Narrative: c. 1.

County Human Services Agencies

DVR cooperates with County Departments of Human/Social Services at both the state and the local levels to enable human services recipients with disabilities to reduce their dependency on public assistance through employment. Counselors and supervisors have increased efforts and activities with county social service agencies in working with recipients of services, who have disability related employment issues. In several counties, DVR staff participate on county human services advisory boards. Local DVR offices have working partnerships with county human services agencies. The partners have developed referral processes to and from county human service agencies and collaborate to obtain necessary services for DVR clients that DVR is unable to provide, including Medicaid, food stamps, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), child care assistance and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Healthcare Policy & Financing - Office of Community Living; Community Centered Boards

Community Centered Boards (CCB) serving persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities are important partners in DVR’s effort to assure the availability of quality vocational rehabilitation services throughout the state.

Currently, DVR has one counselor whose office is co-located on site at the local CCB office. In the other areas of the state, DVR counselors and supervisors meet frequently with CCB staff to coordinate service delivery. These counselors focus on promoting successful community employment outcomes for individuals with developmental disabilities who have been determined eligible and are recipients of services through the CCB system. In addition, the Coordinator of Supported Employment for DVR meets regularly with the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS-DD and HCBS-SLS) Supported Employment Coordinator at the Office of Community Living (OLC) within the Department of Healthcare Policy & Financing to discuss issues impacting services.

The collaboration between DVR and the CCBs is especially evident in DVR’s delivery of supported employment services. For DVR clients who meet CCB eligibility for service delivery, the CCB works cooperatively with DVR counselors to ensure the provision of extended ongoing support services and the success of the individual’s supported employment outcome. DVR staff, working together with CCB staff, assist and facilitate each client’s expression of choice in service delivery options, employment outcomes, and providers of services through networks of “approved service agencies”. DVR staff attend board and committee meetings to facilitate an effective working relationship between our agencies.

On November 1, 2014 DVR implemented changes to the Fee Schedule to increase rates for job placement and job coaching services, including supported employment. These changes are intended to attract additional quality job placement vendors and increase individual employment outcomes.

DVR has a full-time Coordinator of Supported Employment Services. This person serves on the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council representing DVR. In addition, DVR has lead DD counselors to help more effectively coordinate and provide quality services for individuals with developmental disabilities. These counselors serve as regional liaisons, providing training, guidance and support to all counselors in their areas to establish standards of practice with the local CCBs. In addition, their duties include functioning as the expert and serving as a liaison between the CCB and the local DVR offices as well as various community partners, vendors and independent contractors. These individuals also work as a team in conjunction with the Supported Employment Program Coordinator to identify emerging trends and issues, develop new and or unique services in the community and evaluate existing programs for persons with developmental disabilities.

The HCBS-DD and HCBS-SLS waivers’ Supported Employment Coordinator for OCL and the Coordinator of Supported Employment for DVR periodically conduct meetings with the CCBs in Colorado. Attending these meetings are typically CCB Case Managers, vocational service providers, and DVR counselors and supervisors. DVR and OCL also provide regional training to bring together direct service provider staff from CCBs, DVR, and local service providers. The training supports smooth and seamless referrals to DVR, coordination of services, competitive integrated employment, and a variety of other subjects. DVR continues to partner with OCL to provide relevant training to staff and direct service providers.

The State of Colorado is a member of the State Employment Leadership Network (SELN). This membership is sponsored by OCL. The HCBS-DD, HCBS-SLS, and Coordinator of Supported Employment for OCL and the Supported Employment Coordinator for DVR meet monthly with SELN to discuss strategies to increase individual supported employment opportunities to people with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities. Discussions will include opportunities for youth with disabilities to obtain education and employment outcomes.

