RSA-227 for FY-2025: Submission #51

State name Virgin Islands

Report through date 09/30/2025

General Information

Designated Agency Identification

Name Virgin Islands Advocacy Agency

Address 63 Cane Carlton

Address Line 2

City Frederiksted

State VI

Zip Code 00840

E-mail Address angus@drcvi.org

Website Address http://drcvi.org

Phone 340-772-1200

TTY

Toll-free Phone

Toll-free TTY

Fax

Operating Agency (if different from Designated Agency)

Name

Address

Address Line 2

City

Zip Code

State

E-mail Address

Website Address

Phone

TTY

Toll-free Phone

Toll-free TTY

Fax

Additional Information

Name of CAP Director/Coordinator Angus Drigo

Person to contact regarding report Angus Drigo

Contact Person Phone 340-7721200

Contact Person E-mail Address angus@drcvi.org

Part I. Non-case Services

A. Information and Referral Services (I&R)

1. Information regarding the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program 9

2. Information regarding independent living programs 0

3. Information regarding American Indian VR Service projects 0

4. Information regarding Title I of the ADA 1

5. Other information provided 2

6. Information regarding CAP 5

7. Total I&R services provided (Lines A1 through A6) 17

B. Training Activities

1. Number of training sessions presented to community groups and public agencies. 3

2. Number of individuals who attended these training sessions. 37

3. Describe training presented by the staff. Include the following information: The Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands (DRCVI) held two training sessions for middle school students. The topic was Age of Majority. A total of 20 students from varied backgrounds attended. Both groups learned about age of majority issues and transitions to adulthood per IDEA 2004. Additional topics included the switch from IDEA to ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, legal considerations, civic engagements, guardianships, healthcare proxy, power of attorney, trustees, representative payee, rights in the workplace, college and places of public accommodation, and related local and national resources/organizations, including DRCVI.

Two ADA Title II Training for 27 employees of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor. The purpose of these training sessions is to ensure staff understand and effectively implement the requirements of Title II of the ADA, ensuring that all programs, services, and activities offered by public entities are accessible to individuals with disabilities and adhere to best practices.

A DRCVI CAP employee was the moderator for "Bridging Employment Access: An Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Journey in the Virgin Islands” at the Annual workforce training and summit led by the Governor of the Virgin Islands. Over a 100 attendees hailed from the Virgin Islands Department of Labor and other government agencies, non-profit, private employers, local job seekers and high school and college students.

C. Agency Outreach

Describe the agency's outreach efforts to previously un-served or underserved individuals including minority communities. DRCVI promotes the CAP program at all outreach events (64 in total).

• Notable community events and fairs include:
o An open-house event which was open to the public and other organizations on St. Croix, and another open on St. Thomas to other organizations.
o The VI Agricultural and Food Fair, where advocates distributed materials to more than 1,500 people (the fair is a 3-day event), conducted surveys and provided advocacy services.

• We recorded 26 episodes on our Ability Radio show. The show highlights DRCVI and disability-related services, programs, experts, people with disabilities, and service providers. It’s aired on Saturday mornings on WTJX, the local public broadcasting station, and is available on our website, YouTube, social media, and several podcast platforms.
• Drcvi.org Webpage - 41,431 total page views, 5,380 Sessions, 4913 active users on drcvi.org. Some information featured on our website includes: A "GUIDE TO O*NET Online" - available in English and Spanish as both a print brochure and a printable PDF resource on DRCVl.org; The Employment and Disability Resource Guide is a PDF directory on drcvi.org that is also available for distribution. It contains local and national resources for job seekers, including DRCVI’s “VR Quick Guide Fact Sheet” and “VR Timelines” PDFs.
• DRCVI’s Legal Director sits on the State Rehabilitation Council.

D. Information Disseminated To The Public By Your Agency

1. Agency Staff Interviewed or Featured on Radio and TV 13

2. Articles about CAP Featured in Newspaper/Magazine/Journals 3

3. PSAs/Videos Aired about the CAP Agency 3

4. Publications/Booklets/Brochures Disseminated by the Agency 7432

5. Number of Times CAP Exhibited at Conferences, Community Fairs, etc. 64

6. Other 2003

Please explain below • We have a social media presence of 1,100 Facebook and 229 Instagram followers.
• We featured a 4-part series of links and informational flyers about the local VR office in our monthly parent e-newsletter, which has 260 subscribers.
• We are now listed on Google, and as a result, from May to September 25, we had 329 business profile interactions.
• Additional digital outreach efforts included maintaining a YouTube channel with 85 subscribers.

