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. 2. N. ii. I. The Provision of Extended Services for a Period Not to Exceed 4 Years; and
Current Narrative:
The 603(d) funds reserved for youth will be used primarily to support youth who participate in Project Search. The agency currently supports two Project Search sites, at the Smithsonian Institution, and Embassy Suites Hotel. However, only the youth at the Smithsonian Institution are being supported by 603(d) funds. Participants in the Embassy Suites Hotel site are students, as defined by WIOA. Therefore, funds reserved for the provision of pre-employment transition services and not 603(d) funds, are being used to support youth at this site. DCRSA continues to support youth who have completed the Project Search program year but have not yet transitioned to an extended service provider. The funds available to support youth in extended services are very helpful in the District, as the District’s developmental disability agency supports only persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). There is currently no Medicaid waiver support for extended services for people with developmental disabilities, other than ID. Therefore, DCRSA will use extended services to support youth with developmental disabilities (typically youth with autism spectrum disorder) as they achieve stabilization in employment, as defined by the agency’s supported employment policy, but continue to require ongoing supports to be successful in employment. The agency will also rely on natural supports and ticket to work support in developing long-term planning with youth with disabilities, to ensure comprehensive supports are in place to support youth who transition from supported employment with the VR program.
DCRSA plans to begin coordinating with the DC Department of Behavioral Services Youth Services Programs. DBH now has supported employment services for youth. DCRSA plans to coordinate provision of supported employment services for youth in the same way it has been coordinating with the adult DBH programs.