Comprehensive System of Personnel Development: Attachment 4.10

VESID is committed to fulfill its obligation to establish and maintain a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) designed to ensure an adequate supply of qualified rehabilitation personnel staff.

Qualified Personnel Providing Vocational Rehabilitation Services

VESID ensures an adequate number of qualified rehabilitation counselor professionals by tracking all staff who are working to meet the needs of consumers.  VESID uses ACCESS, EXCEL and the New York State Education Department’s Fiscal and Personnel Information Management system to track vocational and rehabilitation counselors who meet CSPD requirements.  

VESID hires only vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors who meet CSPD requirements to provide vocational rehabilitation services to consumers.  Therefore, personnel data is relevant only to the vocational rehabilitation counselor series.  As of September 2006, VESID's data reflected an adequate supply of qualified rehabilitation professionals as summarized in the following table:

VESID does not employ any other type of rehabilitation staff, such as mobility instructors or rehabilitation teachers.  VESID does use VR Counselor Assistants who are promoted from VESID’s administrative support staff.  While these individuals interact with consumers, they process administrative tasks to facilitate service delivery and are not making decisions about eligibility or vocational rehabilitation services in the Individual Plan for Employment (IPE).

Coordination with Higher Education in the Preparation of Rehabilitation Professionals

In New York State, the Rehabilitation Counseling graduate programs at institutions of higher education within New York State are:  University at Albany - State University of New York (SUNY), University at Buffalo - SUNY, Syracuse University, Hofstra University, St. John’s University and Hunter College.  These six programs are accredited by the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) and prepare vocational rehabilitation professionals. 

CORE accredited Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Counselor Education provide evidence that a program complies with the strict professional stage of development.  CORE accreditation is granted to programs that have been fully operational long enough to allow for the objective assessment of the professional performance of graduates.  This recognition provides evidence that a program complies with all federal standards and is deemed able to maintain that level of compliance through the duration of the accreditation period.

VESID is working with these institutions of higher education to develop a process for the recruitment of students from diverse populations and to establish a curriculum based on best practices, research and development trends.

VESID maintains a contact at each of these institutions of higher education and collects the following student data.

2006-2007 State Plan/ Institutions of Higher Education (CORE) Student Total

Plan for Recruitment, Preparation and Retention of Qualified Personnel

As a function of VESID's plan to recruit, prepare and retain qualified personnel, VESID has made progress in many areas, but is concerned with a diminishing pool of qualified candidates.  During the 2006-2007 academic year, 90 of the 182 students, or 49 percent, identified themselves as individuals with a disability or non-white, a significant decrease from last year.

Under the Long-Term Training Grant which ended last year, five VESID staff were completing their CSPD requirements.  All of them continue to be supported by VESID through the In-Service Training (IST) grant and all have plans to continue.  We anticipate that these individuals will meet the requirements by spring 2013.

For the remaining counselors who do not meet the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) standard, VESID continues to promote options for coursework and continuing education toward meeting the CSPD requirement.

VESID projects that 70 counselors are needed over the next 5 years.  This projection is based on the number of vocational rehabilitation counselors age 50 or older with 25 years of service.  These counselors are all eligible for retirement within the next 5 years.

VESID has developed paid internships for recruiting VR counselors.  VESID has visited several graduate programs both within and outside of New York State to offer paid internship opportunities to graduate rehabilitation counseling students.  Several students have participated in the paid rehabilitation counselor internship program in the New York City metropolitan area during the fall 2006 semester.  In addition, there are opportunities for paid internships at several of the upstate district offices and candidates are being recruited to participate during 2007.

Personnel Standards: Highest Standard for the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

VESID will employ vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRCs) who have, or are eligible to obtain, qualification as a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC).  New York State Civil Service qualifications for the VRC title were amended to match the CRC eligibility requirement.  All vocational rehabilitation counselors who are added to the Civil Service list for that title require:

• A current Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) certificate; or
• A master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, including a supervised internship, from a CORE accredited program; or
• A master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling or counseling and notice of eligibility to sit for the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) certificate examination.

We anticipate that all VESID VRC’s will meet the CRC eligibility requirements by FFY 2013.

In addition, outreach efforts for recruitment will be made through disability groups and associations (in accordance with the SED/VESID Diversity Plan) serving minority populations.  VESID will also work with institutions of higher education to expand its student recruitment efforts to reach students from diverse backgrounds.

