Narrative: d. 2. O. iv.

The West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) will continue to monitor the educational achievement of all of its consumers, especially those in the transition youth (TY) population. Youth have become a primary focus in vocational rehabilitation and DRS will work closely and diligently with State and Local Education Agencies to ensure that its TY population receives the services that it needs, including pre–employment transition services for high school students with disabilities. Each high school in WV has a DRS counselor assigned to it to guarantee the service provision of students with disabilities. A greater emphasis is now being placed for counselors to do outreach with these students and their parents/guardians during their sophomore year (rather than their junior year, as was formerly practiced) in order to maximize the counseling opportunities.

DRS counselors will continue to take part in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) development of students with disabilities when they are invited to do so. Counselors will also stay in contact with educators to discuss and resolve educational difficulties as they arise. DRS will also work closely with WV Adult Education, referring consumers as needed, to ensure that individuals with disabilities have an adequate opportunity to obtain a completed high school level education.

DRS Goal 2 – Provide Pre–Employment Transition Services (PETS) to students with disabilities. The 2015 comprehensive statewide needs assessment (CSNA) indicated that job exploration counseling was the most frequently reported pre–employment transition service need. In accordance with this, and per the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), DRS has recently restructured its field services unit, creating a subdivision of counselors that focus solely on providing services, including Pre–employment Transition Services (PETS), to students with disabilities. DRS counselors in high schools will provide PETS to students with disabilities, especially job exploration counseling, in order to give students with disabilities and their parents/guardians a better understanding of labor market conditions, current and emerging career opportunities, and the necessary education and training requirements related to those opportunities.

In addition to ongoing program activities, DRS will host a one week summer workshop for transition students who are juniors entering into their senior year of high school. The workshop will be held in seven areas across the state. DRS staff participating include the PETS Counselor, Employment Specialist, and RSA assigned to the PETS territory. Class will start at 9:00am and end at 4:00pm. Class size for each of the seven workshops will be approximately 30 students. Students will earn minimum wage for the time that they attend. DRS is also requesting WorkForce WV and WV Adult Education to participate in the workshops to provide additional information to the students.

Topics to be covered:

–Career planning

–Career preparation

–SSI/SSDI Information

–Understanding the importance of necessary personal documents, e.g., social security card, driver’s license, birth certificate, pay stubs.

–Communication

–Conflict Management

–Employer Expectations

––Attendance and Punctuality

––Timeliness of task completion

––Be able to work without supervision

––Positive work ethic

––Manage multiple tasks

–High–growth Jobs

–Personal Brand

–Job Hunting Tools– resumes, cover letters, interviews, and digital profiles

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 Program (STEP). The program 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 WV Department of Education (WVDOE) staff.

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