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
j. 1. C. Who have been unserved or underserved by the VR program;
Current Narrative:
Additional individuals that have been identified as underserved are students with disabilities involved in the justice and foster care systems. Research indicates that a large proportion of youth in the juvenile justice system have disabilities. This population is four to five times greater in number than youth with disabilities in public schools. Approximately a third of youth in the juvenile justice system have a disability. There is research that reports approximately 800,000 youth are served in the foster care system. Almost 13 percent have at least one documented disability. It is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of foster youth are in special education. Children in foster care are at greater risk for homelessness. Thirty-one percent of Missouri’s foster care youth have been homeless.
MVR is piloting a peer mentoring program to serve students with disabilities in foster care and in the justice system in five locations around the state. Homeless or housing insecure youth with disabilities will also be served through this pilot. It is estimated that between 5 to 10 students or youth will be served in each location.
MVR data for PY 2020 shows 9,928 active cases for age 23 and younger. Of those, 306 (.03%) were coded as foster care illustrating underrepresentation.
From the comprehensive statewide needs assessment, MVR identified the following services as necessary to meet the key needs of students with disabilities involved in the justice and foster care systems and the homeless or housing insecure youth:
- Peer mentoring – This service is included in one of the five required pre-employment transition services, instruction in self-advocacy. It will also cover work readiness, job exploration, postsecondary counseling, and family engagement.