Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Vocational Rehabilitation (Blind)
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:
According to the results of the 2020 CSNA, individuals who are blind or low vision and also Hispanic or Native American may be underserved by ICBVI. The existing data indicated a low percent of Hispanic cases served by ICBVI in relation to the percent of the population with any disability in the Hispanic category.
The prevalence by race/ethnicity and vision disability in Idaho and the U.S. are based on 2017 ACS estimates. The prevalence of vision disability for Idahoans is higher than the U.S. in two categories, white and other. The prevalence of vision disability for White Idahoans (2.9%) is higher than in the U.S. (2.4%). The prevalence of vision disability for Idahoans who identify as Other (4.0%) is higher than in the U.S (1.5%). The percentage of Idahoans who identify as Hispanics with vision disability is the same (2.1%) than the percentage of Hispanics with a vision disability in the US.
Idaho’s demographics are changing. 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 2021, growing 2.9 percent and was ninth in total numeric growth at 53,151. While Idaho is traditionally a major state for resettlement, international migration has slowed significantly under the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of these conditions, ICBVI remains committed to refugee outreach efforts. To best understand the needs of this population, ICBVI conducts joint staff training in conjunction with the Agency for New Americans, and maintains regular contact and outreach with staff at the International Rescue Committee refugee organization and all three resettlement agencies in the Treasure Valley and Magic Valley regions.
ICBVI also conducts ongoing outreach activities to meet the needs of the Spanish speaking population statewide. A number of these individuals engage in migrant seasonal farm work. The Commission works collaboratively with the DOL, the Community Council of Idaho (a rural-centered, nonprofit serving Latinos in Idaho, and the Idaho Division of Hispanic Affairs) to identify these individuals and processes to best conduct outreach activities.
ICBVI conducts various outreach activities to identify and involve individuals with disabilities from underserved backgrounds. These include but are not limited to:
- Engagement with institutions of higher education;
- Outreach activities to small businesses who are owned by minorities;
- Outreach to medical providers who serve refugee and immigrant populations.
ICBVI also conducts tribal outreach, per our MOU, to the four tribes located in Idaho and the substantial American Indian population residing in the Treasure Valley.