain Injury Association of Virginia, which is managed by the Brain Injury Services Unit.

Photo of Brain Injury Awareness Day on Hill

Photo of DARS Commissioner Kathryn Hayfield thanking outgoing Virginia Brain Injury Council members

DARS Commissioner Kathryn Hayfield (center, back) thanks outgoing Virginia Brain Injury Council members for their years of service: Mark Bender, Jodi Power, Laurie Silva, Shasmin Asbury.

Photo of DARS staff at No Limits Eastern Shore Open House

BI Scorecard

The Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services recognizes that deficits in non-vocational life areas may adversely affect the ability of a person with a brain injury to gain and/or maintain employment.

Community providers throughout the State are partially funded by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services through State General Funds to provide Community Support Services. These services involve intensive one-to-one education and training to assist a person with a brain injury to live and participate as independently as possible in home, work, and community settings of their choice. Funded providers submit quarterly reports of how they are serving providers with brain injury in the following areas: