Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

OUTREACH PROCEDURES The agency has made significant efforts over the past four years to identify and work with the most significantly disabled. The agency developed an instrument to determine who are the most significantly disabled of applicants for services. This is known as the Functional Limitation Priority Assessment tool (FLPA). During the eligibility determination process VR Counselors answer specific questions about various limitations that consumer has and then a score is derived which will indicate if a consumer is most significantly disabled, very significantly disabled, significantly disabled, or disabled.

The agency has developed and continues to improve a system of business intelligence dashboards that provide a graphic view of caseload data for the VR Counselors and Field Supervisors. The VR Counselors and VR Field Supervisors can review this data to determine the number of most significantly disabled individuals being served and successfully rehabilitated. These dashboards are also use to monitor demographic information and this information can in turn be used to address unserved and underserved populations to include minorities and people with the most significant disabilities.

The agency recognizes the need to identify and serve the emerging Hispanic population in Alabama. Census data shows the Hispanic population in Alabama has grown by 144% since the 2000 Census. The agency has established an account with language Line Solutions to provide interpreting on a real time basis so staff can converse with non—English speaking consumers and minimize any language barriers. The agency will contact various agencies serving Hispanics throughout the state, explain agency services, provide referral materials, and contact information. We will also maintain data on the number of Hispanics served to monitor progress on this issue.

The agency recognizes the need to identify and serve American Indians residing in the state through partnerships with other service provider, the State of Alabama Indian Affairs Commission, and tribal governments.

The agency will continue its active involvement in the One—Stop Career Center system involving deaf consumers. The agency is completing a Video Interpreting system that will allow consumers who is deaf to contact potential employers directly. ADRS continues it’s strong working relationship with Troy University and their Interpreter Training Program. Our Staff interpreters help mentor Troy students as they progress through the program. This will increase the supply of interpreters and eventually mean more support for deaf consumers. In conjunction with this, the agency is attempting to establish a "professional trainee" position. These students would occupy these positions for one year, then transition into employment with the agency. The agency will continue its activities through the interagency agreement that has been established with higher education institutions throughout the state. This agreement delineates the specific responsibilities of the agency and that of each institution of higher education for individuals who are deaf. The agency will utilize the Deaf Advisory Committee to help shape ADRS policy in terms of service provision to the deaf community. The Committee also serves as an advocate to legislators and other state officials and is a subcommittee of the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC). College prep for the deaf will be conducted at two university campuses: Troy University and Jacksonville State University. An ACT prep is hosted at Auburn University, and Career Exploration is housed at the University of Alabama.

The agency maintains an excellent service delivery system to consumers who are blind or have low vision. This service delivery system includes a network of Rehabilitation Counselors specializing in blindness, Vision Rehabilitation Therapists, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, Assistive Technology Specialists, Pre-Employment Transition Specialists, and Vision Rehabilitation Assistants who provide a wide range of services to individuals who are blind or have low vision. Additionally, there is a State Coordinator of Blind Services who oversees these services. ADRS Blind Services annually partners with the Alabama School for the Blind Alumni Workers Association and the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind to provide a statewide Technology Symposium. During the symposium, blindness professionals conduct training sessions related to activities of daily living, independence, recreation, and employment for staff members, Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVI’s), school administrators, and consumers and their families. Vendors are also on hand to showcase, demonstrate, and offer for sale the latest and greatest, cutting edge assistive technology devices. ADRS, in Partnership with the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, offers a Summer Work Experience Program. During the summer, students who are in high school or college have the opportunity to participate in this program. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, Business Relations Consultants, Job Coaches, and Pre-Employment Transition Specialists partner with local businesses to provide students with a paid work experience. Students who participate in the Summer Work Program can work up to six weeks, a maximum of 40 hours a week, and earn a minimum wage salary which is paid out of counselors’ case services budgets. The goal of this program is to offer students who are blind or have low vision a real world work experience. ADRS, in partnership with the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind and Central Alabama Community College, offers a Dual Enrollment Program. The Dual Enrollment Program is a comprehensive approach which provides a support system for students who are blind or have low vision or deaf or hard of hearing who are interested in earning a college degree. This Dual Enrollment Program involves the campuses of the Alabama School for the Deaf, the Alabama School for the Blind, and the EH Gentry Rehabilitation Facility. Students can attend classes on various Central Alabama Community College campuses. The goal of this program is to provide students with the appropriate assistance to ensure college success. ADRS Blind Services, in partnership with AIDB Regional Centers, presents four Transition Day Events annually. All events are held on college campuses. The target age is high school students, grades 9 through 12. The goal of the Transition Day Events is to equip students and parents for life after high school; whether for attending a training program, college, or work. ADRS Blind Services, in partnership with E. H. Gentry and the National Statler Center in Buffalo, New York, have established a distance learning training program. The program’s focus is to train consumers who are blind or have low vision in the areas of telecommunications or hospitality. The students attend classes at E. H. Gentry with online instruction provided by the National Statler Center; local support comes from Gentry Assistive Technology Instructors. Students must also travel to Buffalo for three weeks of onsite training before completing the program. The goal of the program is to train consumers in job classifications in which they can work from home. A work from home job eliminates the transportation barrier to employment for people who are blind or have low vision. ADRS Blind Services, in partnership with the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind, Alabama Industrial Development Training, the Alabama Department of Commerce, and Auburn University, offers a College Preparatory Program called College Quest. This program targets students who are blind or have low vision, are 16 years old or approaching their junior year of high school, and have demonstrated the ability to earn a college degree. The program is held on the Auburn University main campus and runs for two weeks during the summer. The program addresses deficits that could prevent students from being successful in college. The areas of focus are: assistive technology, independent living, orientation and mobility, vocational rehabilitation, student advisement, and team building. The goal of College Quest is to eliminate the gap year(s) that exist for many students who are blind or visually impaired between high school and college. This gap is due to students not being prepared to enter college upon graduation from high school. College Quest will ensure that students have the skills and confidence to live away from home and manage their needs while taking classes.

