Narrative: d. 2. G. i.

Excellence in placement services is fundamental to more fully living into DEED’s vision statement of “a healthy economy, where all Minnesotans have or are on a path to meaningful employment and a family sustaining wage, and all employers are able to fill jobs in demand”. Coordination with employers is also key to VRS’ priority to embrace employers as key customers resulting in increased employment outcomes.

VRS has developed three updated strategic priorities and measures related to coordination with employers. These priorities replace the priorities listed under Goal 4: Employer Engagement in Section (P) Evaluation and Reports of Progress.

A. Develop and implement a VR consumer talent pool structural framework within the electronic case management system. The talent pool will be developed to gather and tap information to facilitate matching consumers to employment opportunities.

Metric: Secure approval and resources to develop the consumer talent pool structural framework as part of a larger rewrite of the case management system.

As of July 2017, Workforce One (WF1), Minnesota’s electronic case management system, has capacity to identify Talent Pool. VRS staff now must input key talent pool identification data which will greatly enhance the ability for Placement Specialists and Coordinators to identify pools of candidates based on Employer needs. More training will be needed by VRS staff to correctly utilize the talent pool refinement tools available in WF1.

B. Develop and implement Low Risk Hiring and Retention Options designed to increase employment outcomes and workforce diversity. Metric: Track the VR consumer participation and employment outcomes in low risk hiring and retention options on a quarterly basis. Options include on-the-job training, job try outs, internships, Connect 700 program and Schedule A hiring.

DEED-VRS updated the process, policies guidance and definitions for an array of low risk hiring and retention options which are referred to as On-the-Job Work & Training Options in Policy and Guidance Manuals. This information, along with the Connect 700 hiring initiative, was shared with Community Rehabilitation Partners through statewide training to ensure consistency of understanding and application. VRS developed a series of new marketing materials for use by VRS and community partner providers to promote these programs with businesses (Internship, On-the-Job Training and Job Tryout brochures).

Metric: Create and deliver training to help employers identify, develop and sustain natural supports for employees with disabilities in the workplace.

C. VRS will lead and convene Placement Partnerships focused on developing, maintaining, and strengthening relationships among VRS, VR Community Partners and employers.

Metric: WIOA Common Performance Measure 6 (effectiveness in serving employers) will be developed and addressed in an annual report. Following is a report of progress on the revised priorities:

• The Disability Employment Resource (DER) was developed to support business engagement. The initiative helps businesses meet their workforce goals by employing people with disabilities in competitive integrated positions, while employment professionals learn more about how to align their placement goals with business needs. The DER curriculum improves business engagement by delivering information to bridge the gap between business and human services, dispelling myths that can prevent employers from considering people with disabilities, helping human service professionals understand the business perspective, providing tools for starting and building relationships, and connecting businesses with information and resources to help them succeed.

• Minnesota has developed 15 Placement Partnerships throughout the state to provide a single point of contact for employers and to enhance the skills of placement professionals. In addition to the single point of contact approach for employers, Placement Partnerships host opportunities to connect employers and qualified job seekers and reflect employer needs and interests from urban, metro and rural areas. In addition to supporting joint training to maintain qualified staff, the placement partnerships share job leads, host job fairs and other community events.

• Placement 101 is a three-day training to provide professionals with an introductory level of knowledge and skills in providing placement services for VRS consumers. It is available free of charge to VRS and community partners. To date, 17 classes have been completed, providing training to over 300 placement professionals. In addition, 30 trainers have been trained (15 VRS staff and 15 community rehabilitation program staff) to ensure an adequate number of trainers to continue the project. In 2016 and 2017, Placement 101 was put on hold due to WIOA. Despite the training being put on hold, Community Rehabilitation Providers have continually asked for Placement 101 to be offered again. In 2018, VRS will be partnering with the Minnesota Rehabilitation Association’s (MRA) Job Placement and Development (JPD) group who has expressed a desire to take on much of the training of Placement 101 going forward. VRS Placement Specialists will work closely with JPD staff who have been Placement 101 Trainers. It is anticipated that some of the materials will need to be updated as a portion of the curriculum is outdated.

• VRS along with a key Community Rehabilitation Provider is developing a Minnesota centric Customized Employment Training and pursuing ACRE (Association for Community Rehabilitation Educators) certification for the training participants. This training will include hands on learning opportunities for Discovery Assessment and Job Development portions of Customized Employment. Each participant will also receive mentoring from VRS & CRP staff who are certified by one of the key CE training entities that provide certification. The goal of this Customized Employment Training is to assist placement professionals develop an understanding of CE and demonstrate proficiency in providing Discovery and Job Development. The training is also essential for Program Managers, Rehabilitation Area Managers who supervise staff who are providing CE services.

• VRS developed and piloted a Business Feedback Survey in 2017. The purpose of the survey is to obtain feedback from businesses who have used VRS services. The brief survey asks businesses to let us know both how useful services were (i.e., prescreening applicants, on-the-job training, internship and job tryout programs, etc.) and how satisfied they are with VRS services. The survey was piloted to approximately 20 employers and provides a foundation for future business surveys.