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.
e. 2. If the VR agency has elected to receive title VI funds, Section 606(b)(3) of the Rehabilitation Act requires VR agencies to include specific goals and priorities with respect to the distribution of Title VI funds received under Section 603 of the Rehabilitation Act for the provision of supported employment services. Describe the use of Title VI funds and how they will be used in meeting the goals and priorities of the Supported Employment program.
Current Narrative:
Please see section C. Goals, Priorities, and Strategies, item 2D for Supported Employment goals.
Indiana receives approximately $350,000/year of Title VI B funds to provide supported employment (SE) services. VR has made a commitment to serve people with the most significant disabilities and also utilizes Title I dollars to serve this population. VR spent more than $3M million on hourly SE services and $4.7M on ‘4-week support’ and ‘retention’ milestone payments for individuals with a most significant disability in PY22, for a total of $7.7M on supported employment services in PY22. 2,396 participants received supported employment services in PY22. The table below outlines SE expenditures and participants served for the last three completed performance years. Total SE expenses have increased from just under $6M in PY20 to $7.7M in PY22, with total served ranging from 2,168 to 2,508 during the last three performance years. It should be noted that SE spend occurs only after an individual is places, so all expenditures and participants served represent individuals who were employed.
| Program year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supported Employment | $2,293,358 | $2,586,744 | $3,006,612 |
| 4-week support | $2,710,00 | $3,088,000 | $2,874,000 |
| Retention milestone | $971,000 | $1,572,500 | $1,825,350 |
| Grand Total | $5,974,458 | $7,247,244 | $7,705,962 |
| Participant Count | 2,168 | 2,508 | 2,396 |
Supported employment services are carried out by accredited employment service providers and follow requirements outlined in the VR employment services manual.
For participants with intellectual/developmental disabilities eligible for services under the Bureau of Disabilities Services (BDS), VR works collaboratively with BDS to provide SE services and seamless transition to extended services. The initial job placement, training and supports needed for stabilization are typically provided through VR. Extended Services through BDS, natural supports or Medicaid Rehabilitation Option funding, provide additional work-related supports needed by the individual to continue to be as independent as possible in competitive, integrated employment. For BDS participants, ongoing employment support services are identified in the participants’ Individualized Support Plan and must be related to the participants’ limitations in functional areas (i.e., self-care, understanding and use of language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, economic self-sufficiency), as are necessary to maintain employment. As an individual reaches stabilization on the job, VR initiates documentation to BDS to facilitate transfer to extended services, ensuring this documentation is provided at least 60 days prior to expected transition to extended services, helping prevent any gap in receipt of needed supports as an individual transitions to VR exit. Extended Services are provided in competitive, integrated settings where persons without disabilities are also employed. Extended Services do not include sheltered work or other similar types of vocational services furnished in specialized facilities or volunteer endeavors.
BRS also worked in collaboration with the Division of Mental Health and Addiction and Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning to develop written guidance on the utilization of Medicaid Rehabilitation Option (MRO) to support individuals in extended services. The braiding of VR and MRO funding has been critical in the implementation of early adopter Individual Placement and Support (IPS) sites.
VR provides funding for extended services for youth with a most significant disability, for up to 4 years, for individuals who are not BDS eligible or do not have another means of obtaining necessary extended services. Joint training was provided in early 2019 to both VR and employment service provider staff on VR-funded extended services, including the process for requesting services, documentation requirements, and criteria for receipt of services.