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
- i. Comprehensive System of Personnel Development; Data System on Personnel and Personnel Development
Describe the designated State agency's procedures and activities to establish and maintain a comprehensive system of personnel development designed to ensure an adequate supply of qualified State rehabilitation professional and paraprofessional personnel for the designated State unit, including the following:
- 1. System on Personnel and Personnel Development
- A. Qualified Personnel Needs
Describe the development and maintenance of a system for collecting and analyzing on an annual basis data on qualified personnel needs with respect to:
- A. Qualified Personnel Needs
- 1. System on Personnel and Personnel Development
- i. Comprehensive System of Personnel Development; Data System on Personnel and Personnel Development
i. 1. A. i. The number of personnel who are employed by the State agency in the provision of VR services in relation to the number of individuals served, broken down by personnel category;
Current Narrative:
Each state fiscal year, during the preparation of the funding request for the next fiscal year, Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (RSB) studies personnel needs over the preceding two-year period to determine the turnover rate. The number of staff employed by the State agency in the provision of vocational rehabilitation services in relation to the number of individuals served, broken down by personnel category, is reviewed. Projections are made of the number of personnel, by category, which will be needed by the State agency to provide vocational rehabilitation services in the State in five years based on projections of the number of individuals to be served, including individuals with severe disabilities, the number of personnel expected to retire or leave the field, and other relevant factors. Both supervisory and administrative staff have input into the process.
RSB has a total of 102 allocated positions, but is budgeted for 95 full time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. 90 positions are currently filled. Three positions do not work in the VR program, leaving 87 current employed positions working in the VR program:
15 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors (VRCs)
15 Rehabilitation Teachers
4 Orientation and Mobility Specialists
1 Job Development Specialist
2 Program Development Specialist
6 District Supervisors
6 Clerical Supervisors
4 Business Enterprise Area Supervisors
5 Children’s Specialists
15 Rehabilitation Assistants
14 administrative and management staff in various positions at the central office in Jefferson City.
All of the named positions above are directly involved in providing vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. During PY 2017, 1555 persons had an open VR case with RSB and in PY 2018 there were 1556 open VR cases, resulting in an average of 91 cases per counselor during the latest two program years. At the current rate of applications, no increase in the number of VRC positions is anticipated at this time.