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Attachment 4.11(b)

Comprehensive System of Personnel Development

The Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) has a Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) to meet immediate and long-range training and staffing needs. The Rehabilitation Council reviewed DBVI's CSPD State plan attachment.

Staffing Levels
The following DBVI 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 Vision Impaired (VRCBVI), and at the department's central administrative offices. Staff who provide VR services are as follows:

There were 1,333 customers served by the VR program during FY 2001. This represents a ratio of 74.05 customers per counselor.

Projected VR Staff Turnover
We anticipate our personnel needs over the next five years to include one rehabilitation technology position. The department's average vacancy rate for counselors is two per year. Over the next five years, we anticipate recruiting a total of ten counselors. We also anticipate recruiting a total of ten additional professional staff at VRCBVI over the next five years.

Collaboration with Education Services
The VR program works closely with education coordinators in our Education Services program to provide VR services to students with visual disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires appropriate services for students with disabilities. DBVI Education coordinators have master's degree level training in visual services and work closely with each student in the Commonwealth with a visual disability. The coordinators provide support to enable students with visual disabilities to participate in academics and extracurricular school activities. They also participate in joint training classes with other DBVI program staff as part of our personnel development plan.

Transition Services
DBVI has a cooperative agreement with the State Department of Education (DOE) that identifies the transition responsibilities of each agency. The agreement ensures that students with visual disabilities who exit 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 Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1998. A statewide transition training conference is held each year. ES and VR program staff, itinerant vision teachers from public school divisions, and other DBVI programs and service providers participate in this annual training.

Academic Preparation Programs in VR
The department collects information each year from state institutions of higher education on the number of students enrolled in VR programs. We also collect the number of students that graduate with VR certification or licensure each year. This information helps the department anticipate and plan for short- and long-term personnel shortages.

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) offers a Master's 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.

VCU grants approximately 35 Master's Degrees in Rehabilitation Counseling each year. DBVI emphasizes employment of individuals with master's degrees and will work with VCU and/or other colleges and universities in providing opportunities for students to intern with the agency.

DBVI and the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS) have a cooperative agreement with VCU to provide the academic training for counselors to meet the CSPD requirements. The agreement with VCU assists both departments in fulfilling the commitment for all counselors to be "qualified counselors" by July 1, 2004. DBVI was able to accomplish that objective well ahead of schedule. During FY 2001 four new counselors were hired and each one had a Master's Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling. At the end of the fall semester 2001, two counselors received their Master's Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from the special VCU program. All 18 DBVI counselors are now "qualified rehabilitation counselors."

DBVI policy allows hiring individuals without the credentials required to be a "qualified rehabilitation counselor," if there are no fully qualified applicants. Applicants hired without full CSPD credentials must sign a Conditions of Employment Agreement with DBVI. The Conditions of Employment Agreement requires enrollment in an academic program approved by DBVI within six months of the date of employment. The agreement also requires the new employee to meet the required credentials within six years of the date of initial employment. This policy applies to individuals hired after January 1, 2000.

Professional Preparation Programs and Qualifications in Related Services
Eighteen Orientation & Mobility (O&M) staff provide instruction in safe travel skills to customers of all ages throughout the state. O&M instructors are required to have credentials that meet certification requirements of the Association of Rehabilitation and Education of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER). AER 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.

The department enjoys an excellent working relationship with the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The department has assisted several employees in obtaining Master's Degrees in O&M and Vision Rehabilitation. The college offers a master's degree in rehabilitation teaching that is available to DBVI staff. In addition, two rehabilitation teachers in the field program and one teacher at the Rehabilitation Center are enrolled in graduate programs in Rehabilitation Teaching at Northern Illinois University.

Training Needs Assessment and Individual Training Plans
The most recent training needs assessment conducted for the In-Service Training Grant provided staff and supervisors an opportunity to identify training needs. Information gathered from the comprehensive needs assessment was carefully studied and compared to the agency's mission, goals and objectives. The in-service training plan addresses those identified training needs. Core training areas identified in the DBVI needs assessments were:

Individual counselor training plans are developed each year between the supervisor and employee. The individual training plan is completed during the employee performance appraisal. Training needs are identified, sent to the personnel office, and monitored at least quarterly by the supervisor during the year. The individual plan requires a minimum of 16 hours of job-related or developmental training per performance year. The individual training plan enables administrators and managers to ensure that staff receive appropriate training to improve job performance. The individual training plans also aid in identifying statewide 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.

Recruitment and Selection of Staff Including Minorities
DBVI has 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 individuals with disabilities.

DBVI has the following strategies to attract minorities within the field of rehabilitation:

The following five historically black colleges and universities are located within the Commonwealth of Virginia:

VR has sponsored customers to attend all of these colleges and universities. We maintain continuous contact with the colleges and universities through VR customers, counselors, the Human Resources office, and other agency staff. DBVI will expand its outreach activities with these colleges and universities.

In-Service Training Grant
DBVI develops and submits an In-Service Training Grant Application to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) each year. The current In-Service Training Grant targets activities to ensure that all personnel employed by the VR program are properly trained, including CSPD requirements. The training grant is a collaborative effort by the VR program staff, VRCBVI staff, and Personnel office staff. The major training objective is to increase the competencies of the VR staff so that they provide quality VR services to individuals with visual disabilities. The current In-Service Training Grant emphasizes training in the following five areas:

Training will also be provided on adaptive software and equipment for the blind. Other training areas will be developed in response to the training needs identified in the annual training needs assessment. The grant addresses the training priorities of RSA, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and DBVI. Training provided by the grant will result in more effective staff performance.

Orientation and Training for New Staff
The agency's CSPD includes an Orientation and Training program for new staff. All new staff are required to spend one week at VRCBVI to experience training with customers. Training under blindfold and exposing new employees to the "skills of blindness" is an important feature of this orientation. The goal of this training experience is that each new employee develops a positive view toward blindness and the capabilities of blind individuals.

Interpreters
The Commonwealth of Virginia does not have a significant non-English speaking population to require that staff speak any specific second language. DBVI VR policy requires that translators be provided so that any referral/applicant or customer for VR services can receive information in their native language. Department policy prohibits denying access to or full participation in VR services due to inability to speak the English language. Policies and procedures also include the provision of interpreter services for deafblind individuals.

Summary
The procedures and activities described above will ensure an adequate supply of qualified rehabilitation professionals and paraprofessionals to provide VR services to eligible Virginians with visual disabilities. Personnel development is one of the department's highest priorities during FY 2003 and subsequent years.

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This File Was Last Modified: Monday June 23 2008