Narrative: n. 2. B.

As described elsewhere in the State Plan, DVR continues to work closely with various stakeholders and partners to increase resources and improve supported employment opportunities for youth with the most significant disabilities through the Employment First Advisory Partnership (EFAP). Several EFAP recommendations relate directly to youth with the most significant disabilities.  The Colorado Office of Employment First (COEF)  has also been actively engaged in further expanding awareness and opportunities for competitive integrated employment for individuals with the most significant disabilities, including youth. 

Further, DVR continues to actively work with education partners at both the state and local level to assure that youth with the most significant disabilities have access to career, transition and employment services, including supported employment services along with all Colorado youth. DVR has worked to infuse best practices within these areas, so that the needs of youth with the most significant disabilities are considered and met. Colorado DVR and Colorado Department of Education (CDE) state-level staff work and travel as a team throughout the state to respond to requests and to provide training, technical assistance and facilitation to local community agencies, such as schools and adult organizations, as these entities work to provide collaborative transition services to youth with the most significant disabilities. With support from the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT), the Colorado State Services Transition Team (CDE, DVR, COEF, Healthcare Policy and Financing, Colorado Department of Higher Education, Workforce Centers, PEAK Parent Center, Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, Office of Behavioral Health) has developed a Sequencing of Services Framework. The Sequencing of Services Framework was developed to increase collaboration among schools and various entities to support students and youth with disabilities, including most significant disabilities, move toward their post-secondary visions for life after high school, including supported employment for youth with most significant disabilities. It is designed to assist local interagency transition teams in identifying what programming and services across a continuum of ages are available to students and youth as well as roles and responsibilities of agencies in providing these services. Further, DVR recently added a Youth Services and Transition Manager focused on Pre-Employment Transition Services and Employment First. This position's responsibilities include ensuring that students with the most significant disabilities have access to both pre-employment transition services and other vocational rehabilitation services, including supported employment.

DVR also continues to partner with the Office of Behavioral Health, within the Colorado Department of Human Services to further support and expand IPS in Colorado. DVR partners with Colorado Medicaid and local Community Centered Boards to expand the IPS model’s utilization to populations outside of individuals with behavioral health disabilities, and are in the second year of piloting the model with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including youth, to support increased successful outcomes for individuals receiving supported employment services.

In 2021, DVR applied for and received a grant from the Institute for Community Inclusion to provide targeted training and a subsequent Community of Practice to provide DVR staff with the skills needed to serve youth with intellectual disabilities. The series of training sessions were well attended and received positive feedback from all participants.