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.
- b. Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA).
Section 101(a)(15), (17), and (23) of the Rehabilitation Act require VR agencies to provide an assessment of:
- b. Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA).
b. 1. C. Individuals with disabilities served through other components of the workforce development system; and
Current Narrative:
The Department of Labor (DOL) December 2021 disability employment statistics reports the following for individuals ages 16 and over:
Labor Force Participation
- People with disabilities: 22.3% (increase from 20.5% in 2020)
- People without disabilities: 67.2% (increase from 67.1% in 2020)
Unemployment Rate
- People with disabilities: 7.9% (decrease from 12.6% in 2020)
- People without disabilities: 3.5% (decrease from 7.9% in 2020)
Note: Labor Force participation refers to the percentage of the population who are working or looking for work while Unemployment Rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force.
The Wagner-Peyser National Quarterly report for 2020 (DOL, March 2021) showed that 192,419 individuals with disabilities received services from Wagner-Peyser. Services to individuals with disabilities is 5.3% of the total served.
The survey addressed a few questions about partnerships with the statewide workforce development system (i.e., Work One Centers).
How can VR and other Indiana workforce programs (example: Work One, Adult Education) support increased access to workforce services for people with disabilities?
Highest reported responses by combined respondents:
- Increase communication about available programs and services 22.17%
- Coordinating services among multiple partners 17.50%
- Disability awareness training 14.87%
- Making the referral process between workforce programs easier 13.50%
- Increased VR presence in Work One Centers 11.05%
Highest reported responses by respondents reporting as a person with a disability:
- Increase communication about available programs and services 20.95%
- Disability awareness training 16.53%
- Coordinating services among multiple partners 15.68%
- Making the referral process between workforce programs easier 12.00%
- Cross-training of staff 11.37%
Respondents with disabilities ranked a need for disability awareness training higher than combined respondents. One other difference between the two groups is that combined respondents ranked increased VR presence in Work One Centers in their top 5 responses, while individuals did not. Additionally, respondents with disabilities ranked cross-training of staff in their top 5 responses, while combined respondents did not.
What are positive things that are happening between Work One and VR?
This was an open-ended survey question. Respondent comments varied widely across the state. Noted positives include increased communication between Work One and VR staff, increased availability of a variety of training programs at the Work One Centers, availability of VR staff in the Work One Centers, and VR presence on Workforce Development Boards, coalitions, etc. In many areas the cross-training of staff in both agencies on programs and services were noted positives along with the cross-referral process resulting in improved communication and collaboration.
What opportunities do you see for increased collaboration among workforce programs to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities?
This was an open-ended survey question. Common feedback regarding improving employment outcomes were comments pertaining employer buy-in to disability hiring. Expansion of services such as work experience, job shadowing, externship, mentoring, job fair participation, networking with HR representatives, and the development of secondary school education to work programs were identified. Employers indicated a continuing need for resources and guidance in job site accommodations, disability awareness, building basic employment skills to include independent living, and the availability of post-hire support services.
Additional areas identified by respondents included continuing efforts to improve communication, cross-training of VR and Work One Center staff, VR staff embedded in Work One Centers, and transportation barriers statewide.