Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Blind)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan [13] must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA:
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[13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA
p. 2. B. Describe the factors that impeded the achievement of the goals and priorities
Current Narrative:
Supported Employment (SE) regulations were affected with the passing of WIOA, allowing states a longer period of time to provide services to youth with a significant disability who required supported employment services. However, a change that made the spending of SE funds challenging was that costs were not allowed to be captured as SE until the individual was placed in employment status. This meant that many costs building up to that SE placement were no longer allowed as SE, placing a larger burden on Title I funds. The changes were meant to strengthen the SE program but there was an inverse effect in many ways.
Also, the funds were specifically earmarked for certain populations, restricting spending to adults if the equivalent expenditures were not made within the youth budget. This change also put a greater fiscal burden on the Title I funds.
Another factor that impeded the achievement of the goals/priorities was the lack of follow through by the consumers and/or guardians. For the youth with a significant disability, it was often difficult to connect with the guardian thereby causing time delays.
The majority of supported employment services are being provided to individuals who are blind or have low vision along with developmental disabilities or with severe and prolonged mental illness. It could take awhile to find the appropriate placement for some individuals as the goals changed frequently which also would impede the achievement of attaining the goals.