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
- 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. State's Strategies
o. 8. B. Support innovation and expansion activities; and
Current Narrative:
Consistent with the findings of the 2017 comprehensive statewide assessment, the established goals and priorities of this plan, and collaborative efforts with the SRC, innovation and expansion funds will be targeted to the following:
1. Ongoing support of the efforts of the State Rehabilitation Council.
2. Development of Work Based Learning opportunities for Students with Disabilities to include partnerships with new industry in Alabama to offer simulated work experiences for students to lead to direct employment in skilled level jobs with the partnering industry.
3. To improve vocational outcomes for persons with significant mental illness by developing a joint program with a mental health provider to train and certify peers in Vocational Peer Support to work with individuals with severe mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorder.
4. Explore, design, and implement Avatar E-Leaning modules to support and standardize delivery of pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities targeting workplace readiness training and instruction in self-advocacy. Explore, design and implement E-Learning training for employment specialists to improve consistency of skill levels and improve outcomes for persons with disabilities.
5. Expansion of participation in formalized apprenticeship for VR consumers who can benefit from such training opportunities.