Cover: Fiscal year 2014 Annual Report

Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council

2014 Annual Report

We Are TheVoice of the Consumer!

Mission

The mission of the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council (ORC) is to facilitate consumer education and empowerment, to assure services are of high quality and lead to employment of individuals with disabilities within Oklahoma.

Purpose

The 1992 amendments to the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as Amended required the formation of state rehabilitation advisory councils and identified their functions. In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, the word advisory was removed and empowered councils to be active policy partners. This authorized the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) in Section 105 toreview, analyze, and advise the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) regarding the performance of the responsibilities relating to:

eligibility,

extent, scope and effectiveness of services provided, and

functions performed by DRS that affect or potentially affect the ability of individuals with disabilities in achieving employment outcomes.

Additional duties cited in the Rehabilitation Act:

In partnership with the DRS, develop, agree to, and review state goals and priorities and evaluate the effectiveness of the Vocational Rehabilitation Division and Visual Services Division and submit reports of progress to the Commissioner of Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) of the U.S. Department of Education on progress made, achievement of the goals,and the assessment of performance on standards and indicators.

Advise the DRS regarding activities authorized to be carried out and assist in the preparation of the state plan and amendments to the plan, applications, reports, needs assessments, and evaluations.

Conduct a review and analysis of the effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation services and consumer satisfaction.

DRS regularly consults with the SRC on the development, implementation, and revision of agency’s policies and procedures, including policies and procedures to enable each applicant to exercise informed choice throughout the VR process.

Prepare and submit an annual review to the Governor and the Commissioner of RSA on the status of vocational rehabilitation programs operated within the State.

Coordinate the work of the Council with the activities of other disability related councils.

Establish working relationships between the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, the Statewide Independent Living Council, and Centers for Independent Living within Oklahoma.

This document contains information highlighting the working partnership and accomplishments of the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council, the Department of Rehabilitation Services, and other stakeholders.

Structure

DRS contracts with the Department of Wellness at Oklahoma State University (OSU) for the provision of the staff support services for the ORC as set forth in Section 105 and Section 4.2 of the State Plan of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. The Director of Sponsored Programs at the Department of Wellness hires, supervises, and evaluates a full time Program Manager position for the daily operations of the council and a part time administrative assistant. In addition, OSU manages all contractual financial obligations of the council. In turn, DRS provides in-kind services of office space, phone and computer access to the council staff.

To request additional copies or alternate formats of this publication or for more information about the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council please contact:

Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council

3535 NW 58th Street, Suite 500 ● Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112-4824

(405) 951-3579 V/TTY ● (405) 951-3532 Fax

Year in Review

Council Structure

During 2014, the ORC fulfilled all membership requirements of Section 105 of the Rehabilitation Act with appointments by the Governor. The council had 17 members, 3 being ex-officio nonvoting members from DRS. Of the voting members, the council had 53% representation from persons with disabilities. The council members are a cross-section of individuals with disabilities who have a stake in vocational rehabilitation services. Members serve three-year terms, with the exception of the Client Assistance Program representative; no voting member can serve more than two consecutive full terms.

The council structure includes a Chair, Vice-Chair and three members-at-large as Executive Committee members. Each member-at-large of the Executive Committee holds the position of Chair on a committee. At the request of the ORC, the agency has assigned a staff liaison to each committee that acts as a content specialist to that committee called Associate Members. The Associate Members are vital due to the importance of the work of each committee.

Quarterly Meetings

In compliance with the Rehabilitation Act,the council scheduled and heldfour quarterly meetings during FFY14 and held an annual strategic planning meeting. Meeting dates were:

November 21, 2013

February 20, 2014

March 21, 2014 (Strategic Planning)

May 15, 2014

August 21, 2014

Sub-committees met at least once per quarter throughout the year,or more often if needed, to complete their tasks as outlined in the ORC Strategic Plan.

Executive Committee

Chairperson – Bill Dunham

The ongoing dialogue between the DRS Director and ORC kept us informed of agency activities. Although DRS was under an Order of Selection they were able to remove consumers from the waiting list periodically throughout the year with short wait times. The agency kept the SRC informed regarding waiting lists, which were reviewed at each quarterly meeting, as well as,Executive Committee meetings.

The ORC was glad to see the VS Division Administrator and Chief of Staff positions filled and now have a dedicated administrative team to guide staff to serve their clients.

The Executive Committee works to oversee council activities in response to the mandated functions. It manages all council operations and ensures council decisions and recommendations are implemented. The Chair serves as the primary point of contact for the council.

