NCSRC Conference Call: 4/13/15
Policy Development and WIOA
The Reauthorization offers an opportunity for SRCs.
Councils that have been involved in policy development will have new policy issues to deal with instead of rehashing current agency policy.
For councils that have not been involved – here is your chance to show VR the value of a citizen advisory council. The reauthorization will force VR to eliminate, add, revise, and replace policies. Your council needs to be the sounding board to discuss why the change is needed, are there unintended consequences, and what policy language will protect VR’s ability to provide individualized services to PWD?
Your council will want to be at the table for public forums, listening sessions, and focus groups to not only LISTEN to the public’s input, but to SHARE just what changes the law is imposing on the VR system. There are many positive things in the law, but some will not see it that way and the SRC can offer the “why” the changes are necessary.
A key role for SRC’s in policy development will be protecting the concept of BALANCE. The law increases VR involvement with high school students, with youth, with individuals going to sheltered workshops, and currently in sheltered workshops. VR still needs to serve adults. Disability is not going to stop at age 24. The voice of the council can advocate for balance in policy. VR agencies should not try to take on reporting requirements that are the responsibility of other partners. VR agencies should be able to expect sheltered workshops to refer people to them rather than taking VR staff time to visit every workshop in the state. Balanced policy can come from a citizen council and offer efficient methods to meet the demands of the new law without breaking the back of the VR system.
Examples from the new law that should lead to a policy discussion for every council:
Will your VR agency adopt a policy that will allow them to bypass the Order of Selection wait list process to be able to intervene when a person with a disability is at risk of losing their job due to disability?
Homemaker will no longer be a successful closure under WIOA. VR agencies for people who are blind or visually impaired will need to deal with that major policy shift. General and combined agencies will need to address it in their policy manuals, but the impact will not be as pronounced.
An important reminder for all council members and an important part of a new member orientation is this:
Policy is how a state or territory decides to interpret VR law and regulation to put it into practice. It does not carry the same weight as the law or federal regulation. SRCs need to own the policy manual to make sure it complies with the law AND makes VR effective and consumer friendly.
One of the most positive benefits a council can offer is rewriting policy so it is easy to understand and written in a positive tone rather than a “thou shalt not” tone.
This will be especially critical since the law also reduces the educational requirements for VR staff. VR policy will need to explain how VR should provide service to new staff as well as to the public.
Linda Vegoe, Wisconsin SRC, aka WRC