Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for State Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by sections 101(a) and 606 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA.
- l. Interagency Cooperation with Other Agencies
In accordance with the requirements in Section 101(a)(11)(C) and (K), describe interagency cooperation with and utilization of the services and facilities of agencies and programs that are not carrying out activities through the statewide workforce development system to develop opportunities for community-based employment in integrated settings, to the greatest extent practicable for the following:
- l. Interagency Cooperation with Other Agencies
l. 1. State programs (designate lead agency(ies) and implementing entity(ies)) carried out under Section 4 of the Assistive Technology Act of 1998;
Current Narrative:
The Virginia Assistive Technology System (VATS) is a statewide program authorized and funded by the 21st Century Assistive Technology Act, which amended the Assistive Technology Acts of 1998 and 2004. The Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) is the lead agency and administers Virginia’s AT Act program. Under section 4 of the 21st Century Assistive Technology Act, VATS provides State Level and State Leadership activities which include the following assistive technology (AT) services: device demonstration, short-term equipment loans, durable medical equipment reuse, training, information and assistance, technical assistance, and public awareness.
VATS staff are collocated in VR offices and have a highly collaborative relationship with the VR Program to improve access to and acquisition of AT devices and services for VR staff and clients. VATS’ statewide AT Lending Library is also collocated with the VR program’s Northern Virginia AT Lab. In addition to the main AT library, VATS maintains partnerships with several disability service organizations, to include DARS AT Labs, to provide statewide access to equipment for constituent training, demonstration and/or loan. VATS equipment is available at disability service organization AT access points to extend its capacity to provide statewide services. VATS makes equipment available at DARS AT Labs for State Level and State Leadership activities that VR would not normally provide or to implement a pilot program.
VATS participates in weekly DARS AT Specialist and bi-weekly Sensory Processing virtual meetings to discuss new and emerging technologies, constituent needs, and services. VATS collaborates with the VR Rehabilitation Technology Services (RTS) team to provide hands-on AT demonstrations and trainings regionally for new and seasoned VR staff to improve access to VATS services and to keep staff engaged with AT and rehabilitation engineering services. VATS collaborates with VR RTS staff to address AT access and training needs of cohorts of VR clients in Time Management trainings, College Preparation seminars, and a Sensory Processing Group. VATS collaborates with VR to develop an AT Training at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center for VR staff.
In FFY 2023, VATS provided services to 6.610 older adults and Virginians with disabilities through the AT Act program. Services included State Level and State Leadership activities to include AT device demonstrations, short-term equipment loans, durable medical equipment reuse, trainings, and information and assistance. Service recipients included an array of Virginians to include individuals with disabilities, family members, healthcare and allied health professionals, employers, educators, and representatives of community living services were provided statewide. VATS contracts with VR to provide primary and back-up gently used durable medical equipment for VR program participants with limited resources. In FFY 2023, VATS served sixty-five (65) DRS clients in DME Reuse Program. Since 2010, VATS’ reuse program provided 1,127 DARS clients with primary or back-up equipment needed to maintain or obtain employment.