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. 3. The State agency responsible for providing mental health services.
Current Narrative:
Louisiana Rehabilitation Services (LRS) works collaboratively with the Office of Behavioral Health (OBH) housed within the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). As part of the Employment First State Leadership Mentoring Program (EFSLMP) Vision Quest (VQ) grant, LRS and OBH developed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to improve collaboration amongst offices and employment outcomes for individuals with mental illness. Facilitated discussions about existing services systems and potential service barriers, encouraged input from engaged stakeholder organizations such as LDH Medicaid, LA Office of Workforce Development, LA Office for Citizens with Developmental Disabilities, Developmental Disabilities Council, LA Governor’s Office of Disability Affairs and the Advocacy Center. In PY 2019, LRS, OBH, and other state partners received technical assistance under the US Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (USDOL/ODEP) Initiative: Visionary Opportunities to Increase Competitive Employment (VOICE) to increase integrated employment for individuals with mental health disabilities. Additionally, OBH and LRS, under the funding auspices of the USDOL/ODEP, hosted a webinar in May 2021. LRS, OBH, and Local Governing Entities (LGEs) received training focused on improving employment outcomes for joint clients of LRS/LGE facing challenges due to their behavioral health issues. The webinar focused on several key areas such as researched based best practice in employment services, the importance of rapid engagement in employment service delivery, the most effective ways for clinical/ community support staff to advance employment as a goal for their clients, and how to achieve more effective collaboration between OBH/LGEs/LRS. LRS and OBH continue to discuss ways to further develop specific employment related service delivery options statewide. Specifically, OBH is developing a plan to implement Individual Placement Support in an effort to increase competitive integrated employment for individuals with mental health disabilities in collaboration with LRS.