Vocational Rehabilitation employment service provider training contractor
Vocational Rehabilitation employment service provider training contractor
The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, within the Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services provides a wide range of services to eligible Vocational Rehabilitation participants to assist them in achieving their employment goals. Among the services provided by VR are discovery and employment services, including supported employment. VR works collaboratively with approximately 80 accredited employment service providers to carry out these specific employment services. BRS values high quality training, including hands-on foundational skills training, as an essential component of effective service provision and achievement of employment outcomes. Over the past several years, BRS has enjoyed a positive working experience with Indiana University, Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Center on Community Living and Careers to carry out training to VR employment service providers. We look forward to continued partnership with CCLC as their scope of work shifts to focus more specifically on internal VR staff training and also continued support of the Benefits Information Network through training, technical assistance and certification of BIN Liaisons.
BRS is excited to enter into a new partnership with Public Consulting Group, effective July 1, 2020, that focuses on training to VR employment service providers. Maya Cox will lead the provider training efforts for PCG. These efforts include collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University to offer an ACRE certified foundational employment training, customized for employment providers in Indiana. In addition to more traditional webinar and classroom based training, PCG will support continued growth and capacity building of the employment provider community through the development and implementation of a statewide coaching network. The coaching network will leverage the investment that DDRS and employment service providers have made in developing leaders in employment services. Coaches will offer both demonstration in best practices as well as coaching in the field to close the knowledge to practice gap.
BRS and PCG look forward to sharing more details about the coaching network in the weeks and months ahead. Training dates for the foundational training and other opportunities including the coaching network will be available soon, and training will begin late summer/early fall. As their work begins, PCG will conduct a needs assessment to hear from employment providers statewide. BRS appreciates employment providers participating in the needs assessment to inform relevant and timely training.
BRS would like to thank IIDC/CCLC for its many years of valued training and technical assistance to VR employment service providers, and especially for all of their effort in helping BRS to shift the VR employment services practices in 2015 and the ongoing support to continue to improve employment service delivery. CCLC will maintain many resources on their website as we transition the provider training scope of work to PCG. Again, we are pleased to continue our partnership with CCLC on critical VR staff training and supporting the BIN, while enhancing our collaboration with PCG to ensure ongoing delivery of high quality training to VR employment service providers.