Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
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
- h. Interagency Cooperation
Describe how the designated State unit will collaborate with the State agency responsible for administering each of the following programs to develop opportunities for competitive integrated employment, to the greatest extent practicable:
- h. Interagency Cooperation
h. 1. The State Medicaid plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act;
Current Narrative:
The Arkansas Department of Human Services operates the State Medicaid program. ARS, the State Medicaid program, and other agencies have in place an interagency agreement that delineates roles and responsibilities related to sequential funding for combined waiver programs for individuals participating in employment related activities under WIOA. ARS, the State Medicaid program, and the other agencies collaborate on the Arkansas’ Employment First and State Agency Model Employer initiatives.
ARS, along with DHS – Medicaid, Developmental Disabilities Services, and Aging, Adult and Behavioral Health Services, through a Memorandum of Understanding and collaborative efforts have received technical assistance through EconoSys (Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Program) to enhance employment opportunities since 2015. Most recently the technical assistance has orchestrated Subject Matter Experts (SME) to assist with State Agency as Model Employer (SAME), to begin planning for the expansion of Employment First, and to enhance supported employment for individuals with behavioral health concerns.
Since 2019, the SME for SAME has assisted this partnership in hosting training sessions with state human resource managers educating them on SAME and by helping them to see that individuals with disabilities can be a part of the talent pool of job seekers. Ten individuals with developmental disabilities remain employed from the 2018 pilot in extra help positions working within state agencies. Two individuals have been employed permanently with the State. The DHS/Developmental Disabilities Services created the process for using extra help positions with services provided through ARS supported employment for on-the-job supports, stabilization in their positions, and extended services funded by Medicaid. In 2020, the SAME technical assistance plan is to create a Round Table of State Directors to develop a strategic plan for changing the state HR hiring practices for individuals with disabilities to become employed either through permanent state positions or extra help. The state unit has received support from the Governor’s Office and the state Office of Personnel Management. The SME will continue to provide training opportunities through PowerPoints, webinars, and onsite visits.
The Arkansas state team collaborated with the SME to show solidarity for Employment First, to identify employment as a choice for all individuals with disabilities with a focus primarily on individuals with behavioral health concerns. In 2019, the technical assistance plan focused on educating the state leaders in the behavioral health agency on employment/supported employment as part of the recovery plan for individuals with behavioral health concerns through evidence based practices called Individual Placement and Supports (IPS.) As Arkansas transitioned the Medicaid Waiver services from DHS to organized care through the Arkansas Provider-led Shared Savings Entities, referred to as the PASSE, the efforts related to moving this initiative forward slowed. The SME and team trained the PASSE supervisor on supported employment for individuals with behavioral health concerns in late summer of 2019, who supports these new services. In 2020, the technical assistance plan focus is on identifying the types of services to be offered to individuals with behavioral health concerns, and the continued education of the PASSE staff, vocational rehabilitation staff, and behavioral health entities with the desired outcome of initiating one pilot program.