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
j. 1. B. Who are minorities;
Current Narrative:
The identification and service estimates for minority populations in Idaho are derived from population estimates and internal agency data on customers.
The Hispanic population is Idaho’s largest minority group at 12.8 percent, 11 percent of all Idahoans reported Mexican origin with 1.8 percent for all remaining Hispanic origin subcategories. (2019 ACS Demographic and Housing 1-Year Estimate). Internal agency data suggests this population remains underserved representing 8.41 percent of total applications in PY 2019 and 8.76 percent in PY 2020. While the Division is aware of the sustained gap in both applications and plans for this population., it is worth noting that the age distribution for this population skews substantially younger (40 percent of Idaho Hispanics were under age 20, compared to 26 percent of non-Hispanics as of 2019) which may explain some of the discrepancy in applications counts: “As in the United States as a whole, a relatively large share of the Hispanic population in Idaho is made up of children and young adults, with few older individuals. This is in contrast to the non-Hispanic population, which is more evenly distributed across age groups” (Hispanic Profile Data Book for Idaho – 5th Edition, 2021). This lower average age may also explain why Idaho’s rate of disability for Hispanics at 10.3 percent is significantly lower than the statewide average of 13.7 percent. The population pyramid in Idaho’s Hispanic Profile Data Book 5th edition (2021) illustrates the extreme skew toward youth in this population. Consequently, IDVR should expect an increasing proportion of Hispanic youth, students and customers as these cohorts age.
Further analysis of outreach and service delivery by race is problematic due to low population percentages in remaining categories, however the following table presets data for Race alone or in combination with one or more other races from latest available ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates (DP05) which best aligns with IDVRs internally available data:
IDVR Service Delivery Rate by Race
| ACS 2019 1-Year | PY 2019 | PY 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 92.5% | 95.46% | 95.50% |
| Black or African American | 1.2% | 2.23% | 2.41% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 2.4% | 3.95% | 3.30% |
| Asian | 2.5% | 1.08% | 1.33% |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.4% | 0.56% | 0.68% |
| Some other race | 4.5% | -- | -- |
Idaho’s demographics are changing, and Idaho was the second fastest growing state relative to population in the past 10 years, with the population growing over 17 percent in the decade (US Census Bureau, 2020). Idaho was the fastest growing state by percentage in the last year, growing 2.9 percent and was ninth in total numeric growth at 53,151 (US Census Bureau, 2021).
While Idaho is traditionally a major state for resettlement in Regions 3, 4, 7 and 8, net international migration has slowed significantly under the COVID-19 pandemic (with the primary driver of Idaho’s recent population increase coming from net domestic migration).
In addition to demographic information and internal case management data, IDVR remains informed on the needs of specific minority populations through efforts which are further elaborated on in section ‘o’, the program specific strategy section of this plan for the Division.