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. 3. Include an assessment of the needs of individuals with disabilities for transition career services and pre-employment transition services, and the extent to which such services are coordinated with transition services provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
Current Narrative:
With the advent of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), VR agencies must earmark 15% of federal VR funds for the provision of Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities. Students with disabilities is defined as students in secondary or postsecondary school between the ages of 14 through the school year in which the student becomes 22, who are eligible for, and receiving, special education or related services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or is an individual with a disability for purposes of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Students may be eligible for and receiving VR services, or they may be “potentially eligible.” VR considers a potentially eligible student to be a student with a disability as defined above who is not currently receiving VR services under an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).
Indiana provides Pre-ETS to students with disabilities in all 92 counties through both contracted community rehabilitation programs and internal VR staff. Both students who are eligible for VR services as well as those potentially eligible for VR services receive Pre-ETS. Over 7,000 students, served by 12 contracted providers, received pre-ETS through the program year ending June 2021.
Additionally, Pre-ETS contracts were amended in the fall of 2021 to align contractors’ updated budget estimates with actual contract budgets to assist VR in reaching their 15% pre-ETS required spend. Additionally, stipends for students participating in certain work-based learning activities were added to contracts to encourage more student involvement in work-based learning, which is a clear predictor of post high school success.
The number of students served through Pre-ETS and type of Pre-ETS activities received is outlined in the Tables below.
VR Eligible and Potentially Eligible Students Served Through Pre-ETS
| VR eligible and received Pre-ETS | Potentially eligible Pre-ETS only (no VR IPE) | Total students received Pre-ETS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PY2019 | 244 | 4,184 | 4,428 |
| PY2020 | 546 | 3,871 | 4,417 |
| PY2021 | Not yet available | Not yet available | Not yet available |
Over 4,000 students with disabilities received services during PY19 and PY20. The majority of students who received Pre-ETS in both years were those potentially eligible students who were not yet receiving VR services under an IPE. There may be a need to implement strategies to increase the number of students receiving pre-ets who apply for VR services.
In 2019, Indiana created eight VR Youth Counselor positions to assist with pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS) and general transition outreach to students, families, schools, and providers. They completed local area needs assessments to better understand availability of and access to pre-ETS, develop methods of expanding pre-ETS, improve relationships among VR, schools and providers, and determine the technical assistance and training needs of schools, providers, and VR staff. These assessments led to our youth counselors bringing pre-ETS to more school systems throughout the state, assisting with training of pre-ETS career coaches, and providing community and business outreach to increase work-based learning activities and strengthen overall programming for students with disabilities. Additionally, youth counselors act as liaisons between local education agencies and Vocational Rehabilitation, working on improving referrals processes, attending case conferences, and assisting schools and VR with understanding each other’s systems to improve outcomes for transition aged youth.
Please also see information in j1E above for further information.
The complete CSNA can be viewed at vrs.in.gov