Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan* must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by WIOA:
__________
* Sec. 102(b)(D)(iii) of WIOA
- d. Coordination with Education Officials
- 2. Information on the Formal Interagency Agreement with the State Educational Agency with Respect To:
- O. State's StrategiesDescribe the required strategies and how the agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities, support innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to accessing the VR and the Supported Employment programs (See sections 101(a)(15)(D) and (18)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)):
- O. State's Strategies
- 2. Information on the Formal Interagency Agreement with the State Educational Agency with Respect To:
- d. Coordination with Education Officials
d. 2. O. viii. III. Overcome Identified Barriers Relating to Equitable Access to and Participation of Individuals with Disabilities in the State Vr Services Program and the State Supported Employment Services Program.
Current Narrative:
The CDOR’s policy is to serve all qualified individuals with a disability without discrimination based on their protected status, including: physical or mental disability, age, sex, color, ethnic group, race, national origin, ancestry, religion, medical condition, sexual orientation, or marital status. Through CDOR’s Comprehensive Statewide Assessment, potential barriers and strategies identified in the response for Description (j) — Statewide Assessment.
• The need for closer coordination, cross referrals, and cross-training between CDOR VRSD teams, CRPs, and WIOA program partners.
• Awareness of VR services and benefits of receiving services, particularly Hispanic and Latino youth and students with disabilities.
• The need to increase communication with schools and parents about CDOR services.
In compliance with Section 427 of the U.S. Department of Education’s General Education Provisions Act, CDOR continuously plans to identify and provide services to individuals with disabilities to ensure equitable access to and participation in VR and Supported Employment services. As outlined in the strategies described above and the recommendations in Description (j) — Statewide Assessment, to overcome identified barriers and ensure equal access to all individuals with disabilities, CDOR will:
• Undertake capacity building of internal resources, vendors, and of WIOA program partners through cross training, entering into more formalized partnerships, establishing more regular communication opportunities, and developing systems for sharing data.
• Conduct outreach through a variety of modalities and languages, directly and indirectly through program partners, while continuously assessing which communities continue to be unserved or underserved.
• Conduct assessments, provide training, establish new partnerships, and develop new services with the aim of addressing the Pre—Employment Transition Services needs of students with disabilities and transition services needs of youth with disabilities.