Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 10 - Division of Services for the Blind › Rule 016.10.14-001 - 2015 Vocational Rehabilitation State Plan

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
FY 2015 State Plan Required Attachments
Cooperation with Agencies Not Carrying Out Activities
				under the Statewide Workforce Investment System
{Attachment 4.8(b) (1)}
Describe interagency cooperation with and utilization of the
				services and facilities of agencies and programs that are not carrying out
				activities through the statewide workforce investment system with respect
				to:
.
Federal, state, and local agencies and
				programs;
.
if applicable, Programs carried out by the Under
				Secretary for Rural
Development of the United States Department of Agriculture; and
.
if applicable, state use contracting programs.
The Department of Human Services Division of State Services for
				the Blind (DSB) has cooperative agreements with the following agencies not
				carrying out activities under the statewide Workforce Investment system:
Arkansas Educational Television Network
Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
33 Institutions of Higher Education
Arkansas Department of Education, Special Education
Educational Services for the Visually Impaired
DHS Division of Aging and Adult Services
DHS Division of Behavioral Health
DHS Division of Children and Family Services
DHS Division of County Operations
DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities Services
DHS Division of Community Service and Nonprofit Support
DHS Division of Youth Services
Coordination with DHS
Co-location - DSB serves all 75 counties in Arkansas, and VR
				counselors have base offices in DHS offices in 10 geographic locations around
				the state. Referrals may be made directly to the appropriate DSB field office
				serving the individual's community or through the DSB Central Office.
Leadership Training
- DSB coordinates with other
				DHS Divisions by, including but not limited to, participating in "Leadership in
				a High Performance Culture" workshops and other training for managers and
				supervisors.
Mental Health
- DSB coordinates with the DHS
				Division of Behavioral Health Services, the DHS Division of Medical Services,
				and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and sends a representative
				to meetings of the Arkansas Children's Behavioral Health Care
				Commission.
Access
- The State Rehabilitation Technologist
				participates in the Accessibility Work Group which meets monthly to discuss
				accessibility issues with websites and software applications used by state
				employees. The group is comprised of technology staff from each of the DHS
				divisions.
The DSB Business and Technology Unit continues to coordinate
				with the DHS Office of Systems and Technology to ensure its Data Loss
				Protection (DLP) project does not take any action that would affect access to
				adaptive software and accommodations by DHS employees who are blind or visually
				impaired.
The DSB Business and Technology Unit has tested accessibility
				on the AWARE data management system project, Office 365, and 508 Enhancements,
				a national project that will assist individuals who are blind or visually
				impaired in using Microsoft Share products. DSB has a DHS Share account and
				expects the 508 Enhancements project to benefit its employees who are blind or
				visually impaired. The State Rehabilitation Technologist has been involved in
				testing some Google mail and Google apps, working with some other states that
				are migrating to put their emails out on the Google system. DSB will be using
				an internal Office 365 cloud program through DHS.
Assistive Technology Coordination
Assessments for assistive technology are done by the DSB
				Business and Technology Unit, which has trained Rehabilitation Teachers to
				install computer equipment and perform other technology-related tasks, so that
				they can provide basic technology support to consumers in their respective
				geographic areas statewide. This initiative also expanded the capacity of the
				DSB Business and Technology Unit.
Taking this initiative a step further, last year DSB started a
				project with World Services for the Blind to train Rehabilitation Teachers on
				the use of assistive technology devices and how to provide assistive technology
				instruction to consumers in their local areas. The initial venture was a
				success and is being continued and expanded to include other field staff in the
				training.
In April 2014, DSB started business partnerships to have
				vendors train counselors and rehabilitation teachers about new assistive
				technology.
DSB is among the agencies and organizations tasked with
				implementing the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in
				Arkansas. Its partner World Services for the Blind has been designated to
				distribute technology equipment under the federal legislation. Through the Act,
				consumers will be exposed to more technology available to assist them in their
				daily lives, job searches and workplaces.
DSB continues to collaborate with the Arkansas Library for the
				Blind and Physically Handicapped (ALBPH) and maintains a number of digital
				recorders to be used by staff to teach consumers how to access digital talking
				books, both by standard mail distribution and through the Braille and Audio
				Reading Download (BARD) website. Additionally, available technology services
				can be offered and augmented by DSB's technology staff and lab.
Coordination of Deaf-blind Services
Each year DSB coordinates with the Governor's Office, the
				Department of Education, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services Office of Services
				for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and related consumer groups to proclaim and
				celebrate the last week of June as Helen Keller Deaf-blind Awareness Week and
				observe her birthdate June 27. A deaf-blind consumer is chosen to accept the
				proclamation from the Governor at the State Capitol.
DSB has a cooperative agreement with Arkansas Rehabilitation
				Services to have dual caseloads in regard to consumers who are deaf-blind. DSB
				provides blindness services and ARS addresses deafness needs.
Coordination with United States Department of
				Agriculture
DSB refers consumers to commodity programs and the Supplemental
				Nutrition Assistance Program, which are under the United States Department of
				Agriculture (USDA).
Outreach Efforts
In addition to contracting with Centers for Independent Living
				(CILs) to reach out to faith-based groups, DSB continues its efforts to
				increase VR awareness and referrals from faith-based groups, minority
				organizations and the general public:
*
In southeast Arkansas, DSB participated in the
				Dumas Mini Health Fair and made presentations at Drew County Memorial Hospital,
				the Jefferson County Diabetes Support Group, the Dallas County Diabetes Support
				Group, and the Jefferson Regional Medical Center's Diabetes Resource Center.
				DSB participated in the Jefferson County Transition Fair and visited high
				schools in Watson Chapel, Monticello, and McGehee. DSB did faith-based outreach
				at the First Assembly of God Church and the Christian Outreach Ministries, both
				in Pine Bluff DSB did minority outreach at Charro's Mexican restaurant and the
				Lil Steakhouse, both in Pine Bluff Staff distributed information at Contact
				Lens
Express, Curves fitness center, the Professional Imaging
				Center, the Fordyce Civic Center, the Pine Bluff Public Library, and the Dewitt
				Public Library. DSB networked with Delta Resource CIL. This southeast Arkansas
				area is in the lower Delta and has a high minority population.
*
In northwest Arkansas, DSB participated in
				transition fairs at high schools in Springdale and Greenwood and visited other
				schools in the area. DSB participated in a job fair at Harrison, the University
				of Arkansas at Fayetteville Job Fair, the Serco Job Fair at the Non-Profit
				Center in Rogers, the Northwest Arkansas Job Fair in Rogers, and Goodwill
				Industries of Arkansas Job Fairs in Springdale, Fayetteville, and Siloam
				Springs. DSB had an exhibit booth at the Searcy County Health and Safety Fair
				in Marshall. DSB staff attended monthly meetings of the VIP Support Group and
				the Ozark Support Group. Staff visited four eye clinics in the area. In
				faith-based efforts, DSB made a presentation at the Women's Missions Union at
				the Antioch Baptist Church in Flippin. DSB presented information to the Searcy
				County Historical Society, Blue Cliff College, Northwest Technical Institute,
				and both the Disability Program and Admissions Offices of Northwest Arkansas
				Community College.
*
In northeast Arkansas, DSB participated in the
				Career Expo at Arkansas State University, the Career Fair at Goodwill
				Industries in Batesville, and a job fair at the University of Arkansas
				Community College of Batesville (UACCB). Faith-based outreach efforts were made
				with Nettleton Baptist Church of Jonesboro, the Faith-based Mission of Marked
				Tree, the Restoration House, Quail Valley Church of Christ in Batesville, the
				Downtown Church of Christ in Heber Springs, New Liberty Baptist Church of
				Pangburn, Veterans Outreach Ministries in Pleasant Plains, and the Church of
				God and White Water Baptist Church, both of Mountain View. DSB distributed
				information about its services at the Conway Human Development Center Health
				Fair, and staff attended monthly seminars at White River Medical Center.
				Outreach efforts such as the distribution of brochures and the posting of
				fliers continue to be made at the Ozark Folk Center, Blanchard Springs Caverns
				State Park, farm-related businesses, banks, eye clinics, computer stores,
				grocery stores, gas stations, convenience stores, DHS offices, pharmacies, and
				other businesses. A newsletter is sent to area consumers. DSB is working with a
				local non-profit television station in Melbourne regarding publicity. Staff
				made presentations at the Access Arkansas Processing Center and at the Clinton
				Chamber of Commerce Fundraiser.
*
In central Arkansas, VR Counselors made
				presentations and left brochures at doctors' clinics, DHS offices, and schools.
				DSB had booths at the Conway Job Fair and the Transition Fair at the
				Russellville High School. Presentations were made at the Russellville Lions
				Club, Little Rock Founders Lions Club and the Arkansas Lions' Mid-Winter
				conference. Staff gave information about DSB services to 24 employers at the
				Little Rock Job Fair and to a meeting of the West Central Workforce Board
				Committee on One-Stop Operators. Staff attended the open house at Arkansas
				Lighthouse for the Blind and toured the Little Rock Job
Corps facilities and Goodwill Industries of Arkansas. As part
				of the 2014 Jump Start educational activities, DSB took students to both the
				Heifer International Headquarters and the Heifer International Farm. Heifer
				International is a nonprofit which provides livestock to impoverished families
				and teaches them sustainable agricultural practices. Jump Start students also
				toured the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, which focuses on Arkansas's
				African-American history and culture. DSB staff are made aware that referrals
				can be made as needed to Laity Involved in Free Transportation (LIFT), a
				volunteer program through the First United Methodist Church of Little Rock,
				which provides free transportation services to individuals in Little Rock and
				North Little Rock who have no other means of transportation to doctor
				appointments and medical treatments.
*
In southwest Arkansas, outreach efforts included
				participation in the "Healthy Arkansas" health awareness event in Magnolia, the
				annual Woodmen of the World luncheon, a class on sensory awareness, the
				Ouachita County Health Fair, the Assistive Technology Show at Camden Fairview
				School District, the Delta Omega Omega Women's Health Fair, and the Transition
				Job Fair at Crossett High School. Presentations were made at the Camden Lions
				Club, the AAA Driver Improvement Program, and the DHS Division of Aging and
				Adult Services. Staff participated in the Texas-Arkansas Bi-State Coalition
				meetings and assisted in the planning of its annual conference. Staff
				participated in the meetings of the Small Business Development group and the
				Adult Education Advisory Board. Staff attended the National Multicultural
				Rehabilitation Concerns Conference. Faith-based efforts continue with the
				Camden Community Brotherhood, Ouachita District Laymen, the United Methodist
				Men, and the Inter-faith Medical Clinic. Minority outreach efforts continue
				with the Ouachita County Economic Development Council, Men's Health Outreach,
				Camden Accelerated Business Services, the Esquire Scholarship Dinner, Macedonia
				Men's Health Fair, and Camden Chamber of Commerce's "Business After Dark"
				annual networking event.
Emergency Preparedness Collaborations
DSB collaborates with organizations charged with developing
				strategic plans for emergency preparedness; response and recovery; and
				maintenance of services in the aftermath of a disaster.
DSB was involved in the initial development of the DHS Business
				Continuity and Contingency Plan (BCCP), which addresses continued operations in
				the event of a disaster. DSB reviews the BCCP annually and updates the agency's
				part of the plan as needed.
DSB's Staff Development Coordinator has some disaster
				preparedness experience related to military service and meets with Arkansas
				Department of Emergency Management
(ADEM) as part of the efforts of the statewide Disaster
				Preparedness Committee for Persons with Disabilities.
Coordination with Blind
				Agencies/Organizations
DSB collaborates with the following organizations, agencies,
				and non-profits through their participation on the DSB board and in the
				day-to-day provision of services to consumers: the Arkansas Lions; Arkansas
				Affiliate National Federation of the Blind (NFB); Association for Education and
				Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER); World Services for the
				Blind (WSB); Arkansas Association of Blind Business Enterprise Managers; the
				Blinded Veterans Association; Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually
				Impaired (ASBVI); and the Arkansas Chapter American Council of the Blind (ACB).
				The Disability Rights Center (DRC) and the Arkansas Independent Living Council
				(AILC) are routinely scheduled for presentations at each board meeting. Time is
				also scheduled every quarter for consumer input during DSB board
				meetings.
The DSB Director is a member of the AILC and Workforce Services
				boards. DSB staff and DSB Board members attend ACB, NFB, WSB, and AER local,
				state and/or national activities/events. DSB representatives are frequently
				asked to be presenters at these organizations' annual state conferences, and
				representatives from these organizations are frequently invited to be
				presenters at DSB meetings and conferences. Some DSB staff are members of these
				organizations. VR Counselors participate in staffings regarding their consumers
				at WSB. Arkansas Lions Clubs assist DSB with local presentations for the annual
				area Consumer of the Year (COY) awards. In areas where there are no Lions
				Clubs, DSB coordinates COY presentations with Kiwanis, Rotary, or Chambers of
				Commerce. DSB continues to work closely with consumer groups.
