Archived Webinars

Explore VR features a number of free webinars related to vocational rehabilitation (VR). Webinars allow participants and presenters to interact in real time, allowing for two-way interaction. Webinar participation is completely online and allows organizations and individuals to communicate and share resources, despite barriers of geographic location. View the archived webinars below.

Scale-Up Progressive Employment Informational Webinar

Presenters: 
Kelly Haines, Julisa Cully, Nathan Piper, Angel Hale, Janet Drudik, Libby Stone-Sterling
Date/Time [EST]: 
02/24/2021 - 2:00am
Description 

This informational webinar allows viewers to hear directly from state VR agencies that have implemented the PE model in Maine, Nebraska, Oregon, and Vermont, and learn more about how your agency can work with ICI to implement PE.

Download the powerpoint presentation. 

View the transcript. 

Moving Forward: Building and Leading a Business Relations Unit

Presenters: 
Amy Rader and Ryan Jolley
Date/Time [EST]: 
09/27/2018 - 1:00am
Description 

The Tennessee Division of Vocational Rehabilitation will share successes and lessons learned in the process of building their Business Relations Unit.  The presenters will provide and overview of how their Business Employment Consultants worked prior to receiving JDVRTAC intensive technical assistance and how they plan to move forward with their Business Relations Unit under new leadership. Tennessee will share the story of how they successfully created a business engagement leadership position and onboarded their new Assistant Director of Business Services. 

Download the powerpoint presentation. 

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Change Leads to Success: Sector-Driven Customized Training Solutions

Date/Time [EST]: 
08/30/2018 - 1:00pm
Description 

South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation will discuss how their job-driven project strengthened their alignment with workforce partners and led to sector strategies approaches.  The integration of these new workforce development strategies led to a customized training initiative that resulted in successful employment for VR consumers.

Download the powerpoint presentation.

Download the webinar transcript.

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Improving Business Engagement and Consumer Outcomes through Redesign of Maine’s Community Rehabilitation Provider (CRP) System

Presenters: 
Libby Stone-Sterling and Christine Robinson
Date/Time [EST]: 
09/18/2018 - 1:00pm
Description 

Maine VR has tried different approaches to strengthening the capacity of its Community Rehabilitation Provider (CRP) system with the primary goal of providing consistent statewide access to quality employment services for VR clients. When outcomes fell short of expectations, Maine worked with the JD-VRTAC to analyze its data and explore options that other states have tried with CRPs. In this webinar, Christine Robinson and Libby Stone-Sterling will discuss Maine’s efforts and lessons learned from their JD-VRTAC project.

This webinar is free and worth 1 CRC Credit. It will be live captioned and hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. To access the captions during this event, please follow this streamtext link. The powerpoint presentation will be posted here before the webinar, and the caption transcript will be posted after the webinar is over. To request additional accessibility requests, please contact explorevr@umb.edu

 

Download the powerpoint presentation. 

 

Download the webinar transcript. 

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

A Dual-Customer Approach: Increasing business services partnerships and systematically using LMI for high quality employment outcomes

Presenters: 
Jennifer Scilacci
Date/Time [EST]: 
09/05/2018 - 2:00pm
Description 

Colorado Department of Vocational Rehabilitation is aligning and enhancing collaborations with our core WIOA partners, including our Workforce Center business services teams and sector initiatives, to leverage opportunities with businesses and create better opportunities for our clients.  Along with this initiative, we are systematically and sustainably training all staff in the use of labor market information and the Career Index Plus. This will allow our agency to tie IPE goals more directly to LMI, to help clients and counselors understand current employment opportunities and future business needs. VR clients represent a talent pipeline for business, and our goal is to bring business and clients closer together. 

This webinar is free and worth 1 CRC Credit. It will be live captioned and hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. To access the captions during this event, please follow this streamtext link. The powerpoint presentation will be posted here before the webinar, and the caption transcript will be posted after the webinar is over. To request additional accessibility requests, please contact explorevr@umb.edu

 

Download the presentation slides. 

 

Additional materials for download.

 

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Building Business Engagement Efforts: Oregon Commission for the Blind’s Journey to Increasing Partnerships between Agency Staff, CRPs and Employers

Presenters: 
Morgan Rincon
Date/Time [EST]: 
07/25/2018 - 1:00pm
Description 

With the implementation of the Progressive Employment model in 2015, Oregon Commission for the Blind (OCB) has increased its engagement and visibility with businesses on multiple levels. OCB has accomplished this through work assessments, job shadows, informational interviews, work experiences, and job placements. Since increasing business engagement activities, OCB has “all hands on deck” to support the job seekers, businesses, and assistive technology at the worksite. 

