WIOA State Plan Common Elements

1. The State of Michigan is committed to expanding economic opportunity, but the headwinds facing our workforce and economy are strong.  The continued challenges Michigan faces are: 

• Economic mobility has stalled The economy is strong, but prosperity is not widely shared due to flat income growth and high levels of working poverty.  Includes housing inequity with high shelter overburden and declining homeownership. 
   
• Acute talent shortages – We have plenty of jobs available, but not the skills to fill them.  Good jobs require learning after high school.  There are low educational attainment and labor market mismatches.
   
• Poor sector diversity – The future poses threats to Michigan workers, as Michigan is highly exposed to automation and recession.
   
•  Not generating enough growth to backfill – Failure to translate research and design investment into growth and employment (leaking entrepreneurship funnel).
   
• Shrinking workforce – Shrinking population and low labor force participation (we face more births than deaths by 2030).
   
• Michiganders face barriers to employment and opportunity – Many lack the means to connect to the workforce.
   

The Governor’s vision and overarching goals address Michigan’s strategy to encompass the real work of state government – protecting the public, educating our youth, and working with business, and how it is integrated into our State’s overall strategic plan.  The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) is responsible for activities to ensure expansion of economic opportunity and prosperity for all Michigan citizens to reach their full potential, while meeting the needs of Michigan’s employers.   

The LEO is employing and/or partnering with several strategies to address Michigan’s challenges in workforce and economic growth and to achieve the Governor’s priorities and strategic initiatives.  In collaboration with employers, the Michigan Works! Agencies (MWAs), other State agencies, economic development, educational institutions, training providers and other non-core partners, examples of these strategies include: 

• Sixty by 30 - LEO has aligned its primary goal to support the Governor’s statewide post-secondary education goal:  Sixty (60) percent of Michigan residents complete a post-secondary certificate or degree by the year 2030.   Established statewide goal to increase the number of Michiganders between the ages of 16 and 64 with a post-secondary credential/obtainment to 60 percent by 2030.  LEO will continue to partner with all core and non-core partners to address a growing talent shortage in the state’s workforce. 

• Michigan Reconnect Grant Program – Targets students 25-years of age and older who are high school graduates and have been a Michigan resident for at least one year.  This program would help to pay for training for non-traditional students who want to earn a certificate in the skilled trades or an associate degree to up-skill and qualify for local
  in-demand occupations. 

• Michigan Opportunity Scholarship – Scholarship program that will guarantee two years of debt-free community college for graduating high school students who qualify, i.e. students who graduate from a Michigan high school with at least a B average.  This scholarship opportunity will impact Michigan’s low educational attainment rate, provide opportunity for career pathways and assist in filling the talent shortage. 

• Pure Michigan Talent Connect (Talent Connect) — Talent Connect is a web-based labor exchange system that brings together employers, educators, and talent.  It is the launchpad for new jobs, careers, and talent.  Talent Connect provides strategic tools for employers to help them identify and develop their talent base and gives job seekers the opportunity to create a personalized plan to help them more effectively navigate career decisions.
   

• Michigan Training Connect — Michigan’s Eligible Training Provider List is housed within Pure Michigan Talent Connect.  The Michigan Training Connect provides job seekers with the tools they need to choose a training program to become employed in a high-demand job or industry. 

• Coordination with Economic Development Strategies and Activities:  To facilitate the match between job seekers and employers, strengthening and aligning talent development and training opportunities will assist in meeting the needs of employers and Michigan workers.  Business Service Teams are utilized at the One-Stop centers and work closely with companies in high-growth/high-demand industries.  The Talent Development Liaisons and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation collaborate with the MWA’s Business Services Teams to provide information and support for employers growing within or moving into local areas.  The partnerships between the One-Stops, the Michigan Industry Cluster Approach Team, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation establishes a relationship with employers to obtain skilled workers through Michigan’s system.  LEO and Michigan Economic Development Corporation work in unison to enhance the talent of our citizens and fuel Michigan’s economic engine under a unified, coordinated, talent enhancement strategy.

• Governor’s Workforce Development State Board and Local Workforce Development Boards:  Michigan continues its efforts to become a national leader in developing a talented workforce.  Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2019-13 to locate the State Workforce Board within LEO.  State staff will continue to facilitate closer working relationships with the Governor’s Workforce Development State Board and local Workforce Development Boards and assist the boards in becoming more effective, through communications, training, regional partnership building, and selection of appropriate board members.
   