The Executive Committee continued to work closely with the Director to build a positive working relationship to accomplish the necessary tasks of the council. This included much involvement with the Designated State Unit (DSU) on their policy development teams, Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CSNA) and development of the state plan. In collaboration with the ORC, the DSU divisions of vocational rehabilitation and visual services continue to incorporate findings from all the CSNA into the state strategies and priorities.

Policy and Legislative Committee

Chairperson – William Ginn and Jean Jones

The assigned liaison for this committee is the DRS Legislative Coordinator. This committee educates, informs and influences the state and federal legislative agenda as it relates to the public vocational rehabilitation program and disability employment policies.

The Policy and Legislative Committee collaborated with the DRS Communication Office with Disability Awareness Day 2014 at the State Capitol. More than 900 people with disabilities and their advocates attended the 2014 event filling the hallways of the State Capitol and sharing their stories with lawmakers. The event drew 74 exhibitors and featured a keynote address by Governor Mary Fallin. There were performancesfrom students from the Oklahoma School for the Blind and the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. Committee members served as legislative guides by providing direction and assistance to participantsin visiting their legislators. This increase was more than 100 over the previous year’s attendance.

The Policy and Legislative Committee continued its collaboration with DRS in the implementation of the Consumer Success Story. The ORC utilized this information, which was shared with Congressional members in Washington, DC and their local staff. Consumer Success Stories wereshared with state legislators in preparation for the Disability Awareness Day event.

ORC staff and members participated in the CSAVR 2014spring conference in Bethesda, Maryland, as well as, the 2013fall conference in Denver, Colorado. While in the DC area, visits were made ‘On the Hill’ to the Oklahoma delegation to advocate for the public VR program and develop relationships with our Congressional members. This has opened doors to key players involved with legislative issues concerning people with disabilities. Our primary focus this year was the issue and concerns regarding the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act.

The ORC partnered with other advocacy groups and the OK Rehabilitation Association to develop and send letters to key legislators with concerns regarding the reauthorization of the Rehabilitation Act addressing these issues:

Moving the Rehabilitation Services Administration out of the US Department of Education and into the Department of Labor.

Mandating expanded youth services without added funding.

Use of common workforce-wide performance measures.

Requiring professional counselors to be eligible to have the highest level of credentials.

The committee continued its involvement with the DRS Re-Engineering Committee, which reviewed and analyzed agency policiesto make appropriate recommendations for change to the DRS Commission. The involvement of both ORC and the Client Assistance Program throughout the entire process helps to ensure better understanding of the barriers that clients face regarding proposed changes to DSU policy.

The ORC sought community input from program participants, advocates, employers, educators, and other stakeholders on proposed policy changes through one public hearing and through the website and emails. This public hearing was co-hosted by DRS and the ORC on February 3, 2014in Oklahoma City. Public hearings in Tulsa on February 4, 2014and in Lawton on February 5, 2014were cancelled due to severe weather. The agency did notre-schedule these public hearing dates. The ORC sentout notices statewide with non-biased information to explain how the proposed changes may affect consumers.

Policy was posted on the DRS website to assist clients and other stakeholders with easier access to this information and provide public comments. Many of the proposed policy changes for 2014had minor changes to clarify language for both staff and consumers. The significant changes were:

Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) Certification for Vendors Revoked.

These policies removed the requirement for community rehabilitation program vendors to maintain CARF certification. This change could potentially increase the number of community rehabilitation providers. This could impact rural areas that have had a historically difficulty time recruiting providers.

Fair Hearing Process

During the review of proposed policies submitted to the DRS Commissioners, it was discovered there was a policy submitted that directly affects consumers that was not submitted to the policy team for review. These proposedchanges would limit fair hearing regarding a request for any personal change on a consumer’s case. ORC provided the agency with the RSA memo that directly prohibits this rule, so the policy was revoked. The ORC is concerned that not all proposed policies affecting consumers were submitted through the agency’s policy review process. We requested that a formal process for policy revisions be adopted.

The involvement of the ORC during policy research and development allows for true consumer contributions, which aligns with the intent of the Rehabilitation Act. Having ORC and CAP representatives involved with policy development has proven to be beneficial.

