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
- h. Interagency Cooperation
Describe how the designated State unit will collaborate with the State agency responsible for administering each of the following programs to develop opportunities for competitive integrated employment, to the greatest extent practicable:
- h. Interagency Cooperation
h. 2. The State agency responsible for providing services for individuals with developmental disabilities; and
Current Narrative:
Alabama Department of Mental Health is responsible for providing services to individuals with developmental disabilities, and ADRS works collaboratively in our state to increase competitive integrated employment, particularity for individuals with more significant disabilities. Initiatives such as Project SEARCH, that currently serves over 150 individuals with significant disabilities at 16 different locations throughout the state. These Project SEARCH sites provide the interns opportunities through development of training sites embedded in businesses in their communities.
ADRS and ADMH also collaboratively provide trainings for Project SEARCH skills trainers, community-based job coaches, community based rehabilitation partners, school personnel, jointly funded pre-ets specialists, IPS employment staff and other community providers.
Through a recently released RFP, ADRS and ADMH will braid funding to serve individuals through Milestones and Medicaid waivers, who are in prevocational and day programs, to improve the likelihood of community based, integrated employment outcomes.
Both ADRS and ADMH have a current cooperative agreement in place that outlines the roles and responsibilities of partners, overview and function as well as the state level shared objectives. This agreement is for both the ID/DD and MI/SA divisions of the department.
In 2017, ADRS entered into a cooperative agreement with the Alabama Department of Mental Health to provide benefits counseling services to individuals receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), are currently being served or on a waiting list for either the Living at Home (LAH) or the Intellectual Disabilities (ID) waivers. Information and referral as well as intensive benefits counseling services are provided by trained certified benefits specialists to any individuals whether the individual is currently employed, has a job offer or is in the contemplative stages of employment planning. Staff supported through the ADRS DMH cooperative agreement work in collaboration with other ADRS WIPA benefits counseling staff. The cooperative agreement targets 100 individuals annually.