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
d. 1. The designated State unit's plans, policies, and procedures for coordination with education officials to facilitate the transition of students with disabilities from school to the receipt of VR services, including pre-employment transition services, as well as procedures for the timely development and approval of individualized plans for employment for the students
Current Narrative:
IDVR Pre-Employment Transition Highlights. IDVR’s Transition Coordinator has extensive experience and an established network across Idaho public K-12 education system. The Division has developed Pre-ETS implementation strategies to provide services at the following levels, including all required pre-employment transition services (job exploration counseling, work based learning experiences, counseling on opportunities for enrollment in postsecondary education, workplace readiness training to develop social skills and independent living, and instruction in self-advocacy). The Division has continued to modify and improve these strategies, including the coordinated and authorized services, as service delivery and partnerships evolve. For example, The Division has developed numerous Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs) with various Local Education Agencies (LEAs). These include contracting with educators to provide a Self-Advocacy curriculum for students previously developed through a partnership between the State Department of Education, IDVR, a LEA, and National Technical Assistance Center on Transition (NTACT). The Division has also developed MOAs to provide students with an opportunity to participate in a paid work experience while earning summer school credit.
The Division has also improved coordinated activities by having our VR Counselors work collaboratively with local school personnel to develop effective referral and outreach strategies to maximize opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in Pre-ETS activities. These strategies also include opportunities for students who are receiving accommodations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. VR Counselors are attending numerous IEP meetings and are working with districts to develop a better process for inviting VR counselors to IEP meetings. In addition, VR Counselors are working with districts to coordinate pre-employment transition services. VR Counselors are working with LEAs to provide career fairs and career mentoring.
The Division also works with the State Department of Education, the Idaho Commission for Blind and Visually Impaired, LEAs, Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs), and the Council for Developmental Disabilities to put on a Transition Institute for LEAs and VR staff. The Institute is modeled after NTACT Taxonomy for Transition Programming. The Taxonomy for Transition Programming provides solid practices identified from effective programs and evidence-based predictors of post-school success for implementing Pre-ETS and transition focused education. This Institute allows collaborative planning between LEAs and VR. Teams discuss what transition/pre-employment transition services are available to students and what services are needed by students based on each district. Teams then create plans to help increase the necessary services for students with disabilities.
The Division has strong relationships with education agencies throughout the state, including formal interagency agreements with several Local Education Agencies (LEAs), a comprehensive formal interagency agreement which addresses collaborative service provision with the State Department of Education (SDE), and the Idaho Commission for Blind and Visually Impaired (ICBVI).
The Division and the SDE have developed a comprehensive formal interagency agreement which addresses collaborative service provision. This agreement specifies the programmatic and fiscal responsibilities for each agency and identifies the minimum age for service delivery to students with disabilities. The minimum age is currently 15 and upon approval of the 2020 state plan the agreement will be modified to reflect a minimum age of 14 for service delivery to students with disabilities.
The pre-employment transition services will be provided to students with disabilities who are potentially eligible or eligible for VR services. This agreement was formalized and signed in August 2018. The agreement is reviewed annually for relevance and will be amended by mutual consent as needed.
Additionally, the Agreement details that the IPE must be developed, agreed to and signed by the student, or the student's representative, and the VR counselor, as early as possible in the transition process, within 90 days from eligibility and no later than the time the student leaves the school setting, whichever is earlier.
Lastly, the Division has partnered with the SDE to implement a Statewide Secondary Transition Plan which correlates to the Division’s Pre-Employment Transition Plan. The goal on the statewide plan is to develop systems for effective collaboration between students, families, secondary and post-secondary educators, rehabilitation counselors, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and service providers to provide quality transition activities and pre-employment transition services to students across Idaho. *The plan is detailed in section 2B.