DSB is coordinating a White Cane Safety Day planning committee
				to plan an observance event for October 2014. The committee includes
				representatives from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Department of
				Counseling, Adult Education, and Rehabilitation Education; Educational Services
				for the Visually Impaired; WSB; Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind; Arkansas
				Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped; Arkansas Lions Eye
				Bank and Laboratory; NFB; Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System; Arkansas
				School for the Blind and Visually Impaired; Arkansas Lions; ACB; and
				AER.
The White Cane Safety Day event DSB coordinated in October 2013
				drew about 200 people from across the state. The DSB Director spoke about the
				history and importance of the white cane. Children from the Arkansas School for
				the Blind and Visually Impaired gave a mobility demonstration. Cane-using
				representatives of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, the National Federation
				of the Blind Arkansas Affiliate, the American Council of the Blind Arkansas
				Affiliate, World Services for the Blind, and DSB spoke about the difference the
				white cane had made in their lives and their independence. The event was part
				of October's Blindness Awareness Month. The Governor's Office issued a
				proclamation proclaiming October 15 as White Cane Safety Day.
Support Groups
DSB staff are knowledgeable about support groups, which are
				located around the state in El Dorado, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, Jonesboro,
				Little Rock, Mountain Home, Ozark, Paragould, Pine Bluff, Springdale, Harrison,
				and Texarkana. Rehabilitation Teachers are available to speak to support groups
				on vocational topics.
CILs and Other Providers
DSB pays WSB and the Louisiana Center for the Blind on a "fee
				for services" case-by-case basis. DSB continues its agreement with World
				Services for the Blind and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to provide SE
				services, training, and placement through the jointly-developed Vocational
				Assistance Under Long Term (VAULT) program. WSB continues to provide
				assessments, skills training, and training to family members and significant
				others on issues related to blindness, including IL skills and overcoming
				barriers to employment. The Lighthouse and/or other SE vendors will provide
				direct job placement and job coaching. In March 2014, a summit for family
				members and significant others was held at WSB, and DSB staff were on-hand to
				assist.
DSB continues to issue RFQ's each year in an effort to contract
				with Centers for Independent Living and faith-based groups to provide VR
				information to churches and other faith-based groups. DSB continues to work
				with all of the four CIL's, including those who choose not to participate in
				the contract system.
Coordination with Education-related
				Partners
In June, 2014, DSB conducted Jump Start, a statewide career
				development program for high school students who are blind or severely visually
				impaired. Twenty-one students from across the state were accepted into the
				program. DSB coordinates with the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually
				Impaired (ASBVI) in the planning and operation of Jump Start. ASBVI holds its
				summer learning program for youth under age 14 at the same time that DSB has
				Jump Start, so the two agencies share cafeteria staff, infirmary nurses, and
				security guards, and at least one ASBVI staff member is assigned to assist
				during Jump Start. DSB houses the students at ASBVI during the week (students
				go home on weekends). The three-week program is designed to expose Jump Start
				students to the world of work and assist them in transitioning from high school
				to employment or post-secondary education. Students are placed in part-time
				jobs appropriate for their skills, abilities, and interests. They go to work in
				the mornings and in the afternoons and evenings participate in educational and
				recreational activities. Students learn independent living and job readiness
				skills; computer technology; and, if needed, orientation and mobility skills.
				Jump Start increases the students' confidence, social skills, and self-esteem.
				It also strengthens DSB's relationship with ASBVI.
DSB continues to coordinate services with Educational Services
				for the Visually Impaired. DSB includes ESVI as an integral partner in Parent
				Summits for students who are blind or visually impaired and their families.
				Parents learn information aimed to ease their concerns about students
				transitioning from high school to college; the educational rights of students
				who are blind or visually impaired; and the resources and services available to
				them.
Relationships with ESVI are also strengthened by outreach and
				coordination initiatives that consist of sending information by mail and email
				to ESVI Regional Certified Vision Consultants at least twice a year, in the
				fall and winter months. VR Counselors and their assistants serve as agency
				contacts.
DSB is a charter member in the Arkansas Interagency Transition
				Partnership (AITP), which coordinates transition services and discusses related
				issues. AITP has representatives from 26 agencies and organizations, including,
				but not limited to Arkansas Transition Services (ATS), Arkansas Rehabilitation
				Services (ARS), Arkansas Transition Program (ATP), Department of Human Services
				(DHS), Division of Disability Services (DDS), DSB, parent centers, the private
				sector, and public and private schools. AITP involves transition agencies and
				organizations at a state level through quarterly meetings and shares
				information through its website. AITP will hold a Summer Agency Connections
				conference on June 25, in Little Rock and is sponsoring a Transition Summit
				October 22-23, in Hot Springs. DSB plans to send representatives to these
				conferences.
As a part of AITP at the local level, DSB is reaching out to
				each Local Education Area Supervisor in the school districts across the State
				to strengthen the relationship between the Department of Special Education and
				DSB.
Each DSB regional office maintains a contact list for all
				secondary schools in its service area and regularly sends information by mail
				and email to contacts on the list. VR Counselors and their assistants serve as
				agency contacts. This process gives schools a pathway for increased
				communications with DSB.
The DSB Director, the Staff Development Coordinator, and an
				Area Supervisor meet annually with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock
				Advisory Board to ensure that DSB is involved with their planning for higher
				education needs.
Business Partnership Development
DSB continues its participation in the Regional VR Business
				Network (ReVrb), a group established by the Technical Assistance and Continuing
				Education (TACE) Center to work on particular issues between vocational
				rehabilitation and business.
Crime Victims
DSB is actively involved in the Crime Victims with Disabilities
				Council, a subset of Partners for Inclusive Communities-University of Arkansas
				Medical Sciences.
Additional Information: Cooperation with Agencies within
				the Statewide Workforce Investment System
DSB has cooperative agreements with local Workforce Investment
				Boards, which are updated as necessary. DSB also has cooperative agreements
				with the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) and Arkansas Rehabilitation
				Services (a general agreement and a deafblind agreement).
DSB, ARS, the DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities
				Services (DDS), the DHS Division of Behavioral Health Services (BHS), and the
				Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Special Education Unit (SEU),
				Transition Unit are partners in a cooperative agreement outlining
				responsibilities and the provision of services, including supported employment,
				to transition-aged consumers.
Through the Governor's Executive Order 10-17, DSB coordinates
				with Workforce and other state agencies to increase employment of Arkansans
				with disabilities. The order also aims to focus consumer services first toward
				the goal of self-sufficiency through employment.
The DSB Director serves on the Arkansas Workforce Investment
				Board, which meets quarterly, and VR Counselors are members of the local
				Workforce Investment Boards, which meet quarterly across the state.
DSB continues to support its 17 accessible kiosks for consumers
				at Workforce Center locations. The original 10 kiosks were placed in the same
				cities where DSB has offices; the second set of seven kiosks were placed in
				cities with either two-year or four-year Institutions of Higher Education. The
				kiosks provide consumers the same access to the Internet to search for jobs as
				a sighted person seeking services from Workforce.
Coordination with Education Officials
{Attachment 4.8(b) (2)}
.
Describe the designated state unit's plans,
				policies, and procedures for coordination with education officials to
				facilitate the transition of students with disabilities from school to the
				receipt of vocational rehabilitation services, including provisions for the
				development and approval of an individualized plan for employment before each
				student determined to be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services leaves
				the school setting or, if the designated state unit is operating on an order of
				selection, before each eligible student able to be served under the order
				leaves the school setting.
.
Provide information on the formal interagency
				agreement with the state educational agency with respect to o consultation and
				technical assistance to assist educational agencies in planning for the
				transition of students with disabilities from school to post-school activities,
				including VR
services; o transition planning by personnel of the designated
				state agency and educational agency that facilitates the development and
				completion of their individualized education programs; o roles and
				responsibilities, including financial responsibilities,
of each agency, including provisions for determining state lead
				agencies and qualified personnel responsible for transition services; o
				procedures for outreach to and identification of students with disabilities who
				need transition services.
DSB has a cooperative agreement with the Arkansas Department of
				Education, Special Education, regarding transition services to students who are
				blind or severely visually impaired and are in public schools, including
				Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASBVI). The interagency
				agreement with the Department of Education outlines the roles and
				responsibilities, financial responsibility, determination of lead agency, and
				qualified personnel.
DSB also has cooperative agreements with:
*
Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually
				Impaired
*
Arkansas School for the Deaf and Hearing
				Impaired
*
Educational Services for the Visually Impaired
				(ESVI)
*
33 Institutions of Higher Education
DSB counselors assist consumers in developing Individual Plans
				for Employment (IPE's) before students determined to be eligible for vocational
				rehabilitation services leave the school setting.
In regard to the development and approval of IPE's, all DSB
				consumers, including transition students, receive services based upon their
				IPE. The counselor and the consumer and/or a representative, as appropriate,
				develop the IPE jointly and mutually approve its contents. The IPE must be
				designed to achieve the specific employment outcome chosen by the individual
				and be consistent with the individual's unique strengths, resources,
				priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, career interests, and informed
				choice. The services, service providers, and all activities selected by the
				consumer must be necessary to meet the employment outcome goal. The VR
				Counselor communicates with the consumer and other service providers, such as
				ARS, to avoid duplication of services and to ensure consideration of comparable
				benefits, where applicable.
DSB is a charter member in the Arkansas Interagency Transition
				Partnership (AITP), which coordinates transition services and discusses related
				issues. AITP has representatives from 26 agencies and organizations, including,
				but not limited to Arkansas Transition Services (ATS), Arkansas Rehabilitation
				Services (ARS), Arkansas Transition Program (ATP), Department of Human Services
				(DHS), Division of Disability Services (DDS), DSB, parent centers, the private
				sector, and public and private schools. AITP involves transition agencies and
				organizations at a state level through quarterly meetings and shares
				information through its website. AITP will hold a Summer Agency Connections
				conference on June 25, in Little Rock and is sponsoring a Transition Summit
				October 22-23, in Hot Springs. DSB plans to send representatives to these
				conferences.
As a part of AITP at the local level, DSB is reaching out to
				each Local Education Area Supervisor in the school districts across the State
				to strengthen the relationship between the Department of Special Education and
				DSB.
Secondary schools invite DSB to Individualized Education Plan
				(IEP) meetings to be part of the planning team to assist education agencies in
				preparing students who are blind or severely visually impaired for transition
				from school to post-school activities, such as employment, training, supported
				employment, and other VR services. The IEP outlines the roles and
				responsibilities of DSB, the student, the school, and any other
				agency/organization involved in providing transition services.
In June, 2014, DSB conducted Jump Start, a statewide career
				development program for high school students who are blind or severely visually
				impaired. Twenty-one students from across the state were accepted into the
				program. DSB coordinates with the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually
				Impaired (ASBVI) in the planning and operation of Jump Start. ASBVI holds its
				summer learning program for youth under age 14 at the same time that DSB has
				Jump Start, so the two agencies share cafeteria staff, infirmary nurses, and
				security guards, and at least one ASBVI staff member is assigned to assist
				during Jump Start. DSB houses the students at ASBVI during the week (students
				go home on weekends). The three-week program is designed to expose Jump Start
				students to the world of work and assist them in transitioning from high school
				to employment or post-secondary education. Students are placed in part-time
				jobs appropriate for their skills, abilities, and interests. They go to work in
				the mornings and in the afternoons and evenings participate in educational and
				recreational activities. Students learn independent living and job readiness
				skills; computer technology; and, if needed, orientation and mobility skills.
				Jump Start increases the students' confidence, social skills, and self-esteem.
				It also strengthens DSB's relationship with ASBVI.
DSB sponsored a weekend conference for students who are blind
				or visually impaired and their families in conjunction with the Southern
				College of Optometry in Memphis March 21-22, 2014. DSB held a Parent Summit in
				West Memphis for its consumers the first night. The next day they joined
				families from three states attending the "Solutions in Sight" Family Day at
				Southern College of Optometry. They learned information aimed to ease their
				concerns about students transitioning from high school to college; the
				educational rights of students who are blind or visually impaired; and the
				resources and services available to them. DSB provided free lodging and meals
				and held the event on a Friday-Saturday to enable more families to
				attend.
DSB continues to participate in the Transition Learning
				Collaborative (TLC), a group established by the Technical Assistance and
				Continuing Education (TACE) Center to share information and resources to
				improve transition at the state level. TACE Center staff researches student
				data collection and analyzes models used in other states and shares them with
				the states in the TLC collaborative. The TLC is composed of transition
				coordinators from both general and blind VR agencies in Region VI. Interaction
				with other states and TACE increases the resources available to DSB in regard
				to transition best practices and information. DSB's transition coordinator
				participates in monthly TLC teleconferences.
