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
- g. Coordination with Employers
Describe how the designated State unit will work with employers to identify competitive integrated employment and career exploration opportunities in order to facilitate the provision of:
- g. Coordination with Employers
g. 2. Transition services, including pre-employment transition services, for students and youth with disabilities.
Current Narrative:
As noted elsewhere in the plan, most efforts surrounding provision of pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities are accomplished through third-party contracts with local school districts through the Secondary Transitional Experience Program (STEP). These contracts are performance based and include both paid and unpaid community work experiences for students. The arrangements with employers are developed by school personnel rather than by DRS directly. In the most recent state fiscal year, STEP students were involved in 2,698 full employer-paid work experiences and 1,351 other work experiences with community employers. Employers are actively involved in working with students and typically coordinate support with the STEP contractor. DRS monitors student work experiences through monthly reporting by the contractors, which include hours worked and earnings, if any. STEP contractors also work with employers to provide opportunities for job exploration.
In 2017 DRS established the Fast Track Transition program to provide pre-employment transition services to potentially eligible students with disabilities. In the first two years of the program the emphasis has been on serving 14- and 15-year-old students that have not typically been involved with STEP. In the current year 20 of 22 Fast Track contract agencies are centers for independent living. These contractors utilize local employers to provide opportunities for job exploration and workplace readiness training. As of January 2020 over 1,000 students were enrolled in Fast Track services.
In Illinois the agencies under contract to DRS, whether in STEP or Fast Track Transition, are responsible for identifying employers that will host work-based learning experiences. In STEP there is a tracking system for monitoring the hours each student works, along with contact information for the student’s supervisor on the job. This provides opportunity to monitor the ongoing progress of each student’s work experience. Students are able to change jobs if the initial effort is not a good fit for the student. Most employer-paid jobs are in settings typical of teenage workers in their first paid job, such as retail and food service. The leading job titles for STEP students include: food preparation workers, stock clerks, cashiers, sales and related workers and retail salespersons.