Attachment 4.11(b)

Comprehensive System of Personnel Development

The Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped (DVH) has a comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD) to meet immediate and long-range training and staffing needs. The Rehabilitation Council had an opportunity to review the CSPD attachment along with all other State plan submissions.

The following DVH staff provide vocational rehabilitation (VR) services for persons with visual disabilities in the Commonwealth. Staff are located in six regional offices throughout the state, at the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VRCBVI), and Headquarters. Staff who provide VR services are as follows:

• 1 Deafblind specialists
• 2 Work evaluators/trainers employed at the Virginia Industries for the Blind
• 1 Rehabilitation technology specialists; 1 rehabilitation technology aide
• 6 Regional managers who provide direct supervision to VR counselors and other field; staff
• 8 Professional positions at Headquarters--consisting of two program evaluation and support team; members, two clerical positions, and four administrators
• 17 VR counselors
• 13 Clerical staff in regional offices
• 29 Classified and 17 part-time positions at the VRCBVI. The 29 classified positions consist of instructors, orientation and mobility (O&M) specialists, nurses, work evaluators, clerical, and four administrators. The 17 part-time positions include dorm supervisors, clerical, adaptive computer technology support staff, etc.

There were 1,305 customers served by the VR program during FY 98. This represents a ratio of 76.8 customers per counselor.

Additional personnel needs over the next five years include two additional rehabilitation technology positions and one additional VR counselor position. The three current DVH rehabilitation technology specialists provide assistance with adaptive computer technology for customers in training to enter or maintain employment. Consumer comments at State plan public meetings has encouraged expansion of this service.

During the past several years, the agency has averaged two counselor vacancies each year. Therefore, over the next five years, the agency anticipates recruiting a total of ten counselors. It is anticipated that a total of ten additional professional staff will be recruited at VRCBVI over the next five years.

In providing VR services to students with visual disabilities, the VR program works very closely with the Education Services (ES) program. Staff employed by the ES program include education coordinators. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that appropriate services are provided for students with disabilities. ES staff work closely with each student in the Commonwealth with a visual disability, and those staff have Master's level training in visual services. ES program staff also participate in joint training endeavors with other DVH program staff as part of the personnel development endeavor. Trained, qualified ES program staff provide necessary support to enable students with visual disabilities to participate in academics and in extra-curricula activities in the school system.

DVH has a cooperative agreement with the State Department of Education (DOE) to identify transitioning responsibilities of each agency. The agreement helps to ensure that students with visual disabilities who are exiting public schools in Virginia have the opportunity to participate in meaningful and productive post-secondary life experiences. This vision is consistent with the IDEA and the Reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments. Each Fall there is a statewide training conference on transitioning. The ES and VR programs, itinerant vision teachers from the public school systems, and other DVH programs participate in this annual training.

As a part of its CSPD, the agency developed and maintains an annual information collection system with state institutions of higher education that prepare VR professionals. This information includes the number of students enrolled in those programs and the number that graduated with certification or licensure within the past year. The information also helps the agency plan for any potential personnel shortage, both short-term and long-term.

There are 18 O&M instructors employed in the field to serve ES, Rehabilitation Teaching (RT), and VR customers statewide. The O&M instructor is required to have credentials that meet certification requirements of the Association of Rehabilitation and Education of the Blind and Visually Impaired. This certification requires a master's degree in orientation and mobility from an accredited college or university. The VR program also supports Certified Rehabilitation Counselor Certification.

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) offers a MS degree in VR counseling. Because of VCU and other universities in neighboring states, most counselors employed by the agency have a master's degree in VR counseling. Many students come to the agency as interns in the field of VR counseling, which benefits the student, school, and the agency.

DVH has developed a plan for all rehabilitation counselors to meet the national standard of "qualified rehabilitation counselor" by July 1, 2004. All counselors will be required to have a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or a closely related field by that date. The academic qualifications of all DVH counselors has been reviewed. This review revealed that three counselors will be required to pursue a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling. Those three counselors will enroll in a masters degree program in rehabilitation counseling; the first course will be provided during April 1999.

DVH collaborated with the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) and have entered into a cooperative agreement with VCU to provide the necessary academic training for counselors of the two agencies. The arrangement with VCU will help fulfill the commitment that all counselors employed by DVH and DRS will be "qualified counselors" by July 1, 2004. It is expected that DVH will achieve that objective well in advance of that date.

VCU granted 56 masters in rehabilitation counseling degrees during 1995 and 1996. VCU granted 32 master's in rehabilitation counseling degrees during the 1998-99 academic year. During FY 2000 the agency will continue to emphasize employment of individuals with master's degrees, while continuing to work with VCU and/or other colleges and universities in providing opportunities for students to intern with the agency. During FY 2000 the agency will continue to emphasize employment of individuals with masters degrees while continuing to work with VCU and/or other colleges and universities in providing opportunities for students to intern with the agency.

