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
- 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:
MVR developed a system of collecting and analyzing data annually to determine qualified personnel needs. The following information describes the data system utilized in determining personnel/personnel development; recruitment, preparation and retention of qualified personnel; standards; requirements for vocational rehabilitation counselor (VRC) positions; staff development activities; personnel to address individual communication needs; performance evaluation system; and coordination with personnel development under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
To assist in determining the number of personnel employed to deliver VR services in relation to the number of individuals served, MVR annually reviews data from its case management system. This information includes the average daily census of individuals served and the number of new applications, individualized plans for employment, successful employment outcomes and cases closed without a successful employment outcome. MVR’s human resource section tracks the number of employees and their personnel categories.
The VRCs, district supervisory positions and clerical staff are directly involved in providing services for individuals with disabilities (8 supervisors and assistant supervisors have a partial caseload). The number of individuals who had an open file with MVR as of June 30, 2021 was 11,848. The average number of cases per VRC is approximately 86 per counselor.
MVR’s management team reviews each vacancy to determine if the position should be filled, relocated or reclassified to a counselor position (if the position was a different one) based upon factors such as current need and expected population growth. On a regular basis, MVR’s goal is to continually evaluate caseload sizes, office workload and staffing to maximize efficiency.
MVR consists of the following sections: Disability Determination, Independent Living, Veterans Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR). There are approximately 668 full-time employees in all three sections. This report will focus on the VR section. As of June 30, 2021, the breakdown of the MVR Client Services section needed for service delivery is as follows:
138 Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
8 Assistant Supervisors
25 District Supervisors
63 Clerical Support Staff Positions
Administrative Staff:
1 Assistant Commissioner
5 Coordinators
5 Managers
6 Regional Managers
14 Directors (three are shared with all sections of MVR)
1 Human Resource Manager (shared with all sections of MVR)
20 Assistant Directors (3 have partial caseloads)
1 Supervisor
1 Senior HR Analyst
3 Quality Assurance Specialists
1 Senior Accounting Specialist
1 Executive Assistant
5 Program Specialists
1 General Services Specialist
5 Business Specialists