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. E. Who are youth with disabilities and students with disabilities, including, as appropriate, their need for pre-employment transition services or other transition services.
Current Narrative:
Since passage of WIOA and promulgation of the final rules, Maine DVR has worked to develop, adopt and implement procedural guidance, programming and training to support the identification and registration of students with disabilities who are eligible or potentially eligible for Pre-Employment Transition Services. Through previously established relationships with school districts and through outreach initiatives and pilot activities, Maine DVR has sought to offer Pre-Employment Transition Services across the state. According to the most recent 2019 data from the Maine Department of Education, there are 10, 450 students from ages 14-20 receiving special education services across the state. Additionally, approximately 3000 students grade 9-12 were identified as having a 504 plan. While overall numbers of school-age students have dropped in Maine, the numbers and percentage of students enrolled in special education services continue to increase. In 2015, 17.25 % of Maine students received special education services; in 2019 this number had risen to 18.9 %. Maine DVR has targeted the problem of early exiters from VR services and is collecting data and implementing targeted initiatives for transition-age youth designed to engage youth with disabilities and get them involved in community-based work experiences and other work-based learning sooner.
- Autism numbers continue to grow with a total number of students (n=859) in 2016, further analysis reveals that this number will be increasing significantly in the coming years.
- While not all of these potentially eligible students will become VR clients, based on most recentanalysis, there may be greater capacity in certain areas of the state than others. In particular, Region I (Cumberland and York) has the potential to be asked to serve a greater number of transition-age clients per counselor in comparison to Region III (Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Somerset, and Waldo) and Region V (Aroostook).
- In Region II (Androscoggin, Franklin, Oxford, and Sagadahoc) and Region IV (Hancock, Piscataquis, Penobscot and Washington), there appears to be more equitable ratio of students to counselors.
For more information see CSNA at · https://www.maine.gov/rehab/dvr/stateplan/