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
- o. State's Strategies
Describe the required strategies and how the agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities, support innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to accessing the VR and the Supported Employment programs (See sections 101(a)(15)(D) and (18)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)):
- o. State's Strategies
o. 1. The methods to be used to expand and improve services to individuals with disabilities
Current Narrative:
The strategies to achieve goals and priorities identified in Attachment (l) were jointly developed and agreed to by Rehabilitation Services for the Blind (RSB) and the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind (SRC) as follows:
Goal 1: Stabilize the downward trend in new applicants to 390 in PY 2024.
Baseline data:
The number of new applicants in each year since 2011 are as follows: FFY 2011 was 460; FFY 2012 was 455; FFY 2013 was 436; FFY 2014 was 430; and in FFY 2015 was 397.The RSB noted stabilization and a rise in the number of new applicants in PY 2017 through PY 2018. The number of applicants in PY 2017 was 334 and in PY 2018 it was 367.
Strategies:
1. Continue to stabilize the average number served per year per caseload from the current 104 cases per counselor through efforts to address cases stalled in status 24 without action and cases where contact has been lost and all reasonable efforts to reestablish contact has been done.
2. Establish and implement minimum standards for frequency of client contact and measure that through regular and annual case reviews.
3. Each district office will be responsible for analyzing where referrals are coming from and target outreach efforts to major stakeholders and other environments where blind or visually impaired would likely come into contact with and absent from the database.
Goal 2: Improve employment outcomes to enhance economic stability and self-sufficiency for clients who exit the VR program.
In PY 2017, RSB had a total of 187 successful VR case closures. The average hourly wage rate for these closures was $20.83 and the average annual wage rate was $31,417.23. In PY 2018, RSB had a total of 188 total successful VR case closures. The average hourly wage rate for these closures was $16.31 and the average annual wage rate was $27,205.65.
Strategies:
1. Continue the Counselor Academy training every two years to ensure that RSB staff receive continuous, up-to-date, job specific training and skills enhancement.
2. Develop a counselor focus group to allow counselors to communicate and share information, solve problems, improve performance, build teamwork, and move projects forward. The focus groups will be led by the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors and will have the RSB Director present to offer expertise and guidance as needed.
2. Continue to monitor and emphasize the data points of percent of new applicants who are unemployed at application and use of low incident placement strategies such as on-the-job training, supported employment, work experience, and targeted job placement.
3. Continue to emphasize learning appropriate alternative techniques of blindness critical to successful employment, such as orientation and mobility skills; alternative skills of blindness to access, store and retrieve print information; and personal care skills.
4. Develop and improve coordination and collaboration with core partners and local Workforce Development Boards to braid services and assist clients in obtaining employment consistent with their strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, and capabilities.
5. Enhance employer engagement activities to increase employer services and recruiting, hiring, retaining, and promoting individuals with disabilities.
Goal 3: Develop and streamline the VR service delivery system to maintain consistency with WIOA requirements and improve the quality, timeliness and effectiveness in the provision of services.
Strategies:
1. Update administrative rule and continuously updated policy manuals based on federal guidance and WIOA requirements.
2. Continue to update and provide high quality staff training and support on implementation of WIOA, effective case service processes, and skills necessary to ensure that the personnel have a 21st century understanding of the evolving labor force and the needs of individuals with disabilities.
3. Continue to update and adjust the annual case record review process that allows for improved staff training based on case review findings, consistent and collaborative approaches to improving delivery systems, and continuous adherence to WIOA requirements.
4. Enter into an agreement for State Wage Interchange System (SWIS) to access participating states wage record and employment verification information.
Goal 4: Increase the total number of individuals receiving pre-employment transition services to 247 in PY 2024.
Strategies:
1. Expand training for District Supervisors, Counselors, and Pre-Employment Transition Staff on the resource guide and provision of transition services.
2. Expand the use of Work Based Learning Experiences for those clients in school by increasing the number of vendors as needed, training staff to more appropriately and consistently use Work Based Learning, and improving the vendors’ capacity to serve blind and visually impaired clients through RSB—provided materials.
3. Expand client and family awareness of the opportunity for work experiences through use of the toolkit and related resources as early as possible, via Pre-Employment Transition staff and Counselors.