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. 1. VR Services; and
Current Narrative:
Louisiana Rehabilitation Services will continue to uphold the achievement of competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities. Our Vocational Rehabilitation Program sets out to accomplish this task by building relationships with employers in the communities and various cities in the state of Louisiana. In order to form these connections, LRS Rehabilitation Employment Development Specialists (REDS) continue to build these relations by first gaining an understanding of what the business and workforce needs are in each area of the state. This is done by expanding our outreach to the business community and then by referring or recommending those clients that will fit their workforce needs.
LRS staff are involved with the Workforce Development Area Board meetings and have formed relationships with LWCs’ Industry Coordinators which helps to identify workforce needs in various sectors. The Industry Coordinator analyzes and acquires knowledge about the full range of existing business solutions and identifies and defines talent pipelines and skill paths to promote sector employment to job seekers. The Program Coordinator over employment initiatives provides further technical assistance to the REDs to assist them in outreach efforts to businesses and their Human Resource Management Teams. Outreach efforts include attendance at local and regional job fairs, Chamber of Commerce meetings and the Society of Human Resource Management monthly meetings. REDS also contact numerous employers every month in an effort to identify workforce needs and determine if we have consumers that are job ready and meet the qualifications for positions available. After the REDS or the Employment Specialists place the consumers in competitive and integrated employment, they continue to work with the business and the consumer, ensuring the employment opportunity is a good fit for both.