Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

IDVR is the DSU administering the Supported Employment program under 34 CFR 363 for the State of Idaho. IDVR provides supported employment services for eligible customers with the most significant disabilities.

Section L. 2 contains goals and objectives for the VR and SE programs.

The Division anticipates being able to serve approximately 181 individuals in SE plan status annually with the $300,000 available in the SE Supplemental grant at an average cost of $1,661, and further supplements these funds with general funds once exhausted.  As noted in section K.2.B., IDVR anticipates between 459-482 customers will require SE services in a plan annually during this plan period estimating total SE expenditures between $762k-$800k annually.

WIOA has a financial requirement for Title VI, Part B funds. IDVR is required to set aside 50% of these supplemental funds for service provision to youth with disabilities and provide a 10% state match to these funds. The Division anticipates it will spend these funds and more in the coming year on students and youth. The Division does not anticipate any issues expending the $150,000 set aside for SE services, and Extended Services to students and youth. The Division has and will continue to supplement Title VI, Part B funds when needed with Title I grant funds.

Supported Employment related goals include a specific strategic plan employment rate goal at 2nd and 4th quarter and intersect with several global VR program goals relating to service improvement.  This section will outline current progress toward achieving SE relevant goals contained in this state plan and IDVR’s Strategic Plan. 

IDVR's Goal 1 Priority 2 concentrates on ensuring an array of services, including quality supported employment services, are available for individuals with Most Significant Disabilities in Idaho.  Under Goal 1 Priority 2, SE Goal 1.1 and 1.2 are reported annually in IDVR strategic planning and performance evaluation process:

State Plan Goal 1 Priority 2 - Provide a comprehensive array of services to individual with disabilities, including individuals with Most Significant Disabilities (MSD).

The Division utilizes the following Primary Performance Indicators along with supplemental customer satisfaction and other data to gauge performance toward achieving SE goals and priorities.

SE Goal 1: To promote quality SE service provision through stability as demonstrated by 2nd and 4th quarter employment rates for customers who received SE services.

• Performance Measure SE 1.1: For all successful Supported Employment closures: the percentage of customers employed in the 2nd quarter after exit.
• Performance Measure SE 1.2:  For all successful Supported Employment closures: the percentage of customers employed in the 4th quarter after exit.

Performance Measure SE 1.1 and 1.2:

While benchmark goals were met for IDVR’s SE employment rate goals, performance regressed slightly for second quarter outcomes between PY19 and 20.  Fourth quarter employment rates for SE were significantly higher, while substantially outpacing the 50 percent or greater benchmark.  Employment rates for Idaho in this period did vacillate due to initial COVID restrictions and ripple effects across the labor market but have returned to pre-pandemic levels.  The Division will continue to monitor these rates for SE customers, particularly against the potential impact CRP innovation and expansion activities outlined in this state plan may have on this population.

The Division is also looking at 2^nd and 4^th quarter median wage over time as a potential indicator of SE quality services. 

Second quarter median wage for SE fell 14 percent from PY19 to PY 20, while 4^th quarter median wage increased by nearly 29 percent across the same period.  The agency will continue to monitor SE 2^nd and 4^th quarter median wages over time to establish a better understanding of normal performance prior to deciding on whether to formalize this indicator.  The Division expects to maintain or improve performance in general over this stable benchmark.

Goal 2 Priority 2 of IDVR’s section of the State Plan is to continue to monitor IDVR’s Customer Satisfaction Survey in collaboration with the State Rehabilitation Council and work together on strategies to increase the overall satisfaction rate.  Furthermore Goal 2 Priority 5 is to improve the overall quality of CRP services.

As a function of its consumer satisfaction survey, IDVR collects information on the satisfaction of consumers who received services from CRPs through an enhanced section of the instrument.   The Division continues to explore options to improve this instrument.  While the Division askes multiple satisfaction questions on CRP services, core CRP satisfaction is gauged by the following item:

Customer Satisfaction with CRP Services (Exited after Plan with CRP Service Authorizations): “I would recommend the Community Rehabilitation Provider(s) that assisted me to others in my community who need similar services.”

The Division is concerned with the increase in Strongly Disagree on CRP services from PY19-PY20 and will continue to monitor this shift but believe it may be an artifact of the pandemic.

The Division had committed to a sustained campaign to improve frontline services to individuals with disabilities offered by Idaho’s Community Rehabilitation Providers in the 2020 state plan update (to include Supported Employment).  Unfortunately, these efforts were placed on hold as the agency pivoted to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, the Division has reclassified an FTE, developed a new position, and hired a dedicated Community Rehabilitation Program Manager to lead these improvements, and this strategy is now under implementation.

Expansion of service delivery options remains an expressed need in more rural and remote areas of Idaho, while indicated improvements were for traditional CRP and Pre-ETS services remains an agency priority, including a need for more relevant community-based assessment options, stronger local area collaboration between IDVR and providers, and timeliness to CRP service initiation.  The Division is currently developing a live dashboard tool for CRP service availability, including live data on Supported Employment service availability and ongoing support service availability for transfer once SE customers have achieved employment stability.

The Division is committed to engaging in innovation and expansion activities designed to establish, develop and/or improve Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs) across Idaho. Based on sustained demonstrated need highlighted in the past two Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessments and aligned with the joint goals of IDVR’s administration and IDVR’s State Rehabilitation Council the Division is currently exploring several potential initiatives (more detail on these options can be found in IDVR’s Innovation and Expansion section of this state plan) to promote quality CRP outcomes including but not limited to:

• Promoting the Professionalization of CRP Staff: 
• Reconciling IDVR’s CRP Fee Schedule for WIOA Expectations:      
• Clarifying Expectations/Information and Communication:            
• Strengthen the Feedback Loop with CRPs:           
• Targeted Evaluation of CRP Services for Effectiveness:    

IDVR is engaged in a structured cyclical program evaluation strategy to maintain and improve the quality of services provided to customers through community rehabilitation providers statewide.

IDVR generates annual CRP employment reports for each vendor who provided services in the past fiscal year. The tool provides information to customers to enhance informed choice while they are selecting a CRP. These reports contain aggregated data gathered from our case management system. Information provided includes number of cases served, employment outcomes, average hourly wage of consumers who exit the program successfully, average hours worked per week per consumer, average annual earnings per consumer, employer sponsored benefit rate of those successful closures, the top five occupational outcome categories, and the primary impairments of those served. Counselors provide this information in a manner the consumer can understand to help promote informed choice.

The Division works closely with other state entities who fund ongoing support services beyond SE to provide extended supports where necessary, including extended services to youth that would otherwise be funded by IDVR under 34 CFR 363.22.  The Division works to implement a natural supports strategy where indicated.