• Square One Grant – The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity-Workforce Development (LEO-WD) supports Square One grant funding to schools and other K-12 learning environments, enabling them to provide innovative, meaningful Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) programs.  Grant funding will be utilized to expose 1,100 students and more than 50 classroom teachers to learning objectives, skills, and career opportunities in the mobility and manufacturing sectors, and to share with industry leaders the budding young talent being developed in Michigan schools and career and technical centers.  The Square One Board of Directors are industry leaders and educators with a common vision that students should have the opportunity to pursue technology-oriented careers through authentic, hands-on science, mathematics, and engineering opportunities.  Grant funding will enable continued programming for five schools served by the previous grant and support expansion into seven additional school districts located within Rising Tide communities.

• Fiat Chrysler Automobile Grants – The LEO-WD established grants with two local MWAs (Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) and the Southeast Michigan Community Alliance (SEMCA)) for the purpose of supporting Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in identifying, preparing, and hiring Detroit residents to fill new positions at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant and the Mack Avenue Engine Plant.  As a result of the expansion of the Jefferson North Assembly Plant and the Mack Avenue Engine Plant, FCA will be hiring more than 5,000 new employees in Detroit.  DESC, the City of Detroit, and the State of Michigan are committed to supporting FCA in identifying, preparing, and hiring Detroit residents and applicants surrounding Detroit to fill these new positions.   SEMCA was designated as the single point of contact for recruitment outside of the City of Detroit for the skilled trades and salaried workforce needed to launch and sustain FCA’s new plant.  Due to the high demand for workers with credentials, FCA anticipates that recruitment for these positions will likely require a timeframe extending well into 2020 to reach full capacity.
   
  As a result of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s grant contributions and partnerships towards the investment of FCA, in January 2020 the Michigan Economic Development Corporation was awarded Business Facilities’ (magazine) 2019 Deal of the Year Gold Award for FCA’s expansion.   This project includes a total investment of $4.5 billion for a new state-of-the-art Jeep assembly plant in Detroit , and five existing Michigan facilities that will enjoy expanded production and the ability to build fully battery electric models in the future.  It is anticipated that this will bring more than 15,000 direct and indirect new jobs to that region of the next three decades.  This generational project represents the largest automotive assembly plant deal in the U.S. in a decade and is the first new automotive assembly plant in Detroit in more than 30 years.
   
• Integrated Education and Training - The LEO-WD has allocated funding to support Integrated Education and Training (IET) programs that have already been developed by adult education providers and/or that will be developed jointly by our local MWAs and adult education providers.  The intent of IET programming in Michigan is for WIOA Title II adult education providers to partner with a local MWA and/or an existing training provider to co-enroll participants in WIOA Title I and Title II services, when appropriate.  The IET program must be part of a regionally or locally defined career pathway.  The IET program must include three required components – (1) adult education and literacy activities,
  (2) workforce preparation activities, and (3) occupational training.  The three required components must occur simultaneously within the overall scope of the IET program and must each be of sufficient intensity and quality.

• Career and Education Advisory Councils (CEACs) – CEACs connect employers and educators with technical assistance to build career training programs.  They bring education and business together by establishing a formal entity and mechanism to build and maintain a collaborative partnership with local school districts, employers, post-secondary institutions, advocates, and training centers to identify significant talent needs in a community and collectively develop and implement training strategies to effectively meet employers’ talent needs.  It provides local guidance to the local areas Workforce Development Boards. 
   
• Career Pathways - The LEO-WD has provided and will continue to develop career pathways for every learner to access a combination of high-quality education, training and other services that leads to recognized credential(s) and prepares an individual to be successful in a high-wage, self-sustaining career to build a skilled workforce.   This includes sharing career pathway resources and necessary guidance to local providers to assist in the development of career pathways in each region and across the state. 

All core programs are responsible for coordination of activities to ensure a skilled workforce and to address the development, retention, attraction, and matching of Michigan’s talent base while addressing the needs of both Michigan’s employers and job seekers.  The State’s economic, workforce, and workforce development activities included in this plan identified several populations who face significant barriers to employment and are in need of assistance in order to achieve educational and employment success.  The State is employing several strategies to address the needs of these populations.  Examples of strategies to address special populations include:

 Individuals with Barriers to Employment

The State is dedicating a portion of its discretionary dollars to support innovative pilot projects to address the needs of individuals with barriers to employment as well as examining opportunities where clarification of existing guidance is needed in order to remove perceived barriers to serving those populations.

