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2 Year Modification

Plan: Arkansas PYs 2022-2023 (Mod)
Combined Plan C

Section: Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

Narrative: p. 2. A.

Published
Located in:

p. 2. A. Identify the strategies that contributed to the achievement of the goals

View corresponding narrative from PYs 2020-2023

Current Narrative:

ARS increased the availability of supported employment services to clients by providing training and technical assistance to vendors and vocational rehabilitation counselors. ARS placed a greater emphasis on proven and innovative supported employment outcomes related to competitive integrated employment performance-based outcomes. ARS created a new monitoring process to track the number of vendors in each area, number of clients served by each vendor, milestone payments made, and expenditures. Successful closure data is shared with CRPs.

Supported Employment: Evaluation and Progress

  • During PY2020, the COVID pandemic had a major impact on individuals with the most significant disabilities who were seeking service. SE referrals decreased from 267 in PY 19 to 187 in PY20. The SE successful employment outcomes decreased from 88 in PY19 to 74 in PY20. Based on all 26 closures, SE successful employment outcomes decreased from five percent to three percent.

ARS:

  • Ensured the quality of SE services by monitoring data related to expenditures, through ongoing communication with the counselors, and by monitoring CRPs, who received specific funding amounts, through vendor case review.
  • Hosted two trainings provided by DOL ODEP Subject Matter Experts that targeted the Arkansas waiver managed care entities referred to as Provider-led Arkansas Shared Saving Entities (PAASE) and focused on supported employment for individuals with significant behavioral health concerns.
  • Trained field staff by region using virtual training on External Employment Services 101.
  • Developed YouTube an External Employment Services training, which included Supported Employment for service providers and ARS Field staff.
  • Revised a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with Division of Workforce Services, Division of Services for the Blind, Arkansas Department of Education – Special Education Unit, and the Department of Human Services: Division of Developmental Disabilities Services and Division of Adult, Aging, and Behavioral Health Services. The MOU defines the partnership, the roles and responsibilities between the agencies, and successful employment as competitive integrated employment for individuals with the most significant disabilities. 
  • Participated in AR APSE Chapter meetings bimonthly, which focused on best models of service provision for supported employment, customized employment, and provider transformation.  
  • ARS provided transition from employment to extended services beginning when individuals reach a point of stabilization on the job and for the next 90 days towards successful closure. After ARS closes the cases as successful, extended services is transitioned to the provider responsible for funding. If the individual is on waiver, originally funding has been through the Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities Services Waiver Program. In PY2018, this funding transferred to the Provider-led Arkansas Shared Savings Entity (PASSE), a model of organized care created by Act 775 of 2017. Each PASSE is made up of governing providers who have entered a partnership with an experienced program administration organization. If the individual is not on waiver, providers must generate funding to provide extended services.