The agency also enjoys an excellent working relationship with the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, PA. The agency has assisted several of its employees in receiving MS degrees in O&M and graduate degrees in vision rehabilitation. The college offers a MS degree in rehabilitation teaching that is available to DVH staff.

The most recent training needs assessment, conducted for preparation of the FY 99 In-service Training Grant, provided staff and supervisors an opportunity to indicate training needs. Information gathered from the comprehensive needs assessment was carefully studied and compared to the agency's mission and the goals and objectives for accomplishing the mission. The core training areas identified in the DVH needs assessments for FY 99 were:

• The 1998 Amendments of the Rehabilitation Act
• Improvement of computer skills
• Managing diverse situations
• ADA and customer choices
• Technology information
• Special population training--TBI, deafblind, and transition of youth from school to work

The FY 2000 In-service Training plan will reflect the training needs identified by the annual training needs assessment conducted in FY 99.

Individual training plans are also developed annually between the supervisor and employee. This activity is completed during the employee performance appraisal. During this appraisal the training needs are addressed, sent to the personnel office, and monitored quarterly by the supervisor during the subsequent year. The agency's training plan enables administrators and managers to monitor progress in an effort to ensure that staff receive appropriate training to enable them to perform job duties and carry out responsibilities more effectively and efficiently. This plan also ensures that staff receive a minimum of 16 hours of job-related or developmental training per performance year. The training plan also establishes systems for identifying training needs, implementing training recommendations, monitoring the levels of training within the work units, utilizing training programs in the most cost-efficient manner possible, and securing feedback regarding the quality of the various training programs that are available to staff.

DVH has developed a handbook on recruitment/selection. This handbook is divided into the following sections: requesting permission for recruiting, advertising, screening applications, interviewing, the hiring decision, and the applicant notification. It places special emphasis on advertising to attract qualified minorities, females, and persons with disabilities.

DVH has these strategies to attract minorities within the field of rehabilitation:

1. To collaborate with historically black colleges and universities for recruitment of minorities, including a cooperative agreement with Norfolk State University to allow students to complete internships with DVH.
2. To improve cultural awareness and sensitivity among direct service field staff.
3. To participate in job fairs and formal presentations at historically black colleges and universities.
4. To provide training on "Black Culture" for VR unit staff.

The following five historically black colleges and universities are located within the Commonwealth of Virginia: Hampton University in Hampton, Norfolk State University in Norfolk, St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia State University in Petersburg, and Virginia Union University in Richmond. The VR program has sponsored customers to attend all of these colleges and universities, and we maintain continuous contact with them through VR customers, counselors, the Human Resources office, and other agency staff. DVH will continue to expand its outreach activities with these colleges and universities.

DVH annually develops and submits an In-service Training Grant application to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). The In-service Training Grant for FY 2000 will address activities to ensure that all personnel employed by the VR program are appropriately and adequately trained, including Master level courses to assist in meeting the objective of having all counselors being "qualified rehabilitation counselors." The training grant is a collaborative effort by the VR program staff, VRCBVI staff, and personnel office staff. The grant's major objective is to increase the competencies of the VR staff in order that they can better provide VR services to persons with visual disabilities. During FY 2000 emphasis will be placed on training VR staff regarding customer choice, job placement activities to help customers achieve competitive employment outcomes, academic training to help counselors meet the new qualified rehabilitation counselor requirement, and the 1998 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act. Technology training will also be provided to VR staff on software and adaptive equipment in individual and/or group settings. Other training areas will be addressed based on the training needs identified in the annual training needs assessment. The grant also develops the training priorities of RSA, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and DVH. Training provided by the grant will result in more effective staff performance.

These training guidelines will enable administrators and managers to monitor progress in an effort to ensure that staff receive adequate training to enable them to perform their job duties and responsibilities more effectively and efficiently.

The agency's CSPD includes an orientation and training program. As a component of the staff orientation training, all new staff are required to spend one week at VRCBVI to experience training with customers. An important feature of this orientation is a blindfold experience to simulate blindness and to expose the new employee to the "skills of blindness." The desired outcome of this training experience is for each new employee to develop a positive view toward blindness and the capabilities of blind persons.

The Commonwealth of Virginia does not have a significant non-English speaking population to warrant the agency to require that staff speak any specific second language. However, arrangements will be made to provide translators to communicate in the native language of any referral/applicant or customer for VR services. Agency policies and procedures ensure that no individual is denied access to or is unable to participate fully in VR services due to his/her inability to speak the English language. The policies and procedures include the provision of interpreter services for the deafblind.

In summary, the procedures and activities described above will ensure an adequate supply of qualified rehabilitation professionals and paraprofessionals in FY 2000 to provide VR services to eligible Virginians with visual disabilities. Personnel development will continue to be one of the agency's highest priorities during FY 2000 and subsequent years.