Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan [13] must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA:
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[13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA
- c. Cooperative Agreements with Agencies Not Carrying Out Activities Under the Statewide Workforce Development System
Describe interagency cooperation with and utilization of the services and facilities of agencies and programs that are not carrying out activities through the statewide workforce development system with respect to:
- c. Cooperative Agreements with Agencies Not Carrying Out Activities Under the Statewide Workforce Development System
c. 4. Non-educational agencies serving out-of-school youth; and
Current Narrative:
The Division does not currently have any agreements with non-educational agencies serving out-of-school youth.
When indicated, IDVR will engage in a co-enrollment strategy with other WIOA Plan partners, to provide general VR services and disability related supports.
Out-of-school youth (youth age 14-24 not enrolled in a secondary program) are encouraged to complete their high school education or pursue a formal or self-study GED program whenever possible to increase their options and access to postsecondary opportunities. This includes referral to Idaho Career & Technical Education’s Adult Education program (available to those over the age of 16). Idaho Job Corps maintains a partnership with the College of Western Idaho to offer a path to a high school diploma or GED for those age 16-24.
The WIOA Youth program under the Idaho Department of Labor focuses on education, training and employment opportunities for out-of-school youth. WIOA Youth provides an array of services to qualifying youth including dropout recovery services, paid and unpaid work experiences, occupational skill training, leadership development opportunities, facilitation of employer connections, interviewing skills, and mentoring.
The Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s (IDVR) State Transition Coordinator and Area Transition Counselors meet monthly with the Idaho Youth Apprentice Program (YAP) to develop strategies for working together to create options for youth to participate in apprenticeships. The regional YAP staff began meeting with IDVR staff in the areas they serve to educate all IDVR staff about Youth Apprenticeship opportunities, referral process, and to support IDVR staff in understanding the youth apprenticeship process for in-school versus out-of-school youth. The Youth Apprenticeship Program connects people, ages 16-24, to training and careers in Idaho. Building workforce-ready labor requires a collaborative effort among government, business, and education. Youth Apprenticeship provides education, work experience, and access to postsecondary education, training, and certifications.
IDVR is currently working with YAP to serve a student in Northern Idaho in an apprenticeship pilot. We will use what is learned from Northern Idaho to continue to develop more programs. Additionally, IDVR and YAP are providing joint presentations to the community and to students and teachers.
IDVR is also working with Job Corps to develop ways to provide students with access to paid work experiences, work readiness training, and instruction in self-advocacy in addition to attending their Job Corps courses. Our Area Transition Counselors are points of contact with Job Corps to provide these services in both individual and group settings.
Idaho Job Corps offers qualifying youth extensive support for up to two years depending on individualized need. This includes career exploration and education assistance.
The Division will be coordinating with the apprenticeship program under Idaho Department of Labor for the purpose of expanding apprenticeships in the state. As part of this collaboration, the Division will be hiring an Apprenticeship Coordinator that will work as a liaison for IDVR customers with the IDOL Apprenticeship team, including the Youth Apprenticeship (YAP) team and will bring expertise on how employers can support youth with disabilities to be successful in their apprenticeship programs.
Idaho’s Disability Employment Initiative grant and the formal agreement IDVR had with the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections have ended. Regardless of the presence of formal agreements, these past projects have resulted in better working relationships between these partners.
Numerous regional partnerships take advantage of local resources or serve as referral sources to IDVR to engage out-of-school youth. These resources differ by location with a common theme of providing a mechanism of outreach for out-of-school youth.