Narrative: d. 2. I. ii.

A comprehensive and well–managed personnel development program is critical to ARS’s efforts to expand and enhance customer services, and to ensure consumers receive quality rehabilitation services from qualified professional personnel. ARS is strongly committed to providing training programs to all staff, especially those providing direct services to consumers. ARS maintains training records for all staff, updated annually, to reflect training requests and completions specifying the training source, name, credit hours, and attendance date. Professional qualifications for counselors are monitored to ensure current certification and to track educational progress for those achieving certification. The Human Resources (HR) department shapes ARS’s strategies by understanding workforce trends, identifying potential resource opportunities and gaps, and developing effective initiatives. HR takes the initiative and delivers results on strategic business issues, such as, new development, talent management, training, and mobility.

To meet ARS’s goals, HR ensures successful recruitment, preparation, and retention of qualified personnel. HR maintains a working relationship with colleges, universities, and higher education programs within the state, partners in job fairs, maintains a positive relationship with the community and its representatives, and utilizes online recruitment efforts. In addition, ARS is involved with all major social media, newspapers, and industry driven communication.

The Arkansas Legislature authorized special language to ARS for a waiver of the Continuing Professional Education policy prohibiting state agencies from providing college courses to employees. The special language allows ARS to provide college level coursework in degree programs designed to result in a Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling (MRC) for eligible employees selected by the agency. The special language assists the agency in assuring qualified professional personnel are in place to provide quality rehabilitation services to Arkansans with disabilities.

ARS set an effective date of October 1, 2016, for all rehabilitation counselor positions to meet the standard of having a Master’s degree and to be Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) certified. Those who do not meet the standard have a prescribed time period to achieve the designation per the CRC policy. Rehabilitation counselors who do not meet the standard are cross–graded in position and must be working towards meeting the standard. Counselors working towards meeting the standard will continue to perform counseling functions.

Counselors who do not meet requirements and are not working towards meeting the standard will perform limited case management functions and will not be authorized to perform the following functions: (a) Determination the applicant requires vocational rehabilitation services to prepare for, secure, retain, or regain employment, i.e., eligibility determination and Certification of Eligibility and/or Certificate of Ineligibility; (b) Development and approval of all components of the Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) including annual review; (c) Amendments to IPE; and (d) Determination of a satisfactory outcome that the employment outcome is satisfactory and the individual is performing well in the employment, i.e., Closure Amendment.

During the 2009 Arkansas Legislative Session, ARS received permission to institute a graduated pay incentive to counselors who progress toward an MRC/CRC, which aids ARS in recruitment efforts to obtain the best candidates for present and future needs. Additionally ARS continues to utilize the Student Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program, which has resulted in enhanced counselor recruitment. Under this program newly hired VR counselors can be provided up to $2,000 per year repayment to the student loan creditor. Counselors who participate in the Student Loan Forgiveness Program agree to continue working for the agency for two years in return for each year of repayment.

Effective July 1, 2009, all ARS vocational rehabilitation counselors were reclassified as either grade level C117 Rehabilitation Counselor or C119 Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. The C119 Certified Rehabilitation Counselor classification requires CRC certification. According to state Office of Personnel Management (OPM) requirements, ARS now advertises for a C117 position with the preferred qualification being a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling and CRC certification. ARS was able to establish an internal salary grid with OPM approval. This grid allows the agency to hire VR counselors in the counselor C117 series under different salary ranges based on qualification and certification and allows for cost of living rates for counselors in the C119 classification. State hiring policy authorized by OPM allows ARS to hire graduates with Bachelor’s degrees in Rehabilitation for C117 positions when there is no suitable applicant with a Master’s degree with the condition the person will seek and obtain a Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling within four years of employment and will meet CRC certification or become eligible to sit for CRC certification within one year of receipt of the Master’s degree.

Bachelor’s degree or Non–MRC Master’s degree – L051C Rehabilitation Counselor/C117 – $32,249 (annual) – $15.5044 (hourly)

Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling (MRC)/No CRC – L051C Rehabilitation Counselor/C117 – $34,234 (annual) – $16.4586 (hourly)

MRC and CRC with less than five (5) years VR experience – E034C Certified Vocational Rehab Counselor/C119 – $35,554 –(annually – $17.0933 (hourly)

MRC and CRC with five (5) or more years VR experience – E034C Certified Vocational Rehab Counselor/C119 – $37,743 –(annually) – $18.1456

ARS was approved for a labor market rate increase for district managers with a starting salary of $48,000 per year. The increase helps with recruitment and retention within the field program.

The Staff Development section reviews the current training levels of all personnel, and develops and monitors agency policy and procedure for training and retaining qualified personnel including ACTI staff to meet standards required by the Department of Education and other federal/state requirements. All ARS employees receive an annual personnel performance evaluation from their immediate supervisor, which is reviewed and approved by their respective senior manager. The evaluation considers the training each employee needs to fulfill job duties in providing services to our consumers.

ARS works closely with the universities to provide internship and practicum opportunities for students, and notifies universities when job openings become available. Students are recruited from university and college rehabilitation programs within the state to seek employment with ARS upon graduation. ARS maintains staff liaisons with the university programs including the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (UAF), the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB), Arkansas State University (ASU), and Arkansas Tech University (ATU). In addition, ARS meets quarterly with the universities to provide updates within the vocational rehabilitation field and ARS, to give practitioner input, and to receive first–hand information regarding graduates from the MRC programs.

The agency actively recruits minorities and students with disabilities. Students, including minorities, are encouraged to join professional rehabilitation organizations such as the National Rehabilitation Association (NRA) and the National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns (NAMRC). These rehabilitation professional organizations provide scholarship opportunities to individuals, including minorities, who major in the field of rehabilitation.

ARS is currently working on revising VR Counselor job descriptions to update roles and responsibilities due to increasing duties, and also to assist with increasing salaries for ARS VR Counselors competitive to surrounding regions. Additionally, leadership is reviewing training and development opportunities to help with retention of counselors. ARS Leadership is working with the Arkansas Executive Branch to facilitate timely hiring freeze exceptions.