Fill In the Blank: Resources for VR Forms and Updates

In case you missed the February VR Forms and Employment Services Updates webinar and trainings, or if you just need a refresher, here is a recap.

New and Revised Employment Services 

Documentation has gotten so much easier!

Changes to Work Experience

Work Experience is now an hourly service (it's no longer tiered A,B,C), and includes:

• an arrangement (planning time and effort) of the work experience,
• on-site observation of the participant,
• discussion with the VR participant of their likes, dislikes, and what was learned,
• discussion with the VR participant about next steps, and
• documentation

VR no longer requires an employment service provider to be on site for 75% of the time during a work experience. The amount of supportive time on the work experience should match the needs of the participant.

Youth Extended Services

VR is introducing a new service for MSD participants 14-24 years of age. Youth extended services:

• can extend up to 4 years or until age 25 once stabilization is achieved. 
• requires that providers investigate and use natural supports or other funding sources if available.
• can only be used if these services are required in order to maintain competitive, integrated employment.

More Employment Services Update Resources

• Employment Services Update Webinar, February 2019 

• Employment Services Update Webinar PowerPoint 

• Updated Employment Services Manual (version 5.0, February 2019) 

Forms (They're Easier; We Promise!)

How-to Videos for the New VR Forms

Need more instruction on how to fill out the new VR forms? Visit this YouTube VR Forms playlist for details on completing each form. And in case you hadn't heard, VR has added two new forms to make your job easier: the Monthly Progress Report and the Authorization Request Form.

Sample New Forms

To get a sense of how the new forms play out in the employment process, you can see examples for VR participants Amy Sample, Don Dolittle, and Angie Chen on VR's  "Sample Employment Services Forms" page. There you can see how employment specialists and VR counselors use each of the forms for various types of participants. Forms included in the examples are: 

• authorization request, 
• monthly progress summary,
• Discovery Profile, 
• job development and placement plan, and 
• stabilization and notification form. 

Note that during the course of any participant’s Discovery and job development process there will be many more monthly summaries than you see included in the examples.

Finding Forms

You'll find the gold mine of forms on VR's website. Using this link, scroll down to "Employment Service Forms."  And don't forget to bookmark the page!

Work Experiences or Trial Work Experiences? Hands on Your Buzzers!

[Cheesy narrator voice:] Welcome to this installment of “What’s the Difference?” where we clear up your confusion and bring order to the VR world. 
Ready contestants? Hands on your buzzers, and let’s play!
Today’s topic centers on the confusion and haze surrounding work experiences and trial work experiences? Okay, audience, join in: “What’s. The. Difference?”
….[crickets]
Contestants? Anyone? Anyone?...

…………………………………………………………

The lack of response from our contestants isn’t too surprising. We’re still hearing questions and confusion from some of you in the field. “Aren’t work experiences and trial work experiences the same thing?” (Answer: No!) With this Shared Solutions, we’ll delve deeper into both work experiences and trial work experiences so you know exactly what’s what when you finish playing our game. And let’s acknowledge from the get-go that the terminology is downright confusing.
   

Trial Work Experiences Help Evaluate

Let’s start there, with the term trial work experiences (TWEs). You can think of TWEs as a form of pre-eligibility assessment.

That’s where the “trial” comes in; they take place before VR has determined whether a person is eligible for VR services (e.g., before Discovery) and are only used when there’s a question about eligibility. According to the Indiana Administrative Code, TWEs are: 

"…the exploration of an individual's abilities, capabilities, and capacity to perform in realistic work situations in order to determine whether or not there is clear and convincing evidence to support a determination that an individual with a disability is incapable of benefiting from vocational rehabilitation services in terms of an employment outcome."

Indiana Administrative Code. Article 14. Rule 3: Definitions. 77 (460 IAC 14-3-1 Definitions)

If a VR counselor is unsure whether an applicant will benefit from receiving VR services, VR must conduct trial work experiences to explore the applicant’s ability to perform in realistic work situations. In other words, TWEs are set up to help a VR counselor answer the question: “With the right supports, could this person benefit from services that would help them attain competitive, integrated employment?”  

As the employment specialist supporting an individual during a TWE, VR may ask you to provide or obtain assistive technology, transportation services, personal assistance services, or other supports. You, the VR counselor, and the applicant will work as a team. 

To answer the question of whether the applicant can benefit from VR services and would, therefore, be eligible, the VR counselor should set up clear and specific expectations as to what you need to evaluate during the TWE. If you’re not sure what information you need to provide to VR, don’t hesitate to ask the VR counselor. Remember that your job is to provide your observations on the set criteria VR identifies. It’s NOT your job to determine whether or not someone will benefit from VR services, or if they can work in the community. Also, keep in mind that VR does not provide TWEs to “weed out” or discourage applicants. 