The Corrections System

DVR understands that many individuals who are involved with the Colorado corrections system are also individuals with disabilities. Colorado’s correctional system is complex, with separate departments serving adults, youthful offenders, and youth. Additionally, there are regional and local jurisdictions as well as state and private correctional facilities and providers. DVR’s recent CSNA indicated that individuals with criminal histories are a demographic of the disability population that DVR underserves. DVR is committed to increasing the number of applicants from this demographic. To this end, local DVR staff have developed, and will continue to develop, working partnerships with probation offices, parole offices, and diversion programs, as well as working directly with many of the youth and adult correctional institutions in the state. For individuals who meet DVR eligibility, staff work to coordinate timely referral processes and services that complement release plans that are mutually developed by the individual with the disability and the correctional program to which they are attached.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Program Initiatives

Colorado is fortunate to have a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Trust Fund. In 2002 Colorado passed legislation that allows for the collection of surcharges on certain traffic violations such as driving while ability impaired, driving under the influence and speeding. The surcharges collected from these convictions go into the Colorado TBI Trust Fund which is administered by MINDSOURCE Brain Injury Network (formerly the Colorado Brain Injury Program) housed within the Colorado Department of Human Services (and within DVR until June 30, 2016). The statute requires the following three program areas: services for children/youth and adults with brain injury (specifically case management); research regarding the care and treatment of brain injury; and education to increase the awareness and understanding of brain injury.

Through MINDSOURCE, case managers partner with DVR to help counselors understand how brain injury may be impacting the individual’s ability to work and/or follow through with vocational planning. The program also works to provide education and consultation to DVR on a broader level. Finally, the program works across agencies and divisions to ensure policies and practices are inclusive of individuals with brain injury ultimately to ensure access to support for individuals with brain injury.

MINDSOURCE strives to not only provide supports to individuals with brain injury and their families but to also provide support to the “systems” that individuals with brain injury and their families interact with to obtain support. The program has a strong partnership with Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and other providers in the community.

BOND (Benefit Offset National Demonstration) Project

DVR recently completed a seven year partnership with Abt Associates and Ability Connection Colorado (formerly known as CP of Colorado) implementing the Benefit Offset National Demonstration (BOND) project in Colorado and Wyoming. Funded by the Social Security Administration (SSA), BOND operated in ten different locations across the United States. Using a rigorous study design, the intent of the BOND project was to explore and evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of service levels and work incentives that, when offered to Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) beneficiaries, result in the beneficiaries obtaining and maintaining successful employment outcomes.

Within the BOND Project, DVR provided work incentive counseling, service coordination, and information and referral services to SSDI beneficiaries who have been randomly selected and enrolled in the Project. When these beneficiaries return to work, DVR assured that the beneficiary receives financial incentives not available to other SSDI beneficiaries. DVR’s participation in the Project enabled DVR to be on the cutting edge of new approaches and strategies for service delivery that are intended to improve the effectiveness of services provided to SSDI beneficiaries supporting a return to work and a better quality of life for the beneficiaries.

Colorado Work Incentive Coordinators

For the past several years, DVR has supported the ongoing and statewide availability of work incentives and benefits consultation. DVR, through an annual purchase order, assures that Ability Connection Colorado (ACC), the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) grant recipient, has adequate funding to provide personnel necessary to cover all parts of Colorado. DVR works with ACC program management to assure that DVR applicants and eligible individuals, as appropriate, receive work incentives consultation and that an effective and efficient statewide referral process is in place.

ASPIRE

The Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation entered into the six-state consortium, Achieving Success by Promoting Readiness for Education and Employment or ASPIRE, in September 2013 as one of six Promise Initiatives through the US Department of Education. Arizona, South Dakota, Montana, North Dakota, Colorado and Utah are partnering to recruit, 2,000 youth ages 14 to 16 who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to this experimental design. One half of the youth (1,000) will receive a variety of interventions to improve their educational and employment outcomes. These enhanced services are comprehensive case management, benefits planning, family financial education, paid employment during high school, youth self-determination training, and parent education and training. The other half will receive Usual Services, or those services currently available to youth.

ASPIRE Colorado completed the enrollment process of 400 youth and families in August of 2015. 201 youth and families are in the intensive ASPIRE services group and 199 are in the Usual Services group. ASPIRE Colorado is active in 17 counties; Adams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Boulder, Delta, Denver, El Paso, Fremont, Garfield, Jefferson, Larimer, Logan, Mesa, Montrose, Morgan, Pueblo and Rio Blanco. ASPIRE Colorado has contracted with Peak Parent Center to provide Self-Determination and Parent training and Ability Connections Colorado is providing WIPA services to our ASPIRE youth and families. Financial training is provided by internal state partners.