 The State allocates funding to support Refugee and Immigration Navigators.  Refugee and Immigration Navigators are housed in the Michigan Works! One-Stop centers to provide support and resources to the influx of immigrants and other persons granted legal authorization to work in the United States from distressed locations outside of North America.  

The Partnership.Accountability.Training.Hope. (PATH) program provides efforts to reduce recidivism in the returning citizen population, and rigorous program evaluation represents an important opportunity to improve the effectiveness of programs across state government. 

The State is taking advantage of adult education programs, specifically Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education (IELCE) programs under Section 243 of Title II to create programs that meet the unique needs of the large English language learner population.  Adult education providers are familiar with the population served in their programs which can include migrant seasonal farm workers, university faculty with professional degrees in their home country, wives of auto industry executives, and refugees from war torn countries.  The workforce needs and appropriate workforce training program(s) vary drastically depending on the adult learners, so the development of IELCE is specific to the needs of the local area. 

The United States Department of Education awards Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21^st Century Act (Perkins V) funds to Michigan to support career and technical education programs.  The awards to secondary and post-secondary institutions are to improve opportunities and the needs of individuals with barriers to employment (special populations), such as: 

• Individuals with disabilities.
   
• Individuals from economically disadvantaged families, including low-income youth and adults.
   
• Individuals preparing for non-traditional field.
   
• Single parents, including single pregnant women.
   
• Out-of-workforce individuals.
   
• English learners.
   
• Homeless individuals described in Section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a).
   
• Youth who are in, or have aged out of, the foster care system.
   
• Youth with a parent who:

• Is a member of the armed forces (as such term is defined in section 101(a)(4) of title 10, United States Code); and
• Is on active duty (as such term is defined in section 101(d) (1) of such title).

 Further, LEO collaborates with the Michigan Occupational Special Populations Association to inform members and the community of the requirements of the Perkins Legislation and assist in its implementation at the secondary and post-secondary levels.  These efforts ensure that the needs of special population students are well served and strategies to reduce perceived barriers are addressed when serving these populations.

 Individuals with Disabilities

For purposes of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program and similar to basic career services, individualized career services may encompass some of the activities authorized under

34 CFR 361.48(b), which may be provided under an individualized plan for employment for an eligible individual with a disability (e.g., vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance, vocational and other training services, and rehabilitation technology).

 Michigan Hidden Talent Workshop (MiHTW).  Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS), in partnership with the Small Business Association of Michigan, has jointly created a blueprint for government and business to work together towards workforce solutions.  Best practices and outlined steps have been put in place to increase the employment and retention of individuals with disabilities.  MiHTW is a strategy the State has implemented for four years to educate businesses and community partners about the abilities of individuals with disabilities and how to intentionally develop business plans that tap into this hidden talent pool while also retaining valued employees who may acquire a disability.

 Recognizing the skills, opportunities, and unique barriers for Michiganders with disabilities, VR will continue to lead, invest and participate in initiatives to connect these individuals to businesses who are ready to hire including those who are seeking to retain a valued workforce.

 Employment First.  Executive Order 2015-15 established Employment First in Michigan.  It sets forth a mission to establish the expectation and promote opportunities for all working-age individuals with disabilities in Michigan to gain competitive employment within an integrated setting, with or without supports, and to engage businesses and organizations that value the contributions of employees with disabilities

 Talent Acquisition Portal (TAP).  TAP is an online system which includes a national talent pool of individuals with disabilities looking for employment and a job posting system for businesses looking to hire.  TAP was developed in response to the need and demand of businesses who needed access to a centralized talent pool of individuals with disabilities, but who also needed the ability to connect to support at the local, state, and national level.  Businesses with multi state footprints can benefit from posting jobs to one place that reaches across the country and have one place to connect to support of the National Employment Team who offer support services around disability employment.