TWEs are not a one-and-done service. They must be “of sufficient variety and over a period of time” (within 30-60 days) so that the VR counselor has enough evidence and is able to determine either that the individual is eligible for services or, due to the severity of their disability, will be unable to benefit from services and is therefore ineligible. 

TWE Resources

Some of you may have had the opportunity to join VR for the Trial Work Experiences webinar in summer 2017. If not, take a look! The Trial Work Experiences presentation slides include examples of a trial work plan, trial work experiences, and appropriate documentation for reporting your findings. 

Work Experiences Allow for Exploration

Now, let’s head into Discovery territory with your VR participant. 

Work experiences are mini job activities that a VR-eligible job seeker participates in to further explore her/his interest in a type of employment, a specific environment, or a career. Work experiences are first-hand learning and real-work exposure in an integrated, competitive, community-based employment setting. Shared Solutions readers know that work experiences are a Discovery tool. We talked about them in November 2017 in the post “Work It!”  

Fully described in the VR Manual of Employment Services, pages 8-9, work experiences offer a unique spin to the Discovery experience. VR authorizes them as a separate and distinct Discovery activity. Note: You can bill for development of a work experience. The hours for development should be included in the authorization.

Work experiences benefit 1) you, in your role as employment specialist; 2) the job seeker; and 3) the employer. They offer your job seeker a “real world/real work” opportunity to gain additional experience and insights into skills, tasks, workplace preferences, workplace cultures, social skills, and job-related issues. They offer you insights and clues into ideal supports and teaching strategies for that same job seeker. And they offer employers a connection to an under-tapped employee resource. It’s a win, win, win!

Things to remember:

• VR will support up to 12 total calendar weeks of work experience (combined total of A,B and C. See chart below.).
• Work experiences must take place in competitive, integrated work settings in the community.
• Work experiences should be reflective of the type(s) of work the job seeker has indicated an interest in
• Job seekers may participate in work experience as little as one hour per week and as many as 11 or more hours per week.

Characteristics:	Work Experience A CC-DC code 53-06	Work Experience B CC-DC code 53-07	Work Experience C CC-DC code 53-08
1-to-1 staff/job seeker ratio	Required	Required	Required
At one or more worksite locations	1 or more	1 or more	1 or more
Hours per week	1-5	6-10	11 or more
May be paid or unpaid by employer	Either	Either	Either
ES must be on-worksite at least 75% of the time	Required	Required	Required
Authorization includes work experience development time (CC-DC code 53-05)	Usually 5-10 hours each	Usually 5-10 hours each	Usually 5-10 hours each
Payment to provider	$200 per week	$325 per week	$450 per week
Documented in Discovery Profile	Required	Required	Required

Need more work experience guidance?

Gleaning information

• Ask yourself: Is this experience likely to teach the job seeker something new? Or will it give me new information about supporting the job seeker?

Planning for a work experience

• Discovery leads to work site selection.
• Be intentional with your planning—connect the work site with the job seeker’s developing interests and skills.
• Be individualized with your planning—seriously, avoid using the same, same, and same worksites for every job seeker. Keep this about your job seeker―not about your convenience.
• Avoid jumping to a work experience prematurely―first, give Discovery time to evolve. 

Working with employers

• Use the job seeker's connections to identify a potential work experience business.
• Use the identified skills of your job seeker to find businesses that can use those skills. 
• Use your own connections to identify a work experience business.
• Use your agency's leadership for connections to a potential business.
• Ask yourself: Is this an employer whose work culture might match my job seeker's preferences? 
• Ask yourself: Is this an employer whose teaching styles might match my job seeker's learning styles?

Work Experience Resources

Establishing Quality Work Experiences 

Fair Labor Standards Act Advisor: Trainees

Unpaid Work Experiences, Volunteering, and Internships

Ready for the Final Round?

[Cheesy narrator voice:]  …aaaaand we’re back!  Contestants, get those hands on your buzzers again. First question!  Tell us one thing that trial work experiences and work experiences have in common (besides the term “work experiences”). 

Ding, ding, ding, ding!  Oh my goodness, everyone is buzzing in!  And yes, you’re right!  Both TWEs and work experiences take place in integrated employment environments. 

Second question!  When do you complete a work experience? Yes!! During Discovery!  And a follow-up, related question: When might VR ask you to provide a trial work experience? Very nice, contestants!! The answer is, of course, only in certain cases, before VR determines eligibility. 

Nice job! Johnny, tell them what they’ve won!  

[Even cheesier narrator voice:] Enlightenment, contentment, and the knowledge that they’re right. What more can a contestant want? Oh, and resources, we always have resources! For playing this installment of “What’s the Difference?” you’ve earned access to all of the links included in this Shared Solutions post.  

