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:
__________
* Sec. 102(b)(D)(iii) of WIOA
- d. Coordination with Education Officials
- 2. Information on the Formal Interagency Agreement with the State Educational Agency with Respect To:
- G. Coordination with Employers(Formerly known as Attachment 4.8(b)(5)). Describe how the designated State unit will work with employers to identify competitive integrated employment and career exploration opportunities in order to facilitate the provision of:
- G. Coordination with Employers
- 2. Information on the Formal Interagency Agreement with the State Educational Agency with Respect To:
- d. Coordination with Education Officials
d. 2. G. i. Vr Services; and
Current Narrative:
The Business & Community Engagement team was developed with the purpose of raising awareness of the Vocational Rehabilitation program for both individuals with disabilities who may benefit from VR and businesses that benefit from hiring individuals with disabilities.
The Director of Business & Community Engagement focused time on identifying executive level opportunities to educate about the VR Program. It is often stated that the number one reason for businesses developing diversity hiring initiatives is because of executive level support. Within the state, agencies were introduced to the VR program. A sample of state agencies receiving educational outreach is as follows: Department of Workforce Development, Indiana Civil Rights Commission, Department of Child Services and their service providers, the Native American Affairs Commission, Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, Department of Correction, Department of Education, Department of Veterans Affairs, Division of Aging, Commission on Higher Education. The thought behind developing strong education about the VR program within state agencies is to begin laying the groundwork for potential work experiences that may eventually occur at these agencies. It is the hope that the State of Indiana, as an employer, will begin to explore ways to increase the number of persons with disabilities being hired. As the Indiana State Personnel explores this as an option, agencies are already being educated on the VR program and services. One recent example of a successful connection is with the Lieutenant Governor’s office. The Lieutenant Governor is in charge of the coordination of the Indiana State Fair. This year, the office reached out to DWD and VR with an interest in hiring persons with disabilities, specifically youth to work the Indiana State Fair.
VR continues to work with employers to support their needs. The Business & Community Engagement team often calls upon and meets with human resources representatives of businesses who are hiring and explain that the Business & Community Engagement team is the employer’s resource for disability hiring. Most recently, a panel presentation on “How to Engage People with Disabilities” was given at the AmeriCorps 2015 Fall Conference. The collaboration with the Indianapolis Mayor’s Advisory Council on Disability has been extraordinary. The Council has given disability awareness trainings to internal new staff and at Business Leadership Network events. The Team met with national employer partner Macy’s and hopes to develop “lunch and learn” type events focused around Disability awareness and relevant topics.
The Business & Community Engagement Team has a strong interest in supporting the State’s Business Leadership Networks across the state. The Indianapolis Chapter is a key partner for calling chapter member businesses. Indiana VR will further examine ways to support these efforts going forward. Business Leadership Networks are key in supporting businesses who would like to begin hiring initiatives. Indiana VR plans to have a supporting presence going forward.
There has been recent collaboration and cross education between the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the Indiana Bureau of Rehabilitation Services. The purpose of the intensive cross education is to begin a strategic partnership of working together when it comes to strategic outreach to businesses. A deeper and more strategic partnering with DWD’s Business Services should help the State of Indiana better work with business. Because both DWD and VR have access to a pool of candidates looking to enter the workforce, it is logical to coordinate the outreach efforts only after ensuring that the agencies are educated on the specific services available to assist not only the job seeker but also the employer. Employers grow weary of the many agencies working individually to gain opportunities for their clients. VR and the Department of Workforce Development hope to streamline services, and collaborate and partner in outreach efforts across the state in order to efficiently use their time working with employers.
Future plans for Business & Community Engagement are to expand the capacity. A contract Request for Information (RFI) has been drafted that will explore options for further building the outreach to businesses in effort to expand employer engagement, provide disability–related information and resources (e.g., disability awareness training, Section 503 overview materials for Indiana based federal contractors, business–to–business resources for beginning disability hiring initiatives, etc.), and develop work–based learning opportunities, internships and apprenticeships for individuals with disabilities, including pre–employment transition services for students with disabilities. The goal is to make outreach more robust across the state with potential hiring events, encourage disability hiring initiatives, job fairs, and other business services. This is not meant to duplicate efforts of other core WIOA partners, but to allow for resources within VR to assist in such critical collaboration, as well as provide expertise and resources for business in the area of disability.