Responsibilities
DSB is both a DSU and a DSA. DSB is also a division within the
				Department of Human Services. DSB has an RSA-approved agreement with the
				Department of
Education/Special Education, which provides information on
				financial responsibilities, the lead agency, and qualified personnel.
Outreach Procedures
DSB continues to follow directives to improve communication
				with schools. Field Services Directive 08-06 was developed for contacting
				schools and distributing information at least semi-annually. Per the directive,
				each DSB regional office maintains a contact list for all secondary schools in
				its service area and sends letters and information to contacts on the list. In
				2011 an email option was added. This process gives schools a pathway for
				increased communications with DSB.
Cooperative Agreements with Private Nonprofit
				Organizations
{Attachment 4.8(b)(3)}
Describe the manner in which the designated state agency
				establishes cooperative agreements with private non-profit vocational
				rehabilitation service providers.
DSB develops agreements in response to:
(1) state and federal laws and regulations,
(2) results of needs
			 assessments,
(3) suggestions from
			 consumer groups, and
(4) 
			 recommendations of staff and stakeholders including those in the Workforce
			 Services arena. DSB uses the RSA guideline template to develop cooperative
			 agreements.
DSB has been a long-standing partner with the Arkansas
				Deafblindness Project, formerly known as the Deaf/Blind Consortium. DSB refers
				consumers to the Deafblindness Project. DSB serves on the Arkansas Advisory
				Committee for the Deafblindness Project, which provides training for parents
				and professionals to foster stronger partnerships among agencies who work with
				this population. The Deafblindness Project maintains a deafblind registry and
				requests related information from DSB. DSB is an affiliate of the Helen Keller
				National Center.
DSB continues to issue RFQ's each year in an effort to contract
				with Centers for Independent Living and faith-based groups to provide VR
				information to churches and other faith-based groups. DSB continues to work
				with all of the four CIL's, including those who choose not to participate in
				the contract system.
DSB operates the Arkansas Information Reading Services (AIRS),
				which began as a private non-profit organization and is now part of the state
				agency. The organization's founders formed Friends of AIRS (FAIRS) to continue
				its support of the station. DSB leases facilities for AIRS from the Arkansas
				Educational Television Network (AETN), which provides DSB with in-kind services
				in the form of engineering services and other technology.
Arrangements and Cooperative Agreements for the
				Provision
of Supported Employment Services
{Attachment 4.8(b) (4)}
Describe the efforts of the designated state agency to identify
				and make arrangements, including entering into cooperative agreements, with
				other state agencies and other appropriate entities in order to provide the
				following services to individuals with the most significant
				disabilities:
.
supported employment services; and
.
extended services.
DSB continues its agreement with World Services for the Blind
				and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to provide SE services, training, and
				placement through the jointly-developed Vocational Assistance Under Long Term
				(VAULT) program. WSB
continues to provide assessments, skills training, and training
				to family members and significant others on issues related to blindness,
				including IL skills and overcoming barriers to employment. The Lighthouse
				and/or other SE vendors will provide direct job placement and job coaching. In
				March 2014, a summit for family members and significant others was held at WSB,
				and DSB staff were on-hand to assist.
In 2015, DSB will earmark a sum of VR funds for an
				establishment grant to World Services for the Blind in conjunction with
				Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to support DSB efforts to expand the capacity
				of the State of Arkansas to provide supported employment services to
				individuals in Arkansas who are blind or severely visually impaired.
DSB, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS), the DHS Division
				of Developmental Disabilities Services (DDS), the DHS Division of Behavioral
				Health Services (BHS), and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Special
				Education Unit (SEU), Transition Unit are partners in a cooperative agreement
				outlining responsibilities and the provision of services, including supported
				employment, to transition-aged consumers. The agreement produced an interagency
				steering committee which works on supported employment issues. During its
				formulation, the steering committee was facilitated by the EmployAbility
				Project, a Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG) program that was housed in the
				DHS Division of Aging and Adult Services.
Through the Governor's Executive Order 10-17, DSB coordinates
				with other state agencies to increase employment of Arkansans with
				disabilities. The DSB Director served on a task force that identified policies
				that created barriers and disincentives for employment of individuals who are
				disabled and made recommendations to the Governor. The Executive Order called
				for DHS to convene an Employment First Task Force comprised of disability
				service providers, consumer advocates, and the state agencies administering
				disability services, vocational rehabilitation, Workforce services, and
				education and to focus consumer services first toward the goal of
				self-sufficiency through employment.
Executive Order 10-17 also calls for the training of staff and
				counseling of consumers on Social Security work incentives, the Ticket to Work
				program, and employment and navigation services for individuals with
				disabilities who want to work. It aims to increase the availability and use of
				supported employment through interagency collaboration and reallocation of
				existing funds to better meet the needs of individuals with the most
				significant disabilities.
Extended Services
DSB has contracted with World Services for the Blind and
				Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to serve as CRPs to provide Supported
				Employment services.
Comprehensive System of Personnel
				Development
{Attachment 4.10}
The Arkansas Division of State Services for the Blind (DSB)
				supports a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) as required by
				Section 101(a)(7) of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992. DSB's CSPD Plan
				is aimed at securing and maintaining an adequate supply of qualified
				rehabilitation professionals and paraprofessionals to provide rehabilitation
				services to blind and severely visually impaired individuals. DSB requires VR
				Counselors to be certified by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor
				Certification (CRCC) or at minimum be qualified to be certified and working
				toward certification. DSB requires Rehabilitation Teachers to be certified by
				the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education
				Professionals (ACVREP) or at minimum be qualified to be certified and working
				toward certification. These state standards are consistent with national
				standards requiring recognized certifications for personnel providing
				vocational rehabilitation services.
Procedures for evaluating progress
The DSB Staff Development Coordinator, Field Services
				Administrator, and Area Field Supervisors monitor progress by staff to meet
				CSPD standards. An employee that declares retirement receives a lower priority
				in attaining the CSPD standard, but is required to complete a designated course
				which will increase expertise. Counselors have established timeframes (seven
				years from date of hire) to meet the requirements or face reclassification and
				demotion or other measures. Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors receive
				priority in training for CSPD requirements, and Rehabilitation Teachers for the
				Blind are given second priority. The spring 2013 legislative session gave DSB
				the authority to pay tuition for its VR Counselors working on their CRCs. DSB
				is developing legislation to expand this opportunity to Area Field Supervisors,
				since they are also required to meet certification standards. The next priority
				will focus upon Rehabilitation Teachers and Rehabilitation Assistants.
Data System on Personnel and Personnel
				Development
Qualified Personnel Needs
{Attachment 4.10(a) (1)}
Describe the development and maintenance of a system for
				collecting and analyzing on an annual basis data on qualified personnel needs
				with respect to:
.
the number of personnel who are employed by the
				state agency in the provision of vocational rehabilitation services in relation
				to the number of individuals served, broken down by personnel category;
.
the number of personnel currently needed by the
				state agency to provide vocational rehabilitation services, broken down by
				personnel category; and
.
projections of the number of personnel, broken
				down by personnel category, who will be needed by the state agency to provide
				vocational rehabilitation services in the state in 5 years based on projections
				of the number of individuals to be served, including individuals with
				significant disabilities, the number of personnel expected to retire or leave
				the field, and other relevant factors.
DHS Division of Services for the Blind is dedicated to ensuring
				an adequate supply of qualified professionals and support staff DSB has a
				strong commitment to providing and making available training programs
				especially for staff that provide direct services to consumers.
Current Staffing Levels
DHS Division of Services for the Blind has sufficient staff on
				hand to staff the VR Program. DSB works aggressively to fill vacancies
				promptly. DSB has 13 authorized VR Counselors. Field Services has 36 support
				staff In Counseling and Guidance, there are three CRC Counselors and three
				taking their CRC exam in March 2015. DSB has 30 extra help positions; eight
				were filled as of the June 2014 DSB Board meeting.
Caseload Data
The 13 VR caseloads had an average caseload of 88 individuals
				as of October 1, 2013, with a statewide total of 1,148 active cases and a total
				of 1,690 served during the preceding 12 months.
Projected Number of Replacement Staff in the Next Five
				Years
DSB anticipates an elevated level of retirement among its
				experienced staff in the next five years. It is expected that there will be a
				fairly regular replacement rate for staff during the next five years.
The number of staff on hand as of the June 2014 DSB Board
				meeting and projected annual number of replacements by category are as
				follows:
Category
Total
Positions
Filled
Current Vacancies
Projected
Vacancies
over the next
5 years
Administrative Staff
13
1
3
Counselor Staff
38
3
2
Staff Supporting Counselor Activities
9
3
0
Other Staff
7
2
0
Personnel Development
{Attachment 4.10(a)
				(2)}
Describe the development and maintenance of a system for
				collecting and analyzing on an annual basis data on personnel development with
				respect to:
.
a list of the institutions of higher education
				in the state that are preparing vocational rehabilitation professionals, by
				type of program;
.
the number of students enrolled at each of those
				institutions, broken down by type of program; and
.
the number of students who graduated during the
				prior year from each of those institutions with certification or licensure, or
				with the credentials for certification or licensure, broken down by the
				personnel category for which they have received, or have the credentials to
				receive, certification or licensure.
The Staff Development Coordinator maintains contact with the
				institutions of higher education and gathers data. The Coordinator reports this
				data to the Field Services Administrator and the Assistant Director. Below is
				the most recent information available from the institutions of higher education
				that have programs preparing vocational rehabilitation professionals:
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) offers a
				Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling Education (RCE) with an Emphasis in
				Rehabilitation Counseling. The Masters in Rehabilitation Teaching (MRT) program
				has been dissolved, but the Orientation and Mobility (O&M) program will
				continue. Both the RCE and O&M programs are housed in the Counseling, Adult
				and Rehabilitation Education (CARE) degree Masters of Arts.
The RCE program at UALR has 135students enrolled. Of these
				students there are 52 fulltime, 83 part-time, 30 who are minorities, and 47
				with disabilities. Of the 39 students who graduated in 2013, 15 are employed in
				state vocational rehabilitation; 10 are in nonprofit rehabilitation; three are
				employed at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation
				and Employment program; one is employed in a federal agency working with
				veterans counseling; two are in a private for-profit rehab setting; four are
				employed in for-profit or non-profit agencies providing mental health services;
				and four are employed in substance abuse treatment programs.
The O&M program has a total of 63 students, all enrolled
				part-time. Of these, five are minorities, 54 are female, nine are male, and
				five are students with disabilities. Of the eight students who graduated this
				year, seven are employed by state or private rehabilitation agencies and six of
				those are employed out of state.
The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (U of A) offers a
				Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling through the Rehabilitation Education and
				Research Program housed in the Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources
				and Communication Disorders. Of the 36 students enrolled, there are 32
				full-time students, four part-time students, 11 students that are minorities,
				13 males, 26 females, and 19 students with disabilities. Of the 17 graduates,
				nine are employed in vocational rehabilitation for state and federal agencies,
				primarily the Veterans Administration; five are employed in private
				not-for-profits; one is employed in private for-profit rehabilitation; and two
				are pursuing doctoral degrees.
Arkansas State University (ASU) at Jonesboro offers a Masters
				Rehabilitation Counseling program, which is housed in the Psychology and
				Counseling Department. Of the 17students enrolled, there were 13 full-time,
				including three with disabilities and four who are minorities, and there were
				four part-time students, including one with a disability and two who are
				minorities. In 2013, there were six graduates. Of these, 50% (three) are
				working in community counseling agencies, one has been accepted into a doctoral
				program to pursue a PhD in Rehabilitation, one is taking some time off to spend
				with family, and one is currently looking for work.
DSB has had students enrolled online at the University of North
				Texas (UNT) through a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD)
				grant that UNT received in 2009 with the agreement that it would fund a limited
				number of VR Counselors outside of Texas. DSB currently has one VR Counselor in
				her last semester at UNT.
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) and Arkansas
				Tech University (ATU) at Russellville do not offer Master's degree programs in
				Rehabilitation Services, but do offer Bachelor degree programs in
				Rehabilitation Science.
Plan for Recruitment Preparation {Attachment
				4.10(b)}
Describe the development (updated on an annual basis) and
				implementation of a plan to address the current and projected needs for
				qualified personnel including, the coordination and facilitation of efforts
				between the designated state unit and institutions of higher education and
				professional associations to recruit, prepare, and retain personnel who are
				qualified, including personnel from minority backgrounds and personnel who are
				individuals with disabilities.
DSB has cooperative agreements with each of the 33
				colleges/universities in Arkansas in order to promote the coordination and
				facilitation of efforts between the designated state unit and institutions of
				higher education.
