Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the State Rehabilitation Council maintain open lines of communication. The DVR Director and Deputy Director participate in SRC meetings. The Director reports key activities to the SRC as a regular agenda item at each meeting. The SRC is kept abreast of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act as it relates to new performance standards and the combined state plan with the DET and WDB. The SRC frequently designates a representative to participate in the state budget process for DVR, attending the DOL Budget Hearings with the Office of Management and Budget and the Delaware Legislature’s budget hearings before the Joint Finance Committee. The State Rehabilitation Council is invited to comment on the state plan as part of the annual plan development process. The SRC recommendations for DVR policy and program improvements to be reflected in the combined state plan are received during the annual Effectiveness Evaluation, and delineated below. At the February meeting of the SRC, the membership was presented with copies of the Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment results (in advance of the meeting). Subsequent to looking at and discussing the results and to receiving other programmatic updates, the SRC was asked to provide written input and recommendations. The format for their written input had been updated to reflect the priorities in WIOA. The SRC comments related to the effectiveness of DVR in reference to the goals and priorities identified on a scale of 1=low and 5=high are as follows: Goal 1: Provide quality employment outcome for people with disabilities.

Builds Relationships with Business 3.642857 Employment Outcomes for Consumers with Significant Barriers to Employment 3.5

Services support Financial Independence 3.307692

Access to Services is Non-Discriminatory 4

Comments: • I feel that in Kent County we have a limited number of business relationships-especially when working with outside employment specialist agencies • This is an area that DVR excels in, especially with the focus on career pathways and credentials. Continue to focus of adults with disabilities as opposed to Pre-ETS and transition. • DVR promotes Pre-ETS and WBL (work-based learning) opportunities but it’s difficult for family to know this if school/education is your only communication pathway. • DVR needs to strengthen its relationship with businesses that wish to provide employment with individuals with disabilities.

Goal 2: Support training programs that reflect opportunities in the labor market.

Helps consumers to focus on their Career Pathways 3.285714

Appropriate Training Opportunities leading to Business-Recognized Credentials 3.357143

Coordination with WIOA Partners 3.428571

Comments: • We work well as an agency to inform each other of training programs available for a specific skill set. • DVR adapts programming to meet current trends and business needs. • Project SEARCH is awesome, but schools don’t share this information. • Training programs that are more closely aligned with labor market’s needs need to be implemented.

GOAL 3: Expand opportunities for students to transition from school to work.

Quality of Pre-Employment Transition Services 3.142857

Quality of Transition Services 3.214286

Coordination with Partners (e.g. DOE & DDDS) 3.642857

Comments: • Coordination with Partners: Although have many examples of working with these other agencies, somehow the relationship/partnership links are not strong enough or don’t come across in a cohesive way. Consumers are often confused as to where to go for help. • In my three years with DVR transition I have seen many improvements. I would like to find a way to connect better especially with DDDS to coordinate services for high school students. • We don’t serve 9th, 10th, 11th graders and we need to. • Services are evolving. • Leadership in DOE: do they support transition…or do they believe transition is only a systems change. Pre-ETS are fantastic if educators are sharing this valuable information. • Additional transition programs and more outreach need to be implemented.

Other Comments: • A flowchart or map of the system/process with all the community partners would be very helpful. • I would love to see better options for job seeking (agencies that contract with DVR). I feel the current services are redundant and dull. • DVR needs to get out into the community more specifically by encouraging businesses and schools.