Narrative: d. 2. I. i. I. a.

DRS is committed to providing a comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD) that complies with Section 101(a)(7)(A) of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 and Section 721(a)(7)(A) of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. Members of the State Rehabilitation Council are afforded the opportunity to review and comment upon this entire section, particularly the DRS plan for recruitment, preparation, and retention of qualified personnel, DRS personnel standards, and staff development needs and activities.

Provisions of this section should assist in recruiting and retaining qualified staff members to ensure skilled personnel are available to provide rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. Furthermore, these endeavors will help ensure an improved level of competence and expand and improve vocational rehabilitation services for individuals with disabilities, especially those with significant disabilities, allowing them to reach employment.

The Human Resources Unit is primarily responsible for performing DRS personnel administration activities in keeping with guidance from the West Virginia Division of Personnel (WVDOP), Rehabilitation Services Administration, Social Security Administration, and other appropriate bodies. The DRS Staff Development Unit administers the in–service training grant program. The Quality Assurance (QA) Unit also works closely with the Field Services Unit to ensure quality and timely training for new field counselors and rehabilitation services associates (RSAs).

The following narrative describes the DRS CSPD and policies, procedures, and activities relating to the establishment and maintenance of standards to ensure that personnel needed within DRS are appropriately and adequately prepared and trained for DRS operations.

DRS Data System on Personnel and Personnel Development Needs

Statistics and information utilized for personnel planning are maintained in several databases within the Human Resources Unit. Staffing and salary information is available from the State of West Virginia Financial Information Management System (FIMS) and wvOASIS. These databases allow DRS administrators to review salary, pay grade, job title, reporting unit, and personal employee information. Such information is available to DRS Assistant Directors and District Managers who use it for planning, hiring negotiations, and pay equity. Information about DRS retirees also may be obtained from these databases.

The Human Resources Senior Manager periodically (at least monthly) maintains and provides statistical data to the DRS Director. The data are a list of the number of individuals under various classifications who are employed by DRS in the provision of rehabilitation services. This includes a ratio of the number of counselors to the number of consumers served each year. DRS estimates the ratio of consumers served (13,551) to the number of counselors (102) will be 133 in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2017.

Each year the DRS Director receives a summary report that estimates and projects the number of such personnel that will be needed during the next five–year period. In November 2015, DRS had 102 counselors in various offices across the state. Of the 102 counselors, DRS had 64 Rehabilitation Counselors, 26 Senior Rehabilitation Counselors, and 12 Certified Rehabilitation Counselors. The DRS believes its existing counselors and field staff members are needed to provide services to consumers who are currently in the DRS system.

DRS had several unfilled positions as of November 2015: 12 Rehabilitation Counseling positions, 5 Senior Rehabilitation Counselor positions, and 8 Certified Rehabilitation Counselor positions. Each unfilled position is being used to expand the number of field counselors when needed.

A breakdown by personnel category, including the number of personnel in relation to the estimated number of individuals served in FY 2017, is as follows (information current as of November 2015):

–Rehabilitation Counselors, 82 total positions, 11 vacancies, and 12 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Rehabilitation Counselors in relation to the number of individuals served is 191.

–Senior Rehabilitation Counselors, 31 total positions, 3 vacancies, and 9 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Senior Rehabilitation Counselors in relation to the number of individuals served is 484.

–Certified Rehabilitation Counselors, 15 total positions, 0 vacancies, and 6 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Certified Rehabilitation Counselors in relation to the number of individuals served is 903.

–Fiscal personnel, 16 total positions, 1 vacancy, and 4 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Fiscal personnel in relation to the number of individuals served is 903.

–Administrative Services personnel, nine total positions, zero vacancies, and two projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Administrative Services personnel in relation to the number of individuals served is 1,506.

–Field Services personnel, 160 total positions, 15 vacancies, and 44 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Field Services personnel in relation to the number of individuals served is 93.

–Support Services personnel (e.g., human resources, rehabilitation technology unit), 65 total positions, 3 vacancies, and 23 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Support Services personnel in relation to the number of individuals served is 219.

–Information Technology personnel, eight total positions, two vacancies, and two projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of Information Technology personnel in relation to the number of individuals served is 2,259.

–Other personnel (e.g., vocational instructors, technical analysists), 21 total positions, 2 vacancies, and 6 projected vacancies over the next five years. The number of other personnel in relation to the number of individuals served is 713.