 Youth/Young Adults

Summer Young Professionals Program.  Michigan’s statewide summer young adult employment program pilot for 2020.  The Summer Young Professionals Program aligns with the WIOA in support of an increased focus on work experience for youth and envisions a public-private partnership designed to reduce youth unemployment by introducing under-represented young adults ages 14-24 to the world of work while providing participants and their families with income.  Combined services will place young adults on the right path to gain the skills necessary to achieve life-long economic self-sufficiency.

 Local MWAs hold Talent Tours and Career Expos that introduce youth, parents, and teachers to available careers in their region by offering a look behind-the-scenes into high-demand businesses and industries.  These opportunities help students connect both work and learning through engagement with people, ideas, and things.  Impacts include relationship building, developing demand-driven talent, talent retention, and the opportunity to comprehend real-life application of coursework.  The MWAs facilitate relationship building between educational partners and businesses.  Businesses define roles, skills, and training expectations via short presentations and hands-on experiences.

 Jobs for Michigan’s Graduates (JMG).  The JMG program equips youth with the skills to overcome their barriers and win in education, employment, and as citizens.  As the state affiliate of the national Jobs for America’s Graduates organization, the programming has 40 years of demonstrated outcomes in ensuring our country’s most at-risk youth graduate from high school, enter post-secondary education, and/or transition into meaningful employment. The JMG specialists deliver engaging and outcomes-based services to youth, giving them a reason to stay in or return to school.  Core program components include competency education, leadership development, mentoring, post-secondary education and training placement, and follow-up services.  JMG has proven a strong complement to WIOA Youth programming, providing a service delivery model that drives positive outcomes for Michigan’s most in-need youth. 

 Based on our economic and workforce analysis, LEO is employing several strategies to collaborate with employers, MWAs, other State agencies, economic development, education and training providers along with other partners.  Examples of these strategies include: 

• Michigan Industry Cluster Approach 2.0 is a framework in which many employers within a single industry jointly engage with the workforce system to identify their demand and challenges.  In this approach, talent issues may be handled more efficiently though multi-company, industry-focused employment and training programs.  As industry clusters are established, the focus shifts emphasis on talent issues to an industry basis, rather than working with a single employer at a time.  Regionally, partners including but not limited to, MWAs, business associations, and non-profits convene employers along with education providers, economic development organizations and other groups associated with workforce development to solve talent challenges.  Local clusters, formed based on local needs, are led by industry.  The hub of the cluster is a service provider which researches information about jobs in demand, skill gaps, training needs, job seeker screening factors, and other related issues.  The State’s key clusters are Agriculture, Business, Construction, Energy, Health Care, Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Mobility. 

Using the Michigan Industry Cluster Approach (MICA), the LEO-WD Sector Strategies Team supports a demand-driven workforce development system that provides workforce training and services that meet the needs of targeted industry sectors and employers.  The Sector Strategies Team is comprised of seven Talent Development Liaisons (TDLs) and one Administrative Manager.  Each TDL serves as a subject matter expert for a specific industry sector and provides statewide sector specific technical assistance.  The TDLs serve as connectors, coordinators, and conveners to ensure employers and educators develop strong partnerships regardless of which partner, or organization, they engage with initially.  The Sector Strategies Team provides a platform for Michigan employers that enables them to connect with local, regional and state talent programs, resources and opportunities.  