To address current needs for qualified personnel, the DHS
				personnel office posts DSB vacancies on the DHS website, the state employment
				website arstatejobs.com, the DHS Intranet site, the statewide newspaper,
				Workforce Services offices, other state agencies, and college and university
				recruitment bulletins. Recruitment efforts are ongoing to the 15 fully
				accredited graduate programs within TACE Region VI, including Arkansas colleges
				and universities in the region and those with a historically predominate
				minority enrollment. Universities in Arkansas with Rehabilitation Counseling
				Programs include:
Institution: University of Arkansas at Little Rock
				(UALR)
Location: Little Rock
Programs: Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling Education (RCE)
				with Emphasis in
Rehabilitation Counseling
Institution: University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
				(UofA)
Location: Fayetteville
Programs: Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling and doctoral
				degrees in Rehabilitation and in Counseling Education
Institution: Arkansas State University (ASU)
Location: Jonesboro
Programs: Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling
Institution: University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB)
Location: Pine Bluff
Programs: Bachelor degree in Rehabilitation Science
Institution: Arkansas Tech University (ATU)
Location: Russellville
Programs: Bachelor degree in Rehabilitation Science
Personnel Standards
{Attachment
				4.10(c)}
Describe the state agency's policies and procedures for the
				establishment and maintenance of personnel standards to ensure that designated
				state unit professional and paraprofessional personnel are adequately trained
				and prepared, including:
1. standards
			 that are consistent with any national or state-approved or -recognized
			 certification, licensing, registration, or, in the absence of these
			 requirements, other comparable requirements (including state personnel
			 requirements) that apply to the profession or discipline in which such
			 personnel are providing vocational rehabilitation services; and
2. to the extent that existing standards are
			 not based on the highest requirements in the state applicable to a particular
			 profession or discipline, the steps the state is currently taking and the steps
			 the State Plans to take in accordance with the written plan to retrain or hire
			 personnel within the designated state unit to meet standards that are based on
			 the highest requirements in the state, including measures to notify designated
			 state unit personnel, institutions of higher education, and other public
			 agencies of these steps and the timelines for taking each step.
Be sure to include the following:
.
specific strategies for retraining, recruiting,
				and hiring personnel;
.
the specific time period by which all state unit
				personnel will meet the standards;
.
procedures for evaluating the designated state
				unit's progress in hiring or retraining personnel to meet applicable personnel
				standards within the established time period;
.
the identification of initial minimum
				qualifications that the designated state unit will require of newly hired
				personnel when the state unit is unable to hire new personnel who meet the
				established personnel standards;
.
the identification of a plan for training newly
				hired personnel who do not meet the established standards to meet the
				applicable standards within the time period established for all state unit
				personnel to meet the established personnel standards.
The Arkansas Office of Personnel Management (OPM) continues to
				recommend the minimum qualifications, job descriptions and salary rates for
				specific classifications, based upon labor market surveys, which are then
				reviewed and approved by the legislature. The spring 2013 legislative session
				gave DSB the authority to pay tuition for its VR Counselors working on their
				CRCs. DSB is exploring ways to assist Area Field Supervisors with the costs of
				tuition to meet CSPD standards.
Internships are available to students in the rehabilitation
				programs across the state. In FY 2014, DSB had one intern, a minority female
				from the Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling program at the University of
				Arkansas at Little Rock, who did her internship in DSB's Little Rock office and
				was later hired full-time. DSB was the practicum site for one female, minority
				student from the Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling program at the University
				at Buffalo The State University of New York in Buffalo, New York who worked in
				the DSB Batesville office.
DSB recruits, and, to the degree possible, hires counselors
				with a Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling or other closely related
				degree. DSB implements individual education plans for existing personnel to be
				retrained to meet certification standards for Certified Rehabilitation
				Counselor (CRC) and Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Counselors have
				seven years to meet CSPD requirements from date of hire.
As of the June 2014 DSB Board meeting, the CSPD status
				was:
*
1 Program Administrator with CRC
*
3 VR Counselors with CRC
*
3 VR Counselors taking CRC exam March
				2015
*
1 VR Counselor with LPC
*
3 currently enrolled in school
*
1 awaiting enrollment fall semester
*
4 Supervisors with CRC
CRC Senior Counselors are mentoring new counselors to comply
				with RSA's prior approval standards regarding eligibility determination,
				approval of IPE's, and closure determinations.
Staff Development
{Attachment
				4.10(d)}
Describe the state agency's policies, procedures, and
				activities to ensure that all personnel employed by the designated state unit
				receive appropriate and adequate training in terms of:
1. a system of staff development for
			 professionals and paraprofessionals within the designated state unit,
			 particularly with respect to assessment, vocational counseling, job placement,
			 and rehabilitation technology; and
2. procedures for the acquisition and
			 dissemination to designated state unit professionals and paraprofessionals
			 significant knowledge from research and other sources.
DSB staff must possess specific knowledge concerning the
				problems of blindness and be allowed the opportunity for career development as
				related to the delivery of vocational rehabilitation services.
DSB actively assesses the training needs of its employees and
				solicits their input regarding training needs. DSB surveys staff annually to
				determine the training or resources they require to perform their duties more
				efficiently and effectively. DSB also uses a state-approved personnel
				performance evaluation document to review an employee's performance and to
				identify individual training needs.
Leadership development and capacity-building opportunities are
				offered through a wide variety of methods:
*
The Technical Assistance and Continuing
				Education (TACE) Center periodically surveys rehabilitation staff regarding
				training needs and develops courses and conferences based on the results or on
				requests by DSB and other agencies. In the past year, TACE offered face-to-face
				trainings and teleconferences on topics including: Writing and Marketing Your
				Business Plan; All Paths Lead to Adult Life: Important Partnerships and
				Components of Quality Transition Planning for Students with Intellectual
				Disabilities Sessions 1 and 2; Making Ethical Decisions in the Vocational
				Rehabilitation Process; Psychological Evaluations: Not Just for Eligibility;
				Using the DSM-5 Assessment Tools and International Classification of
				Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) As Training Tools for Rehabilitation
				Counselors; Therapeutic Interventions with Aggressive Clients; Evaluating
				Vocational Communication Skills of Persons Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing;
				Multiculturalism and Disabilities; Using the Updated CRC Code of Ethics to Make
				Ethical Decisions in Everyday Tasks; Putting Together Your Business's Winning
				Team; Transition to Success for Individuals with Autism; Using Social Media to
				Plan Careers and Find Employment; Working with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities
				(MCS); Resources: You Got 'Em, Now Use 'Em; Job Success with Young Adults
				Diagnosed with DSM 5 Neurodevelopmental Disorders; The Use of Interest
				Inventories and Other Techniques with People Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing;
				Changing Nature of Disability in the 21st Century; The Medical and Psychosocial
				Aspects of Multiple Sclerosis Parts 1 and 2; Rehabilitation of Persons with
				Bipolar Disorders; Rehabilitation of Persons with Depressive Disorders;
				Flipping the Script: Viewing Our Work Through a Social Model Lens; Working With
				Justice-Involved VR Clients; Using Qualitative Tools in Career Counseling; and
				Backs in a Flash.
*
The Oklahoma and Texas Departments of
				Rehabilitation Services again gave DSB staff four spots in their leadership
				training program Wicked Innovation: Next Generation Solutions (WINGS), which
				was developed in conjunction with TACE.
*
The Association of People Supporting
				EmploymentFirst (APSE) provides opportunities for DSB Vocational Rehabilitation
				Teachers to take the Certified Employment Support Professional (CESP) exam.
				Although DSB is eligible, no slots will be used this year due to the distance
				of exam locations. When the exam was being given in Louisiana in FY 2013, four
				DSB VRT's took the exam, with three passing and becoming CESP's. This
				certification falls in line with DSB's training plan.
*
In-house training is provided through DSB's
				Database Administrator, Field Administrator, and other experienced,
				credentialed professional staff; the DHS Organizational Development and
				Training Unit; DSB's annual Statewide meeting; the annual Field Services
				meeting; periodic training meetings; and one-on-one training which is made
				available to all staff depending upon the need. Information is distributed at
				Director's meetings, Supervisors' meetings, emails, the agency website, and DHS
				SharePoint. Training is also purchased from outside sources.
*
Staff are encouraged to participate in
				professional, service, and consumer organizations, such as the National
				Rehabilitation Association, Lions Clubs, the National Federation of the Blind,
				the American Council of the Blind, and the Arkansas Association for the
				Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER), and
				opportunities are available to attend organizations' state and national
				conferences.
Retention of qualified personnel is addressed through CEU
				credit for staff training, as well as opportunities for expanding skills and
				knowledge in a variety of areas.
Personnel to Address Individual Communication
				Needs
{Attachment 4.10(e)}
Describe how the designated state unit has personnel or obtains
				the services of other individuals who are able to communicate in the native
				language of applicants or eligible individuals who have limited English
				speaking ability or in appropriate modes of communication with applicants or
				eligible individuals.
Appropriate modes of communication, including sign language
				interpreters, are available on a contractual basis. The directive to utilize
				the contracts has been provided to all staff and is on file in each DSB office;
				it is also in DSB policy.
DSB serves on the Arkansas Advisory Committee for the Arkansas
				Project for Children with Deafblindness and is an affiliate of the Helen Keller
				National Center.
DSB provides interpreter services for communication with
				persons with limited English speaking ability on a contractual basis. In
				addition, one of the Area Field Supervisors speaks Spanish and French and
				understands Portuguese from having lived in Brazil (Central Arkansas has a
				community of Brazilians). Another Area Field Supervisor speaks Norwegian,
				Icelandic, Danish and Swedish languages. A member of the Business and
				Technology staff is fluent in Spanish. DHS has an in-house, certified Spanish
				interpreter in Miller County. These communication resources can be utilized as
				needed to serve consumers.
Reader service, guide service, and any special adaptive
				equipment are made available to applicants for services, DSB consumers, and DSB
				personnel. Information is also available in the medium of choice for persons
				making application for DSB services and for persons with disabilities who are
				employed by DSB.
Coordination of Personnel Development under the
				Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act
{Attachment 4.10(f)}
Describe the procedures and activities to coordinate the
				designated state unit's comprehensive system of personnel development with
				personnel development under the Individuals with Disabilities Education
				Improvement Act.
DSB is a charter member in the Arkansas Interagency Transition
				Partnership (AITP), which coordinates transition services and discusses
				education-related issues. AITP has representatives from 26 agencies and
				organizations, including, but not limited to Arkansas Transition Services
				(ATS), Arkansas Rehabilitation Services (ARS), Arkansas Transition Program
				(ATP), Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of Disability Services
				(DDS), DSB, parent centers, the private sector, and public and private schools.
				AITP involves transition agencies and organizations at a state level through
				quarterly meetings and shares information through its website.
Through the AITP, local issues are addressed by local teams.
				The local teams provide oversight to insure that transition goals and services
				are in place by the time a child becomes eligible, as mandated by the
				Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA 2004).
DSB continues to participate in the Transition Learning
				Collaborative (TLC), a group established by the Technical Assistance and
				Continuing Education (TACE) Center to share information and resources to
				improve transition at the state level. TACE Center staff researches student
				data collection and analyzes models used in other states and shares them with
				the states in the TLC collaborative. The TLC is composed of transition
				coordinators from both general and blind VR agencies in Region VI. Interaction
				with other states and TACE increases the resources available to DSB in regard
				to best practices and information about Section 101, IDEA, ADA and the
				Individual Education Plan (IEP). DSB's transition coordinator participates in
				monthly TLC teleconferences.
A DSB policy directive instructs Counselors to contact
				transition professionals twice a year to identify any transition needs.
Comprehensive Needs Assessment
{Attachment
				4.11(a)}
Provide an assessment of the rehabilitation needs of
				individuals with disabilities residing within the state, particularly the
				vocational rehabilitation services needs of:
.
individuals with most significant disabilities,
				including their need for supported employment services;
.
individuals with disabilities who are minorities;
.
individuals with disabilities who have been unserved or underserved by
				the vocational rehabilitation program; and
.
individuals with
				disabilities served through other components of the statewide workforce
				investment system.
DSB conducts a comprehensive, statewide needs assessment at
				least every three years and the results are used in developing goals in the
				State Plan and providing services to consumers. The next Comprehensive Needs
				Assessment will be conducted in FY 2016. The most recently completed
				Comprehensive Needs Assessment was conducted in 2013, and its results can be
				found in the FY 2014 State Plan.
Annual Estimate of Individuals to be Served and Costs
				of
Services
{Attachment 4.11(b)}
.
Identify the number of individuals in the state
				who are eligible for services.
.
Identify the number of eligible individuals who
				will receive services provided with funds under:
o Part B of Title I;
o Part B of Title VI;
o each priority category, if under an order of
				selection.
.
Identify the cost of services for the number of
				individuals estimated to be eligible for services. If under an order of
				selection, identify the cost of services for each priority category.
Basis for Estimates
DSB uses census data, population growth, the incidence of
				blindness, and historical data as the basis to project the number of
				individuals to be served through Part B of Title I and the number of supported
				employment cases to be served through Part B of Title VI.
