Narrative: d. 2. P. i. I.

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), in collaboration with the Florida Rehabilitation Council (FRC), established three strategic goals for FFY 2015. These goals and priorities were developed based on an analysis of VR’s performance on the federal standards and indicators, the preliminary result of the statewide needs assessment, and input from customers, providers, and other stakeholders. The following section provides VR’s evaluation and report of progress towards achieving its strategic goals.

Review of VR Program Goals for FFY 2015

Goal 1: Improve Customer Success and Satisfaction

Objective 1.1: Improve the assessment of customer satisfaction

Strategy: 1. Negotiate a new contract for multiple, innovative means of assessing customer satisfaction.

Performance Measure: Ensure successful execution of the new contract and monitor for contractual compliance.

Actual Performance: The contract was successfully negotiated and was awarded to Market Decisions in June 2014. The strategy was then revised to focus on implementation of new tools and process for assessing customer satisfaction. The new customer satisfaction survey and reports were finalized and implemented, and a pilot was completed in October 2014, with great feedback from customers and vendor. Monthly extract and survey documents have been finalized. Tools to market the new survey in local VR offices were developed by FRC and VR Communications staff.

In addition to data collected through the customer satisfaction survey, VR uses data collected by the Ombudsman Unit to analyze customer success and satisfaction. Below is a comparative summary of customer inquiry and mediation requests fielded by the Ombudsman Unit during FFYs 2014–15 and 2013–14.

Objective 1.2: Improve vendor and contracted services processes

Strategy: 1. Develop background screening process for specific providers.

Performance Measure: Implement background screening program.

Actual Performance: The Agency for Healthcare Administration Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse is now operational. Providers subject to background screening requirements are now being processed through the system. Continue operationally.

Strategy: 2. Review and revise vendor management process.

Performance Measure: A plan and routine progress reports will be submitted to VR Senior Management Team for review.

Actual Performance: The registration process for Employment Services providers has been revised to require qualifications review and approval at the time of application. The Care Provider Background Screening Clearinghouse is now in use. The next steps operationally are to re–evaluate current experiential requirements for employment specialists, review the Qualifications Manual and all current applications for areas of improvement, and continue to evaluate/monitor current processes for areas of improvement.

Strategy: 3. Design and implement contract monitoring and fraud detection processes.

Performance Measure: Finalize risk assessment of all contracts and establish a baseline of current performance. Develop standardized tools for routine monitoring and train appropriate employees on their use. Develop schedule of routine contract monitoring.

Actual Performance: Monitoring tools have been developed and all appropriate staff have been trained on their use. A risk assessment of all current employment services contracts has been completed. Thirty– four (34) providers determined to be either high or medium risk are currently being monitored. Continue operationally.

Strategy: 4. Conduct vendor outreach to increase available services for customers.

Performance Measure: Specific outreach activities to find new vendors. Recommendation to add referral identification question(s) to document to track referral source.

Actual Performance: This strategy will continue operationally as needed. Vendor outreach efforts include a vendor newsletter, updates to vendor pages on www.Rehabworks.org, and targeted social media posts for specific vendor types.

Strategy: 5. Expand vendor pool for employment and supported employment services.

Performance Measure: Increase in number of employment and supported employment vendors available where needed.

Actual Performance: Strategy was removed, but work continues operationally.

Objective 1.3: Increase employment opportunities for VR customers

Strategy: 1. Facilitate communication between job seekers with disabilities and employers through enhanced technology.

Performance Measure: Review and revise FL Job Connections website and connect it to the national Talent Acquisition Portal and the FL Dept. of Economic Opportunity disability web portal.

Actual Performance: Website has been revised and is now the AbilitiesWork Help desk portal. This will continue as an operational VR process.

Strategy: 2. Design and implement enhancements to the Vendor Profile document for customer use in making informed choices regarding employment providers.

Performance Measure: Baseline use of vendor profile and measure increase in use.

Actual Performance: This strategy is still active. Much work has been done to design the layout and information that will be provided in the vendor profile. Wireframes have been developed, and programming is on hold through the IT Governance process.

Strategy: 3. Increase transition services for students with significant disabilities.

Performance Measure: Revise TPCA requirements, offer to all school districts, and implement new contracts.

Actual Performance: TPCA requirements were revised and the new contract was offered to all school districts. New contracts are being implemented. This strategy will continue operationally, as these contracts are updated and re–offered annually.

Goal 2: Improve Employee Development and Workplace Environment

Objective 2.1: Improve the system for developing VR employees

Strategy: 1. Institute a process for on–boarding, mentoring, training, succession planning, and leadership development for all VR employees, including the implementation of an LMS.