Through Case Management services, ASPIRE Colorado is collaborating with existing local and state community partners to provide assistance to the ASPIRE youth and families with application and eligibility processes within the public and private sectors. The goal is to better serve families and youth with disabilities by increasing education attainment and employment opportunities in order to decrease the dependency on public benefit.

The ASPIRE youth employment interventions include career assessments, career exploration, and preparation. The expectation is that the interventions will lead to a paid employment experience for the youth by the end of the grant. ASPIRE Colorado will continue to provide services through March 2019.

Rocky Mountain ADA Center

DVR is a strong partner with Rocky Mountain ADA Center based out of Colorado Springs. This organization provides technical assistance and information to a six state region. Several DVR staff members have received advanced training on the ADA and the Amendments Act and are available for training upon request. The Rocky Mountain ADA Center is committed to on-going training and collaboration holding bi-monthly network calls, annual national training sponsorships, and regular educational opportunities.

Colorado Institutions of Higher Education

A significant number of DVR clients attend post-secondary education. In Colorado, there are more than 470 institutions of higher education. These include publically supported institutions, private accredited schools, area technical schools and private occupational schools.

Local DVR offices work closely with the many offices dedicated to support students with disabilities at each institution. This assists DVR clients in the completion of their areas of study and enables them to move more successfully into their chosen employment outcome.

At the state level, DVR has a representative who is a member of the Colorado/Wyoming Consortium of Support Programs for Students with Disabilities (the Consortium). The Consortium was created at least two decades ago through an establishment grant awarded by DVR. The Consortium’s membership consists of individuals from post-secondary disability services offices, DVR and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). The Consortium supports communication between the community colleges, universities, CDE and DVR in areas related to networking, accommodation, professional development, collaborative agreement development, national conference presentations, and other related topics. The Consortium creates guidance documents, such as Colorado’s Best Practice Documentation Guidelines for Post-Secondary Institutions. The Consortium also participates in the development and renewal of memorandums of understanding between DVR and the six public post-secondary system boards in Colorado. These MOU agreements detail the collaborative provision of services to students with disabilities who are in an institution of higher education and who are also recipients of services through DVR.

Collaboration with American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Colorado has two American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services (AIVRS) Program Grant Awardees. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe are located in the southwestern part of Colorado, and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation extends into New Mexico and Utah. DVR has a long history of partnership and collaboration with both AIVRS programs. However, with significant changes in the administrative and field services staff of all three programs over the last several years, collaborative activities have declined.

Colorado DVR and the two AIVRS programs are addressing this issue in a variety of ways. A southwestern Colorado DVR supervisor has been assigned to work as a liaison to interface with representatives of both tribes to strengthen the partnerships and develop formal cooperative agreements. DVR’s liaison and representatives from both AIVRS programs have worked to develop and formalize the partnerships. Staff of all three programs provide cross-training between DVR and the AIVRS programs, and the Southern Ute program has invited local DVR program staff to participate in cultural awareness activities offered through their Cultural Center. Additionally, DVR is working with both AIVRS programs to attend one-another’s staff meetings, develop a process for identifying and sharing data, and determine how referrals and information will be shared between the entities to assist in the eligibility determination and provision of vocational rehabilitation services to American Indians. Once determined, all collaborative processes and procedures will be developed into a separate cooperative agreement between DVR and each AIVRS program. The cooperative agreements will be used to guide the collaborative, effective and efficient provision of vocational rehabilitation services to American Indians who are individuals with disabilities, including mutual clients of the programs. The agreement will also be used to cross-train new staff within the DVR and AIVRS programs, and will be reviewed and updated regularly.

Collaboration with the State Independent Living Council, the Centers for Independent Living, and the Older Individuals who are Blind Program

DVR administers two programs mandated by Title VII of the Act:

• The Colorado State Independent Living Services (SILS) program; and
• The Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB) program.

SILS programs are currently run out of Colorado’s statewide network of ten Centers for Independent Living (CIL), which provide services to individuals with significant disabilities who face barriers to living self-directed lives in their communities. The OIB program is managed by DVR’s Blind and Low Vision Services unit (BLVS) and funds are awarded through a competitive process every three years. Currently four of Colorado’s CILs and two Community Rehabilitation Programs are awarded contracts on a three year cycle.