Estimates for Part B of Title I for FY
				2015:
DSB estimates it will serve a projected total of 1,730
				consumers at a total cost of $4,516,818 ($2,863 per consumer). Of this number,
				it is projected that 686will be minorities. By comparison, in the last
				completed year DSB served 1,690VR consumers.
Note: In addition to a growing Hispanic population, Arkansas
				has one of the highest Marshallese populations in the United States. In the
				2010 Census count for Arkansas, 4,324 people identified themselves as
				Marshallese, placing the state as having the highest Marshallese population in
				the continental United States and the second highest overall (with Hawaii
				having 7,412). The Compact of Free Association (COFA), which allows the
				Marshallese to live and travel freely and at-will between the Marshall Islands
				and the United States, will end in 2023.
Estimates for Part B of Title VI for FY
				2015:
DSB estimates it will serve 20 consumers in supported
				employment in FY 2015, at a total cost of $289,000 ($14,450 per consumer). By
				comparison, in the last completed year, seven consumers were in supported
				employment.
DSB continues its agreement with World Services for the Blind
				and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to provide SE services, training, and
				placement through the jointly-developed Vocational Assistance Under Long Term
				(VAULT) program.
In 2015, DSB will earmark a sum of VR funds for an
				establishment grant to World Services for the Blind in conjunction with
				Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to support DSB efforts to expand the capacity
				of the State of Arkansas to provide supported employment services to
				individuals in Arkansas who are blind or severely visually impaired.
Estimates of Eligible Consumers for FY
				2015:
Based on statistical reporting derived from the American
				Community Survey, an overall rate of 2.9% for visual disability for the
				Arkansas population aged 16 to 64 showed approximately 18,000 persons in
				Arkansas might be eligible for and could receive vocational rehabilitation
				services from DSB.
Goals and Priorities
{Attachment 4.11(c)
				(1)}
The goals and priorities are based on the comprehensive
				statewide assessment, on requirements related to the performance standards and
				indicators, and on other information about the state agency. (See section
				101(a)(15)(C) of the Act.) This attachment should be updated when there are
				material changes in the information that require the description to be
				amended.
.
Identify if the goals and priorities were
				jointly developed and agreed to by the state VR agency and the State
				Rehabilitation Council, if the state has a council.
.
Identify if the state VR agency and the State
				Rehabilitation Council, if the state has such a council, jointly reviewed the
				goals and priorities and jointly agreed to any revisions.
.
Identify the goals and priorities in carrying
				out the vocational rehabilitation and supported employment programs.
.
Ensure that the goals and priorities are based
				on an analysis of the following areas:
o the most recent comprehensive statewide assessment,
including any updates;
o the performance of the state on standards and
				indicators;
and
.
other available information on the operation and
				effectiveness of the VR program, including any reports received from the State
				Rehabilitation Council and findings and recommendations from monitoring
				activities conducted under section 107.
DSB developed the following goals based on RSA guidance for the
				State Plan FY 2014, recommendations by the DSB Board, and the 2013
				comprehensive, statewide needs assessment, which is done at least every 3
				years. Below are the goals, as approved by the DSB Board:
Goal #1: DSB will increase the employment opportunities
				for people who are blind or severely visually impaired.
Strategy:
DSB will expand and improve services
				to individuals who are blind or severely visually impaired in the underserved
				Delta area.
Performance Measure:
DSB will explore the
				possibility of having regular itinerary points in DHS offices in the Delta
				using existing DSB staff to meet with consumers one day a week.
Strategy:
VR Counselors and Rehabilitation
				Teachers will make unduplicated job contacts with employers.
Performance Measure:
VR Counselors and
				Rehabilitation Teachers will each make two face-to-face job contacts with
				employers per month.
Strategy:
VR Counselors and Rehabilitation
				Teachers will ensure that consumers are actively seeking employment.
Performance Measure:
VR Counselors will
				require consumers to submit three job contacts or applications per week.
				Otherwise, the consumer will be moved to a different status or placed in
				interrupted status. The VR Counselor or the Area Supervisor can exempt
				individuals from the requirement for short amounts of time if there is good
				cause.
Strategy:
DSB will encourage and support
				viable self-employment.
Performance Measures:
*
The certified Small Business Developer will
				train staff hired since the last Operation Jumpstart training in May, 2012.
				This will enable them to better assist consumers who have expressed an interest
				in starting their own business.
*
Each self-employment proposal submitted by a
				consumer will be reviewed by a team composed of the Business and Technology
				Administrator, Small Business Developer, the Field Services Administrator, the
				Area Field Services Supervisor that oversees small business endeavors, and the
				consumer's VR Counselor to ensure that a proposal is realistic and sustainable
				before it is approved and any funds are provided. (Upon the proposal being
				approved, the IPE will be updated.)
*
A brochure will be developed to provide
				interested consumers with information about DSB's small business
				self-employment program.
Strategy:
Based upon consumer response and
				effectiveness, DSB will continue to hold
Job Clubs to assist participants in acquiring job seeking
				skills and improving their probability of securing employment.
Performance Measure:
Job Clubs will be held at
				least once a month at the DSB Tech Lab and a location in the field, such as a
				DSB office, an accessible kiosk, a Workforce Center,
a college, or other site.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to refer
				individuals for benefits counseling.
Performance Measures:
*
Area Supervisors will monitor caseloads to
				ensure that VR Counselors will refer 100% of SSI and SSDI VR consumers for
				benefits counseling.
*
Counselors will make consumers aware of benefits
				counseling at the time of application, at the time of IPE's, and at the time of
				closure.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to refer Older
				Individuals who are Blind and interested in employment to VR and will ensure
				that its OIB contractor will as well.
Performance Measure:
DSB
				and its OIB contractor will refer 100% of Older Blind individuals who are
				interested in employment to VR.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to recognize
				successful consumers and their employers.
Performance
				Measures:
*
Each caseload manager will select one individual
				from his/her caseload as an area Consumer of the Year and nominate the
				individual as a candidate for the overall state Consumer of the Year.
*
DSB will award area Consumers of the Year and
				their employers with trophies/plaques and related publicity.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to expand its
				assistive technology services and improve access to these services and
				equipment.
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will acquire specialized training to develop
				the skills and credentials of Rehabilitation Teachers.
*
DSB will continue to assign new Rehabilitation
				Teachers to assistive technology training as vacant positions are filled, so
				that staff can provide basic technology support to consumers in their
				respective geographic areas statewide. Supervisors will schedule veteran RTs
				for remedial training as a formal part of their professional development
				plan.
*
DSB will continue to provide training to new
				Workforce Services staff as vacancies occur in order to increase their
				knowledge of accessible technology and the needs of consumers.
*
DSB staff will continue to meet consumers at
				Workforce Services offices, including DSB-sponsored accessible kiosks, in order
				to assist consumers in their job searches and in becoming more comfortable
				interacting with the public in an employment setting.
Strategy:
DSB will increase the skills,
				credentials and professional affiliations of its novice Vocational
				Rehabilitation Counselors as they move to assume senior counseling
				responsibilities in connection with DSB overall succession planning.
Performance Measures:
*
Novice counselors will attend a specific
				orientation to VR issues and will participate in specialized training, through
				the Arkansas Rehabilitation Association or other qualified sources.
*
Novice counselors will be exposed to
				professional organizations each year, as documented in their professional
				development plans.
Strategy:
DSB will establish multi-layered
				support systems for clients by developing performance based contracts with
				Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) and other providers across the state, as an
				extension of their missions, to provide depth to volunteer employment-related
				transportation and other services in rural areas of the state.
Performance Measure:
Deliverables within the
				contracts will be met.
Strategy:
DSB will establish an information
				clearinghouse and scheduled demonstration lab on selected college campuses to
				inform Transition Partner organizations of the needs of students with
				significant vision problems, and the cost-effective resources available to
				them.
Performance Measure:
An information
				clearinghouse and scheduled demonstration lab will be established on at least
				one college campus.
Strategy:
DSB will explore ways to better
				utilize the DSB central Tech Lab.
Performance Measure:
DSB will re-design the
				technology needs assessment and database process for the DSB central Tech Lab
				to better align it with RSA guidelines on
Rehabilitation Engineering. This is a specific initiative of
				the DSB Leadership Training
Team, in partnership with the Oklahoma Wicked Innovation: Next
				Generation Solutions (WINGS) leadership training project.
Strategy:
DSB will begin using AWARE, its new
				client data management system.
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will begin building data into the employer
				module that will contain information about employers and job openings.
*
The new system will facilitate the production of
				statistical reports in real time to track productivity to plan VR Counselors
				weekly and monthly goals.
Strategy:
To augment the efforts of DSB staff,
				DSB will use peer mentoring in a variety of situations to allow experienced
				consumers to provide information, advice, and support to less experienced
				consumers, often leading and guiding by example of his/her success in an area.
Performance Measures:
*
Peer mentoring will be used to connect consumers
				interested in self-employment with individuals who have owned small businesses
				and can offer advice and support.
*
Consumers of the Year will be encouraged to
				provide peer mentoring to other individuals who are blind and severely visually
				impaired that are trying to manage their rehabilitation plans, gain marketable
				skills, and secure good jobs.
*
Participants in Job Club will be encouraged to
				mentor each other in their searches for employment and development of job
				readiness skills.
Goal #2: DSB will increase its services to transition
				students.
Strategy:
DSB will support training and the
				exchange of information among state transition partner organizations.
Performance Measure:
DSB will sponsor or
				participate in at least one training or event that will bring together
				transition partners for the purpose of exchanging information that will
				specifically benefit students who are blind or severely visually
				impaired.
Strategy:
DSB will update the collaborative
				database of transition students as needed.
Performance Measure:
Counselors/Rehabilitation
				Assistants will coordinate with Local
Education Area (LEA) Supervisors to maintain lists of
				transition students. The Field
Services Administrator will review the database to insure it is
				being maintained by
Rehabilitation Assistants, who input local information.
Strategy:
VR Counselors will continue to track
				transition students on their caseloads to insure that the IPE is developed or
				updated before a student graduates from high school.
Performance Measure:
Area Supervisors will
				monitor this during case reviews to insure that no transition student will
				graduate without a current IPE.
Strategy:
DSB will hold Parent Summits to
				assist parents and other stakeholders in becoming more knowledgeable and better
				prepared to advocate for their children at
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings.
Performance Measure:
In FY 2015, DSB will
				invite ESVI Regional Certified Vision
Consultants and transition parents to a Parent Summit with VR
				Counselors and
Rehabilitation Teachers, to provide information about assistive
				technology; rights and responsibilities; available resources and services;
				benefits counseling; and funding for college and career start-up costs.
Strategy:
VR Counselors will make face-to-face
				visits to LEA Supervisors in their territories.
Performance Measure:
VR Counselors will have
				from the beginning of the school year to
December 1, to complete the face-to-face visits with LEA
				Supervisors.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to provide
				assessments to transition students specifically focused on activities of daily
				living, including but not limited to, mobility, knowledge of available
				transportation resources, self-advocacy, acquisition of a variety of reading
				options, awareness of job opportunities, benefits counseling, and rights and
				responsibilities as an informed consumer.
Performance Measure:
*
All transition students will be referred to
				Rehabilitation Teachers for initial assessments of daily living skills and
				needed instruction.
*
Formal evaluations for assistive technology will
				be performed by Tech Lab staff in accordance with RSA guidelines on
				Rehabilitation Engineering.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to strengthen
				relationships with schools, including Arkansas School for the Blind and
				Visually Impaired.
Performance Measure:
*
DSB will continue its system of mail-outs and
				emails to public schools.
*
DSB will initiate outreach efforts to private,
				home, and accredited virtual schools.
Strategy:
DSB will
				continue to strengthen relationships with Educational Services for the Visually
				Impaired (ESVI).
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will continue its system of mail-outs and
				emails twice a year to area ESVI representatives. In addition to the local
				networking efforts, the Transition Coordinator will dialogue with ESVI at a
				state level to discover any transition students that need services and should
				be referred to DSB.
*
DSB will refer consumers under age 14 to ESVI
				and will encourage referrals from ages 14 and older from ESVI to DSB.
Goal #3: DSB will expand its outreach efforts to include
				the general public, as well as the unserved, underserved, minorities, and
				stakeholders.
Strategy:
DSB will use exhibit booths to
				educate the public about DSB services and their availability.
Performance Measure:
Each VR Counselor or
				Rehabilitation Teacher will staff at least one DSB exhibit at a widely attended
				or significantly relevant event in his/her territory.
Strategy:
DSB will increase its outreach to
				minorities and faith-based groups.
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will monitor the contracts with faith-based
				organizations and CIL's to do outreach and increase referrals from churches to
				insure contractors submit documentation and meet deliverables as required in
				the RFQ.
*
VR Counselors will make at least four
				faith-based outreach efforts in each of their geographic areas in FY
				2015.