• Work-Based Learning – The LEO’s work-based learning efforts align and leverage resources and cultivate partnerships to meet industry-driven demands related to workforce skills gaps.  Employers, Michigan’s workforce development system partners, and other stakeholders are actively engaged to achieve industry-driven talent goals and objectives.  Technical and advanced worker skills gaps are addressed through: 
  • Community College Skilled Trades Equipment Program  (CCSTEP) provides funding that enables Michigan community colleges to purchase equipment required for educational programs in high-wage, high-skill, and in-demand occupations as identified by regional labor market conditions that build and retain a talented workforce in the state.  CCSTEP requires collaboration with employers, community colleges, and school districts as well as a detailed plan on how the funding will help meet employer’s job needs.
  • Registered Apprenticeships (RAs) are a strategic approach to creating a pipeline of professional workers through work-based learning.  The training model combines job related, classroom-based learning, with paid on-the-job training in high-skill, high-wage, in-demand industry occupations.  RAs have benefits for employers, apprentices and our economy.  RA efforts help to provide career paths to high-skilled, high-wage jobs in industries such as Agriculture, Construction, Energy, Health Care, Information Technology, and Manufacturing for Michigan residents, including underrepresented populations, youth, women, ethnic minority communities, Native Americans, persons with disabilities, and veterans.  
  • Going PRO Talent Fund.  The Going PRO Talent Fund (Talent Fund) makes awards to employers to assist in training, developing and retaining current and newly hired employees.  Training funded by the Talent Fund must be short-term and fill a demonstrated talent need experienced by the employer.  Training must lead to a credential for a skill that is transferable and recognized by industry.  Funds are awarded to employers through the MWAs.  The MWA Business Services staff conduct fact-finding sessions with employers to assess their talent skill gaps, suitable training providers, and availability of federal funding sources.  The MWA Business Services staff then determines whether Talent Fund awards are appropriate to help close the skills gap, and grant employers access to a convenient new online application submission process. 
• Michigan Career Readiness Initiative encompasses four key objectives toward Michigan’s goals and strategies.  The four key objectives are: 
  • Employer Engagement - Establish employer-driven processes informed by real-time, projected, and other labor market information (LMI) to determine high-skill, high-wage in-demand industry sectors or occupations with which career pathways and their associated credentials must be aligned.
     
  • Rigor and Quality in Scaled Career Pathways that Culminate in Credentials of Value for all Students - Use policy and funding levers to improve the quality and rigor of career pathways that span secondary and post-secondary, offer career development (including guidance and advisement), blend rigorous and engaging core academic and career-technical instruction, include high-quality work-based learning experiences, and culminate in post-secondary or industry credentials of value—including scaling down or phasing out those that don’t lead to credentials with labor market value – and make those pathways widely available to and accessed by all students in all secondary settings, especially in underserved populations.
     
  • Career-Focused Accountability Systems - Incorporate robust career-focused indicators in state K-12 accountability systems that measure and value successful completion of high-quality career pathways, attainment of credentials with labor market value, participation in work-based learning, and enrollment in
    post-secondary education or apprenticeships. 
     
  • Align State and Federal Funding Streams - Reorganize and intentionally align state and federal funding streams from education, workforce development, and economic development sources to effectively deliver career-focused programs to all students. 
• Wagner-Peyser Employment Service (ES) funding for American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Experience for Hire Events - Experience for Hire Events are a partnership between the MWAs, the LEO-WD, and the AARP.  The events are targeted toward individuals over age 50 and cannot be considered a typical job fair.  The uniqueness of the Experience for Hire Events is that potential employee/employer matches occur prior to the physical event.  Employers and job seekers respond to a questionnaire and based upon those completed questionnaires, a “match” occurs.  The job seeker is given an appointment time to meet with a specific employer(s) during the event. 
• Finally, with LEO joining the efforts of workforce development and the Unemployment Insurance (UI), to integrate new workers into the economy, and help those workers that have been in or out of the workforce transition into new jobs.  The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) program provides customized services to UI claimants deemed most likely to exhaust their UI benefits.  Early intervention with a proactive approach should result in retuning the unemployed back to work sooner.  Only claimants referred from the UI may receive services through the RESEA program. 

2. Based on our economic and workforce analysis, core program partners at the State level have employed several strategies to achieve the State’s vision and goals as mentioned under the “State Strategy” section that provided the strategies the State will implement in Section (a) above.  Strategies the State will utilize to align core programs and any combined state plan partner programs are: 

