Narrative: d. 2. I. ii.

Internships commonly lead to permanent counseling positions. Five students completed internships in 2016. Six internships are currently in progress. We anticipate hosting additional interns beginning Spring 2018 semester. The staff development manager/specialist devotes approximately 5% time as the point of contact for managers, professors, interns, supervising counselors, and Human Resources to coordinate intern placement and supervision, and for counselor recruitment. Other activities include presentations to students, and informing university personnel of counselor vacancies.

The VRS staff development manager is an active member of graduate counseling advisory committees at the University of Wisconsin - Stout and Minnesota State University, and communicates regularly with counseling program directors.

VRS provides tuition support for staff pursuing graduate degrees in rehabilitation counseling. Employees in the St. Cloud program and UW - Stout online program also had access to RSA stipends to assist with some tuition costs. Five VRS employee graduated with a Rehabilitation Counseling graduate degree in 2016, and all five were promoted to a counselor position. Four employees are in the process of completing degrees.

Media advertisement: VRS posts its vacancies at the State of Minnesota personnel openings website and the MinnesotaWorks job bank, as well as online job sites.

Minnesota post retirement option: The post retirement option, which permits a state retiree to work up to half time without losing insurance or retirement benefits, is a component of VRS retention and succession planning strategies.

As a key strategy for staff retention, VRS pays close attention to organizational vitality and staff morale. VRS works to maintain a high level of employee engagement through statewide staff communication about the vision, mission, values, strategic goals and agency achievements, and a robust training and development program. VRS completed an Organizational Vitality survey in fall 2017. Survey response rate was 84% this year. Findings indicate strong employee engagement on the key indicators measured. For example, 93% agreed that the VRS mission makes them feel their job is important, 89% agreed that they have the necessary training to do their job well, and 75% agreed that they were informed of decisions and issues that affect them and their work. Staff also provided suggestions for specific changes that would increase job satisfaction; response themes included enhancing organization communications, re-implementing external training opportunities, increasing recognition and feedback, and workload adjustment. VRS plans to repeat the survey annually as a measure of employee engagement and as a tool to identify needed improvements in organizational effectiveness.

Counselors and other staff are recruited and hired under Minnesota’s competitive civil service system, including affirmative action to recruit and hire individuals with disabilities and members of the state’s diverse cultural and ethnic populations. Voluntary disclosure of ethnic and cultural status provides the following FFY 2017 data: 9% of VRS employees identify themselves as American Indian, Asian, Black or Hispanic/Latino, 88% identify themselves as White, and 3% are non-specified or undisclosed. At present, 15% of VRS employees voluntarily disclose a disability.

The New Americans team, based in the Twin Cities, offer vocational rehabilitation services to refugees who recently immigrated to Minnesota from countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Turkey, Congo, Guyana, Iraq, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan and Eritrea. The New Americans team consists of a lead rehabilitation counselor and two community liaison representatives. They are themselves refugees from East African countries. Each member of the New Americans team is multi-lingual and provides intensive supports from application through employment closure to the VRS consumers they serve.

Coordination with professional associations: VRS staff serve on the board of the Minnesota Rehabilitation Association (MRA) and serve on MRA conference planning committees. A significant number of staff attend MRA conferences each year. VRS encourages staff membership in professional associations, and many serve as officers and work on association committees.