Performance Measure: Improvement in climate survey items Q8 (Opportunities to learn and grow) and Q11 (Satisfaction with training provided by VR)

Actual Performance: This strategy was revised and is still active on the current strategic plan. TED, the VR learning management system, has been successfully implemented statewide and provides an efficient and far–reaching method to provide training and information to all VR staff. Revisions to the mentoring program are in the final stages of completion, with rollout of the new program anticipated for spring 2016. Revisions to the Onboarding program are complete and implemented. Additional information about TED and VR’s Onboarding and Mentoring Program initiatives is included in Section (i) of this plan.

Objective 2.2: Provide a safe, accessible, and adequately equipped work environment

Strategy: 1. Develop a process to report defective/unsafe working conditions, and provide safety and facilities management training to area employees.

Performance Measure: Improvement in Climate survey item Q17 (Physically safe work environment)

Actual Performance: Much progress has been made toward ensuring staff and customer safety. All VR offices were queried and upgrades were made to furniture and equipment. This strategy was combined with the strategy below and is still active on the current strategic plan. New policies have been developed for building security and access, facility keys, and chair inspections. First aid kits and automated external defibrillator devices have been installed at VR offices, and safety training has been provided to appropriate personnel.

Strategy: 2. Strengthen facilities processes and provide appropriate field staff additional supports.

Performance Measure: Resources include creating a move manual, statewide safety manual, statewide first aid information, safety furniture inspection instructions.

Actual Performance: This strategy was combined with the above strategy and is still active on the current strategic plan. Progress continues towards ensuring personnel and customer safety. The VR headquarters office moved during this timeframe, and before the move, building modifications were successfully completed that improved accessibility for all tenants in the building. The facilities team has developed a standard leasing process and a move manual to aid those responsible for these tasks.

Strategy: 3. Improve the accessibility of VR facilities, based on the results of a comprehensive evaluation with VR customer participation.

Performance Measure: Improvement in climate survey item Q4 (Accessible work environment); percent of ADA– compliant work units.

Actual Performance: FDOE leasing staff conducts ADA inspections of all new or renewed VR office leases. VR customers are included in this process when possible. Six VR employees have completed ADA Coordinator training. Continue operationally.

Goal 3: Improve VR Support Processes

Objective 3.1: Improve information technology applications

Strategy: 1. Use SharePoint to improve information sharing, collaboration and team projects.

Performance Measure: Increase in team sites

Actual Performance: Team sites continue to be requested and developed. This is now an operational, ongoing task.

Strategy: 2. Complete RIMS modules for Field Services Processes to better align the tools with business processes.

Performance Measure: Percent of RIMS modules completed

Actual Performance: This strategy was removed, as it is an operational business process. Improvements are still in progress on RIMS modules that require WIOA changes, and will continue operationally to incorporate all WIOA changes.

Objective 3.2: Improve VR business intelligence

Strategy: 1. Integrate key elements of VR management reports (financial, human resource, operational performance, and customer satisfaction) for use by all management teams and employees, including the development of a live performance dashboard.

Performance Measure: Number of management reports revised and implemented.

Actual Performance: Data management functions have been streamlined, starting with creating a team to fulfill data generation, analysis, and reporting. The team has further standardized the collection, planning, and delivery of data requests by creating templates for each task, and has improved data communication methods through the use of dedicated email and intranet locations. Progress continues on data validation and reporting improvements.

Explanation of Performance:

Strategies that contributed to achievement of goals and priorities

VR senior leaders continue to participate in quarterly planning meetings following the team approach established in 2012. VR senior leaders review progress made toward strategies, prioritize strategies still in progress, and agree on the strategies that will continue in the updated plan. Senior leaders consider employee feedback from the climate survey, customer, stakeholder and public input, needs assessment findings, customer satisfaction data, general process performance, and data collection and reporting requirements when updating goals, objectives, and strategic projects.

Smooth operation of the strategic planning process is in part due to VR senior leaders’ commitment to provide all supports necessary for project teams to be successful. Senior leaders also realize the value of feedback received from VR customers, personnel, stakeholders, and concerned citizens. Arrangements are in place so that anyone can provide feedback on the state plan, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using a dedicated email address on the Florida VR website, www.rehabworks.org/plans.shtml. The email address is vrplan@vr.fldoe.org. Concerted effort has also been made to standardize and streamline VR operational processes and procedures, such as staff development, planning, IT governance and development schedules, and business intelligence functions.