Narrative: j. 1.

The West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (WVDRS) has cooperative agreements with the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) Office of Special Education, the WVDE Division of Technical and Adult Education, Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development, local education agencies (county boards of education), and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. The current cooperative agreement between WVDRS and WVDE (the state education agency) went into effect on November 27, 2023. The cooperative agreements between WVDRS and WVDE, both at the state and the local levels, assure that each student with a disability in the state who needs special education, vocational education, and/or vocational rehabilitation services is identified and that the appropriate services, including pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS), are made available to the individual. The cooperative agreements cover:

• Determination of agency responsibility;
• Transition and Pre-ETS planning;
• Outreach and identification;
• Financial responsibility of education;
• Financial responsibility of rehabilitation;
• Consultation and technical assistance;
• Confidentiality of information/sharing of information;
• The duration of the agreement;
• Local agreements;
• Dispute resolution;
• Modification of the agreement; and
• Subminimum wage employment.

The following excerpt from the current formal agreement between WVDRS and WVDE outlines the coordination and documentation requirements, including the provision of Pre-ETS and transition services, for students seeking subminimum wage employment:

SUBMINIMUM WAGE EMPLOYMENT

Section 511 of the WIOA imposes requirements on WVDE and Rehabilitation with regard to youth with disabilities seeking subminimum wage employment. Rehabilitation and WVDE shall work cooperatively to ensure that the individual, before beginning work that is compensated at a subminimum wage, has completed, and produces documentation indicating completion of, each of the following actions:

1. The individual has received pre-employment transition services that are available to the individual under section 113, or transition services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) such as transition services available to the individual under section 614(d) of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1414(d)).
2. The individual has applied for vocational rehabilitation services under Title I, with the result that:

• the individual has been found ineligible for such services pursuant to that title and has documentation consistent with section 102(a)(5)(C) regarding the determination of ineligibility; or
• the individual has been determined to be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services;
• the individual has an individualized plan for employment under section 102;
• the individual has been working toward an employment outcome specified in such individualized plan for employment, with appropriate supports and services, including supported employment services, for a reasonable period of time without success; and
• the individual's vocational rehabilitation case is closed; and
• the individual has been provided career counseling and information and referrals to Federal and State programs and other resources in the individual 's geographic area that offer employment-related services and supports designed to enable the individual to explore, discover, experience, and attain competitive integrated employment; and
• such counseling and information and referrals are not for employment compensated at a subminimum wage provided by an entity described in this subsection, and such employment-related services are not compensated at a subminimum wage and do not directly result in employment compensated at a subminimum wage provided by an entity described in this subsection.

Any student considering subminimum wage employment upon exiting high school should be referred to Rehabilitation. When appropriate, Rehabilitation may request documentation from WVDE for purposes related to this section. Rehabilitation will collect and document the necessary prerequisites, corresponding services, and information (described above) required of individuals (aged 24 and younger) seeking subminimum wage employment. This documentation will be provided to the individual within 45 days after the completion of services, or 90 days if a longer period of time is needed due to extenuating circumstances.

Furthermore, this agreement assures, pursuant to 34 CFR 397.31, that Rehabilitation and WVDE agree not to enter into a contract or other arrangement with an entity for purposes of operating a program in which youth with disabilities are employed at subminimum wage.”

WVDRS has a long history of working closely with the state and local education agencies. Since the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), WVDRS has further strengthened these working relationships.  WVDRS has worked with the WVDE Office of Special Education to align WVDE policy with aspects of WIOA, particularly the provision of Pre-ETS. Education and WVDRS have jointly developed materials that are distributed to special education students and teachers across the state.

WVDRS’ Pathways to the Future materials are made available to students with disabilities, teachers, parents, and other stakeholders across the state. The materials include:

• The PathwaysWV.org website
• Pre-ETS transition slide guide
• Parent/student guide
• Transition Services Planner
• Sample Lessons for Life After High School

As part of its ongoing outreach activities, WVDRS developed new Pathways to the Future banners and posters during FY 2022. These were distributed to all high schools in the state to ensure that students, parents, and teachers are aware of the availability of Pre-ETS. Additional outreach using large posters target eighth grade, career and technical education, and postsecondary students at locations across the state to ensure that students ages 14-21 are aware of the availability of Pre-ETS. The banners are also used by WVDRS during job fairs, transition fairs, and other activities involving students with disabilities.