• Identify commonality between workforce core program partners and the economic efforts shared collectively to identify the measurement of success throughout regions and the state.  Implement co-enrollment, data sharing and shared credential attainment, as appropriate. 
• Continued progress to integrate the Eligible Training Provider List (Michigan Training Connect [MiTC]) with the One-Stop Management Information System (OSMIS) to share performance data across systems.  The MiTC is in house and is embedded into the Pure Michigan Talent Connect website.  Pathfinder, which uses current labor market information, longitudinal wage data and other institutional data and metrics to allow improved skills matching to careers and jobs is also embedded.  The Workforce Longitudinal Data System allows Michigan to collect educational program data to track the achievement of students and workers from training into the workforce.  Integration with OSMIS will create consistency across systems to meet Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) performance requirements. 
• Improving acute talent shortages with talent matching/employer connections through our network of 16 Michigan Works! Agencies (MWAs), Labor Market Information, and the Pure Michigan Talent Connect website to allow better matching of skills with job openings. 
• Attracting and retaining talent by providing support to employers through a demand-driven industry cluster strategies approach.  The Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has implemented a number of initiatives as part of our approach.
• Developing existing and new talent by focusing on obtainment of educational certificate, industry recognized credentials or degrees, in conjunction with training or retraining of Michigan’s workforce to meet employer-identified needs by providing competitive awards for employer-responsive training that enhances talent, productivity and employment retention, while increasing the quality and competitiveness of Michigan’s businesses.
• Addressing talent based job creation and entrepreneurship for hard to serve populations through implementing many statewide support structures.
• Continued improvement of professional development for State workforce system employees and MWA staff through capacity building, such as professional development for internal and external partners and cross-agency training for increased knowledge of core partner programs to create a more unified system approach.
• Opportunities for consistency in service delivery strategies to establish additional outreach to rural areas and the capacity for more virtual services and on-line tools and resources.  This affords customers to more easily navigate services within the system and consistency around elements of the service delivery strategies.   
• There has been significant progress around the sharing of data between the Michigan Adult Education Reporting System (MAERS) and the One-Stop Management Information System (OSMIS).  MAERS is housed within OSMIS although there are firewalls that currently prevent sharing data across systems.  The Data and Performance Reporting unit within the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity oversees both MAERS and OSMIS which has resulted in more discussions about sharing data and creating consistency across both systems as changes were made to meet WIOA performance reporting requirements.  The same team of programmers support MAERS and OSMIS systems, so the programmers have extensive knowledge about data collection and reporting requirements for Titles I and II, which has been extremely helpful.  There have been on-going discussions around creating view only access across systems for more effective service delivery and performance reporting, and options for implementation are being considered. 
• Addressing recession planning process development to minimize the impact of individuals who are susceptible to layoff to assist them to enter reemployment quickly. 

 Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) – Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP)

 To align with the vision and goals of the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) and the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) exercise the following strategies: 

• MRS employs Business Relations Consultants who deliver services to business as VRs other customer.  The Business Relations Consultants serve as the “one point of contact” in business relationships for the agency.  Their responsibilities are strictly aligned with the business customer and strengthen relationships with core partners within Michigan’s planning regions.
   
• In order to develop a pipeline of talent to meet the demand-driven economy for the business community, each MRS District Office has a Business Representative who works in partnership with the Business Relations Consultant.  The consultant provides Labor Market Information and other relevant industry/business trends, recruitment needs, internship and apprenticeship information, requests, and needed local support to the District Business Representative in order to better streamline talent to the business community.
   
• MRS uses a web-based customer relations management software system called Michigan Business Resource System to track business account activity.  MRS is able to share components of this system with core partners for accurate tracking and performance reporting. 
   
• MRS and BSBP continue to support on a state-wide basis the State of Michigan departments with recruitment and employee retention services, including but not limited to behavior-based interview preparation, return-to-work strategies to assist employees who have been absent due to injury or illness, and for employees and supervisors seeking assistance with reasonable accommodation requests. 
   
• MRS and BSBP continue to support Project SEARCH in Michigan, including state government.  The Project SEARCH Transition-to-Work Program is a unique, business-led, one-year employment preparation program that takes place entirely at the workplace.  Total workplace immersion facilitates a seamless combination of classroom instruction, career exploration, and hands-on training through worksite rotations. The program culminates in individualized job development/placement. 
   
• MRS and BSBP collaborate in providing disability sensitivity training to front-line Michigan Works! staff and ADA Architectural Guidelines evaluations.
   
• BSBP provides education and training to business partners on reasonable accommodations for individuals who are blind. 
   
• BSBP will continue to educate and engage with the One Stop centers on employment strategies for persons who are blind and visually impaired.   
   
• BSBP works with the One Stop centers to provide VR services to students and youth who are blind and visually impaired.
   
• The BSBP does not have a business services unit as our VR partner MRS has; however, the bureau embraces strategies which allow VR counselors to focus on the connection with business. 
   
• MRS and BSBP are working with the core programs to develop a joint vision for the Workforce Development System that is inclusive of individuals with disabilities.  An executed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is in place with MRS, BSBP, Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Administration, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, and Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council. The MOU is focused on interagency coordination to assist students with disabilities in achieving competitive integrated employment.