Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
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
p. 2. A. Identify the strategies that contributed to the achievement of the goals
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 PY2018, SE referrals remained at the PY2017 level at 286. The SE successful employment outcomes increased from 116 to 117, which is a one percent increase. However, based on all 26 closures, SE successful employment outcomes continued at five 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 state leadership and focused on supported employment for individuals with significant behavioral health concerns. Additionally, ARS hosted a stakeholders meeting where 40 participants discussed supported employment services/individual placement and supports, and what it means to be an Employment First state.
- Partnered, by utilizing 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.
- Collaborated with AR APSE to host the organization’s biennial conference, which focused on best models of service provision for supported employment, customized employment, and provider transformation.
- Hosted free online job coach certification training with a total of 284 participants certified, and provided training on supported employment to 676 participants.
- 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 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 into a partnership with an experienced program administration organization. If the individual is not on waiver, providers must generate funding to provide extended services.