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
- o. State's Strategies
Describe the required strategies and how the agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities, support innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to accessing the VR and the Supported Employment programs (See sections 101(a)(15)(D) and (18)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)):
- o. State's Strategies
o. 3. The outreach procedures that will be used to identify and serve individuals with disabilities who are minorities, including those with the most significant disabilities, as well as those who have been unserved or underserved by the VR program
Current Narrative:
During FY 2019, DCRSA continued its aggressive efforts to increase outreach to individuals with disabilities, attempting to focus on unserved and underserved communities. As indicated above, the agency has established agreements with other government agencies and community based, non-profit agencies that are in communities, or serve clients, identified in the 2017 comprehensive needs assessment as unserved or underserved (i.e., Wards 7 and 8 and individuals who are non-English speaking or limited English speaking). Currently, the administration has agreements with agencies and is conducting intake interviews and seeing clients in 26 different offices across Washington, DC. The administration has focused on strengthening partnerships with agencies that represent unserved and underserved communities and is directly working with stakeholders to better understand their needs.
In FY 2019, DCRSA, in collaboration with agency partners, hosted the first annual Latino Conference for people with disabilities and their families. The conference was designed to provide Spanish speaking people with disabilities and their family members with access to information, support, and resources in their native language and assist District agencies to better understand the experiences and needs of Latinos within the disability community. The feedback received from the listening session will be used by District agencies to inform practices to better engage this community.
The administration is also a member of the National Community of Practice on Cultural and Linguistic Competence, whose goal is to develop sustainable Cultural and Linguistic Competence strategies reflected in policies, structures, and practices to increase awareness and better engage underserved populations that have been harder to reach due to cultural and linguistic differences and barriers. Also in FY 2019, the agency was able to recruit two VR Specialists and one front desk staff member who are Spanish speaking. The VR Specialist will work at the outreach sites targeting people who are Latino. In addition, the agency is currently engaged in intensive efforts to recruit bilingual Amharic/English staff to ensure that language-appropriate services are available to people whose primary language is Amharic and are Non-English Proficient or Limited English Proficient. Pending greater ability to hire bilingual staff, the agency continues to rely on the Language Line, which provides interpretation via telephone. This service is available in all languages. In addition, the agency currently has staff who are fluent in ASL, including both Deaf and hearing staff; including two VR Specialists and one VR Supervisor.