Thanks for playing!

Work It!

This month’s Shared Solutions is all about work experiences--not to be confused with Trial Work Experiences! You may have seen the September 2017, webinar focusing on Trial Work Experiences and…this is not that! Work experiences and Trial Work Experiences are very different activities meant for very different outcomes. 

Employment specialists, job seekers, and Vocational Rehabilitation counselors can use work experiences throughout the Discovery process. Are you confused yet? Read on for more information about the use and benefit of work experiences. 

Nuts and Bolts 

Work experiences, which are often underused, offer your job seekers the opportunity to explore varying interests through first-hand learning and real work exposure in an integrated, competitive, community-based employment setting. They can be invaluable for those job seekers who have little to no work history as a means to honing in on preferences, skills and support strategies for success. As vocational themes emerge during Discovery, work experiences can help refine employment interests and guide future job development. In fact, a work experience can often result in a formal offer of employment or pave the ground for the development of a customized position. 

Keep in mind, a work experience:

• is completed individually with a 1:1 employment specialist to job seeker ratio
• may last for as long as 12 weeks in total
• may be developed across a variety of businesses during those 12 weeks
• may be paid or unpaid, depending upon agency decision making 
• requires the provider to be onsite 75% of the time over the course of the work experience

And Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services includes necessary time for work experience development, reimbursed at an hourly rate. 

A work experience can be a win-win proposition for all parties, including the business community. Leveraged with attention to job seeker strengths, a work experience is a way to introduce job seeker contributions, discern needed support strategies, and build business relationships. In other words, it can be used as a positive introduction for the job seeker who might otherwise struggle with competition among other applicants. 

VR offers flexibility by offering three work experience levels: 

• Work Experience A (1-5 hours work per week) reimburses the provider at a rate of $200 per week
• Work Experience B (6-10 hours work per week) reimburses the provider at a rate of $325 per week
• Work Experience C (11 + hours work per week) reimburses the provider at a rate of $450 per week

'Liability?' You Ask

Proposing a work experience with local employers can become tricky when those employers begin expressing concerns about liability issues. Employment specialists, armed with the appropriate information, can easily allay these concerns.

When VR has authorized a work experience (A, B or C) and both you and your job seeker have a clear vocational interest area in mind, the work experience can provide additional guidance and valuable learning. When you talk to an employer, you'll propose a "work assessment" or "work try out," a condition that does not represent a hiring relationship. work experiences occur while Discovery is still ongoing. As such (not a hiring relationship), the employer faces no more liability than they would otherwise face when any visitor is at their worksite. (Note that this is the same situation for students involved with Pre-Employment Transition Services.) 

Community rehabilitation providers can also side-step the issue of employer liability by offering to pay the wages of your job seeker during a work experience. The job seeker in this instance may be covered by the provider's workers compensation and general/catastrophic liability coverage. If, however, the provider decides not to pay the job seeker during a work experience, the job seeker may still be covered under the provider's general liability insurance. Consult your agency's human resources department for guidance. They may also be able to provide you with proof of insurance coverage, which you can, in turn, show to the potential employer willing to host a work experience. For more information on liability, see the article from the State Employment Leadership Network, listed below under "Resources."

The Benefits of Work Experiences 

Work experiences can be an additional, effective tool in your toolkit. It is another option during Discovery and before jumping into formal job development. Immersing your job seeker in these opportunities provides an abundance of benefits including: 

• a way to “try out” vocational themes and related work skills
• a lens into support and teaching strategies likely to help your job seeker succeed
• business relationships across a wide variety of community stakeholders
• self-confidence

Using work experiences also helps you, as an employment specialist, “warm up” to job development activities as you practice negotiation skills.

Resources

The Manual of Employment Services from Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation Services. (Find the entry for Work Experiences on p. 8.)

Unpaid Work Experiences, Volunteering, and Internships: What's Allowed a fact sheet from the State Employment Leadership Network, updated in February 2017. 

Get your work experience groove on and get out there!

_______________________________________________________

Meeting Your Employment Training & Technical Assistance Needs

Effective September 1, 2017, Indiana community rehabilitation providers and agencies can obtain customized, programmatic training and technical assistance as part of the VR Establishment grant training plan. Or, providers—in Indiana or out of state—can pay for technical assistance with private funding. 

The Center on Community Living and Careers (CCLC) is now offering customized technical assistance and training to address the specific needs of your employment program or agency.

This is not a one-size-fits-all training approach. Training and consultation, delivered by CCLC’s Technical Assistance & Training Team, can include guided practice, field-based mentoring, hands-on skills practice, virtual technology, and one-to-one support--you name it! We’ll work with you to develop the right training plan for your agency. 

Find more information in our Employment Training & Consultation flyer.  Call us! We look forward to hearing from you!