Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act

Treva Roanhorse and Paula Seanez from the Navajo Nation Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services Program will present on the Navajo VR program’s involvement with the ICI Learning Collaborative, and their work on using Motivational Interviewing techniques with clients. MI incorporates strong beliefs, values and practices of Native people by forming partnership with clients. A foundation of Navajo culture includes not only the individual but the family and community.

This webinar is part of a series where members of the NIDILRR-funded RTAC project of VR Program Management present the lessons they've learned through their management initiative. The RTAC is a collaborative initiative to identify, test, and disseminate management practices to build a performance management model tailored to the vocational rehabilitation system.

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Motivational Interviewing: A Management-Focused Learning Collaborative Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Motivational Interviewing: A Management-Focused Learning Collaborative Transcript (WORD)

This ExploreVR webinar will focus on how Missouri has developed a collaborative partnership between vocational rehabilitation and workforce development. Yvonne Wright, the director of business outreach and workforce development at Missouri Vocational Rehabilitation, will discuss how the partnership was established, how it has evolved, and the positive effects it has had in serving the dual customer.

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Partnering with Workforce in Business Engagement Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Partnering with Workforce in Business Engagement Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

The Vocational Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Demand-Side Strategies (Demand-Side RRTC) is housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Grant # H133B120002.

In Part 2 of this ExploreVR webinar, Mark Harniss and Maria Kelley from the University of Washington Center for Technology and Disability Studies will provide an overview of the types of assistive technologies available to support adults with learning disabilities in reading and writing. 

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Assistive Technology for Supporting Adults with Learning Disabilities: Part 2 Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Assistive Technology for Supporting Adults with Learning Disabilities: Part 2 Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

In Part 1 of this ExploreVR webinar, Mark Harniss and Maria Kelley from the University of Washington Center for Technology and Disability Studies will describe the demographics of learning disabilities in the U.S. and will provide information about using assistive technology (AT) as an accommodation for adults with learning disabilities.

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Assistive Technology for Supporting Adults with Learning Disabilities: Part 1 Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Assistive Technology for Supporting Adults with Learning Disabilities: Part 1 Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

This ExploreVR webinar will provide information about sector strategies and how they can assist VR agencies—including leaders, administrators, and counselors—in building resources for demand-driven employment opportunities for their job seekers. A sector strategy approach is a partnership of multiple employers within a critical industry that brings together education, economic development, workforce system, and community organizations to identify and collaboratively meet the workforce needs of that industry within a regional labor market. 

Jobs for the Future (JFF), a partner in the Job Driven VR Technical Assistance Center (JD-VRTAC), will provide an overview of sector strategies. JFF has a long history in sector work and has been instrumental in developing and implementing the National Fund for Workforce Solutions. Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation will present their sector strategy approach, how they partner with employers to identify in-demand skills, and how they support the development of training programs that prepare clients to successfully enter jobs.

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Sector Strategies: What are they and how can they help VR agencies? Powerpoint (PDF) 

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Sector Strategies: What are they and how can they help VR agencies? Transcript (Word)  

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002.

This ExploreVR webinar will provide an overview of business engagement competencies outlined in the ExploreVR Business Engagement Toolkit. Presenters will discuss three key competencies of VR business engagement:

1. Labor market needs
2. Communication strategies
3. Internal management strategies

This webinar will familiarize VR personnel with the matrix of business engagement competencies, and will explain how the competencies in each of the categories contribute to engaging businesses in the VR process. 

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Skills for Business Engagement: Part 1 Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Skills for Business Engagement: Part 1 Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

The Vocational Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Demand-Side Strategies (Demand-Side RRTC) is housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Grant # H133B120002.

This ExploreVR webinar is for current and future VR leaders who want to discuss leadership-level engagement in the VR agencies' use of Labor Market Information (LMI). This topic is increasingly important given the passage of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Topics include:

• The role of LMI in planning processes,
• Creating LMI partnerships/collaborations,
• Obtaining buy-in from VR counselors in fully using LMI tools, and
• LMI data and information technology needs. 

Download the Powerpoint presentation: LMI for VR Leadership in the Age of WIOA: A View from the Top Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: LMI for VR Leadership in the Age of WIOA: A View from the Top Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

The Vocational Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Demand-Side Strategies (Demand-Side RRTC) is housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Grant # H133B120002.

Vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRCs) play an essential role in facilitating reasonable accommodation outcomes between job-seekers/employees and employers. In individual cases, the VRC can help build the job-seeker/employee’s confidence in requesting reasonable accommodation. For employers making commitments toward more diverse and inclusive workplaces, the VRC can serve as a collaborative partner to meet those goals. 

Part II of this two-part webinar will cover examples and case studies showing how the VRC can maximize successful outcomes (e.g., number of 26 closures) by collaborating with applicants/employees and employers. Building relationships with your clients and employers may not only pay off in numbers—you may find yourself with more energy at the end of every work day!

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Reasonable Accommodations Process: Part 2 Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Reasonable Accommodations Process: Part 2 Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

Vocational rehabilitation counselors (VRCs) play an essential role in facilitating reasonable accommodation outcomes between job-seekers/employees and employers. In individual cases, the VRC can help build the job-seeker/employee’s confidence in requesting reasonable accommodation. For employers making commitments toward more diverse and inclusive workplaces, the VRC can serve as a collaborative partner to meet those goals. 

Part 1 of this two-part webinar will offer an overview about what a VRC needs to know about reasonable accommodation under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Participants will learn how to coach qualified individuals with disabilities to facilitate an open and honest dialogue with potential and current employers. 

Download the Powerpoint presentation: The Reasonable Accommodations Process Part 1 Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: The Reasonable Accommodations Process Part 1 Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002. 

This webinar will feature two presenters, Kathy Powers, Vice-President of Services at ORION Industries in Auburn, WA, and and Kelly Walling, Partner Resources Associate Sr. at the Carson Valley Roasting Plant & Distribution Center, one of Starbucks Coffee Company’s largest plants in Carson City, NV. 

ORION and Starbucks are committed to workforce diversity and inclusion. Both companies have linkages with their state vocational rehabilitation agencies and with employers in the communities they serve. Each presenter will discuss their company's innovative training programs, and they will conclude by taking questions from webinar participants.  

Download the Powerpoint presentation: Job-Driven Customized Training: Exploring Innovative Models Powerpoint (PDF)

All ExploreVR webinars are live captioned: Job-Driven Customized Training: Exploring Innovative Models Transcript (WORD)

The JD-VRTAC is a national center housed at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The center and its webinars are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) within the US Department of Education under grant #H264A140002.