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. 6. State agency responsible for providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities;
Current Narrative:
MVR has an MOU with DMH, the state agency responsible for providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental health services, which covers DMH’s BH and DD divisions. The agreement outlines the collaboration on existing services, alignment of funding sources, information and data sharing, referrals and on-going development of services.
DMH’s BH and MVR work together to increase access to evidence-based supported employment, also known as Individual Placement and Support (IPS), for adults with serious mental illnesses who are interested in improving their work lives. Missouri has 33 Community Mental Health/Treatment Centers (CMHCs) participating in this implementation collaborative. Ongoing technical assistance and fidelity reviews to the evidence-based practice are provided by a state trainer and a team consisting of MVR and DMH employees. The partnership between DMH and MVR includes a training format, offered to interested CMHCs statewide, on adopting IPS and on improving existing employment activities within treatment services. DMH and MVR implemented IPS for youth with serious mental illnesses in several sites.
MVR partners with the DMH-DD division to deliver customized employment services that promote specific abilities of individuals with disabilities and meets employers’ needs through flexible strategies.
Additional partnering activities include the sponsoring of an employment summit with the Missouri Coalition for Community Behavioral Healthcare to facilitate clinical integration of behavioral health and community employment efforts and MVR’s and DMH BH’s co-funding of the customized Missouri benefits planning website Disability Benefits 101.
MVR has appointed a state liaison to collaborate with DMH and the governor’s office in a variety of projects and activities. MVR has active participation in many of DMH programs.