E. Information Disseminated About Your Agency By External Media Coverage

Describe the various sources and information disseminated about your agency by an external source. Newspaper (print and digital): The Daily News, VI Consortium, VI Source
Television: Government Access Channel 27 VIGAN, YouTube
Radio / Podcasts: WTJX FM AM and App, PodBean, Youtube, Several other Pod cast apps

Part II. Individual Case Services

A. Individuals served

1. Individuals who are still being served as of October 1 (carryover from prior year) 0

2. Additional individuals who were served during the year 9

3. Total individuals served (Lines A1+A2) 9

4. Individuals (from Line A3) who had multiple case files opened/closed this year. 1

5. Individual still being served as of September 30 (Carryover to next year. This total may not exceed Line A3.) 0

B. Problem areas

1. Individual requests information 3

2. Communication problems between individual and VR counselor 0

3. Conflict about VR services to be provided 0

4. Related to VR application/eligibility process 0

5. Related to assignment to order of selection priority category 0

6. Related to IPE development/implementation 1

7. Related to independent living services 0

8. Other Rehabilitation Act-related problems 3

C. Intervention Strategies for closed cases

1. Short Term Technical Assistance 10

2. Investigation/Monitoring 0

3. Negotiation 0

4. Mediation and other methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution 0

5. Administrative / Informal Review 0

6. Formal appeal / Fair Hearing 0

7. Legal remedy / Litigation 0

8. Total 10

D. Reasons for closing individuals' case files

1. All issues resolved in individual's favor 5

2. Some issues resolved in individual's favor 1

3. CAP determines VR agency position/decision was appropriate for the individual 0

4. Individual's case lacks legal merit 1

5. Individual chose alternative representation 0

6. Individual withdrew complaint 0

7. Issue not resolved in clients favor 0

8. CAP services not needed due to individual's death, relocation, etc. 0

9. Individual not responsive/cooperative with CAP 0

10. CAP unable to take case due to lack of resources 3

11. Conflict of interest 0

12. Other 0

(Please explain below) N/A

E. Results achieved for individuals

1. Controlling law/policy explained to individual 0

2. Application for services completed 2

3. Eligibility determination expedited 0

4. Individual participated in evaluation 0

5. IPE developed/implemented/Services Provided 0

6. Communication re-established between individual and other party 0

7. Individual assigned to new counselor/office 0

8. Alternative resources identified for individual 5

9. ADA/504/EEO/OCR complaint made 3

10. Other 0

(Please explain below) N/A

Part III. Program Data

A. Age

1. Up to 18 0

2. 19 - 24 4

3. 25 - 40 1

4. 41 - 64 4

5. 65 and over 0

6. Total (Sum of Lines A1 through A5. Total must equal Part II, Line A3.) 9

B. Gender

1. Females 6

2. Males 3

3. Nonbinary or Another Gender 0

4. Unknown 0

5. Total (Lines B1+B2+B3+B4. Total must equal Part II Line A3.) 9

C. Race/ethnicity of Individuals Served

1. Hispanic/Latino of any race 2

2. American Indian or Alaskan Native 0

3. Asian 0

4. Black or African American 6

5. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0

6. White 0

7. Two or more races 0

8. Race/ethnicity unknown 1

D. Primary disabling condition of individuals served

1. Acquired Brain Injury 0

2. ADD/ADHD 0

3. AIDS/HIV 0

4. Amputations or Absence of Extremities 0

5. Arthritis or Rheumatism 0

6. Anxiety Disorder 0

7. Autism Spectrum Disorder 1

8. Autoimmune or Immune Deficiencies 0

10. Other visual impairments 0

11. Cancer 0

12. Cerebral Palsy 0

13. Deafness 0

14. Hard of Hearing/Hearing Impaired 0

16. Diabetes 0

17. Digestive disorders 0

18. Epilepsy 1

19. Heart and other circulatory conditions 1

20. Intellectual Disability 3

21. Mental illness 0

22. Multiple Sclerosis 0

23. Muscular Dystrophy 0

24. Muscular/Skeletal Impairment 0

25. Neurological Disorders/Impairment 1

26. Orthopedic impairments 0

27. Personality Disorders 0

28. Respiratory Disorders/Impairment 0

29. Skin Conditions 0

30. Specific learning disabilities (SLD) 0

31. Speech Impairments 0

32. Spina Bifida 0

33. Substance abuse 0

34. Other disability 2

35. Total (Sum of Lines D1through D34. Total must equal Part II, Line A3.) 9

E. Types of Individuals Served

1. Applicant of VR 5

2. Individual eligible for VR services currently on a wait list 0

3. Individual eligible for VR services not currently on a wait list 5

4. Applicant or individual eligible for Independent Living 0

5. Transition student/High school student 0

6. All other applicants or individuals eligible for other programs or projects funded unther Rehabilitation Act 0

Part IV. Systemic Activities and Litigation

A. Non-Litigation Systemic Activities

1. Number of non-litigation systemic activities not involving individual representation that resulted in the change of one or more policy or practice of an agency. 1