The agency will increase its services to disabled veterans as an underserved disability group. The agency is participating on a Governor’s task force, the Alabama Veterans Network (AlaVetNet), to improve services to disabled veterans. The task force has brought together a wide variety of agencies that have services to offer veterans, including those with disabilities. The agency will continue to foster our relationships with the rehabilitation counselors employed by the Veterans Administration in an effort to make contact with disabled veterans. The agency counselors will receive referrals on veterans and initiate the vocational rehabilitation process to assist them with entering into employment. The agency will maintain a state office position related to serving veterans, some of the duties of which will include the oversight of veteran referrals and the monitoring of their progress through the VR process. The agency receives referrals from an organization in Huntsville, Alabama known as Still Serving Veterans. This organization assists veterans in returning to civilian life. The agency works cooperatively in processing referrals to assist veterans who may need employment services. The agency will continue to work with the Veterans Administration in Montgomery, Alabama to formalize the referral process referenced above.

The agency has an active program in serving individuals with traumatic brain injury. The agency has a staff person who oversees various activities related to traumatic brain injury and secures/directs traumatic brain injury grants. The agency has a task force related to brain injury. It includes members of various social service organizations who have contact with individuals who have traumatic brain injury. This organization meets on a quarterly basis for the exchange of information which will benefit services to individuals with traumatic brain injury. The agency has a network of TBI care coordinators located strategically throughout the state. The role of the care coordinator is to receive the initial referral of someone with a brain injury, then provide counsel and assist the individual and family in accessing the state’s network of services for persons with TBI. This includes services of the agency and services of other agencies. Alabama has two specialty caseloads in Mobile and Birmingham dedicated to serving individuals with TBI. These two counselors also serve as a resource to other counselors in the stat who may receive a TBI referral.

Program data support the conclusion that VR services are made available equitably across all areas of the state. Representative diversity among minority populations can be demonstrated in terms of outreach, eligibility and program outcomes. While rates of disability and unemployment are higher among minorities in Alabama, so too is VR program participation among those same minority groups. For example, whereas Alabama’s African American population comprises 27% of the total populous, African Americans make up 45% of those participating in VR services over the last three fiscal years. Nevertheless, efforts will continue at the local level to be sure that minorities are aware of agency services and programs. Furthermore, the agency employs a diversity & recruitment coordinator to ensure that we have a diverse staff to meet the varied needs of the consumers served by the agency. ADRS maintains a diversity plan that has been approved by the administration. This plan indicates strategies to hire minority staff to work within the agency. The agency conducts diversity training for all agency staff to address the needs of diverse consumers the agency serves. ADRS recognizes and has addressed statewide needs for contract interpreting services, particularly among individuals within the Hispanic population, but within other populations as well.

