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.
- b. Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA).
Section 101(a)(15), (17), and (23) of the Rehabilitation Act require VR agencies to provide an assessment of:
- b. Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA).
b. 2. Identify the need to establish, develop, or improve community rehabilitation programs within the State.
Current Narrative:
Key Findings:
Stakeholders mentioned they need more regular communication from ARS. Stakeholders also mentioned they need more referrals and more talented job coaches. Service providers want to continue to work with counselors they have established relationships with, so an external recommendation from stakeholders/partners was focused on ARS staff retention to maintain service quality and existing network relationships. Internally it was noted that ARS needs to get more feedback from its partners about the skills and abilities they are looking for in potential employees. ARS could use this information on skill and ability preferences to fine-tune the services offered to clients so that they will be able to properly match clients with businesses.
Recommendations:
- ARS should assign a schedule for regular check-ins between field counselors and partners/stakeholders. As part of this check-in process, ARS should gather feedback from partners to ascertain what skills and abilities they are looking for in prospective employees.
- ARS should offer incentives to attract and retain skilled job coaches and counselors to assist with job development, placement, and training.
Findings Regarding the Arkansas Career Development Center
Internally, the Arkansas Career Development Center, and the services offered, were generally considered to be effective and important for ARS’ clients. Through surveys, interviews, and focus groups, the internal populations noted positive programming and related outcomes. While all programs were generally well regarded, the Pre-Employment Transition Services and transition services for students with disabilities were generally more lauded than career and technical education programs. While there have been significant improvements for options with distance learning modalities, some respondents indicated that the Center was geographically removed and not an option, statewide, given the travel requirements. Respondents noted preferences for more short-term and online-training since the commute and physically staying at the Center’s accommodations are not feasible or accessible for their client populations.
Recommendations:
- Continue expanding the online/distance learning and short-term programming to overcome barriers related to accessing services.