JD-VRTAC Communities of Practice

This is a community of practice for VR agencies that have just 1-2 business engagement representatives/business relations specialists who are covering their entire state. We know that agencies with just 1-2 business engagement staff face unique challenges contacting and engaging business, working collaboratively and communicating effectively with other VR staff, partnering with local one-stops and other agencies, and traversing remote and rural geographies of their state. We would like create a space for VR agencies to discuss these topics and others in our CoP.  

• their role as one of the only business engagement staff in the agency;  

• challenges they face and strengths they bring to the job; 

• innovative strategies or solutions they have implemented in their work; and 

• questions for the group about business engagement   

For more information about this Community of Practice, please contact Katie Allen at katie.allen@umb.edu from the JD-VRTAC.

The Business Engagement Data Community of Practice (CoP) successfully concluded Phase 1 focused on increasing VR agency capacity to better collect and utilize business engagement data. The CoP facilitators will successfully completed Phase 2 of the Business Engagement Data CoP focused on analyzing data to improve business engagement activities. 

 

Read our ReviewVR brief from the CoP that outlines solutions and strategies from the group's discussions including: key data elements, strategies for data collection, and lessons learned.

 

For more information about this CoP, please contact DeBrittany.Mitchell@umb.edu. 

Paid Work Experiences: Internships, Pre-Apprenticeships and Registered Apprenticeships

The Paid Work Experiences Community of Practice stimulates a rich discussion about current strategies and practices to increase the participation of people with disabilities in paid work experiences. Participants from each state VR agency share their successes and challenges in expanding paid work experiences for their consumers, including a range of perspectives from the states involved.

To join the listserv, send an email to listserv@listserv.uark.edu. Leave the subject line blank and include the following text in the body of the email: ADD APPRENTICESHIP your email address followed by your name

EXAMPLE: ADD APPRENTICESHIP johndoe@email.com John Doe

The Role of CRPs in VR Business Engagement and Employer Support Efforts: JDVRTAC/ WINTAC Community of Practice

This CoP grew out of the Albuquerque Forum held in December 2016, but opened to all who wanted to be part of the conversation. Facilitators from the Job Driven VR TAC (JDVRTAC) and the Workforce Innovation TAC (WINTAC) provided structure and support, and VR agency representatives and CRPs shared challenges, experiences, and solutions. 

This CoP focused on the following topics

• VR/CRP Communication/Collaboration/Competition
• CRP Accreditation/Staff Certification/Training/Development
• CRP Quality/Evaluation/Score Cards/Profiles and Consumer Choice
• CRP payment structures; fee for service, milestone/outcome, embedded staff
• Developing and working with CRPs in rural areas
• Developing/identifying CRPs to work with specialty populations (e.g. blind/visually impaired)
• Approaching business engagement in a strategic and innovative manner while staying within the boundaries of VR policies and procedures