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:
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* 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:
- O. State's StrategiesDescribe the required strategies and how the agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities, support innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to accessing the VR and the Supported Employment programs (See sections 101(a)(15)(D) and (18)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)):
- O. State's Strategies
- 2. Information on the Formal Interagency Agreement with the State Educational Agency with Respect To:
- d. Coordination with Education Officials
d. 2. O. iii. The Outreach Procedures That Will Be Used to Identify and Serve Individuals with Disabilities Who Are Minorities, Including Those with the Most Significant Disabilities, as Well as Those Who Have Been Unserved or Underserved by the Vr Program.
Current Narrative:
The current estimate is that 5.4 percent of the population, or at least 203,540 Minnesota adults, have serious mental illness. VRS collaborates with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Adult Mental Health Division and with community partners to build supports and services for persons with serious mental illness (SMI), who in FFY2017 comprised 34.2 % of the VR caseload and 36.8 % of employment outcomes. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is the evidenced based practice of supported employment for persons with serious mental illness. IPS helps people in community mental health treatment services to become part of the competitive labor market. Research indicates that IPS is nearly three times more effective than other vocational approaches in helping people with mental illness to work competitively. Research also shows that people who obtain competitive employment through IPS have increased income, improved self-esteem, improved quality of life and reduced symptoms. Approximately half of the people who enroll in IPS become steady workers and remain competitively employed a decade later.
Historically, VRS has provided state funding to the Minnesota Employment Center (MEC) for Individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, using an annual pass-through appropriation of $450,000. VRS time limited services and MEC supported employment services have been closely coordinated to enhance employment opportunities for people who are deaf or have significant hearing loss. However, a legislative change in 2013 redirected the direct appropriation into a competitive grant pool. MEC has successfully competed for the available funding.
About 40 percent of VRS applicants receive SSA benefits. VRS was instrumental in establishing the Work Incentives Connection, a SSA funded program of Goodwill Industries that provides work incentives planning and assistance for consumers.
SSA, VRS and State Services for the Blind co-host periodic meetings of the Employment Networks. In addition to providing in-service training, the meetings provide an opportunity to learn more about the services offered by each Employment Network to assist consumers make informed choices when selecting a vendor for employment services and/or on-going job retention services. The current focus of this group is to expand the use of Ticket to Work funding to provide ongoing job retention supports, to promote the use of PASS Plans, and to ensure the continuation of benefits planning services as people transition from VRS services to job retention services.