*
VR Counselors will make at least two minority
				outreach efforts to Hispanic, Asian, or other ethnic groups in each of their
				geographic areas in FY 2015.
Strategy:
Area Supervisors and DSB
				administrative staff will continue to attend the state conferences of blindness
				consumer groups, and opportunities will be offered to direct service staff as
				well.
Performance Measure:
DSB will continue to send
				all of its supervisors/administrators to these conferences to interact with
				consumers and will make presentations as requested.
Goals and Plans for Distribution of Title VI, Part B
				Funds
{Attachment 4.11(c) (4)}
Specify the state's goals and priorities with respect to the
				distribution of funds received under section 622 of the Act for the provision
				of supported employment services.
DSB will allocate funding from Title VI, Part B to provide
				supported employment services to individuals with the most significant
				disabilities. These funds are a supplement to the funds provided under Title I
				of the Act. Title VI, Part B funds will only be used in the provision of
				supported employment services to those individuals determined eligible through
				assessments determining that it is an appropriate objective. Supported
				employment services will be customer-driven through the setting of goals in the
				consumer's Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).
In FY 2013, the most recently completed year, DSB provided
				supported employment services to seven individuals. Of this number, two cases
				were closed; one was closed competitively employed not in supported employment,
				and one was closed without an employment outcome. No cases were closed
				competitively employed in supported employment or closed not competitively
				employed not in supported employment. FY 2015 Projections: DSB estimates it
				will serve 20 consumers in supported employment.
Issues affecting supported employment in Arkansas include: the
				limited number of service providers statewide; the rural nature of the state;
				the lack of consistent available funding for extended services; and the lack of
				knowledge, experience, and training SE providers have in the provision of
				supported employment services and placement for individuals who are blind or
				severely visually impaired. Many providers do not have and are unwilling to
				expend time, monies and resources to train staff in this specialty area of
				expertise.
To resolve some of these issues, DSB has an agreement with
				World Services for the Blind and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, which have
				long histories of serving individuals who are blind and severely visually
				impaired, to provide SE services, training, and placement through the
				jointly-developed program, Vocational Assistance Under Long Term
				(VAULT).
In 2015, DSB will earmark a sum of VR funds for an
				establishment grant to World Services for the Blind in conjunction with
				Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to support DSB efforts to expand the capacity
				of the State of Arkansas to provide supported employment services to
				individuals in Arkansas who are blind or severely visually impaired.
DSB provides assistive technology services and devices based
				upon assessments and recommendations by the DSB Technology Unit, availability
				of funds, and the consumer's IPE.
DSB has set the following goals for the utilization and
				distribution of Title VI, Part B Funds, based on the most recent comprehensive
				needs assessment and the recommendations of the DSB Board:
Goal #1: Increase the number of Supported Employment
				Providers to better serve DSB consumers.
Strategy:
DSB will provide resources to
				significantly expand the capacity of its partners World Services for the Blind
				(WSB) and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind (ALB) as Community Rehabilitation
				Programs to provide Supported Employment services to DSB consumers.
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will earmark a sum of VR funds for an
				establishment grant to World Services for the Blind and Arkansas Lighthouse for
				the Blind.
*
DSB will monitor the VAULT agreement and the
				terms of the establishment grant with WSB and ALB to insure they meet
				deliverables and submit documentation as required.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to collaborate
				with other agencies, such as Association of People Supporting EmploymentFirst
				(APSE), to increase the number of SE providers in unserved or underserved areas
				of the state due to geographic or other issues.
Performance Measure:
At least two new
				potential SE providers will be identified and contacted.
Strategy:
DSB will educate WSB and ALB about
				the benefits of becoming Employment
Networks (EN's).
Performance Measure:
At least one training
				will take place in regard to WSB and ALB
qualifying to become an EN.
Goal #2: Increase the quality of SE Providers for
				individuals who are blind or severely visually impaired.
Strategy:
DSB will determine SE vendor
				standards targeted to meet the blindness and visual impairment needs of its
				consumers.
Performance Measure:
A policy on SE vendor
				standards will be developed.
Strategy:
DSB will collaborate with WSB and
				ALB to develop systematic training for family/natural support members and SE
				consumers.
Performance Measure:
A system will be
				developed and put in place.
Strategy:
DSB will train new staff and provide
				updates to veteran staff on new developments in the SE program.
Performance Measure:
At least one staff
				training on SE program design will be conducted in FY 2015.
Strategies and Use of Title I Funds for Innovation
				and
Expansion Activities
{Attachment
				4.11(d)}
This attachment should include required strategies and how the
				agency will use these strategies to achieve its goals and priorities, support
				innovation and expansion activities, and overcome any barriers to accessing the
				vocational rehabilitation and the supported employment programs.
.
Describe the methods to be used to expand and
				improve services to individuals with disabilities.
.
Identify how
				a broad range of assistive technology services and assistive technology devices
				will be provided to individuals with disabilities at each stage of the
				rehabilitation process.
.
Describe how assistive technology
				services and devices will be provided to individuals with disabilities on a
				statewide basis.
.
Identify what outreach procedures will be used
				to identify and serve individuals with disabilities who are minorities,
				including those with the most significant disabilities.
.
Identify
				what outreach procedures will be used to identify and serve individuals with
				disabilities who have been unserved or underserved by the VR program.
.
Identify plans for establishing, developing, or improving community
				rehabilitation programs, if applicable.
.
Describe strategies to
				improve the performance with respect to the evaluation standards and
				performance indicators.
.
Describe strategies for assisting other
				components of the statewide workforce investment system in assisting
				individuals with disabilities.
.
Describe how the agency's
				strategies will be used to:
o achieve the goals and priorities identified in
				Attachment
4.11(c)(1) ; o support innovation and expansion activities; and
				o overcome identified barriers relating to equitable access to and
				participation of individuals with disabilities in the state Vocational
				Rehabilitation Services Program and the state supported employment Services
				Program.
Strategies
DSB has developed the following strategies to expand and
				improve services to its consumers. These strategies were developed in regard to
				its goals for the State Plan FY 2015, which are to: increase the employment
				opportunities for people who are blind or severely visually impaired; increase
				services to transition students; and expand outreach efforts to include the
				general public, as well as the unserved, underserved, minorities, and
				stakeholders. The performance measures are included with the goals in 4.11(c)
				(1). Here are the strategies:
*
Strategy:
DSB will expand and
				improve services to individuals who are blind or severely visually impaired in
				the underserved Delta area.
*
Strategy:
VR Counselors and
				Rehabilitation Teachers will make unduplicated job contacts with
				employers.
*
Strategy:
VR Counselors and
				Rehabilitation Teachers will ensure that consumers are actively seeking
				employment.
*
Strategy:
DSB will encourage
				and support viable self-employment.
*
Strategy:
Based upon consumer
				response and effectiveness, DSB will continue to hold Job Clubs to assist
				participants in acquiring job seeking skills and improving their probability of
				securing employment.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				refer individuals for benefits counseling.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				refer Older Individuals who are Blind and interested in employment to VR and
				will ensure its OIB contractor will as well.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				recognize successful consumers and their employers.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				expand its assistive technology services and improve access to these services
				and equipment.
*
Strategy:
DSB will increase the
				skills, credentials and professional affiliations of its novice Vocational
				Rehabilitation Counselors as they move to assume senior counseling
				responsibilities in connection with DSB overall succession planning.
*
Strategy:
DSB will establish
				multi-layered support systems for clients by developing performance based
				contracts with Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) and other providers across the
				state, as an extension of their missions, to provide depth to volunteer
				employment-related transportation and other services in rural areas of the
				state.
*
Strategy:
DSB will establish an
				information clearinghouse and scheduled demonstration lab on selected college
				campuses to inform Transition Partner organizations of the needs of students
				with significant vision problems, and the cost-effective resources available to
				them.
*
Strategy: DSB will explore ways to better
				utilize the DSB central Tech Lab.
*
Strategy:
DSB will begin using
				AWARE, its new client data management system.
*
Strategy:
To augment the
				efforts of DSB staff, DSB will use peer mentoring in a variety of situations to
				allow experienced consumers to provide information, advice, and support to less
				experienced consumers, often leading and guiding by example of his/her success
				in an area.
*
Strategy:
DSB will support
				training and the exchange of information among state transition partner
				organizations.
*
Strategy: DSB will update the collaborative
				database of transition students as needed.
*
Strategy:
VR Counselors will
				continue to track transition students on their caseloads to insure that the IPE
				is developed or updated before a student graduates from high school.
*
Strategy:
DSB will hold Parent
				Summits to assist parents and other stakeholders in becoming more knowledgeable
				and better prepared to advocate for their children at Individualized Education
				Plan (IEP) meetings.
*
Strategy:
VR Counselors will
				make face-to-face visits to LEA Supervisors in their territories.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				provide assessments to transition students specifically focused on activities
				of daily living, including but not limited to, mobility, knowledge of available
				transportation resources, self-advocacy, acquisition of a variety of reading
				options, awareness of job opportunities, and rights and responsibilities as an
				informed consumer.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				strengthen relationships with public schools, including Arkansas School for the
				Blind and Visually Impaired.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				strengthen relationships with Educational Services for the Visually Impaired
				(ESVI).
*
Strategy:
DSB will use exhibit
				booths to educate the public about DSB services and their availability.
*
Strategy:
DSB will increase its
				outreach to minorities and faith-based groups.
*
Strategy:
Area Supervisors and
				DSB administrative staff will continue to attend the state conferences of
				blindness consumer groups, and opportunities will be offered to direct service
				staff as well.
A broad range of assistive technology services and devices will
				be provided to individuals who are blind or severely visually impaired as
				appropriate at each stage of the rehabilitation process in accordance with the
				individual's employment goal and IPE. The provision of assistive technology
				services and devices is based upon assessments and recommendations by the DSB
				Technology Unit, availability of funds, and the consumer's IPE. DSB will
				continue to offer assistive technology training to Rehabilitation Teachers in
				FY 2015, so that staff can continue to provide basic technology support to
				consumers in their local areas.
DSB has developed the following strategies to expand and
				improve supported employment services to its consumers. These strategies were
				developed in regard to its SE goals for FY 2015, which are: increase the number
				of Supported Employment Providers to better serve DSB consumers and increase
				the quality of SE Providers for individuals who are blind or severely visually
				impaired. The performance measures are included with the goals in 4.11(c) (4).
				Here are the strategies for those goals:
*
Strategy:
DSB will provide
				resources to significantly expand the capacity of its partners World Services
				for the Blind (WSB) and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind (ALB) as Community
				Rehabilitation Programs to provide Supported Employment services to DSB
				consumers.
*
Strategy:
DSB will continue to
				collaborate with other agencies, such as Association of People Supporting
				EmploymentFirst (APSE), to increase the number of SE providers in unserved or
				underserved areas of the state due to geographic or other issues.
*
Strategy:
DSB will educate WSB
				and ALB about the benefits of becoming Employment Networks (EN's).
*
Strategy:
DSB will determine SE
				vendor standards targeted to meet the blindness and visual impairment needs of
				its consumers.
*
Strategy:
DSB will collaborate
				with WSB and ALB to develop systematic training for family/natural support
				members and SE consumers.
*
Strategy:
DSB will train new
				staff and provide updates to veteran staff on new developments in the SE
				program.
General Education Provisions Act
DSB complies with Section 427 of the General Education
				Provisions Act
(
GEPA) by ensuring equitable access and
				participation to its programs and that consumers are not discriminated against
				by gender, race, national origin, color, disability, or age.
Use of Title I Funds for Innovation and Expansion
				Activities
DSB will continue the implementation of its new data management
				system and will begin building data into the employer module that will contain
				information about employers and job openings.
Evaluation and Reports of Progress
{Attachment 4.11(e) (2)}
1. Identify all VR program goals consistent
			 with the goals described in the most recently submitted version of Attachment
			 4.11(c)(1), including an evaluation of the extent to which the VR program goals
			 were achieved.
.
Identify the strategies that contributed to the
				achievement of the goals.
.
Provide a description of the factors
				that impeded the achievement of the goals and priorities.
2. Identify all supported employment program
			 goals consistent with the goals described in Attachment 4.11(c)(4), including
			 an evaluation of the extent to which the supported employment program goals
			 were achieved.
.
Identify the strategies that contributed to the
				achievement of the goals.
.
Provide a description of the factors
				that impeded the achievement of the goals and priorities.
3. Provide an assessment of the performance
			 of the VR program on the standards and indicators for the most recently
			 completed federal fiscal year.
4.
			 Provide a report on how the funds reserved for innovation and expansion
			 (I&E) activities were utilized in the most recent completed federal fiscal
			 year.
Evaluation of FY 2013 VR Goals:
Below are the evaluation and reports of progress for the most
				recently completed FY 2013 VR Goals and Priorities, covering October 1, 2012 -
				September 30, 2013:
Goal #1: DSB will increase the employment opportunities
				for people who are blind or severely visually impaired.
