Narrative: g. 2.

While youth and students with disabilities have access to the same VR services as adults, there are some VR services reserved for or targeted to transition-aged youth for the purposes of assisting them with leaving high school and preparing for competitive employment. DVRS continues to work towards meeting its 15% required spending allocation for pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities.

Since 2014, DVRS has worked towards implementing pre-employment transition services in the following ways:

• Enhancing existing pre-employment transition service delivery models and developing tracking and reporting mechanisms consistent with federal regulations. For example, as a result of changes to our internship program, more students with disabilities have participated in work-based learning through internship opportunities. Additionally, work-based learning and workplace readiness components of the Project SEARCH™ model continue to be provided to students with disabilities in eleven (11) of the fourteen (14) sites across NC.
• Contracted pre-employment transition services: At the time of this report, thus far in FFYs 2017 and 2018, DVRS implemented sixteen (16) pre-employment transition services contracts with community rehabilitation programs and community agencies for the provision of two or more of the five (5) pre-employment transition services required activities. Through these contracts, DVRS has the capacity to reach 2000 students with disabilities.
• Local transition planning to identify opportunities for DVRS staff to provide pre-employment transition services in a way that best meets the needs of students with disabilities in each local education agency
• Developed agreement with the Juvenile Education Services Division of the state’s Department of Public Safety to provide pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities in NC’s four youth development centers serving adjudicated youth. DVRS has also committed funds to a pre-employment transition services Coordinator who will directly provide pre-employment transition services to these students.

Through the mechanisms described above and others, DVRS will continue to work towards meeting its 15% spending obligation for pre-employment transition services. Additionally, DVRS is pursuing a number of pre-employment transition services authorized activities to build capacity for effective and innovative practices for transitioning students with disabilities from school to postsecondary education and competitive integrated employment outcomes. Authorized activities being pursued include: informational fairs; training opportunities for VR, education, and community agency staff; research on pre-employment transition services service outcomes; and model demonstration projects for innovative pre-employment service delivery methods.

DVRS will continue to coordinate with local and state education agencies under revised formal agreements to best align resources and services to students with disabilities across the state in the areas of pre-employment transition and transition services. DVRS’ agreements with local school districts enables DVRS to employ approximately 130 staff who are dedicated to providing, coordinated, and arranging for pre-employment transition services and transition services to students in the partnering districts. These agreements enable DVRS to provide expertise on VR transition services to students in these districts through coordinated service delivery strategies as well as local systems level consultation, coordination, and planning.