The following are efforts the agency is making to overcome barriers and provide equitable access to and participation in supported employment services: 1. The agency has a state specialist overseeing the expansion and effectiveness of the agency’s supported employment efforts. Two additional specialists have been hired to assist with the growth and expansion of supported employment in Alabama in the last 2 years. This growth includes eleven 11 project SEARCH sites, the continuation of the GATE Project, IPS SE for individuals with serious mental illness and co-occurring substance abuse, and expansion of the Connections program for individuals with Autism. We are currently collaborating with the LEAs and training rehabilitation transition counselors on provision of services to students at an earlier age while in the secondary setting. This should increase participation of students with more significant disabilities and provide those services earlier. We currently have jointly funded pre-ets specialists contracts with secondary education for students with most significant disabilities. ADRS will collaborate with local school systems to develop and implement a transition initiative; ensuring students who are appropriate for SE services have access to providers prior to their exit from high school. SE providers will be active in the local high schools to present information regarding their programs to parents, students and staff. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in community— based assessments before they exit school, to facilitate a seamless transition. Many students with most significant disabilities are participating in our summer JET program which includes work based learning emphasizing social skills acquisition, career exploration and paid work experience. 2. Training on Certificate Based Job Coach Training in collaboration with the Alabama Department of Mental Health, the Department of Education, and the Council for Developmental Disabilities, and Alabama APSE (Association of Persons Supporting Employment First), The Network on Employment continues. This training ensures consistency of service delivery for supported employment providers and provides access to the latest marketing and training techniques. Training is provided by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Workplace Supports. 3. The agency began four years ago with two Project SEARCH sites. We currently have eleven (11) sites, and we expect this program to continue to grow. These sites provide real life internships embedded in businesses that lead to competitive integrated employment. We currently have over 100 participants in Project SEARCH. Many of the students qualify for SE services and some sites have as many as 70% qualifying for waiver services for extended supports. Several of our Project SEARCH sites serve individuals with autism and work to address behavioral issues that negatively impact employment, and interpersonal skills necessary in today’s work place. Many of these students are employed in highly skilled areas such as medical records and the hospital pharmacy. 4. ADRS continues to work cooperatively with Department of Mental Health to move consumers towards community—based employment from sheltered workshops. Many of the providers for ADMH that have traditionally supported day programs are vendors with ADRS for SE. We continue to work collaboratively on Employment First endeavors. Partners include: Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services, Alabama Department of Mental Health, Alabama State Department of Education, Alabama Medicaid, Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and the Alabama Department of Post—Secondary Education. These partners will continue to collaborate with human service agencies that work with people with disabilities and the workforce investment/development agencies to work together to support the concept of employment first. Additionally they are working to identify barriers relating to provision of services to those who require additional supports. 5. ADRS will collaborate with local school systems to ensure students who are appropriate for supported employment services have access to providers prior to their exit from high school. Supported employment providers will be active in the local high schools to present information regarding their programs and services to parents, students, and staff. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in work based learning and/or community—based assessments before they exit school in order to facilitate a seamless transition from school to employment. 6. Services to Individuals with Autism: Autism is an emerging disability with increasing numbers requesting services from the public rehabilitation program. This holds true for Alabama. VR staff have participated in several training programs during the current fiscal year related to autism. The agency will provide consultation to supported employment projects and CRPs who need technical assistance and support in serving this expanding population. This effort is intended to build capacity within our existing provider network. We have identified Triumph, Inc., a successful supported employment provider for individuals with autism, to serve as the consulting organization. Triumph continues as a vendor to provide supported employment services. Lakeshore Rehabilitation Facility hosts a Connections programs for students, youth and young adults with Autism. This year—long social skills training takes place in the classroom, but then is applied in real world settings in the community where classroom skills taught are then utilized. Nearing completion of the program the participants are referred to community— based rehabilitation programs for employment or supported employment based on their needs. We currently have three (3) Connections programs and will be adding our fourth site in August. The goal is expand this program throughout the state so that individuals and their parents will have access to this program. Many of the programs have a parent support group component that meets in conjunction with the Connections classes. 7.BENEFITS COUNSELING SERVICES: Traditionally, individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Insurance Income (SSI) have had the lowest employment rate as well as average wage. A primary factor contributing to this trend is the lack of accurate and timely benefits counseling services. Fear of losing cash and health care benefits due to misinformation or lack of information has traditionally prevented or deterred individuals from either entering employment or increasing wages. ADRS began received grant funds from the Social Security Administration in 2000. The initial program the Benefits Planning and Outreach (BPAO) program provided basic Information and referral services to SSDI and/or SSI beneficiaries and recipients. The BPAO program eventually expanded to include intensive and long term work incentive planning services in 2007—the Work Incentive Planning and Assistant (WIPA) program supported 2.5 staff serving 29 central and southern counties. A break in SSA funding for WIPA nationally in 2012. ADRS utilized SSA reimbursement funds to continue services to individuals in Alabama. When SSA funding returned nationally in 2015, ADRS and SSA entered into an agreement that utilizes joint funding to expand and continue WIPA benefits counseling services. This braided funding supports 6 SSA trained and certified benefits specialist providing services to all 67 counties. Benefits counselors provide both Information and Referral as well as intensive Work Incentive Counseling Services to all individuals receiving SSDI and or SSI. Counselors assist individuals with disabilities, their families and other team members in the development and maintenance of a variety of work incentives. Benefits counseling services are provided to all eligible individuals. Services are provided based on the Social Security Administrations (SSA) prioritization protocol. Highest priority is given to those individuals currently working or have job offers pending. Individuals actively seeking employment with specific vocational goals are served followed by those in the early information gathering contemplative phase of employment goal development. Additionally, ADRS places individuals served through either SEARCH or DISCOVERY in the top priority. Individual of the highest priority are provided full intensive work incentive planning services, while others receive Information and Referral Services. At present, ADRS and SSA are in year 3 of the joint funded WIPA benefits counseling program and has provided information and referral services to 3,627 individuals —786 have been referred for intensive long term work incentive benefits counseling services. Additionally, as a result of the expansion of the WIPA benefits counseling program, a cooperative program was developed with the Alabama Department of Mental Health in 2017 to support 5 additional benefits specialists specifically charged with serving individuals on the Intellectual Disabilities (ID) or the Living at Home (LAH) waivers. The staff supported by the ADRS DMH cooperative agreement are not bound to the SSA prioritization protocols and therefore, individuals in pre-vocational or contemplative phases of employment goal setting are all eligible for intensive work incentive planning as well as Information & Referral services.