Staff Development

VESID is addressing current and projected vocational rehabilitation personnel needs by ensuring that all its personnel are adequately trained.  To accomplish this goal, the following activities have been and will continue to be implemented for employees:

• In-service training funds provide for attendance at workshops, formal   course work, agency developed and conducted training sessions, and Rehabilitation Research Continuing Education Program (RRCEP) training sessions.  Training is offered in the fields of counseling, vocational rehabilitation counseling, medical aspects of disabilities including mental illness, acquired brain injury, end stage renal disease, job placement, rehabilitation technology, diversity, informed choice, the Americans with Disabilities Act and other topics related to the field of vocational       rehabilitation.  All employees have access to these training opportunities and are encouraged to attend.
• VESID continues to provide training on rehabilitation technology and will work with RRCEP to develop relevant training programs.
• VESID distributes information received from a variety of sources including the National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Materials, the National Centers for Workforce and Disability (Youth and Adult), the Burton Blatt Institute of Syracuse University, the Institute of Rehabilitation Issues, the Law, Health Policy and Disability Center at the University of Iowa College of Law and many other professional, educational and private sources.

VESID provides ongoing training to all VRC’s regarding policy and procedural changes; relevant federal and State laws; and evidence-based rehabilitation practices. Training provided during FFY 2006, to date, included the following topics:

• Policy and procedures: new staff training, eligibility including presumed eligibility for SSI/SSDI individuals, significance of disability, Fast Track intake, placement and marketing, due process, supported employment policy and procedures, case noting, VESID’s electronic case management system (CaMS), homemaker closures, functional capacity evaluations, vehicle modifications, college policies and procedures, RSA monitoring and performance indicators, consumer involvement and economic need.   In addition, training was provided to new staff and vocational rehabilitation counselors that presented a broad overview of all VESID policies and procedures.
•  Disability-related training: end stage renal disease, sickle cell anemia, augmentive communication devices, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), multiple sclerosis, interpretation of psychological tests,          obsessive compulsive disorders, rehabilitation technology, understanding recreational substance abuse, implications of Asperger’s Syndrome, vicarious trauma, gang awareness in our schools and communities, methamphetamine labs, principles of psychosocial rehabilitation and acquired brain injury.
• Placement and marketing training: World of Work Inventory I and II, Self-Employment services, Designing Our Future, job coaching, workers   compensation, navigating a changing job market, aerospace industry, labor market trends and regional demand occupations.
• Collaborative Work Projects: VESID is working with the Office of Mental Health (OMH) on several initiatives for mutual analysis and potential benefit to consumers with mental illness. Implementation of the OMH program initiative, Personal Recovery Oriented Services (PROS), was delayed due to some technical problems in the approval process. The program has been approved for implementation and VESID has developed local liaisons to the OMH-funded vocational programs. VESID met with OMH on a regular schedule to discuss issues of mutual concern regarding supported employment and related vocational services to individuals with mental illness. As this program is implemented, VESID staff will receive training.

VESID facilitated a training workshop at a statewide conference of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services (NYAPRS) that featured three VESID consumers who used a combination of Individualized Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Treatment (IPRT) program and VESID-sponsored supported employment to sustain competitive employment.  Representatives from the respective community rehabilitation programs also participated to give the workshop participants, consumers and other service providers an understanding of how VESID and the mental health community can collaborate to assist this population in achieving employment.

Personnel to Address Individual Communication Needs

To ensure that VESID adequately provides services to consumers who are not English proficient, have a cognitive disability or are deaf, VESID has professional staff able to communicate in the native language of individuals who are non-English speaking or who use other modes of communication, such as sign language.  When such staff is not available, VESID contracts with outside agencies and individuals for interpreter or communication services.  VESID also ensures that vocational rehabilitation counselors are aware of how an individual's cognitive disability might affect his or her ability to participate in the vocational rehabilitation process.

VESID requires the use of certified or State approved interpreters for the deaf when sign language interpreter services are required in the provision of vocational rehabilitation services.  VESID is planning to conduct a needs assessment of the specialized counselors who are working with deaf individuals to determine their training and resource needs.  The results of this survey process will be reported in the next State Plan. VESID also requires a specific communication skill level for vocational rehabilitation staff working with Spanish speaking consumers.  VESID will continue to use these standards and make adjustments when appropriate.

Coordination with Personnel Development and Training Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

VESID administers special education, vocational rehabilitation and independent living programs.  The coordination of meaningful transition services for students with disabilities from school-age to postsecondary settings is a priority area for vocational rehabilitation and special education collaboration.  VESID’s special education and vocational rehabilitation program managers jointly review and share training information and, when relevant, coordinate efforts by inviting our respective staff to training on transition, accommodations, assessment and knowledge of specific disabilities.

The chart below indicates that new applications for youth (ages 14-21) have increased, as have the number of youth served and the school districts with which VESID is working.

VESID continues to work closely with schools to enable the smooth transition of students with disabilities from school to work.  There is a slight increase in total numbers of youth served and in successful employment outcomes for youth.  Most promising is the increase in employment outcomes for youth, even though employment outcomes for all VR consumers have decreased.

VESID has a number of VRC’s across the State dedicated solely to transition.  In some offices, VESID is demonstrating a “transition team” concept to determine if this approach leads to better outreach to school districts and to students with disabilities.

More information about coordination with students with disabilities is reported in Attachment 4.9(c)(2) Coordination with Education Officials.  Final results for FFY 2006 are not yet available.