Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan* must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA:
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* Sec. 102(b)(D)(iii) of WIOA
d. 2. P. ii. I. Identify the Strategies That Contributed to the Achievement of the Goals.
Current Narrative:
Supported Employment Goals:
Priority 1. VR will analyze the current employment services rate structure for eligible SE consumers and implement necessary system changes in an effort to improve SE service provision.
Measure: Implement necessary system changes by July 2015.
Outcome: Achieved. Employment Service Revisions were implemented July 1, 2015 which included major changes to both the funding structure and service provision expectations for employment services, specifically supported employment services and Discovery activities. VR will be evaluating the impact of the system changes and reviewing data quarterly. Data as well as ongoing feedback from stakeholders including the employment service workgroup, will be utilized to make ongoing revisions and address additional areas of improvement.
Priority 2. VR will continue to increase the quantity and quality of job outcomes for individuals with the most significant disabilities through Project SEARCH.
Measure: At least 75 students will obtain work experience through Project SEARCH, and at least 50% of SEARCH participants will obtain competitive employment outcomes.
Outcome: Achieved. The graduating 2014 SEARCH class resulted in 66% of SEARCH interns obtaining competitive, integrated employment (54 individuals out of 81 total participants). There were 85 participates in the 2015 SEARCH class that just graduated in May 2015. As of September 2015, 32 or 38% of interns have obtained employment so far, with additional SEARCH graduates still actively seeking employment. The average wage for those 32 graduates is $8.46/hour which is an increase from the average wage from the prior year ($8.18) and the average weekly hours worked remained the same as the prior year (27).