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. D. Who have been served through other components of the statewide workforce development system; and
Current Narrative:
Co–location in Maine’s network of Department of Labor (MDOL) One–Stop CareerCenters has provided DVR the opportunity to work in partnership with several other programs that are components of the statewide workforce system and can support the employment of people with disabilities. The CareerCenters provide several employment programs that serve people with disabilities. The newly redesigned Maine Job Link is an online accessible CareerCenter tool to allow job seekers from around the state to be matched with real-time available open (currently over 11,000) positions. The Job Link has 42,700 active job bank registrants of whom 505 are self-disclosed job seekers with disabilities. This represents 1.1% of total Job Link registrants. Data reported on the ETA 9002 for Program Year 2019 showed that under the Wagner-Peyser Act, Maine served 2,627 individuals who disclosed a disability. This represents only 3.4% of all individuals served – and a significant decrease from the 4,525 individuals served in 2008. However, while the number of individuals with disabilities served was much lower than during the recession, the proportion of those with disabilities served remained almost unchanged.
While the Bureau of Employment Services (BES) collects data on self-reported disability, it does not require that individuals disclose having a disability. As a result of past work through collaborative efforts, including two rounds of the Disability Employment Initiative grant funding, there is increased awareness and attention in the CareerCenter to increasing access to expanded services for customers with disabilities. There are concerns about the accuracy of the current case management database; the system defines disability status within the context of vocational rehabilitation. Individuals who have a disability, which does not constitute a significant barrier to employment, are often not recorded as having a disability at all. Administrative override is required to update a person’s disability status when they disclose post-enrollment.
Research has shown that the number of people with disabilities served by CareerCenters is under-reported. According to 2016 estimates from the American Community Survey, people with disabilities comprise 13.7% of Maine’s working age population. ((ACS), 2012-2016) . We would be hard pressed to assert that we are serving them in numbers commensurate with their presence in the general population. For additional information see Maine's WIOA State Plan for PY 20-23 and DVR's CSNA https://www.maine.gov/rehab/dvr/stateplan/