Findings from the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Vocational Rehabilitation Martha Klemm Kelly Haines TASH December 2, 2011 Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) of the US Department of Education

What is the VR-RRTC? Five-year center funded by NIDRR and RSA Established in FY 2008 at the ICI / UMB Charged with building VR program capacity to improve employment outcomes through: –Research on policy & practice –Training and technical assistance Implemented in partnership with InfoUse & the Center for the Study and Advancement of Disability Policy (CSPD)

What is the VR-RRTC? Research goals: –Increase knowledge about the VR program, its characteristics, and role within the broader disability & employment system. –Increase knowledge about effective practices in the field.

Research activities Surveys of employment service providers –Vocational rehabilitation agencies (VR) –Mental health agencies (MH) –Welfare agencies –Intellectual and developmental disabilities agencies (IDD) –Community rehabilitation providers (CRP)

Research activities Case study research of effective VR agency practices in improving employment outcomes for individuals with: –Developmental disabilities –Mental illness Managing outreach, service access, and case flow to serve individuals with the most significant disabilities (MSD) on a priority basis

VT CT NH DC US Territories American Samoa: Guam: North Mariana Islands: Puerto Rico: Virgin Islands: MI Case Study DD Case Study MSD Case Study Extra Graphics MSDMI DD What do we mean by national? VR Survey MH Survey Welfare Survey IDD Survey # #### CRP Survey

What we found 2011 National Survey of Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies –VR agency structure, programs, and staffing –Agency decision making processes –Partnerships –Post-VR extended services for individuals with supported employment outcomes

What we found: VR - IDD Partnership VR and IDD agencies collaborated mostly to coordinate service delivery & SE extended services and, to some extent, to fund customers and share data (see Table). 2 VR agencies collaborated with IDD in 9 of the 10 areas. 10 VR agencies collaborated with IDD in only 1 area. Area of CollaborationN Coordinate service delivery43 Coordinate supported employment extended services38 Jointly fund customers24 Share data24 Jointly fund programs16

What we found 2011 National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers –The majority (60%) of CRPs serve customers funded by VR –There are significant differences between CRPs that receive substantial VR business, some VR business, and no VR business –CRPs with VR business provide more competitive employment services and less facility-based services than CRPs with other funding sources (e.g. Medicaid, IDD)

What we found MSD Case studies: –Outreach: Communication of Order of Selection (OOS) policy and related changes to service delivery –Service Access: Ensuring accurate and consistent application of OOS priority categories defining who the agency can serve –Case flow: Managing increased caseloads and demand for services following the release of customers from a waitlist

–A web application providing convenient access to VR and related data for planning, evaluation, and decision-making. Webinars Publications What we produced

Webinars & Publications Available through

How to use VR-RRTC resources Products of the VR-RRTC can be used by: –Rehabilitation researchers –Individuals with disabilities –State VR agencies –Disability and employment agencies –Advocates

Rehabilitation Researchers Researchers can use our resources to: »Download datasets from »Use survey findings to inform future research »Gain exposure to VR research methodology I love research!

Individuals with Disabilities Individuals with disabilities and their families can use our resources to: »Navigate the public employment service delivery system in their state »Make informed choices about CRPs »Advocate for adoption of promising/effective practices

State VR Agencies State VR agency staff can use our resources for: »Organizational change / improvement in terms of policy and practice »Partnership development and provider alliances »Educational opportunity/CRC credit for VR counselors »Requesting data analysis through Who is our next partner?

Disability and Employment Agencies Disability and other state or local employment agencies can use these resources for: »Program planning »Understanding the national picture of employment service delivery »Adopting effective practices in serving specific populations VR MH IDD

Advocates Disability Advocates can use these resources to: »Lobby for policy change »Support efforts to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities »Fight for funding for promising practices

Contact Information Martha Klemm Kelly Haines