Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

Indiana VR and key partners continue to build a collaborative infrastructure for the purpose of streamlined transition of students with disabilities from school to the receipt of VR services, including pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS).  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-ETS.  Through the efforts of VR’s dedicated transition staff, the Director of Youth Services, the Associate Director of Youth Services, and 8 youth counselors located throughout the state, VR has maintained Pre-ETS in all 92 Indiana counties and continues to expand availability to more schools and students. Pre-ETS is active in approximately 400 schools statewide, currently serving close to 8,000 students. Education to key stakeholders is 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, and accomplishments. Training with Pre-ETS contractors has also included webinars to VR staff, parents, and educators, presentations to local school systems, 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 the importance of and how to access Pre-ETS for students with disabilities across the state.  VR assisted in training Pre-ETS Career Coaches throughout the state in working with students with high support needs through a series of videos created in collaboration with PCG, collaborated with DOE on a webinar for Pre-ETS and school reentry (the “Pre-ETS Back to School Special”), and developed a document outlining best practices for Pre-ETS providers and schools to improve communication and information sharing on Pre-ETS activities, and portfolio and IEP requirements.

As mentioned previously, VR has 8 youth counselors who assist with continued expansion and maintenance of  Pre-ETS . Youth counselors work in their respective regions throughout the state assisting with transition and Pre-ETS activities. They have each completed needs assessments focusing on VR area offices, school systems and Pre-ETS contractors and have introduced many positive changes. They have helped to strengthen the referral process and communication in general with VR and many school systems, assisted providers in accessing schools where Pre-ETS was not widely available, and provided numerous trainings and technical assistance to Pre-ETS and transition stakeholders. The current needs assessments have transformed to maintenance and expansion plans and are updated throughout the year to reflect current trends in Pre-ETS and transition activities. This allows the youth counselors to keep updated on student enrollment, referrals to VR, and strengths and concerns with transition and Pre-ETS processes. They work closely with all stakeholders to address concerns, highlight strengths, and continually improve processes, procedures and outreach to students and youth with disabilities.  

VR, in collaboration with DOE, established a Statewide Transition Advisory Council to identify and address the barriers that continue to impact students with disabilities, and develop and implement strategies and services to make the transition successful for students and youth with disabilities. The VR/DOE MOU is currently being revised and the Transition Advisory Council will continue to serve as the VR/DOE MOU Oversight group and provide input and recommendations into the 5 key oversight areas. These 5 areas are:

1. Reviewing, addressing and facilitating resolution of concerns relating to transition and Pre-ETS for students with disabilities.
2. Supporting joint training for Partner Agency staff to promote mutual understanding of each Partner Agency's systems.
3. Providing professional development and technical assistance to LEAs and VR Area Offices that enhance collaboration and involvement with community-based organizations, employers, employer groups, and other agencies.
4. Developing and implementing processes for sharing appropriate individual or aggregate data and information regarding students with disabilities, who are being served or may potentially be served by a Partner Agency.
5. Identifying ways to provide timely information to students with disabilities and their families regarding specific work incentives and the positive impact of work on government benefits.
    

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, Indiana Association of People Supporting Employment First (INAPSE), Indiana Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (INARF), Indiana Institute of Disability and Community – Center on Community Living and Careers (IIDC - CCLC),  parent representation, the Arc of Indiana, INSOURCE, and other family advocacy groups. BRS will seek active representation of students with disabilities in 2022 in collaboration with VR Youth Counselors and Pre-ETS contractors.

IIDC-CCLC, along with partners from the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet and Office of Career and Technical Education, DOE, IN*Source, and YTac, a federal technical assistance center, created the Career and Technical Education (CTE) workgroup with the goal of increasing enrollment of and positive outcomes for students with disabilities in CTE. The workgroup is in the process of interviewing school counselors at select CTE sites to determine their protocol for student selection, resources for assisting students with disabilities, and overall success rate. This information will be used to identify pilot sites throughout the state with the goal of providing training, technical assistance and other support to increase the number of students with disabilities enrolled and successfully completing CTE courses.

VR has contracted with IN*Source, a statewide parent training and information center, to provide specific Pre-ETS activities on a limited basis. These activities include specialized short-term self-advocacy training as well as training designed with both parents and students in mind to help them understand and assess the possibilities for postsecondary education, employment, and skills for independent living. This is done not only through group sessions with students, but the use of employed mentors who have been through the process before and can share their experiences. Since these services are short-term and can be done throughout the state, they have helped to supplement our standard Pre-ETS programs in order to reach more students and help to fill in gaps when there is employee turnover with our existing contractors.

VR has counselors assigned to each school for outreach and education to teachers, students, and parents.  These VR counselors collaborate with 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 participants who are being served, to have an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) in place, before exiting high school. While this process works well in many cases, as mentioned above, VR Youth Counselors continue to identify any areas of need in order to increase communication, improve the referral process and ensure students with disabilities are identified and connected to VR, as appropriate, in a timely manner.  

Identified best practices include: LEA’s and VR conferring at least one time per year to identify students who may require VR services, those requiring a VR counselor to attend their case conference, providing “VR 101” refreshers to school personnel, and a follow-up process for VR referrals.

Training for VR staff is planned for 2022 on improving collaboration between VR staff and contracted Pre-ETS providers, including improvements to the referral process from Pre-ETS to VR. 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, but are not limited to, students/family, school personnel, and service providers.