2. Describe the systemic activities conducted by CAP during the fiscal year and its impact on other agency's policies or practices. The non-litigation systemic activities engaged in by DRCVI continues to be primarily through the representation on the State Rehabilitation Council of the Vocational Rehabilitation Division of the Department of Human Serviced of the Virgin Islands. Archie Jennings was appointed by the Governor the Virgin Islands as a representative after being vetted by said Council. The representative attends the scheduled council meetings via virtual platform and has over the past year also attended a public Town Hall meeting held by said council as well.

The primary activities over the relevant fiscal year included:

- review of all structural compliance elements of the SRC as required by RSA [Federal Guidelines] ;( completed) [impact approx. total employed PWD Population 10,522, Cornell U. Report wwwdisabilitystatistics.org.)

- A review of proposed legislation tendered by members of the Territorial Senate related to persons with a disability. [completed review of need of ASL (access to American Sign Language) within Executive Branch department. [work in progress].

- DRCVI has also acted as a resource for interpretation of the effect and impact of federal Executive orders, including RSA directives, or Territorial pronouncements that may have any impact upon the operation of VR services within the VI [work in progress] [impact on entire Deaf and Hard of Hearing Population, 2020 Census approx.2648, Cornell Census Status Report)

- This aspect of services rendered focused on the goal of considering what specifically may impact said agency policies, practices or procedures and then SRC may be able to determine what may need to be changed, revamped, enhanced or terminated, because of proposed federal pronouncements and executive orders. [work in progress]

-Finally, in keeping with the goal of addressing systemic matters, the SRC focused has the obligation to continue to complete the contract and the engagement of an entity to complete a community needs assessment. (Impact approx. total employed PWD Population 10,522, Cornell U. Report wwwdisabilitystatistics.org.)

B. Litigation

a. Number of cases requiring litigation involving individual representation filed during fiscal year. 0

b. Number of on-going cases pending at start of fiscal year (carryover from prior fiscal year). 0

c. Number of cases resolved through litigation during fiscal year. 0

2. Describe the agency's on-going and completed systemic litigation activities involving individual representation.

Part V. Agency Information

A. Designated Agency

1. Agency Type (select only one option): External-Protection and Advocacy agency

2. Name of designate agency: Virgin Islands Advocacy

3. Is the designated agency contracting CAP services? No

4. If yes, name of contracting agency:

B. Staff Employed

1. Provide a description of all CAP positions

Part VI. Case Examples

Case Examples

Provide some examples of some interesting cases during the past fiscal year. SA is 21-year-old female with an intellectual and speech impairment disability.
SA contacted the Disability Rights Center of the Virgin Islands (DRCVI) and requested assistance with obtaining employment in the culinary field and accessing vocational rehabilitation support services if needed.
CAP staff worked on two goals with SA. One goal was to assist with employment including job search skills, and the other was to explore vocational rehabilitation as an option for employment support. Working on these two goals would help SA accomplish her major goal, which was to live independently.
CAP staff also assisted SA with registering with the Department of Labor Workforce. Throughout the process, SA applied for multiple jobs but was unsuccessful.
CAP staff continued to help SA. This included doing an extensive review with her on the Americans with Disabilities Act and her rights and responsibilities Title I, the employment provision.
CAP staff provided brochures on reasonable accommodation related to SA’s disability for reference. CAP staff also assisted SA in registering with a prospective employer, created a profile and added alters so that she could be notified of openings. In addition, CAP staff provided SA with guidance and assistance with career planning, reasonable accommodation and information regarding the vocational rehabilitation process.
The information and guidance provided to SA by the CAP staff helped to boost her confidence. She was empowered with the knowledge of her rights and is now more capable of maneuvering through the job search process and employment support through vocational rehabilitation. SA informed the DRCVI in September 2025 that she is now employed as a full-time cook.

Certification

Reports are to be submitted to RSA within 90 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this report. Please be reminded that you can enter data directly into the RSA website via the internet. Information on transmittal of the form is found on pages 19 and 20 of the reporting instructions.

Name and Title of Authorized Certifying Official

I agree to submit this form by electronic means. By signing this form electronically, I certify under penalty of perjury that my answers are correct and complete to the best of my knowledge. I understand that an electronic signature has the same legal meaning and can be enforced in the same way as a written signature.

Full Legal Name of Signer: Angus Drigo

Certifying Official Title Executive Director

By checking this box and typing my full legal name above, I am electronically signing this form. Yes

Date Certified (mm/dd/yyyy) 2026-01-28

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