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. 1. D. Ratio of qualified VR counselors to clients:
Current Narrative:
Statistics and information utilized for personnel planning are maintained within the Human Resources Unit. WVDRS administrators can review salary, pay grade, job title, reporting unit, and personal employee information. Such information is available to WVDRS Assistant Directors and District Managers who use it for planning, hiring negotiations, and pay equity. WVDRS retiree information may also be obtained from these databases.
The Human Resources Senior Manager periodically (at least monthly) maintains and provides statistical data to the WVDRS Director. The data includes a list of the number of individuals under various classifications who are employed by WVDRS in the provision of rehabilitation services, as well as a ratio of the number of counselors to the number of consumers served each year. WVDRS estimates the ratio of consumers served (12,172) to the number of counselors (78) will be 156 in Program Year (PY) 2024.
Each year, the WVDRS Director receives a summary report that estimates and projects the number of such personnel that will be needed during the next five–year period. In November 2023, WVDRS had 78 counselors in various offices across the state. Of the 78 counselors, WVDRS had 24 Rehabilitation Counselors, 21 Senior Rehabilitation Counselors, 12 Certified Rehabilitation Counselors, and 21 Rehabilitation Counselor Trainees. WVDRS believes its existing counselors and field staff members are needed to provide services to consumers who are currently in the WVDRS system.
WVDRS had several unfilled positions as of November 2023: 5 Rehabilitation Counseling positions, 3 Senior Rehabilitation Counselor positions, 3 Certified Rehabilitation Counselor positions, and 2 Rehabilitation Counselor Trainee positions. Each unfilled position is being used to expand the number of field counselors when needed.
A breakdown by personnel category, including the number of personnel in relation to the estimated number of individuals served in PY 2024, is as follows (information current as of November 2023):
- Rehabilitation Counselors: 29 total positions (including 5 vacancies), and 12 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Rehabilitation Counselors is 420.
- Senior Rehabilitation Counselors: 24 total positions (including 3 vacancies), and 7 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Senior Rehabilitation Counselors 507.
- Certified Rehabilitation Counselors: 15 total positions (including 3 vacancies), and 5 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Certified Rehabilitation Counselors is 811.
- Rehabilitation Counselor Trainee: 23 total positions (including 2 vacancies), and 9 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Rehabilitation Counselor Trainees is 529.
- Fiscal personnel: 9 total positions (including 2 vacancies), and 1 projected vacancy over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Fiscal personnel is 1,352.
- Administrative Services personnel: 9 total positions (including 1 vacancy), and 6 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Administrative Services personnel is 1,352.
- Field Services personnel: 185 total positions (including 25 vacancies), and 65 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Field Services personnel is 66.
- Support Services personnel (e.g., human resources, rehabilitation technology unit): 42 total positions (including 3 vacancies), and 17 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Support Services personnel is 290.
- Information Technology personnel: 8 total positions (including 0 vacancies), and 4 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of Information Technology personnel is 1,522.
- Other personnel (e.g., vocational instructors, technical analysts): 21 total positions (including 3 vacancies), and 10 projected vacancies over the next five years. The ratio of individuals to be served to the number of other personnel is 580.