Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Blind)
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:
The Maine Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired has procedures and activities in place 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. Staff in Central office maintain a data system on personnel and personnel development. This is outlined in the areas below.
Qualified Personnel needs – The system for collecting and analyzing annual data on qualified personnel needs is supported within the Department of Labor’s Human Resources and DBVI staff in the central office. The system includes keeping track of the number of personnel within DBVI who serve VR in relation to the number of individuals served by personnel category. In addition, DBVI keeps track of the number of personnel currently needed by the State agency to provide VR services by personnel category and the projections of the number of personnel, by personnel category, who will be needed by the state agency to provide VR services in 5 years. This number is based on projections of the number of individuals to be served, including individuals with significant disabilities, the number of personnel expected to retire or leave the field and other relevant factors.
Over the past performance period, 35 staff positions in DBVI served 300-400 individuals with visual impairments in the VR program. Personnel categories included: 1 director, 1 assistant director, 2 regional directors, 1 rehabilitation services manager, 1 consultant, 7 VRC II, 3 Blindness Rehabilitation Specialists, 5 Paraprofessionals/VRC I, 1 support personnel, 2 BEP staff, and 10 O&M (one vacancy).