Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for State Vocational Rehabilitation (Combined or General)
The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Services Portion of the Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following descriptions and estimates, as required by sections 101(a) and 606 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA.
- i. Comprehensive System of Personnel Development.
In accordance with the requirements in Section 101(a)(7) of the Rehabilitation Act, the VR agency must develop and maintain annually a description (consistent with the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act) of the VR agency’s comprehensive system of personnel development, which shall include a description of the procedures and activities the State VR agency will undertake to ensure it has an adequate supply of qualified State rehabilitation professionals and paraprofessionals that provides the following:
- i. Comprehensive System of Personnel Development.
i. 5. As appropriate, describe the procedures and activities to coordinate the designated State unit's comprehensive system of personnel development with personnel development under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Current Narrative:
VR has a Director of Youth Services on staff to train and notify VR field staff of best practices, changes and initiatives related to working with transition-aged youth. The Director of Youth Services also collaborates with other agencies, such as Department of Education (DOE) and DWD, to conduct joint training and develop/distribute training materials and other resources. Partners such as the Indiana University Institute on Disability and Community, and Public Consulting Group (PCG) serve as a transition resource to VR and/or DOE and develop and maintain a variety of resources in this area. The Transition Advisory Council serves as an advisory group pertaining to statewide VR transition initiatives, including Pre-ETS and is expanding its scope to serve as the Employment for Youth Advisory Committee to facilitate education and resource sharing based on a needs assessment conducted by BRS and a pre-ets authorized activities contractor. In addition to VR, partners who sit on this group include parent advocates, youth with disabilities, DOE, DWD, local schools, IIDC, VR providers including Pre-ETS providers, Department of Corrections, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA), and others.
VR Youth Counselors continue to update their maintenance and expansion plans to identify service and training needs for area VR offices, school staff and providers. In 2023, training was provided to VR staff on improving collaboration with partners around transition, including expectations around the referral process and VR presence in schools through annual meetings, case conferences and transition fairs. This training was designed to increase the number of students applying for VR services, including students receiving Pre-ETS. Material was developed and distributed to all Indiana high schools that describes Pre-ETS activities, how to refer a student to VR and how to reach VR to request attendance by VR at a case conference, transition fair or other meetings or events. This is an area of growth for BRS and data trends on student applications to VR will be monitored throughout this new state plan period to evaluate the success of the updated referral process and expectations.