JULY 23, 2002                                                                                   NO. 002-241

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Mike O’Brien, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, 360-438-8008

Tammy Wight, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, 360-407-0779

Jeff Weathersby, Media Relations, 360-902-7892

 

Thousands find jobs through DSHS

Vocational Rehabilitation Initiative

 

OLYMPIA – Washington residents with disabilities have been removed from waiting lists, taught job skills and obtained meaningful, satisfying work at a record-setting pace in the past eight months.

 

That’s what statistics since November from the Department of Social and Health Service’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation show.

 

“We’ve gone through an extensive reorganization that has increased field service staff, improved training and made it possible for our employees to go directly to clients who are unable to come to our offices,” said DVR Director Mike O’Brien.

 

He added the division has provided laptop computers to enable DVR counselors to work with home-bound clients in more comfortable environments.

 

O’Brien said the changes have brought the following accomplishments:

 

·        An 800 percent increase in the number of clients who were placed in the jobs of their choice

·        A 24 percent increase in the number of applications for services

·        A 76 percent increase in the number of people being found eligible for services

·        A 218 percent increase in the production of employment plans for clients. Those plans detail the necessary training and other support needed to prepare people with disabilities for work

·        More than 9,000 people on a waiting list have been determined to be eligible for work-preparation assistance

 

DVR dramatically increased the overall number of people served since November.  Client disabilities include such things as multiple sclerosis, deafness, learning disabilities, congenital conditions, developmental disabilities, spinal cord injuries and autism.

 

O’Brien said the agency is committed to assisting its employees and clients obtain advanced degrees needed for DVR counseling positions. DVR also has increased college recruitment to provide more opportunities for minorities in the division.

 

The division also is setting up a Rehab Academy to provide more in-house training to employees who work directly with clients, O’Brien said.

 

Part of the upgraded training effort is the upcoming All Staff Training and Development “Putting the Pieces Together” Conference scheduled for Dec. 3-5 at the Skamania Lodge in Stevenson.

 

The federally funded training event for division’s 360 employees will feature training in such areas as:

 

·        Personality disorders

·        Computers

·        Tribal relations

·        Cultural awareness

·        Transferable skills analysis

·        Providing services to populations with diverse or special needs such as people with autism, migrant farm workers and ex-offenders

 

The conference also will feature an awards ceremony on the evening of Dec. 4.

 

“This conference will be an excellent opportunity to train the division’s entire staff at very reasonable cost. For example, we are able to rent the entire facility at government rate, which is substantially below the normal cost, to help support the Stevenson economy when few tourists are visiting,” O’Brien said.

 

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