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
j. 1. B. Who are minorities;
Current Narrative:
In 2018, SPPE staff members, under guidance of the WVSRC–DRS Joint Committee on Needs Assessment, conducted a qualitative analysis of the reported service needs of 1,004 persons with significant disabilities of various age and disability groups statewide.
Of the statewide total of 1,004 persons with significant disabilities at the time of their DRS application, 90 persons were determined to be of minority status. The demographic profile of this subset of minority status individuals with significant disabilities consists of the following characteristics:
Gender: 55.1% male, 44.9% female;
Race: 3.3% American Indian, 2.2% Asian, 75.6% African American, 18.9% Hispanic;
Age: 52.2% under 20 years old, 21.1% 20–34 years, 6.7% 35–44 years, 17.8% 45–64 years, 2.2% 65 years or older; and
Primary Impairment: 6.7% Sensory/Communicative Impairments, 16.7% Physical Impairments, 76.7% Mental Impairments.
As part of the Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment, DRS identified the following as the most frequently reported service needs in each of the categories of Education, Training, Health, Employment, and Support, based on the qualitative analysis of the reported service needs of 90 consumers with significant disabilities from minority backgrounds. The approximate percentage of consumers with significant disabilities from minority backgrounds reporting each service need is also listed below.
EDUCATION (21.1%): Other (63.2%); 2-yr or 4-yr College (42.1%); Graduate Degree Education (5.3%).
TRAINING (45.6%): Business/Vocational Training (75.6%); Drive Training/Licensing (14.6%); Job Search Training/Assistance (9.8%); Other Training (4.9%); Career Planning Training (4.9%).
HEALTH (7.7%): Other (57.1%); Psychological/Psychiatric (42.9%); Hearing/Audiological Services (14.3%).
EMPLOYMENT/CRP (77.8%): Job Placement (92.9%); Vocational Counseling and Guidance (7.1%); Other (5.7%); Supported Employment (1.4%); Job Coaching Other Than SE (1.1%).
SUPPORT (8.9%): Financial Assistance (75.0%); Assistive Technology Services (25.0%); Other (12.5%).
AS REPORTED BY DRS FIELD STAFF
Respondents to the DRS field staff survey were asked to identify the top five overall service needs for different consumer groups with which they have experience with providing VR services. Respondents were asked to indicate if they did not have experience working with the consumer group. The number and percentage of respondents who indicated a gap for the service are in parentheses followed by the number of responses by DRS office location. Some respondents identified more than one office.
Note: New categories were created to incorporate answers that were not specific to a pre-existing service category from the survey. For example, the “Overall Training” category was created to include a number of open-ended responses where the respondent indicated a need for training, but not a specific type; for example, “Training options” and “Training services.” The Miscellaneous category contains individual responses that were not clear in meaning or otherwise could not be grouped into a particular theme.
Minority Individuals
The survey asked, “From your experience with minority individuals with disabilities, please list the TOP FIVE services that you feel these consumers need in your service area.” There were 64 respondents to this question. The most commonly reported service needs were:
Transportation (30, 46.88%) -- Beckley-4, Charleston-3, Elkins-1, Huntington-4, Keyser-2, Lewisburg-2, Marshall-2, Martinsburg-2, Moorefield-1, Morgantown-2, Oak Hill-2, Point Pleasant-2, Princeton-3, Ripley-1, Romney-1, Spencer-1, Summersville-2, Teays Valley-5, Weirton-2, and Welch-1.
Job Placement (17, 26.56%) -- Beckley-1, Charleston-2, Clarksburg-1, Fairmont-1, Huntington-4, Keyser-2, Marshall-1, Martinsburg-2, Moorefield-1, Morgantown-1, Point Pleasant-2, Romney-2, Teays Valley-3, and Welch-1.
Overall Training (16, 25%) -- Beckley-1, Charleston-2, Clarksburg-1, Elkins-1, Fairmont-1, Huntington-1, Keyser-3, Martinsburg-2, Moorefield-2, Morgantown-1, Mullens-1, Point Pleasant-1, Ripley-1, Romney-3, Spencer-1, Teays Valley-1, Weirton-1, Welch-1, and Weston-1.
Counseling and Guidance (11, 17.19%) -- Charleston-4, Clarksburg-2, Farimont-1, Huntington-2, Keyser-1, Marshall-1, Martinsburg-1, Moorefield-1, Romney-1, Teays Valley-1, and Wheeling-1.
Self-Advocacy (10, 15.63%) -- Clarksburg-3, Huntington-1, Martinsburg-1, Moorefield-1, Morgantown-1, Princeton-1, and Teays Valley-2.