State Rehabilitation Council Report

VR making changes in Tennessee

By Christina Clift, MCIL
Members of the State Rehabilitation Council held their quarterly meeting in Smyrna at the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center from November 6-7, 2019.  On Wednesday State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) members participated in the VR101 training and discussed the role our council plays in ensuring that Tennesseans with disabilities receive high-quality vocational rehabilitation services that will assist them to become employed.

The Department of Rehabilitation Services in order to modernize their case management system is currently switching from Trims to Aware.  Although clients will not notice a significant difference, the counselors will. 
Trims uses numbers to categorize where individuals are in the vocational rehabilitation process.  It used numbers like status 10 to signify that a person is in the eligibility process and is gathering more information, while a status 26 means that a person’s case is closed.

There are lots of other numbers that signify other milestones in a person’s case and some numbers that were created to help categorize other milestones.  But Trims is confusing and complicated to maneuver, and doesn’t tell the story of where a client is with ease.

Aware is the modern system being rolled out and it eliminates the need for status numbers, instead it uses terminology like eligibility, applicant, employment, etc.  The roll-out is about 25 percent complete. 
By changing to the modernized case management system, the Department of Rehabilitation Services and their staff will be one step closer in being able to gather data, communicate with clients, and step into the 21st century.

On Thursday, the meeting agenda was packed full of updates not only from the Department of Rehabilitation Services, but also from Synergy Consultants and the staff of the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center.  The election for new officers, discussion about the annual report, work on the combined state plan, and committee work were also scheduled.  So it was going to be a jam-packed day and we all hoped to just stay on schedule since rain was expected and we all still had to travel home.

On Thursday the SRC kicked the morning off with a presentation by Synergy Consultants.  They were hired in 2018 by the state of Tennessee to evaluate the viability and effectiveness of the Community Tennessee Rehabilitation Centers and make recommendations on how to modernize and transform them for the future. 
In putting their report together, the consultants conducted both an internal and external examination of each facility.  The Community Tennessee Rehabilitation Centers (CTRC) were established in 1965 to provide training opportunities for individuals with disabilities in rural communities across the state.

The Community Tennessee Rehabilitation Centers are a part of the Tennessee Facility Network of Vocational Rehabilitation Services.  There are seventeen Community Tennessee Rehabilitation Centers strategically located throughout the state.

The CTRCs provide rehabilitation services for individuals and employers in their surrounding areas. The CTRC’s are funded with federal and local dollars.

The CTRCs offer the following rehabilitation services for eligible individuals: Comprehensive vocational evaluation, Employee development services, and Community employment services. The CTRCs offer the following services to employers: Market ability, Recruitment, Industry outsourcing, Internships, and Services to injured workers.

They are located in Camden, Clarksville, Cleveland, Cookeville, Columbia, Dyersberg, Elizabethton, Franklin, Gallatin, Greeneville, Manchester, Maryville, Murfreesboro, Paris, Shelbyville, Union City, and Winchester.

While some of these areas have changed little since they were started, other areas have experienced significant growth.  Some examples of areas that were once rural and are now more urban areas include Clarksville and Murfreesboro.

The consultants examined the changes in population and shifts in Industry trends. The SRC will work hand-in-hand with the Department of Rehabilitation Services and the CTRCs to ensure the development of a unique path forward for each CTRC. 

Public outreach and evolvement in the next steps forward will help ensure a smooth transition for the community, impact to relationships with employers and businesses, as well as the individuals with disabilities they serve.

DRS plans to work on five key priorities which are set forth in their strategic plan.  They include: Data-driven performance, Modernization of systems, processes and services, talent management, communication both internally and externally and service delivery.  This is in-line with DRS mission to create a seamless customer journey for all.  The overarching theme is “One DHS”.

Another priority that the DRS plans to work towards is assisting with Governor Lee’s goal to increase participation and services to the fifteen distressed counties in Tennessee.  The goal is to increase participation by 25 percent over the next year. The 15 distressed counties in Tennessee are Lake, Lauderdale, Hardeman, McNairy, Perry, Wayne, Jackson, Clay, Grundy, Bledsoe, Fentress, Morgan, Scott, Hancock, and Cocke.
Later that afternoon the SRC began discussion on the development of the annual report and combined state plan.  Both the annual report and combined state plan will use the information gathered earlier this year during the Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment.

The SRC’s seven key recommendations which will be reflected in this year’s report.  They include:

• Talent Management - Staff hiring, training and retention, including addressing adequate compensation to improve recruitment and retention of Master's Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors.
• Communication and Responsiveness - Communication, responsiveness and response time, including communications within VR, with clients, with CRP's, with WIOA Partners and with the public.
• Timeliness of Services - Timeliness of services, i.e., improve process and timeliness of assistive technology services, better utilize various levels of staff to expedite the provision of services.
• Customer Engagement - Focus on encouraging active participation by customers throughout the VR process to ensure customers are empowered to practice informed choice in the development of their Individualized Plan for Employment.
• Transportation - Address transportation barriers based on individual client need to ensure clients are able to fully participate in services necessary to achieve their employment objectives.
• Community Partners and Resources - Identify and develop community resources to ensure both staff and customers have a clearer understanding of the services available through WIOA partners and other community agencies.
• Pre-Employment Transition Services - Monitor and improve the provision of Pre-Employment Transition Services to ensure VR is meeting the needs of students with disabilities statewide and is meeting the requirement to expend 15% of federal funds for this service.

Finally, the State Rehabilitation Council (SRC) held elections for new officers.  These individuals will serve for the next two years.

The new chairperson is Christina Clift, the vice chair is Lee Brown, and the secretary is Susan Johnson.  These individuals along with all of the members of the council would like to invite any person who is a current DRS client, community rehabilitation provider or employer to attend our meetings.

The next meeting is scheduled for February 13, 2020 in Nashville.  For more information about the SRC, our meetings, and how you can become a member please call Christina Clift at (901) 726-6404 Ext. 108.  You can also send an e-mail to srctennessee@gmail.com.