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Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR)
Strategic Plan:  2001 - 2003
October 1, 2001

Mission

To obtain, maintain, and improve employment for people with disabilities by working with VR consumers, employers, and other partners.

Values

• Tell the truth
• Keep your promises
• Be fair
• Respect the individual
• Expect quality

Goals

Goal 1: Increase the number of successful outcomes for DVR consumers.

Outcome Target (9/30/02):

Increase employment outcomes in Federal Fiscal Year 2002 to 4,000. Employment outcomes for FFY01 were 3,647.

Strategies to Achieve Goal 1:

1. Communication.

• Work at the state and national levels to eliminate and/or reduce barriers and disincentives to employment for people with disabilities.

2. Funding.

• Increase DVR funding available to achieve consumer employment outcomes by increasing social security reimbursement.
• Seek additional funding from grants to achieve employment outcomes.
• Advocate for funding from the state and federal government that is adequate to meet the need for vocational rehabilitation services for people with disabilities.

3. Service Delivery.

• Improve consumer employment outcomes through innovative staffing patterns (teams, paid interns, consolidated or shared support services, etc.).
• Develop and implement new strategies to expand and improve self-employment and small business opportunities for consumers (HBE, BEP & Center for Entrepreneurship).
• Develop strategies to deal with the potential increases in referrals, waiting lists, and caseloads.

4. Provide training to DVR counselors.

• Provide training to DVR counselors on current labor market trends.
• Expand and improve activity within DVR focused on consumer employment outcomes, working with employers, and assisting consumers and employers to achieve success.

5. Market DVR services through an effective communications strategy to both potential consumers and employers.

• Market DVR services to Ticket to Work holders.
• Develop revenue-generating services to help employers with ADA issues.

Goal 2: Continuously improve consumer satisfaction with DVR Services.

Outcome Target (9/30/02):

1. Customer satisfaction will reach a minimum satisfaction rate of 75% in all categories.
2. Each WDA will document a minimum of two areas of service improvement based on consumer satisfaction survey input.

Strategies to Achieve Goal 2:

1. Communicate with and inform each consumer about realistic DVR service provision related to employment outcomes.

• Explain/clarify the difference between consumer informed choice and consumer preference.

2. Measure and communicate consumer satisfaction.
3. Develop customer service training for all DVR employees.
4. Teach consumers self-advocacy skills.

5. Improve DVR services based on consumer feedback.

Goal 3: Develop and maintain a positive DVR work environment that values diversity, provides challenges, opportunities for substantive results, input into decision-making, and rewards competence in a consumer-centered service organization.

Outcome Target (9/30/02):

1. Increase rate of staff who report their level of job satisfaction as "favorable" to at least 50%. A 1999 staff survey indicated a rate of 38%.

Strategies to Achieve Goal 3:

1. Develop ongoing internal communication mechanisms using newsletters, Intranet, meetings, emails, etc.
2. Clarification of staff roles and responsibilities. Establish clear program performance expectations for everyone.
3. Develop and implement training programs for all staff. Seek and commit adequate fiscal and personnel resources to address ongoing staff training needs.
4. Develop a mentor program for staff.
5. Expand reward possibilities for staff (e.g.: career advancement, perks, recognition, special assignments, training conferences).
6. Develop a statewide rapid response mechanism and process to solve problems as they come up.
7. Promote an upbeat work environment.
8. Advocate maintaining a competitive compensation package for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors and other division staff.

Goal 4: Exercise good stewardship managing the DVR budget.

Outcome Target (9/30/02):

1. The division will not exceed its FFY 2002 case service budget.
2. Internal and external auditors do not indicate major findings in the area of budget stewardship.

Strategies to Achieve Goal 4:

1. Develop and continue to refine accurate Forecasting Tools to allow for allocating, tracking, and projection of expenditures.

• Refine and improve field tools for monitoring and tracking expenditures (including encumbrances).

2. Develop principles and guidelines for contracts and cooperative agreements including rate structures, tracking systems and related performance improvements.
3. Develop performance measures or standards and provide training to ensure the use of fiscal field management tools by field supervisors and other responsible management staff.
4. Develop an Internal Audit function to assist in oversight of fiscal decision-making.
5. Identify, clarify and improve federal reporting mechanisms to ensure accurate and timely federal reporting.
6. Develop new/innovative service delivery and customer response systems that efficiently utilize staff resources.

Goal 5: Collaborate with our partners to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Outcome Target (9/30/02)

1. Initiate a minimum of five new collaborative initiatives with DWD partners whose efforts reach the level of providing services to DWD customers, both employers and people with disabilities.

Strategies to Achieve Goal 5:

1. Training.

• Cross training and conferencing with partners on each partner's aspects of service delivery.
• Training and public information on disability related issues for partners.
• Collaborate with partners to provide annual training for Job Center staff on work and disability related Legislation (WIA, ADA, VR, etc.).

2. Develop both internal and external work teams to develop strategies to assist one another in providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

Goal 6: Continuously improve satisfaction of job seekers with disabilities with services from Job Centers.

Outcome Targets (9/30/01):

1. DVR will work with the State Independent Living Council to involve people with disabilities on Workforce Development Boards and/or WDB committees.
2. Each WDA will identify at least two best practices of Job Centers in meeting the needs of people with disabilities. DVR will compile the results in a best practices report that will be shared widely.

Strategies to Achieve Goal 6:

1. Active participation in existing governance structures.

• DVR representation and active participation on Workforce Development Boards to identify problems and possible solutions to improving services to individuals with disabilities.
• Encourage appointment of people with disabilities on Workforce Development Boards.
• DVR representation and active participation on behalf of people with disabilities on the job center management and employer service teams.

2. Training.

• Use the quarterly job center roundtables, annual employment and training conference and other opportunities to have DVR staff provide training on disability related issues.
• Develop and implement cross training with Job Center partners to share expertise on serving people with disabilities.

3. Communication.

• DVR will assist the department to communicate with local boards and partners that employment of people with disabilities is a DWD priority.
• DVR will assist the department to develop a communication plan to demonstrate the success of job center initiatives and overall work with people with disabilities (e.g.: use media, newspaper articles, brochures, presentation materials, presentation at association groups).
• DVR will gather information from job center partners to find out what works or does not work in their job center and share via Department newsletter.

4. Develop ongoing relationships with local partners that promote the enrichment of Job Center services to better serve people with disabilities.

• Collaborate with the department to create ongoing evaluation and implementation of services utilizing innovative, new approaches, and best practice concepts.
• Increase employment success rate of individuals with disabilities not actively being served by DVR.

5. DWD applies for grants and other resources to meet the needs of people with disabilities not met with existing resources in the Job Center system.

• DVR will assist DWD in providing incentives to boards for developing systems to excel in service to people with disabilities.

DWD is an equal opportunity employer and service provider. If you have a disability and need to access this information in an alternate format, or need it translated to another language, please contact 800-442-3477 or 888-877-5939 (TTY).

DVR-10729-P (R. 10/2001)