As part of the Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA), WVDRS attempted a one-on-one Pre-ETS needs assessment discussion with teachers and administrators in all of West Virginia’s 55 counties.  WVDRS received participation from 64 high schools in 29 (out of 55) counties in 2023.  All six WVDRS districts were represented. WVDRS continues to ensure that Pre-ETS are available to students with disabilities on a statewide basis.  Details and results of this assessment are provided in the Statewide Assessment section of the state plan.

To better serve students, WVDRS has offices located in some of the state’s largest schools, as well as the WV Schools for the Deaf and the Blind. Additionally, counselors visit every high school in the state to initiate rehabilitation services needed for transition from school to work. This allows the counselor to develop a collaborative relationship and assist the student in identifying goals, services, and service providers related to employment options prior to transition. In FY 2023, there were 82 rehabilitation counselors assigned to work with the state’s 55 local education agencies and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind.

School rehabilitation counselors also are invited to participate in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. During these meetings the counselor describes WVDRS services, policies, and procedures as appropriate. The WVDRS counselor determines the student’s eligibility and order of selection category utilizing information generated from the school, the student, and WVDRS. Prior to or shortly after the student’s IEP transition meeting occurs, development begins on the student’s Individual Plan for Employment (IPE) so both the student and counselor have an idea of what rehabilitation services will be necessary to meet the student’s vocational goal. Therefore, if the student needs additional training or assessment prior to vocational goal determination, this information is already collected so that planned rehabilitation services may begin. IPE development and approval for students with disabilities, including those able to be served if WVDRS is on an order of selection, will begin as early as appropriate during the transition process, but before the student, determined to be eligible, leaves the school setting.

WVDRS continues to work with WVDE on WV Guideposts to Graduation (WVGtG; formerly known as Graduation 20/20), a West Virginia initiative that uses a data driven intervention framework developed by the National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC–SD) to address issues that have negatively impacted school completion. WVGtG utilizes the innovation configuration on evidence-based transition practices and predictors of post-school success to guide professional learning, which was published by the Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform (CEEDAR) Center. The program, using tools from NDPC–SD and CEEDAR, trains local school-based teams and team leaders to diagnose the causes of dropout and to develop site-specific improvement plans and strategies.

Information about the WVDRS school program is widely disseminated to education professionals, as well as students and their parents. An updated fact sheet and new brochure explaining WVDRS transition services are available. WVDRS has negotiated an agreement with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission for its consumers who attend in-state public colleges and universities. The agreement describes the financial responsibility of WVDRS and the appropriate public institution of higher education, provides procedures to resolve interagency disputes, and coordinates policies and procedures to ensure timely delivery of vocational rehabilitation services. To better serve individuals in postsecondary school, WVDRS has liaisons assigned to 43 postsecondary community/technical colleges, 4-year colleges, and universities across the state.

WVDRS also coordinates with the WVDE Office of Adult Education and Workforce Development, a WIOA core partner, to better serve individuals receiving adult education. The agencies have a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and collaborate at the state and local level. The MOU includes screening students for potential disabilities, including learning disabilities, and the collaboration between WVDE and WVDRS to provide necessary accommodations (e.g., assistive technology, interpreters) for eligible individuals. WVDRS will evaluate the disability or disabilities and provide specific recommendations regarding testing accommodations, recommendations for instructional accommodations, and recommendations for job accommodations. If it is found that the student requires assistive technology (which includes information technology products such as software applications, operating systems, web-based information applications, web accessibility, video equipment, multimedia products, and office equipment) then WVDE and WVDRS will share, as appropriate, the cost for this technology. If it is determined that the person has a hearing disability and it is deemed necessary that an interpreter, CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), notetaker, or other appropriate accommodations be provided, then WVDE and WVDRS will share the cost. WVDE will only hire qualified interpreters who are registered through the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.