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. iii. Projections of the number of personnel, broken down by personnel category, who will be needed by the State agency to provide VR services in 5 years 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.
Current Narrative:
Response i.1.A.iii
The agency has experienced heavy turnover in the past three years, primarily due to a high number of retirements. In January 2020, the Executive Director of 15 years (with 43 years history with the agency), and the Assistant Director of Operations (with 46 years of history with the agency) also retired. About one third of the staff is new to the agency within the past two years. There is a recognized need for training staff in DSB processes and cultural values, and a recognition of opportunity to develop and build on the agency’s rich history of individualized and customer-centric service provision. Many new staff come to the agency without deep experience or knowledge of the blindness context in which we do our work, and that has become a targeted element for process improvement throughout 2022 and the life of this plan.
The past two years saw a tremendous wave of retirements within the agency, and the expectation is that the pace of future retirements may continue. The traditional average 5-year employee turnover rate had been 20%, and multiplied by the 66 total number of the Vocational Rehabilitation staff, it is likely that thirteen (13) vacancies could be anticipated over the next 5 years. The number of VR personnel projected to retire in the next five years is seventeen (17). This represents a potentially high percentage of skilled VR staff, around 26%, that will need to be recruited and on-boarded in the next five years.
The most recent wave of retirements have targeted primarily management, Rehab Technician and VR Counselor positions, and thus expected future retirements in the next five years for those three areas of the agency should be mostly stabilized and minimal. The job classes with expected future retirements include among the VR Counselor, Adaptive Technology Specialist and Rehabilitation Teacher/Orientation & Mobility Specialist job classes.
Five Year Vacancy Projections
- VR Counselor: Of the 15 positions, projected three (3) vacancies
- Rehabilitation Technician: Of the eight (8) positions, projected two (2) vacancies
- Rehabilitation Teacher/Orientation & Mobility Specialist (Field and Training Center): Of the 15 positions, projected seven (7) vacancies
- Adaptive Technology Specialist: Of the eight (8) positions, projected three (3) vacancies
- Youth Services: Of the five (5) positions, projected one (1) vacancy
- Administrative: Of the seven (7) positions, projected one (1) vacancy
- Executive Management/Manager: Of the seven (7) positions, projected one (1) vacancy
- Part-time on call Reader-Driver (staff accommodation): Of the nine (9) current positions, projected vacancies depend on VR staff needs and locations.