Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

Indiana VR and key partners continue to build a collaborative infrastructure for purpose of streamlined transition of students with disabilities from school to the receipt of VR services, including pre-employment transition services. Ongoing Indiana initiatives and WIOA requirements are aligned for VR to coordinate with Education officials and other key partners (e.g., Department of Workforce Development) to identify the best methods for providing successful transition services to students. Serving transition-aged students continues to be a priority for VR, even more so with the advent of WIOA and pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS). Through the efforts of VR’s dedicated transition staff, the Director of Youth Services and the Coordinator of Youth Services, VR continues to expand pre-ETS to counties and schools statewide, with education to key stakeholders being a major part of this expansion. This includes VR staff and contractors providing pre-ETS across the state, as well as outreach and education to students, parents, educators, and others. This education and outreach serves not only to educate about pre-ETS requirements and availability, but also to quell misconceptions about services. This training has included face-to-face meetings with pre-ETS contractors for the purpose of sharing resources, expectations, accomplishments, etc., as well as webinars to VR staff, parents, and educators, presentations to local school systems and transition cadres, and providing ongoing updates to the statewide VR Transition Advisory Council. The focus of much of this outreach has been to aid in understanding of how pre-ETS is being made available to students with disabilities across the state, VR’s plans for continued expansion, and to respond to any misunderstandings or concerns individuals may have. VR developed training briefs for VR staff to help them understand the impact of Order of Selection on pre-ETS. Additional written materials are in development for educators and parents, which will be distributed to school systems courtesy of the Department of Education (DOE). VR, in collaboration with DOE, established a Statewide Transition Advisory Council to identify and address the barriers that continue to impact students, and develop and implement strategies and services to make the transition successful for students and youth with disabilities. The Transition Advisory Council established a work plan based upon the Transition to Careers Subcommittee Chapter recommendations (one of the four created by the full Transition Advisory Committee on Increasing Competitive Integrated Employment for Individuals with Disabilities (ACICIEID)). The Statewide Transition Advisory Council includes representation from a wide range of key partners and stakeholders, including the following: VR, DOE, local educational agencies’ school personnel and administrators, Indiana Council of Administrators of Special Education (ICASE), the Bureau of Developmental Disability Services (BDDS), the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), Department of Corrections, Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Education (CDHHE), Community Mental Health Centers, First Steps, Indiana Association of People Supporting Employment First (INAPSE), Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (INARF), Indiana Institute of Disability and Community (IIDC), parent representation, the Arc of Indiana, INSOURCE, and other family advocacy groups. As of December, 2017, progress from the work plan touched on all 5 of the goals identified by the group: early work experience, postsecondary education, family expectations, system integration, seamless transition, and professional supports and incentives. These accomplishments included over 61,000 early work experiences being provided to students with disabilities statewide, over 3,000 sessions related to education on postsecondary options provided to students with disabilities, outreach to families and educators related to transition expectations through webinars and in-person trainings sponsored by IN*Source, About Special Kids, and local transition cadres, training to pre-ETS providers on supplementing rather than supplanting training available through local education agencies to ensure seamless transition and system integration, as well as discussion of appropriate qualifications for transition providers. VR works closely with IIDC at IU on several transition-related priorities. IIDC promotes partnerships between Indiana schools and various state agencies and other support organizations. IIDC’s focus is on career development, secondary education, and transition to adult life. As part of the need to establish an infrastructure and ensure sustainability of transition services, including pre-ETS, VR works with the existing Transition Cadres in Indiana. Established in 2011 and dedicated to improving secondary transition outcomes for students, a network of Transition Cadres throughout Indiana (funded by DOE) is working collaborative, both regionally and statewide. The efforts are focused on implementing promising practices and creating innovative strategies, tools, and resources for teachers and other transition professionals. VR has provided training on VR and its services to the Cadres and is attending the regularly scheduled cadre meetings to continue the joint collaboration. For more information please see: http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/cadre-leaders. In coordination with IIDC, VR developed written informational materials for educators and students. Three VR fact sheets, entitled “Working with Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation” are in the process of being updated to include information on pre-ETS, order of selection, and other programmatic updates. The fact sheets provide resources for students, teachers, and families about VR at students’ Transition IEP meetings. Another important informational and educational tool that was created to improve outreach and education about VR is the “Working with Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation” Video. This video provides a quick 5 minute overview of VR in an entertaining manner in hopes to provide a unique mode of educating transition-aged students and families. (Video may be viewed at www.vrs.in.gov.) VR has counselors assigned to each school for outreach and education to teachers, students, and parents. These VR counselors collaborate with the school staff to enable a seamless transition to life after high school. The goal for each student is for a VR application to be completed, and, for eligible consumers who are being served, to have an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) in place, before exiting high school. LEA’s and VR confer at least one time per year to identify students who may require VR services. VR Counselors are invited to IEP meetings and make it a priority to attend when schedules permit. VR counselors and/or area supervisors are also involved in local transition councils if they exist in the community. Councils are made up of local stakeholders who are involved in the transition from school to work and adult life. Councils could include students/family, school personnel, service providers, etc. In addition, VR is responsible for providing written information to students and their families regarding adult services.