The Policy & Legislative Committee hosted “A Paycheck and You! Why Work Pays” consumer event. This was the primary focus during FFY14 for this committee in the ORC strategic plan. A job, even a career is not magic and does not solve the array of barriers many individuals with disabilities face when going to work. “A Paycheck and You!, Why Work Pays” conference had both local and national speakers including a speaker from the Governor’s Council on Workforce and Economic Development talk about “Why Work Matters”. Additionally, the Kansas City Federal Reserve Board discussed pertinent information regarding withholdings from a consumer’s paycheck. Other speakers discussed the Affordable Healthcare Act and Medicaid Expansion, emergency preparedness for Oklahomans and achieving financial stability through work. This limited seating, free event was very successful with over 60 in attendance.

Accessible Voting Machine demonstrations were provided at the “A Paycheck and You! Why Work Pays” consumer event by the Oklahoma ABLE Tech Assistive Technology Program. Consumers were provided one-on-one training on the accessible machine specific to their disability.

Planning and Program Committee

Chairperson – Tammie Jones and Melinda Fruendt Co-Chairs

The assigned liaison for this committee was the DRS Project Coordinator for the Vocational Rehabilitation Division.

The DSU reported to the committee that the VR/VS open case satisfaction surveysthat are done annually, and the closed case satisfaction surveys are reporting very similar information. The agency performs the closed case annual survey in an effort to conserve resources. Survey results were low this year and one factor may be that the consumer’s preferred accessible format is not being captured in the case documentation system to allow for correct formats to be sent to the consumers. This is being addressed during the new employee training academies in an effort to resolve this issue. The visual services surveys will be sent out in large print format. The new visual services administrator has asked that a phone survey be conducted on all cases closed as unsuccessful with three or four open ended questions in an effort to gather information regarding quality of services.

This committee continues to review and analyze data from the DSU to include, consumer satisfaction surveys, open case surveys, Statewide Comprehensive Needs Assessment, employee engagement surveys and other data reports reported to RSA. The committee has requested the State Employment Leadership Network – Oklahoma Findings and Observations Report fromDHS-DDSD to review for information and findings relevant to consumers the DSU serves.

The plan for the next three year comprehensive statewide needs assessment, fiscal year’s 2014 – 2016 is:

FFY14 - The DSU and SRC will review and analyze the following state reports and provide recommendations to the director and strategic planning teams:

  • “Creating a Proactive System to Help Oklahoma Businesses Stay Strong and Grow,” 2012
  • “The Governor’s Council on Workforce and Economic Development, Building Blocks for an Employer – Responsive Workforce System,” 2011 (To date, this report has not been published.)

FFY15 - The DSU and SRC will review and analyze the following report and provide recommendations to the director and strategic planning teams:

  • The State Employment Leadership Network – Oklahoma Findings and Observations Report

FFY16 – The DSU and SRC will review and analyze the following report and provide recommendations to the director and strategic planning teams:

  • The DSU (DVR/DVS) open case customer satisfaction survey that is conducted in the fall of each year

The ORC effectively partnered with DRS in the development of the FFY15 State Plan includeddeveloping the goals and priorities for the agency. The ORC co-hosted public hearings on the State Plan during the following dates: May 13, 2014 in Lawton; May 14, 2014 in Tulsa; and May 15, 2014 in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City hearing was held after the ORC quarterly meeting in an effort to increase attendance and promote feedback from stakeholders. Flyers were developed and mailed to increase awareness of the agency’s goals and priorities addressed in the State Plan.

Comments and recommendations made at public hearings for the FFY15State Plan:

Attachment 4.10 Comprehensive System of Personnel Development :

The ORC still encourages DRS to establish benchmark numbers in order to have a measurable outcome for recruitment efforts to evaluate the DSU’s effectiveness.

Attachment 4.11 (c)(3) Order of Selection:

DRS has continued to keep the ORC informed of Order of Selection issues. The ORC is contacted before Priority Groups are closed. We are kept informed as consumers are served from the waiting list, numbers on each group of the waiting list and the average length of time consumers are on the waiting list.

Attachment 4.11 (d) State’s Strategies and Use of Title 1 Funds for Innovationand Expansion Activities:

It is evident that DSU is invested in innovation and expansion by the volume of projects that wereconducted in FFY14. It is the hope of the ORC that these projects have benchmarks and measurable outcomes to ensure that evidence-based projects can be replicated in other areas.

The goals and priorities for FFY15 have been jointly developed with the Oklahoma Rehabilitation Council. The DSU participates in regular SRC meetings and subcommittee activities. The SRC also collaborates in drafting and revision of agency policy development, and meets regularly with the DSU Director and DVR/DVS Administrators. Finally, revisions to the StatePlan were developed jointly, as well as, revision to the specific goals and priorities identified in this section.