Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation

Background

The Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) works with the Alaska Division of Public Assistance (DPA) and the Alaska Division of Employment Security (ESD) to provide employment and training services to state residents with disabilities. The Alaska DVR serves the entire state of Alaska, which is comprised of two Local Workforce Areas, the Anchorage/Mat-Su area, and the rest of the State.

The Work Incentive (WIN) Grant will help One-Stop Center staff develop their capacity to reach citizens with disabilities throughout the state, particularly those in rural and remote areas. Customers with disabilities are those with physical, cognitive, psychiatric, and sensory impairments. The customer base may also include injured workers, and people with no prior work history.

Goals and Methods

The Workforce Investment Grant funds will be used to expand services and increase system capacity for individuals with disabilities statewide.

Expand services

The DVR will use WIN funds to expand services to both customers with disabilities and employers.

Customers with disabilities

• Ensure facility and program accessibility. Contractors will conduct a statewide assessment of program accessibility and Assistive Technology capacity at each One-Stop Center. The contractors will work with the State of Alaska Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator and the Alaska affiliate of the Disability Business and Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC).
• Introduce customer choice. Eligible customers may participate in a program pioneered by Alaska DVR called "Consumer Choice Grants." This program allows DVR customers to receive direct funding to obtain goods and services related to their employment plan. Customers can use the vendors and products they choose, free of state procurement restrictions or other limitations.
• Provide benefits counseling for customers with significant disabilities. WIN funds will help the Alaska DVR assist customers with significant disabilities (those receiving SSI and SSDI benefits). To do this, the DVR will contract with approved, qualified counselors to help customers with the array of federal, state and local benefits available to them. The DVR will also train One-Stop Center staff and partners in Social Security work incentives.
• Create a seamless web of services. The DVR aims to provide a seamless web of services to customers with disabilities, including on-the-job training, assistive technology, job coaching and additional support services (transportation, housing, etc.) that customers may need to perform their jobs effectively.

Employers

• Increase awareness of the needs and capabilities of workers with disabilities in general, and bring employers into contact with specific individuals who may be suited for employment. The DVR will accomplish this by including employers in the Rural Development Model and working closely with them.
• Assist employers in hiring workers with disabilities. The DVR will assist employers in hiring workers with disabilities by funding the cost of equipment or supplies necessary to support a worker with disabilities, and referring qualified applicants with disabilities to them. Eligible employers must commit to hiring people with disabilities for a period of at least five years, but are under no obligation to hire any particular applicant, or maintain any particular individual in the job.

Capacity Building

The DVR will use WIN funds to increase the capacity of the staff and the system.

Increase staff capacity

• Provide training. One-Stop Center staff and their partners will receive training and technical assistance to increase their awareness of services (e.g., job carving, job development, personal assistant services, and other individualized approaches) that will become standard features of WIA Title I programs.
• Develop reference guides. The DVR will develop two reference guides to provide ongoing assistance to One-Stop staff and partners and ensure consistency of service: (1) a reference manual on assistive technology capacity assessment and rural economic development activities; and (2) a reference manual on disability-related needs and services.

Increase system capacity

• Leverage grant funds. The WIN grant is one of four major grants the State of Alaska is using to improve services at its One-Stop Centers. The other three are the Rehabilitation Services Administration Systems Change grant, the Social Security Administration Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach grant, and the Medicaid Infrastructure grant. Staff from each agency responsible for administering these grants work in the One-Stop Centers. This allows the state to leverage staff knowledge and skills into greater service for customers with disabilities.
• Strengthen partnerships. The Rural Economic Development portion of this program will strengthen the partnership between local businesses, non-profit organizations, Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation, and state employment programs.

Partners

Strong partnerships are a key component of the DVR's WIN initiative. Below is a brief description of the partners and their roles.

Vocational Rehabilitation will supervise staff, manage administrative aspects of the grant, and oversee the statewide delivery system.

Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation will market and advertise the Rural Economic Development/Job Creation program in remote and rural areas of the state. The agency will evaluate businesses for inclusion in the program, refer qualified applicants with disabilities to businesses for job interviews, and provide any support services necessary to make the matches work. Support services may include assistive technology, guidance and counseling, and training.

The Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education will assist the Resource Specialist in Kenai and Wasilla to coordinate with existing Alaska Works personnel.

State and Local Center for Independent Living (CIL) will develop activities, public forums, and the Independent Living Plan in concert with the DVR. The CIL will also collaborate with the State Rehabilitation Council. These agencies will undertake a marketing and education campaign on the services and benefits available at One-Stop Centers. The campaign will target consumer groups, advocacy organizations, support groups, non-profit Native Health Corporations, health clinics, and other agencies and organizations that touch the lives of people with disabilities. Agency staff will meet with Alaska Works and DBTAC staff to discuss maximum exposure for the campaign.

Assistive Technology Library of Alaska is a non-profit organization that will provide assessment, training, technical assistance, and follow-up services in One-Stop Centers throughout the state.

TANF, Welfare-to-Work, and SSA Benefits Planning will provide a perspective from within the One-Stop Center system. Program representatives will give input into the design of the SSA Benefits Planning project as it develops.

Other Service Providers. Other agencies involved will include mental health consumer groups, advocacy organizations, head injury agencies and support groups, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the Multiple Sclerosis Association, non-profit Native Health Corporations, Village Health Clinics, and other agencies and organizations that provide support to people with disabilities.

Innovation

WIN funds will help the state build on an innovative model already pioneered in some of Alaska's One-Stop Centers. Significant innovations include:

• Maximum choice through "Consumer Choice Grants" that allow customers to choose their own vendors and products, free of state procurement restrictions or other limitations;
• Linkages among One-Stop Centers and partner agencies that increase staff awareness of services for people with significant disabilities;
• A fund from which One-Stop Center staff and partner agencies can purchase benefits counseling for individuals with significant disabilities from approved, qualified vendors;
• Training and technical assistance so One-Stop Centers can function as Employment Networks (ENs) under the Ticket-to-Work program (TWWIIA);
• Funding of assistive technology at eligible workplaces, paired with an employer commitment to hiring people with significant disabilities; and
• Development of a common referral system, eligibility requirements, and intake forms.