Strategy:
VR Counselors and Rehabilitation
				Teachers will make job contacts with employers.
Performance Measure:
*
Each VR Counselor and Rehabilitation Teacher
				will make two face-to-face job contacts with employers per month.
*
A brochure will be developed to give
				employers.
Goal Met/Extended:
Counselors and Rehabilitation Teachers continue to make two
				face-to-face contacts with employers per month and document them in monthly
				reports. Development of an employer brochure is continuing in cooperation with
				the Department of Career Education.
Strategy:
DSB will encourage and support
				viable self-employment.
Performance Measure:
*
All self-employment proposals will be reviewed
				by a team composed of the Business and Technology Unit Manager, the Field
				Services Administrator, and the VR Counselor to ensure that a proposal is
				realistic and sustainable before it is approved and any funds are
				provided.
*
In addition to the goal and steps of
				self-employment being on the IPE, the consumer must complete a written business
				plan with the DSB business-ownership team described above.
*
A brochure will be developed to provide
				interested consumers with information about DSB's small business
				self-employment program.
*
Staff will receive training in Operation
				Jumpstart, a hands-on, microenterprise development program designed to help
				entrepreneurs test the feasibility of their business ideas and plan to launch
				new ventures. DSB's Operation Jumpstart's mission is to help consumers who have
				expressed an interest in starting their own business, explore the possibility,
				develop a business plan, and start their own business. In doing so we help them
				become economically independent and be an active part of their
				communities.
Goal Met/Extended:
This process was followed and business plans were submitted and
				approved. However, the Small Business Program was restructured and moved to the
				Field Services unit. As a result, plans for a small business brochure are being
				revised. Instead of doing an Operation Jumpstart training in 2013, it was
				decided to do one-on-one training as needed using the Small Business Developer,
				who is trained and certified as a train-the-trainer in Operation
				Jumpstart.
Strategy:
Based upon consumer response and
				effectiveness, DSB will continue to hold
Job Clubs to assist participants in acquiring job seeking
				skills and improving their probability of securing employment. Job Clubs also
				encourage peer mentoring.
Performance Measure:
Job Clubs will be held at
				least once a month at the DSB Tech Lab and field offices.
Goal Met:
Job Clubs
				are being conducted as planned.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to refer
				individuals for benefits counseling.
Performance Measure:
*
Area Supervisors will monitor caseloads to
				ensure that VR Counselors will refer at least 10 consumers per caseload for
				benefits counseling.
*
The monthly report will be revised to capture
				this information.
Goal Met:
In 2013 the
				White River Area Agency on Aging became an employment network doing benefits
				counseling for DSB consumers. Instead of revising the monthly report, a form
				specific to benefits counseling referrals was developed.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to refer eligible Older Blind individuals to VR.
Performance Measure:
DSB will refer 100% of eligible Older
				Blind individuals to VR.
Goal Met:
All Older Blind individuals interested in employment are referred to
				VR.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to recognize successful
				consumers and their employers and will encourage peer mentoring.
Performance Measures:
*
Each counselor who has been in his/her position
				for at least a year will nominate one individual from his/her caseload as a
				candidate for state Consumer of the Year and encourage the individual to serve
				as a peer mentor to other people who are blind or severely visually
				impaired.
*
DSB will award Consumer of the Year candidates
				and their employers with trophies/plaques and related publicity.
Goal Met:
Counselors
				are nominating outstanding Consumers of the Year, and the consumers and their
				employers are being recognized with trophies/plaques and publicity.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to expand its assistive technology
				services and improve access to these services and equipment.
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will acquire specialized training to develop
				the skills and credentials of Rehabilitation Teachers.
*
DSB will continue to assign new Rehabilitation
				Teachers to assistive technology training as vacant positions are filled, so
				that staff can provide basic technology support to consumers in their
				respective geographic areas statewide. Supervisors will schedule veteran RTs
				for remedial training as a formal part of their professional development
				plan.
*
DSB will continue to provide training to new
				Workforce Services staff as vacancies occur in order to increase their
				knowledge of accessible technology and the needs of consumers.
*
DSB staff will continue to meet consumers at
				Workforce Services offices, including DSB-sponsored accessible kiosks, in order
				to assist consumers in their job searches and in becoming more comfortable
				interacting with the public in an employment setting.
Goal Met:
DSB
				provided new Rehabilitation Teachers with assistive technology training and
				continued to train Workforce Services staffs. VR Counselors met consumers at
				accessible kiosks to assist them in their job searches.
Strategy:
DSB will increase the skills,
				credentials and professional affiliations of its novice Vocational
				Rehabilitation Counselors as they move to assume senior counseling
				responsibilities in connection with DSB overall succession planning.
Performance Measures:
*
Novice counselors will attend a specific
				orientation to VR issues and will participate in specialized training, through
				the Arkansas Rehabilitation Association or other qualified sources.
*
Novice counselors will be exposed to
				professional organizations each year, as documented in their professional
				development plans.
Goal Met:
Novice
				counselors were given the opportunity to attend the ARA annual conference and
				to apply for stipends to attend the conferences of professional
				organizations.
Strategy:
DSB will contract with local
				providers to secure select VR services to capitalize on the established
				relationships of such contractors with local employers, to secure appropriate
				employment for DSB clients in geographic proximity to their homes.
Performance Measure:
Deliverables within the
				contracts will be met.
Goal Met:
Instead of
				contracting with employment providers, DSB decided to pay private, local job
				placement specialists on a fee-for-service basis.
Strategy:
DSB will establish multi-layered
				support systems for clients by developing performance based contracts with
				Faith-Based Organizations (FBO's) and other providers across the state, as an
				extension of their missions, to provide depth to volunteer employment-related
				transportation and other services in rural areas of the state.
Performance Measure:
Deliverables within the
				contracts will be met.
Goal Met:
Deliverables were met by CIL's who participated in the RFQ and
				contracted with DSB, but some CIL's chose not to participate. No responses were
				received from
FBO's.
Strategy:
DSB will establish an information
				clearinghouse and scheduled demonstration lab on selected college campuses to
				inform Transition Partner organizations of the needs of students with
				significant vision problems, and the cost-effective resources available to
				them.
Performance Measure:
An information
				clearinghouse and scheduled demonstration lab will be established on at least
				one college campus.
Goal Met:
The
				Business and Technology Unit demonstrated technology to college and high school
				students on a college campus.
Strategy: DSB will explore ways to better utilize the DSB
				central Tech Lab.
Performance Measure:
DSB will re-design the
				technology needs assessment and database process for the DSB central Tech Lab
				to better align it with RSA guidelines on
Rehabilitation Engineering. This is a specific initiative of
				the DSB Leadership Training
Team, in partnership with the Oklahoma Wicked Innovation: Next
				Generation Solutions (WINGS) leadership training project.
Goal Met:
A survey
				about Tech Lab services was distributed to consumers and DSB
staff The response rate was very low, but the WINGS project
				itself led to the purchase of an instructional library for use when teaching in
				the Tech Lab. This library includes tutorials for MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
				and Outlook for use with JAWS, MAGic,
Window-eyes, and Internet Explorer. The tutorials are updated
				on a regular basis and additional instructional materials for other software
				and equipment is added as needed or available.
Strategy:
DSB will convert its client data MIS
				system to a web-based environment.
Performance Measures:
*
Counselors will be able to enter client data and
				gather signatures during local visits, which will streamline the flow of
				services.
*
The new system will facilitate the production of
				statistical reports.
Goal Met:
DSB
				purchased the AWARE data management system.
Strategy:
To augment the efforts of DSB staff,
				DSB will use peer mentoring in a variety of situations to allow experienced
				consumers to provide information, advice, and support to less experienced
				consumers, often leading and guiding by example of his/her success in an area.
Performance Measures:
*
Peer mentoring will be used to connect consumers
				interested in self-employment with individuals who have owned small businesses
				and can offer advice and support.
*
Consumers of the Year will be encouraged to
				provide peer mentoring to other individuals who are blind and severely visually
				impaired that are trying to manage their rehabilitation plans, gain marketable
				skills, and secure good jobs.
*
Participants in Job Club will be encouraged to
				mentor each other in their searches for employment and development of job
				readiness skills.
Goal Met:
Peer
				mentoring is occurring as planned.
Goal #2: DSB will increase its services to transition
				students.
Strategy:
DSB will support training and the
				exchange of information among state transition partner organizations.
Performance Measure:
DSB will sponsor or
				participate in at least one training or event that will bring together
				transition partners for the purpose of exchanging information that will
				specifically benefit students who are blind or severely visually impaired.
Goal Met:
A Parent Summit was held in
				Little Rock August 2013 for transition students and their families from
				throughout the state. Transition partners were invited to attend and some were
				asked to make presentations. The success of the summit confirmed that
				additional summits will be held around the state in coming years.
Strategy:
DSB will update the collaborative database of
				transition students as needed.
Performance Measure:
The
				Transition Coordinator will review the database to insure it is being
				maintained by Rehabilitation Assistants, who input local information.
Goal Met:
The Transition Coordinator
				reviewed the database and insured it was being maintained.
Strategy:
VR Counselors will continue to track
				transition students on their caseloads to insure that the IPE is developed or
				updated before a student graduates from high school.
Performance
				Measure:
Area Supervisors will monitor this during case reviews to
				insure that no transition student will graduate without a current IPE.
Goal Met:
Case reviews showed no
				students were graduating without current IPE's.
Strategy:
DSB will hold Parent Summits around
				the state to assist parents and other stakeholders in becoming more
				knowledgeable and better prepared to advocate for their children at
				Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings.
Performance Measure:
In FY 2013, DSB will
				invite ESVI Regional Certified Vision
Consultants and transition parents to Parent Summits with VR
				Counselors and
Rehabilitation Teachers, to provide information about students'
				rights and accommodations.
Goal Met:
A Parent
				Summit was held in Little Rock August 2013 for transition students and their
				families from throughout the state. ESVI was included on the agenda. The
				information provided included IEP's, but topics extended beyond high school and
				into college services. The success of the summit confirmed that additional
				summits will be held around the state in coming years.
Strategy:
VR Counselors or Rehabilitation
				Teachers will make face-to-face visits to each school counselor assigned to
				students who are blind or visually impaired in their territories.
Performance Measure:
VR Counselors or
				Rehabilitation Teachers will have from the beginning of the school year to
				December 1, to complete the face-to-face visits to school counselors described
				above.
Goal Met:
VR
				Counselors made face-to-face contacts within required timeframes.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to provide
				assessments to transition students specifically focused on activities of daily
				living, including but not limited to, mobility, knowledge of available
				transportation resources, self-advocacy, acquisition of a variety of reading
				options, awareness of job opportunities, and rights and responsibilities as an
				informed consumer.
Performance Measure:
All transition students
				will be referred to Rehabilitation Teachers for assessment of daily living
				skills and needed instruction.
Goal Met:
Transition
				students are referred for assessments in accordance with policy and the State
				Plan.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to strengthen
				relationships with public schools, including
Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Performance Measure:
DSB will continue its
				system of mail-outs and emails to public schools.
Goal Met:
Mail-outs
				and emails are sent to contacts in public schools and have improved
				communication and strengthened relationships.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to strengthen
				relationships with ESVI.
Performance Measures:
*
DSB will continue its system of mail-outs and
				emails to area ESVI representatives. In addition to the local networking
				efforts, the Transition Coordinator will dialogue with ESVI at a state level to
				discover any transition students that need services and should be referred to
				DSB.
*
DSB will refer young consumers to ESVI and will
				encourage referrals from ESVI to DSB.
Goal Met:
Mail-outs
				and emails are sent to ESVI Regional Certified Vision Consultants and have
				improved communication and strengthened relationships. The Transition
				Coordinator maintains contact with ESVI at a state level.
Goal #3: DSB will expand its outreach efforts to include
				the general public, as well as the unserved, underserved, minorities, and
				stakeholders.
Strategy:
DSB will use exhibit booths to
				educate the public about DSB services and their availability.
Performance Measure:
Each VR Counselor will
				man at least one DSB exhibit at a widely attended or significantly relevant
				event in his/her territory.
Goal Met:
VR
				Counselors met or exceeded this goal in each territory.
Strategy:
DSB will contract with CIL's to
				reach out to faith-based organizations and inform them of DSB services.
Performance Measure:
CIL's will submit to DSB
				copies of minutes of meetings with faith-based groups, reports on trainings,
				and monthly reports, including the number of faith-based referrals.
Goal Met:
DSB staff
				monitoring the contract determined that CIL's submitted program and financial
				documentation as required by the RFQ.
Strategy:
DSB will increase its services to
				minorities.
Performance Measures:
DSB will make at least
				one minority outreach effort to Hispanic,
Asian, or other ethnic groups in each of its geographic areas
				in FY 2013.
Goal Met:
VR
				Counselors met or exceeded this goal in each area.
