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  • 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:

    __________

    [13] Sec. 102(b)(2)(D)(iii) of WIOA

    • o. State's Strategies

      Describe the required strategies and how the agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities, support innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to accessing the VR and the Supported Employment programs (See sections 101(a)(15)(D) and (18)(B) of the Rehabilitation Act and section 427 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)):

o. 5. If applicable, plans for establishing, developing, or improving community rehabilitation programs within the State

Current Narrative:

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 a number of potential initiatives to promote quality CRP outcomes including but not limited to:

  • Promoting the Professionalization of CRP Staff:
    • An exploration of established training models used by CRPs/other DSUs to promote initial competence when providing services to people with disabilities
    • An exploration of continuing education requirements used by CRPs/other DSUs to promote career-long learning and quality outcomes
    • Formalization of initial and on-going education requirements for providers who want to serve IDVR customers
  • Reconciling IDVR’s CRP Fee Schedule for WIOA Expectations:
    • Evaluation of rates for services to include an assessment of potential new competency and training requirements
    • Formalizing new rates for services based on enhanced education and competency requirements
  • Clarifying Expectations/Information and Communication:
    • Establishment of new requirements and guidance around IDVR expectations for individualized service provision, documentation, and more tailored/personalized community-based evaluations.
    • Explore a potential streamlining of requirements to serve rural and remote communities, allowing more potential providers with a lower barrier to entry in underserved/unserved areas.
    • Due to persistent confusion in the CSNA: Work with Extended Employment Services to help CRPs, customers, and parents/guardians understand Competitive Integrated Employment requirements of IDVR and how the programs intersect.
  • Strengthen the Feedback Loop with CRPs:
    • Work with partners to clarify agency expectations and requirements through continued development of the CRP Manual.
    • Overhaul IDVR’s CRP Monitoring Protocol to align with the requirements of WIOA and increase relevance to frontline staff and CRPs
    • Continue to engage with CRP partners to address ongoing and emerging issues
    • Explore performance accountability options following implementation of heightened requirements
  • Targeted Evaluation of CRP Services for Effectiveness:
    • Work to understand quality of assessments conducted by CRPs
    • Evaluate quality of assessment sites (where applicable) to the individualized personal/vocational needs of customer
    • Evaluate documentation of fading and stability

To further develop positive working relationships with Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) and to enhance service delivery for customers, IDVR participates in CRP association meetings or hosts alternate meetings when necessary.

IDVR is engaged in a structured 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 in order 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.

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.