With technical assistance from the JD-VRTAC, OCB developed a plan to support business engagement efforts, expand capacity, and enhance communication and marketing across the state.

Webinar Transcript (txt)

Download the Presentation:

PowerPoint Text-Only 

This webinar is free and worth 1 CRC Credit. It will be live captioned and hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. To access the captions during this event, please follow this streamtext link. The powerpoint presentation will be posted here before the webinar, and the caption transcript will be posted after the webinar is over. To request additional accessibility requests, please contact Katie Allen at katie.allen@umb.edu

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.

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Business Engagement: Collaboration + Creativity = Cohesion

Presenters: 
Rodney Chandler, Ashley Cross, & Yvonne Rowland, Arkansas Rehabilitation Services
Date/Time [EST]: 
07/24/2018 - 2:00pm
Description 

 The Equation for Success!

“A vision without a plan is just a wish.” This ExploreVR job-driven webinar will focus on Arkansas Rehabilitation Service's journey of taking challenges and creating opportunities by fostering collaboration across multiple levels of the agency to improve business engagement. 

On this webinar, you will hear how the Arkansas Rehabilitation Services project team and JD-VRTAC identified a recipe for success that included both collaboration and creativity. These factors together resulted in cohesion among all stakeholders and sustainable strategies that have led to improved outcomes. 

Watch the video featured in Arkansas Rehabilitation Services webinar here: Employing Possibilities at TJ Maxx

Webinar Transcript (txt)

Download the presentation:

PowerPoint  Text-only   

This webinar is free and worth 1 CRC Credit. It will be live captioned and hosted on the Zoom webinar platform. To access the captions during this event, please follow this streamtext link. The powerpoint presentation will be posted here before the webinar, and the caption transcript will be posted after the webinar is over. To request additional accessibility requests, please contact Katie Allen at katie.allen@umb.edu

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Key First Steps for Connecting with Registered Apprenticeship Programs

Presenters: 
Geri Scott, Ralph Roach, & Eric Ramsay
Date/Time [EST]: 
02/21/2018 - 3:00pm
Description 

This engaging, practical webinar provides staff at state VR agencies with an overview of key first steps they can take to begin exploring partnerships with registered apprenticeship programs.

An expert on this topic from Jobs for the Future, and staff from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, will lay out the steps that state VR agencies can take to identify registered apprenticeship programs in their area. The presenters will also give recommendations for conducting outreach to those programs, explain the specific components of registered apprenticeship to explore in these initial conversations, and clarify the role that state VR agencies can play in these programs. 

Download the Powerpoint slides 

Download the Transcript 

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Pre-apprenticeship Programs: A Model for Skill-Enhancement with Strong Employment Connections

Presenters: 
Deborah Kobes & Jonathan Bibb
Date/Time [EST]: 
01/25/2018 - 1:00pm
Description 

Pre-apprenticeship programs are being implemented in states across the nation, helping individuals enhance their skills and secure employment in a range of industries. This webinar will:

  • provide an overview of pre-apprenticeship programs, from the types of skills on which they focus to their connection with Registered Apprenticeship programs, and
  • offer tips for partnering with and participating in these programs.

The webinar will feature a Deborah Kobes, a national subject matter expert in work-based learning models from Jobs for the Future, as well as Jonathan Bibb, Director of the Arkansas Career and Training Institute (ACTI), from Arkansas Rehabilitation Services describing his successes and lessons learned with pre-apprenticeships. 

Download the Powerpoint slides: Jobs for the Future (PPT) and Arkansas Career Technical Institute (PPT)

Download the Webinar Transcript

Identifying Pre-Apprenticeship and Registered Apprenticeship Partners (doc)

Pre-Apprenticeship Action Plan (xlsx)

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC

Vision Works Consortium – Collaboration to Outcomes

Presenters: 
Joe Buizon, Carol Cullins, Rachel Kerrigan, Dina Rosenbaum
Date/Time [EST]: 
01/10/2018 - 1:00pm
Description 

Massachusetts Commission for the Blind (MCB), with assistance and support from the JD-VRTAC, worked to strengthen and formalize its partnership with two well regarded non-profit organizations, the Carroll Center for the Blind and Perkins School for the Blind, to develop a mechanism to share employer relationships to market their shared consumers.

In this webinar, representatives from the three organizations will discuss the process they carried out to form the Vision Works Consortium, from sharing ideas and signing a memorandum of understanding to devising a mission statement and marketing strategy, and ultimately building a shared database of employer partners.

Download the PowerPoint Slides (PPT)

Download the Transcript 

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

Project 
Job-Driven VRTAC