Strategy:
Area Supervisors and DSB
				administrative staff will continue to attend the state conferences of blindness
				consumer groups, and opportunities will be offered to direct service staff as
				well.
Performance Measure:
DSB will continue to send
				at least five supervisors/administrators to these conferences and will make
				presentations as requested.
Goal Met:
DSB
				exceeded the number of supervisors and administrators that were to be sent to
				conferences of blindness consumer groups. Opportunities to attend these
				conferences were extended to direct service staff, and some staff chose to
				participate.
Evaluation of FY 2013 SE Goals:
Below are the evaluation and reports of progress for the most
				recently completed FY 2013 SE Goals and Priorities, covering October 1, 2012 -
				September 30, 2013:
Goal #1: Increase the number of Supported Employment
				Providers to better serve DSB consumers.
Strategy:
DSB will provide resources to
				significantly expand the capacity of its partners
World Services for the Blind (WSB) and Arkansas Lighthouse for
				the Blind (LFB) as
Community Rehabilitation Programs to provide Supported
				Employment services to DSB
consumers.
Performance Measure:
WSB and LFB will begin
				providing SE services to at least half of the DSB consumers in supported
				employment during FY 2013.
Goal Met:
DSB
				referred 100% of its SE consumers to WSB and LFB in 2013. DSB also established
				a methodology for each VR Counselor to submit two SE referrals to WSB, so that
				26 consumers would be referred each year forward of 2013.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to collaborate
				with other agencies, such as Arkansas chapter of APSE: Advancing Employment,
				Connecting People, to expand the number of SE
providers.
Performance Measure:
At least two new
				potential SE providers will be identified and contacted.
Goal Met:
Career
				Links and Friendship Community Care became new SE providers for
DSB.
Strategy:
DSB will encourage consumers' family
				members and other natural support individuals to become SE providers.
Performance Measure:
DSB will collaborate with
				TACE and other organizations to develop training for the family support member
				and consumer.
Goal Met:
Training
				for natural supports was developed in 2013 and finalized and held in
March 2014.
Strategy:
DSB will continue to encourage CRPs
				to become Employment Networks
(ENs) .
Performance Measure:
A meeting will have taken
				place with at least one CRP to discuss the possibility of its becoming an
				EN.
Goal Met:
DSB
				discussed the possibility of becoming EN's with WSB and LFB.
Goal #2: Increase the quality of SE Providers for
				individuals who are blind or severely visually impaired.
Strategy:
DSB will collaborate with TACE and
				other organizations to develop training for the family support member and
				consumer.
Performance Measures:
At least one training on
				SE will be offered to family support personnel and SE consumers.
Goal Met:
DSB
				collaborated with TACE, WSB and LFB to develop the training for natural
				supports. The first training was held in March 2014.
Strategy:
Orient DSB staff to new program
				design.
Performance Measures:
At least one staff
				training on SE program design will be conducted in FY 2013.
Goal Met:
Staff
				received training on the new program design at the annual field service
				meeting.
Evaluation and Report of Progress on the FY 2013
				Performance Evaluation Standards and Performance Indicators
Below is the evaluation and report of progress on the
				Performance Evaluation Standards and Performance Indicators established by the
				Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in the reporting of data to comply
				with the 34 CFR 361, Subpart E, 361.80 through 361.89 of the Rehabilitation Act
				of 1973, as amended in 1998.
DSB is making progress toward meeting Performance Indicator
				1.6: Self-support. DSB continues to serve homemakers with ILRS funds in an
				effort to reduce the number of VR homemaker closures. DSB has an average of 14%
				homemaker closures. The target has been to keep these closures under 20%.
				Although other factors affect this indicator, homemaker closures have proven to
				be the most influential.
Another factor in meeting Performance Indicator 1.6 is that
				Arkansas' economy does not support wage increases on a yearly basis. Therefore,
				consumers who often enter and exit
DSB programs within the same year do not experience an increase
				in wages after receiving services. Unfortunately, this factor is beyond DSB's
				control.
The information below describes DSB performance for Standard 1
				and Standard 2:
Evaluation Standard 1 - Employment
				Outcomes:
A Designated State Unit (DSU) must assist any eligible
				individual, including an individual with a significant disability, to obtain,
				maintain, or regain high-quality employment.
In order to pass Standard 1 a state VR agency must meet or
				exceed the performance level for four of the six indicators including meeting
				or exceeding the performance level for two of the three primary indicators.
				Primary indicators are 1.3, 1.4 and 1.5.
* Performance Indicator 1.1: Change in the number of
				employment outcomes
The number of individuals exiting the VR program who achieved
				an employment outcome during the current performance period compared to the
				number of individuals who exit the VR program after achieving an employment
				outcome during the previous performance period.
FY 2013
327
FY 2012
313
Result
+14 Individuals
Required Performance Level
:
DSU's performance in current period must equal or exceed performance in
				previous period.
* Performance Indicator 1.2: Percent
				Employed
Of all individuals who exit the VR program after receiving
				services, the percentage who are determined to have achieved an employment
				outcome.
428
Individuals exited after receiving services
327
Individuals or
76.40%
exited with an employment outcome
Required Performance Level
:
For the general and combined DSU's, the level is 55.8%; for agencies
				serving individuals who are blind, the level is 68.9%
* Performance Indicator 1.3: Employed
				Competitively
Of all Individuals determined to have achieved an employment
				outcome, the percentage who exit the VR program in competitive, self-, or BEP
				employment with earnings equivalent to at least the minimum wage.
327
Individuals exited the VR Program with an employment
						  outcome
273
Individuals or
83.49%
exited the VR Program with an employment outcome
						  earning at least minimum wage ($7.25)
Required Performance Level
:
For the general and combined DSU's, the level is 72.6%; for agencies
				serving individuals who are blind, the level is 35.4%.
* Performance Indicator 1.4: Significant
				Disability
Of all individuals who exit the VR program in competitive,
				self, or BEP employment with earnings equivalent to at least the minimum wage,
				the percentage who are individuals with significant disabilities.
273
Individuals exited the VR Program with an employment
						  outcome earning at least minimum wage ($7.25)
273
Individuals or
100%
with significant disabilities exited the VR Program
						  with an employment outcome earning at least minimum wage ($7.25)
Required Performance Level
:
For the general and combined DSU's, the level is 62.4%; for agencies
				serving individuals who are blind, the level is 89.0%
* Performance Indicator 1.5: Earning Ratio
The average hourly earnings of all individuals who exit the VR
				program in competitive, self-, or BEP employment with earnings equivalent to at
				least the minimum wage as a ratio to the State's average hourly earnings for
				all individuals in the State who are employed (as derived from the Bureau of
				Labor Statistics reports "State Average Annual Pay" for the most recent
				available year).
273
Individuals exited the VR Program with an employment
						  outcome earning at least minimum wage ($7.25)
$12.42
Average hourly wage of individuals who exited the VR
						  Program with an employment outcome earning at least minimum wage ($7.25)
$19.13
State's average hourly earnings
.65
Ratio
Required Performance Level
:
For the general and combined DSU's, the level is a ratio of .52; for
				agencies serving individuals who are blind, the ratio is .59.
* Performance Indicator 1.6: Self-support
Of all individuals who exit the VR program in competitive,
				self-, or BEP employment with earnings equivalent to at least the minimum wage,
				the difference between the percentage who report their own income as the
				largest single source of economic support at the time they exit the VR program
				and the percentage who report their own income as the largest single source of
				support at the time they apply for VR services.
241 or 88.28%
Individuals reported their own income as the largest
						  single source of support at time of exit
171 or 62.64%
Individuals reported their own income as the largest
						  single source of support at time of application
70 or 25.64%
Difference between the two percentages
Required Performance Level
:
For the general and combined DSU's, the level is an arithmetic
				difference of 53.0; for agencies serving individuals who are blind, the level
				is a difference of 30.4.
Evaluation Standard 2: Equal Access to
				Services
2.1
Service Rate
The service rate for all individuals with disabilities from
				minority backgrounds as a ratio to the service rate for all individuals with
				disabilities from non-minority backgrounds.
192
Minorities exited the VR Program
143
Minorities exited the VR Program after receiving
						  services
74.48%
Service rate of minority individuals
350
Non-minorities exited the VR Program
285
Non-minorities exited the VR Program after receiving
						  services
81.43%
Service rate of non-minority individuals
.91
Ratio level of service rate
Required Performance Level
:
All agencies must attain a ratio level of .80.
Report on How Funds Reserved for Innovation and Expansion
				Activities Were Utilized in the Most Recently Completed Federal Fiscal
				Year
In FY 2013, DSB used its Title I funds for innovation and
				expansion to purchase a web-based data management system and contract with an
				information technology firm to act as a liaison between DSB and the data
				management system company. DSB also used Title 1 funds to expand its
				partnership with NFB-NEWSLINE® available through DSB's Arkansas Information
				Reading Services (AIRS) to consumers who are blind and severely visually
				impaired.
Quality, Scope, and Extent of
Supported Employment Services
{Attachment 6.3}
.
Describe quality, scope, and extent of supported
				employment services to be provided to individuals with the most significant
				disabilities
.
Describe the timing of the transition to
				extended services
DSB continues its agreement with World Services for the Blind
				and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to provide SE services, training, and
				placement through the jointly-developed Vocational Assistance Under Long Term
				(VAULT) program. WSB continues to provide assessments, skills training, and
				training to family members and significant others on issues related to
				blindness, including IL skills and overcoming barriers to employment. The
				Lighthouse and/or other SE vendors will provide direct job placement and job
				coaching. In March 2014, a summit for family members and significant others was
				held at WSB, and DSB staff were on-hand to assist.
In 2015, DSB will earmark a sum of VR funds for an
				establishment grant to World Services for the Blind in conjunction with
				Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind to support DSB efforts to expand the capacity
				of the State of Arkansas to provide supported employment services to
				individuals in Arkansas who are blind or severely visually impaired.
The VAULT program agreement and the establishment grant are
				expected to resolve some of the issues DSB has faced in serving SE consumers:
				The state has a limited number of service providers and a relatively low number
				of consumers who need SE services, particularly those who are blind or severely
				visually impaired. These consumers are spread throughout the rural parts of the
				state. Providers often consider these barriers as cost prohibitive. Added to
				this, providers want assurances of consistent available funding for continuing
				extended services, perhaps for the life of the consumer, and want payments for
				less tangible results than job placement, such as improving the consumers'
				social interaction. Another barrier that has been identified is the lack of
				knowledge, experience, and training SE providers have in the provision of
				supported employment services and placement for individuals who are blind or
				severely visually impaired. This is a specialty area of expertise that many
				providers do not have and are unwilling to expend time, monies and resources to
				train staff in this area.
DSB, ARS, the DHS Division of Developmental Disabilities
				Services (DDS), the DHS Division of Behavioral Health Services (BHS), and the
				Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Special Education Unit (SEU),
				Transition Unit partner through an interagency cooperative agreement outlining
				responsibilities and the provision of supported employment and other services
				to transition-aged consumers. The agreement produced an interagency steering
				committee which works on supported employment issues. During its formulation,
				the steering committee was facilitated by the EmployAbility Project, a Medicaid
				Infrastructure Grant (MIG) program that was housed in the DHS Division of Aging
				and Adult Services.
Through the Governor's Executive Order 10-17, DSB coordinates
				with other state agencies to increase employment of Arkansans with
				disabilities. The DSB Director served on a task force that identified policies
				that created barriers and disincentives for employment of individuals who are
				disabled and made recommendations to the Governor. The Executive Order called
				for DHS to convene an Employment First Task Force comprised of disability
				service providers, consumer advocates, and the state agencies administering
				disability services, vocational rehabilitation, Workforce services, and
				education and to focus consumer services first toward the goal of
				self-sufficiency through employment.
Executive Order 10-17 also calls for the training of staff and
				counseling of consumers on Social Security work incentives, the Ticket to Work
				program, and employment and navigation services for individuals with
				disabilities who want to work. It aims to increase the availability and use of
				supported employment through interagency collaboration and reallocation of
				existing funds to better meet the needs of individuals with the most
				significant disabilities.
Transitioning from DSB services to extended services will not
				occur until at least 90 days after the case is placed into status 22
				(employment), but should occur no later than 18 months after the case is placed
				into status 22. The timeframe for moving a case into extended services will be
				determined by the VR Counselor's monitoring of the consumer's adjustment to the
				work environment and will be outlined in the
Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). Supervisors review
				this process monthly, and the outcome is subject to case audit
				semi-annually.
In FY 2013, the most recently completed year, DSB provided
				supported employment services to seven individuals. Of this number, two cases
				were closed; one was closed competitively employed not in supported employment,
				and one was closed without an employment outcome. No cases were closed
				competitively employed in supported employment or closed not competitively
				employed not in supported employment. FY 2015 Projections: DSB estimates it
				will serve 20 consumers in supported employment.