Vocational Rehabilitation Program (Combined or General)

IDVR hired a Business Relations Liaison in 2016 to oversee the coordination of employer related outreach efforts within the Division and to coordinate employer contact under the aegis of WIOA through partnerships with Titles I-IV and other combined state plan partners.

Initial efforts illustrated additional staffing was required to advance the vision established for serving Idaho businesses.  As a result, in 2017 the Business Engagement Team (BET) was created comprised of at least one-to-two IDVR staff in each regional office and activities of the BET are directed by the Business Relations Liaison.  Regional Management representation is strong on the team, with three of eight RMs participating in an advisory role.

The BET has evolved a mission statement, “To intentionally create and maintain long term partnerships with businesses for mutually beneficial outcomes for employers and job seekers with disabilities”. 

Following the creation of an initial charter, sponsored by Division administration, the BET has engaged in a number of preliminary activities, including the creation of a mandatory “Business Basics” online training for all staff, a method for tracking business outreach activities through our internal case management system, updates to IDVR’s external business relations portal, and development of marketing materials for business outreach and education.

Activities for the BET are partly informed by an annual survey.  This survey helps the Business Relations Liaison prioritize activities based on input from the field.  The latest survey indicated high perceived needs for the following: Disability Awareness training (68 percent), Accommodations and Assistive Technology (65 percent), and Hiring Incentives for Employers (68 percent).  Additionally, the BET is now active in most of the chambers of commerce across Idaho including representation in each region of IDVR.

A toolbox for members of the BET has now been established and is growing.  The toolbox features resources BET and other IDVR staff can use to promote positive employer engagement. There are tools for staff as well as a growing number of tools designed for employers including a new initiative to create a training for employers around disability etiquette.   This group will be meeting early in 2020 to draft a formal strategic plan and further refine and articulate goals, strategies, priorities and staff responsibilities under the team.  Expanding outreach to employers for students and youth in transition is a primary consideration for the coming year for the BET with a business engagement transition pilot for IDVR Region 1 launching in 2020. 

As a part of the BET activities in PY 2018, the team led a presentation at IDVR’s annual all-staff Inservice to help explain how they serve as regional resources to promote positive business engagement opportunities.

The unit, while new, has engaged in two in-depth activities with major Idaho corporations (WinCo and HP).  While talks with WinCo are still preliminary, the HP Spectrum Success Program is a direct result of sustained engagement and partnership with HP and would not have been possible without the help of Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Microsoft who had engaged in some trailblazing efforts matching individuals with autism and STEM jobs.  The willingness of these partners to provide technical assistance and expertise were instrumental in the program’s success and as a result HP is engaging in a second cohort with IDVR beginning in early 2020. 

IDVR will continue to coordinate business outreach efforts with the Idaho Department of Labor, and their business outreach team which serves as the central point of contact for WIOA coordinated business outreach activities.

IDVR’s Business Relations Liaison is engaged with the National Employment Team (the NET) and attends the national conference in addition to receiving regular updates, conference calls provided through a NET community of practice.  IDVR also has a working group through federal Region X (WA, OR, AK, ID) where business engagement leads from each state share best practices and approaches. 

IDVR has traditionally engaged in the creation of “VR Success Stories” to showcase strong annual placements.  The Business Relations Liaison and the BET have worked to overhaul, expand, and professionalize these segments and will now producing multiple success stories per Region, with two being selected for a full video production which showcases the customer and employer’s success with these placements.

IDVR began collecting information related to business services in late PY2017.  During this PY the Business Engagement Liaison and Deputy Administrator began working on an Autism Spectrum Program with HP.  This collaborative effort assisted HP to develop a pilot program to hire student interns with disabilities who were interested in pursuing computer science and information technology related careers.  This single business engagement activity is currently on-going as HP intends in offering this program on an annual basis.  This initial pilot development took over 6 months of collaborative engagement with IDVR and HP.  To view a summary of the HP program and application procedures visit https://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-information/about-hp/diversity/spectrum-success.html 

In PY2018 the Division began earnest efforts to capture data on business engagement activities using our case management system.  In PY2018 the Business Engagement staff made contact with over 350 business across the state.  Of those business contacts, approximately 14% (49) BET staff had consistent (two or more) contact with the employer.  IDVR anticipates that data collection and business engagement activities will continue to advance in the upcoming years.

Additionally, IDVR’s marketing and website development efforts recently yielded benefits.  Norco, a local home health durable medical equipment company, submitted an inquiry through our website. The Business Engagement Liaison is now working on business development activities with the company and also working with staff across the state as Norco is interested in hiring people with disabilities, as they are federal contractor.