Under the SILS program, Centers provide independent living skills training, individual and systems advocacy, peer counseling, information and referral, transition services for people leaving nursing homes and for youth moving into adult responsibilities, assistance with social security applications, transportation, housing and many other services that support clients to set and achieve their goals of living independently in their community. This diverse and extensive list of service types allows Centers to provide the holistic support that many clients with significant disabilities may need.

DVR’s local offices evidence close working partnerships and collaboration with all ten Centers. Together the partners share referrals, develop collaborative plans with clients, communicate to avoid duplicative service provision, and meet regularly to strengthen their relationships and cross-educate one another. In addition, in November of 2016, DVR established an Office of Independent Living Services (OILS). This unit further supports collaboration between DVR and the CILs by administering the funding and providing technical assistance and training to both CIL and DVR staff to strengthen the relationship. OILS also provides staff support to the State Independent Living Council.

The OIB program serves people who are 55 and older who are blind or have impairments to their vision. Clients tend to be people who are experiencing vision loss from age-related factors and who are concerned about losing independence, either in their home or in their community. The OIB program helps clients learn new skills and identify community resources that will support their participation in full, independent lives.

Employment First Advisory Partnership (EFAP)

In 2016, Senate Bill 16-077 was passed creating an Employment First Advisory Partnership (EFAP), which identified partner agencies of the Colorado Departments of: Labor and Employment (CDLE), Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF), Education (CDE), Human Services (CDHS), and Higher Education (CDHE), and tasked the State Rehabilitation Council with convening and leading the work of the partnership, which was to make recommendations to increase opportunities for competitive integrated employment for persons with disabilities. The EFAP’s preliminary report and recommendations were presented to members of the General Assembly in January of 2018. These recommendations will drive change within each agency individually, but also facilitate collaboration to ensure a comprehensive approach to increasing the opportunities for competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities.

Recommendations of EFAP include:

• Produce data for all applicable EFAP agency partners that allow measurement of Colorado’s progress toward compliance with federal law requiring people with disabilities receive state-funded services in integrated settings;
• Implement department-wide Employment First policies and practices;
• Implement a training plan for state-contracted service providers on evidence-based practice to expand employment outcomes, in conjuction with employer-lead initiatives and networks;
• Implement a communication plan with messaging describing available services that support the achievement of successful employment outcomes for people with disabilities, including those with the most significant disabilities, which targets employers, educators, people with disabilities and their families;
• Create an Office of Employment First to coordinate cross-departmental efforts to implement Employment First policies, regulations, and practices;
• Develop appropriate funding structures that will increase employment service and support capacity for people with disabilities within Colorado to successfully align service outcomes with the defnition of Competitive Integrated Employment within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;
• Design and coordinate locally-based pilot projects to demonstrate the expansion of employment outcomes for people with disabilities through best-practice employment services and supports implementation; and
• Become a “model employer” for Colorado citizens with disabilities.

Each of the recommendations assigns primary responsibility to particular agencies within the partnership. Full implementation will require ongoing collaboration between all partners, as well as other key stakeholders, with the ultimate goal of improving competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities.

Other Collaborative Partnerships

Colorado’s western slope offices have a collaborative arrangement with the Marillac Clinic where clients can access medical, mental health, vision and dental care. Marillac Clinic is also a DVR provider for clients who do not meet the guidelines to receive these services as a comparable benefit. Northwestern Colorado DVR offices work closely with the Yampa Valley Medical Center and the Yampa Valley Autism Program to share referrals and collaboratively provide services. DVR has one rehabilitation counselor assigned solely to Craig Hospital in Denver. Jointly, DVR and Craig provide rehabilitation services, in-patient and out-patient medical treatment, rehabilitation engineering, adaptive driving and community reintegration to individuals who have acquired a spinal cord injury or a brain injury.

Colorado DVR’s eastern plains offices, Boulder offices, and Denver locations work with local homeless programs to obtain emergency shelter, transitional housing, and case management services that are available specifically for individuals with disabilities. DVR’s Jefferson County office works closely with the Women’s Bean Project, whose mission is to provide self-sufficiency to women through social enterprise.

The Denver metro DVR offices partner with Colorado Refugee Services to make and receive referrals of refugees with disabilities and to coordinate with Jewish Family Services and the African Community Center to collaboratively provide services leading to employment.