Clift Notes: The State Rehabilitation Council

A funny thing happened on my way to convention…

By Christina Clift

I checked my e-mail and discovered that I’d been appointed by Governor Haslem to serve on the State Rehabilitation Council of Tennessee.   

Why was this funny? First of all I’d forgotten about submitting the application.  Second, I thought that I hadn’t been selected since I submitted my application at the end of August 2017 and it was April 3, 2018 when I received notification that I had been approved.  

 Honestly, no one could have been more surprised than me when I read the message. Finally, I was 95 percent sure that I would be elected to serve as president of the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee that weekend and I knew that it would increase my responsibilities.  I did get elected and now my calendar is definitely full.  Never a moment of boredom.   

So you might be asking yourself what is the State Rehabilitation Council of Tennessee and why does it matter to me?  

The mission of the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) of Tennessee is to advise, evaluate and partner with the public rehabilitation program in support of improving access to employment and promoting a diverse workforce statewide.  In other words, the SRC acts as the voice of the consumer and other stakeholders in the VR program. 

Like Centers for Independent Living, the SRC must have at least 51 percent participation from former or existing Vocational Rehabilitation clients which are people with disabilities.  Working for MCIL I know about the struggles individuals have gone through to receive training, to receive needed equipment, and to get and maintain employment.  I also learned that first-hand as a client of Vocational Rehabilitation myself.  

I knew that I wouldn’t have any problem being on the side of the consumer.  However, I knew that I had to keep an open-mind because issues aren’t always black and white and you have to be able to see both sides.

The meeting kicked off fairly smoothly with representatives from Vocational Rehabilitation giving an update on the four metrics currently being used to assist The Department of Rehabilitation Services.  They are referred to as customer focused goals. And they include: Vocational training services, providing job readiness, post-secondary education, and successful closures.  

These four areas enable the SRC and Vocational Rehabilitation the ability to track performance.  For example, the number of successful case closures for 2017-2018 is 2000 and currently they have closed 1776.  The metrics can then be examined to see the barriers to Vocational Rehabilitation clients or staff being able to close cases. They also reported on the impact that programs such as pre-employment transition services, Employment and Community First, and The Tennessee Promise are having on new applications.

Other areas of discussion were fairly straight forward.  They included member recruitment, creating outreach materials such as brochures, websites, and social media.  We also discussed ways to increase responses to customer satisfaction surveys for Vocational Rehabilitation.  Suggestions included: using events like the Mega Conference, NFB of Tennessee conventions, and more to set up tables.  Use of technology like survey monkey, texting links, and having organizations like CIL’s to assist as well. 

Overall, I think serving on the SRC will be a positive experience.  It will enable me to speak up on policies that act as barriers to service.  I will enable me to network with other agencies who have members on the SRC including STEP, the Department of Education, DRT, representatives from the business community, and other advocates speaking on behalf of disability populations.  These meetings are open to the public and I would strongly encourage anyone to attend.  After all, “nothing about us, without us.”  

 The next meeting is scheduled for August 9, 2018 in Nashville at the Airport Hilton located at 2200 Elm Hill Pike.