Innovative Strategies for VR Services During COVID-19 Pandemic

WELCOMETOTHE VR100 SERIES INNOVATIVE STRATEGIESFROM VR DURINGTHE COVID-19 PANDEMIC RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

U.S. Department of Education Mark Schultz Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and Commissioner, Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 2

WINTAC Technical Assistance Chaz Compton, Project Director Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center (WINTAC) TA During the Crisis: Requests and response Website additions and numbers Sharing information on effective practices by VR agencies and partners Modifying ongoing work to be delivered by distance RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 3

Pre-Employment Transition Services Carol Pankow, Senior Research Associate, WINTAC Pre-Employment Transition Services Team Three-Step Approach to Helping You During This Crisis: Step One-Get resources in your hands on the website Step Two-Webinars on hot topics Step Three-Partnership with others to better support you RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 4

VR DIRECTORS SHARE THEIR INNOVATIVE STRATEGIESFOR OPERATINGTHE PROGRAMAND DELIVERING SERVICES BY DISTANCE RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

Massachusetts Commission for the Blind RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 6

Massachusetts Commission for the Blind David D Arcangelo, Commissioner MCB staff left our physical offices on Friday, March13 at 5pm and were open for business on Monday, March 16 at 9am. MCB s typical VR Counseling process has Counselors equipped with laptops that have mobile internet access (MiFi), which enables use of email & webmail, access to the web (teleconferencing & video conferencing WebEx & Zoom) RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 7

Massachusetts Commission for the Blind Counselors have access to our Cloud-based off premises Client Management System (AWARE) MCB s Central Registration has registered 55 new registrants, processed ~200 travel cards, Identification cards, Massachusetts Equipment Distribution Program applications, Disability Placard applications and Certificates of Blindness at 9am RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 8

MCB Working Through COVID-19 More than 70% of MCB staff have been newly trained on Zoom for remote service calls and internal meetings, including a virtual meeting with almost 60 MCB Stakeholders on March 20th and a virtual all-staff call on March 27th with 129 participants that followed several other all-staff calls since March 10th. Working with TIC and affiliates to share MCB messaging on the hour, every hour since the March 10th MA State of Emergency declaration. Our Social Media has gotten the message out and our Social Media metrics have increased exponentially. Our Assistive Technology (AT) unit continues making AT deliveries in PPE to ensure safety for staff and consumers, along with continuing to provide remote AT assistance and training RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 9

MCB VR Success Stories During COVID-19 A VR consumer has been working remotely as a software engineer for the past three years with a starting base salary of $83,000. During the statewide stay-at-home order, he was offered and has accepted a new position as a full-time software engineer for an educational technology and publishing company. He started April 6, 2020 at a base salary of $110,000. A VR consumer has been hired by a theatre company on a full-time basis as a ticket agent and customer service representative. He is working remotely and has bene employed over 90 days and has been retained despite COVID-19 layoffs. RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 10

Connect with MCB Phone: 1-800-727-5500 U.S. Mail: 600 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111 Web: www.mass.gov/mcb Social: Twitter/Instagram: @massblind Facebook: masscommblind LinkedIn: Massachusetts Commission for the Blind RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 11

Missouri Office of Adult Learning and Rehabilitation Services RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 12

Missouri General Tim Gaines, Assistant Commissioner Chris Clause, Coordinator, Performance Management Philosophy and Culture of Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation Organizational Structure Staff health and welfare Culture of trust and flexibility Telework plan and equipment Opportunities for professional development RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 13

Missouri General, cont. Communication Strategies Management team and field staff Community Rehabilitation Programs and Partner agencies Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and Governor s Office Coordination of Services with Community Rehabilitation Programs Temporary adjustment of milestones and fees Flexibility for remote services Pre-Employment Transition Services Maintaining contact with schools Contracted Pre-ETS services and remote technologies Summer work experiences RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 14

Maine Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 15

Maine Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Libby Stone-Sterling, Director Maine responds to the Coronavirus: Meeting Client Needs: Move to virtual meetings Targeted vocational guidance and counseling New virtual curriculum development Joining virtual school classrooms to deliver Pre-ETS activities Client Assistance Program services available virtually RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 16

Maine Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Maine responds to the Coronavirus: Meeting Staff Needs: Policies/procedures in place for telework VRCs have laptops with remote access, cell phones Virtual staff meetings Professional development Information sharing Meeting Partner/Employer Needs: Professional development Weekly stakeholder call Outreach to businesses/Virtual job fairs RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 17

Cheryl Fuller Director, Vocational Rehabilitation Division RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 18

Transitioning to Remote Work & Remote Service Delivery Remote Work Remote Service Delivery Customer communication Provider communication Alternate methods for some business processes Temporary exceptions issued for certain requirements in the VR Services Manual and Standards for Providers Manual CCRC group training by Zoom Exploring additional strategies for contact free service delivery Almost 100% of 1,608 VR staff are teleworking Managers are using technology to engage staff (Microsoft Teams) Annual Statewide Managers Meeting via Adobe Connect Weekly all manager calls Remote hiring and onboarding Remote new counselor training RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 19

Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 20

Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services Chris Howard, Executive Director, Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services LaVonda Hart, Director, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Dorothy Young, Director, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for the Blind Launching into Remote VR Service Delivery Keeping the Client and Counselor Engaged in the VR Process New Partnerships Developed with WIOA Core Partners to Assist Clients SARA Our Virtual Assistant RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES 21

QUESTIONS THROUGH CHAT FACILITATEDBY CHIP KENNEY CO-PROJECT DIRECTOR WINTAC RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES U.S. DEPARTMENTOF EDUCATION RSA REHABILITATION SERVICES ADMINISTRATION OFFICEOF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES