How To Access VR Services for Your Student

1. How To Access VR Servicesfor Your Student November 4-5, 2013 Oklahoma Transition Institute

2. What is transition? DRS Transition includes career counseling and guidance along with other coordinated services and activities to help youth with disabilities prepare for employment after high school.

3. What does transition look like at DRS? There are DRS counselors in each local area as well as a Statewide Transition Coordinator. Counselors receive annual training on transition in the summer, attend the OTI, participate on local transition teams, participate in quarterly DRS transition calls, and attend transition fairs, parent nights, job fairs, etc.

4. How can Kim be a resource? If you need information on areas of transition; If you need assistance promoting transition in your school, district, region; If you need assistance working with your DRS counselors; If you need assistance developing a SWS, WAT, Project SEARCH, iJobs, or other program; and If you want to be connected with your local transition team.

5. So how do you access VR services?

6. To access VR services in Oklahoma Call 1-800-487-4042 to find the counselor nearest you, or visit the web site at http://www.okrehab.org/directory/Schools.asp. Just enter the name of your high school (e.g., Norman North), and the office that serves your school will be displayed.

7. Application Process Referral is made Application is submitted Documentation is submitted (e.g., IEP, grades, psychological, MEEGS, RED) Counselor determines eligibility within 60 days. Priority Group Placement (PG 1, 2, or 3) Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) is developed within 90 days. Service implementation begins

8. What is order of selection?*An agency must go under OOS due to an increase in caseload or budgetary restraints.*Clients who apply and are eligible are placed on a temporary waiting list.*PG 1 is open (most significant disabilities)*PG 2 and 3 are on a wait list

9. What does “comparable benefits” mean? An agency must first see what comparable benefits are already being provided to the client or seek alternate resources prior to committing agency resources to a case. School-based examples may include Speech Therapy, OT, PT, Transportation, CareerTech.

10. What is an Employment Outcome? • All Rehab Agencies are measured by the number of individuals with disabilities that they help secure independent, competitive, community employment in integrated settings. That would be counted as a successful closure. • Sheltered Workshop, Enclaves, and Adult Day Programs are not successful employment outcomes.

11. There may be summer employment programs available to the student through either the school or DRS. Contact your local DRS counselors to develop something in your area.Any services provided by DRS must in some way be related to what that student’s vocational goal is for the future.

12. Trends and Statistics • 5 years of case data findings • 1/3 of our applications are from transition aged youth (from 37% in 2008 to 33% in 2013) • Age 18 is the most common age at application, then 17, then 19 • Most common disability is SLD for 22 and younger (3,385), then ID (1,086) • In 2011-2012, there was $2,613,642 in SWS Authorizations for 1,538 kids

13. Trends and Statistics • 5 years of case data findings • We spend an average of $8,126 per transition case • Three highest service categories are: • School Work Study • Supported Employment • College

14. How can you help? Establish a good relationship with all DRS counselors in your area (VR, VS, DHOH, Hispanic). Encourage students and families to apply for services at 15 ½. Have employment first philosophy from the get-go. Talk to families about the importance of work for income, health, socialization, well-being. Connect SSA recipients with DRS Benefits Planners Invite DRS counselors to classes and meetings

15. What if VR says they can’t provide something which a student needs?*Income guidelines*PG services*Vocational Goal

16. Information Source(for following slides) Statistics on transition taken from Mathematica Policy Research Project #40122.305, August 2013, authors: Todd Honeycutt, Allison Thompkins, Maura Bardos, Steven Stern

17. Statistics on Transition On average, each year from 2004 through 2006, 8% of U.S. youth with disabilities ages 16-24 applied for VR services.Across the United States, 56% of transition-age youth who applied for VR services eventually received them.

18. Nationally, about 2% of transition-aged youth with disabilities between 2004 and 2006 actually got a job through VR.In Oklahoma, between 1.9% and 2.5% of transition-age youth between 2004-2006 actually got a job through VR.

19. Employment rates for youth and young adults with work limitations lagged behind youth without limitations by 20 to 30 percentage points.For youth with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) employment outcomes are lower than for other youth with disabilities.

20. For the SSI subset of youth with disabilities, other barriers include lack of appropriate work resources, health challenges, lack of social networks to help identify employment opportunities, and a lack of awareness of their rights to disability-related workplace accommodations.

21. We need collaboration between Vocational Rehabilitation and the school in identifying and referring eligible youth and strengthening post-school outcomes and data collection for transition-age youth.

22. In Oklahoma 55.9% of transition-age youth who apply for VR services have Individualized Education Programs (IEP).

23. Oklahoma is one of 6 states with 6-10% of VR/VS counselors with dedicated transition caseloads. Seven states had over 21% of their counselors with dedicated transition caseloads and 11 states and the District of Columbia had no staff with dedicated caseloads.

24. Of 100 transition-age youth with disabilities,8 applied for VR servicesOut of those 8, 4 actually received VR services2 of the 4 actually got jobs through VR National Statistics

25. What can DRS do?What can families do?What can schools do?What can the IEP team do?What can the student do?What do we need from administrators (schools and VR)?What about other providers?

26. For Families • Stay involved in your child’s education throughout their education. • Focus on employment of your child. • Have appropriate expectations of your child. • Plan early for your child’s future.

27. What is the Client Assistance Program (CAP)? • CAP is a federal program providing information about the Department of Rehabilitation Services or advocacy within that program for someone already a client. • CAP can provide information about DRS to help families and/or teachers navigate within that program. • CAP can address teacher/family concerns about a student’s DRS case in transition.

28. Website Information To access printed information handouts, go to www.odc.ok.gov. On the top of the page click About ODC, go to publications and click for access to all our publications including The Little Book of Advocacy.

29. What are challenges you face in providing transition services?What solutions do we have to overcome those challenges?

30. Presenters:Kim OsmaniTransition Coordinator, OKDRS405-635-2768kosmani@okdrs.govWilliam GinnClient Assistance Program405-521-3756 1-800-522-8224William.Ginn@odc.ok.gov