Narrative: d. 1.

The West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) has cooperative agreements with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDOE) Office of Special Programs, the WVDOE Division of Technical and Adult Education, Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development, local education agencies, and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. The cooperative agreements between DRS and WVDOE, both at the state and the local levels, assure that each student with a disability in the state who needs special education, vocational education, and/or vocational rehabilitation services is identified and that the appropriate services, including pre–employment transition services, are made available to the individual. The cooperative agreements cover:

1. Determination of DRS responsibility;

2. Student/consumer referrals;

3. Joint development of the Individualized Educational Program (IEP) and the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE);

4. Services;

5. Coordinated planning and payment of services;

6. Confidentiality of information;

7. Subminimum wage employment (per the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act);

8. Local agreements;

9. General supervision; and

10. Dispute resolution.

Prior to the 2015–2016 school year, the DRS director sent letters to each high school principal and special education director in West Virginia. The letter detailed changes in vocational rehabilitation service provision to high school students with disabilities since the enactment of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The most significant change relates to providing pre–employment transition services to high school students with disabilities. The letter described these services and the further collaboration between DRS and school staff to better serve students with disabilities.

DRS offices are located in some of the state’s largest schools. Additionally, counselors visit every high school in the state to initiate rehabilitation services needed for transition from school to work. This allows the counselor to develop a collaborative relationship and assist the student in identifying goals, services, and service providers related to employment options prior to transition. In FY 2015, DRS re–structured its counselor assignments to increase service availability to students with disabilities. There are now 44 rehabilitation counselors assigned to work with the state’s 55 local education agencies and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. DRS’ school counselors specialize in providing pre–employment transition services (PETS) to students with disabilities. Of these 44 PETS counselors, 43 work solely with high school students and have no other assignments. Expected benefits include increased counselor presence in schools, increased IEP meeting attendance, increased provision of PETS, and an increase in outreach and awareness of VR services to high school students with disabilities.

School (PETS) rehabilitation counselors also are invited to participate in IEP meetings. During these meetings the counselor describes DRS services, policies, and procedures as appropriate. The DRS counselor determines the student’s eligibility and order of selection category utilizing information generated from the school, the student, and DRS. Prior to or shortly after the student’s IEP transition meeting occurs, IPE development begins so both the student and counselor have an idea of what rehabilitation services will be necessary to meet the student’s vocational goal. Therefore, if the student needs additional training or assessment prior to vocational goal determination, this information is already collected so that planned rehabilitation services may begin. IPE development and approval for students with disabilities, including those able to be served if DRS is on an order of selection, will begin as early as appropriate during the transition process, but before the student, determined to be eligible, leaves the school setting.

In 2016, DRS will partner with Community Access, Incorporated to implement a program to support the design and implementation of programming and outreach while addressing the new direction mandated by WIOA. Specifically, the program will address the five mandated PETS for high school students with disabilities through an expansion of the Student Transition to Employment (STEP) program. The project will assist school districts by offering training and technical assistance in setting up community–based work experience programs for students with disabilities. The project will help level the playing field between resource–rich metropolitan areas and isolated rural settings that often have few services available. In addition, a strong statewide outreach to teachers, parents, students, and other VR stakeholders will be a component of the project. A concerted effort will be made to include historically under–served groups including students in the foster care system, those returning from out–of–state placements, and those students on the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) track. The project has the following goals:

1. To assist school districts in setting up community–based work exploration programs;

2. To develop statewide parent training network utilizing the Parent Community Resource Centers;

3. To develop a network of specialists to work with DRS, WorkForce WV, and WVDOE staff; and

4. To develop a statewide cross–sector outreach program with a strong emphasis on traditionally underserved populations.

DRS also assists WVDOE with Graduation 20/20, a West Virginia initiative that uses a data driven intervention framework developed by the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC–SD) to address issues that have negatively impacted school completion. Graduation 20/20 utilizes the innovation configuration on evidence–based transition practices and predictors of post school success to guide professional learning which was published by the Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center. The program, using tools from NDPC–SD and CEEDAR, trains local school–based teams and team leaders to diagnose the causes of dropout and develop site–specific improvement plans and strategies.

Information about the DRS school program is widely disseminated to education professionals, as well as students and their parents. An updated fact sheet and new brochure explaining DRS transition services is available. DRS has negotiated an agreement with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission for its consumers who attend in–state public colleges and universities. The agreement describes the financial responsibility of DRS and the appropriate public institution of higher education, provides procedures to resolve interagency disputes, and coordinates policies and procedures to ensure timely delivery of vocational rehabilitation services. To better serve individuals in post–secondary school, DRS has liaisons assigned to 43 post–secondary community/technical colleges, 4–year colleges, and universities across the state.

DRS also coordinates with the WVDOE Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development, a WIOA core partner, to better serve individuals receiving adult education. The agencies have a formal MOU and collaborate at the state and local level. The MOU includes screening students for potential disabilities, including learning disabilities, and the collaboration between WVDOE and DRS to provide necessary accommodations (e.g., assistive technology, interpreters) for eligible individuals. DRS will evaluate the disability or disabilities and provide specific recommendations regarding testing accommodations, recommendations for instructional accommodations and recommendations for job accommodations. If it is found that the student requires assistive technology (which includes information technology products such as software application, operating systems, web–based information applications, web accessibility, video equipment, multimedia products, and office equipment) then WVDOE and DRS will share, as appropriate, the cost for this technology. If it is determined that the person has a hearing disability and it is deemed necessary that an interpreter, CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), note–taker, or other appropriate accommodations be provided, then WVDOE and DRS will share the cost. WVDOE will only hire qualified interpreters who are registered through the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

While the MOU covers the partnership statewide, there are numerous collaborative activities at the local level. DRS and Adult Education are collaborating with a university to assist adult education students in transitioning to post–secondary education through a curriculum that teaches time management, a basic math refresher, and any other identified needs for individuals with disabilities returning to post–secondary education. DRS, WorkForce WV, and Adult Education also collaborate in workforce development region 2 as part of WIOA One–Stop Management Partner meetings with local development groups to better identify and facilitate needed services for the local area. In DRS Districts 4 and 6, DRS has partnered with Adult Education to increase efforts to reach potential VR consumers being served by Adult Education and the Strategic Planning in Occupational Knowledge for Employment and Success (SPOKES) program. SPOKES was created by WV Adult Education under a contract between (a) the WVDOE Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development and (b) the WV Department of Health and Human Resources, in collaboration with the Workforce Development Boards.