What's New in RSA

The 13th Annual Summit Conference on Performance Management Excellence was held November 3-6, 2020. RSA Commissioner Mark Schultz and Christopher Pope, Chief of the Data Collection and Analysis Unit, delivered the keynote. The video  and slides are now available. 

The virtual conference was a collaboration between the Florida Department of Education – Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; Florida ABLE TRUST; Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance Technical Assistance Center; Rehabilitation Program Evaluation Network; The ABLE Trust; The Summit Group and Navigators; Workforce Innovation Technical Assistance Center; and RSA.

In FY 2020, RSA awarded over $17.1 million in new discretionary grants to fund a variety of programs that assist State and other agencies to provide VR and other services to individuals with disabilities to maximize their employment, independence, and integration into the community and the competitive labor market. Read more about these programs and the new grant award recipients on OSERS Blog. 

• On October 16, 2020, RSA issued a fourth Questions and Answers document responding to inquiries related to the VR and AIVRS programs under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and Business Enterprise program under the Randolph-Sheppard Act. While these questions and answers relate to these programs, many of the answers apply generally to RSA formula grantees.
• On May 14, 2020, RSA issued a third Questions and Answers document in response to inquiries concerning the administration of the VR, AIVRS, and Randolph-Sheppard programs.
• On April 28, 2020, RSA issued a second Questions and Answers document in response to inquiries from VR agencies concerning the fiscal management of the VR program.
• On March 27, 2020, RSA issued an initial Questions and Answers document related to the implementation of the performance accountability provisions, under title I of WIOA, in the VR program.
• For more information about COVID-19, please visit the following website: www.coronavirus.gov. To view U.S. Department of Education resources related to COVID-19, please visit the following website: https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus?src=feature.

With the Multi-Agency Task Force on Increasing Employment Opportunities for Americans with Disabilities, RSA celebrates the 75th Anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) and renews its commitment to Increase Access and Opportunities for individuals with disabilities. 

• View the Task Force's NDEAM statement.
• Learn more about NDEAM at the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy website.
• Follow OSERS's Twitter as we highlight VR success stories for NDEAM in October and continue to celebrate VR100 throughout 2020. 

On August 31, 2020, RSA Commissioner Mark Schultz and OSEP Director Laurie VanderPloeg issued this letter discussing the importance of collaboration between Special Education and Vocational Rehabilitation related to secondary transition.

In August 2020, OSERS updated the Guide to advance its efforts to ensure that all students and youth with disabilities are equipped with the skills and knowledge to achieve their post-school and career goals. In this update, OSERS added information about dual enrollment and the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act. The Guide is intended to help students and youth with disabilities and their families to better understand how state education agencies, local education agencies, and VR agencies work together to facilitate improved outcomes for students and youth with disabilities.

On August 12, 2020, RSA held a teleconference with VR agencies and other stakeholders to continue to strengthen the communication between RSA and VR agencies. RSA shared information on our response to COVID-19 and other issues of interest to VR agencies.  An audio recording and transcript of this teleconference are available. 

On April 29, 2020, RSA hosted a similar teleconference to share current RSA events and answer questions related to the VR program. An audio recording and transcript of this teleconference are available. 

On July 31, 2020, RSA published a notice of a modified system of records for the Case Service Report (RSA-911) (18-16-02) in the Federal Register. This system of records replaces the previous system that RSA published on April 8, 2004. RSA maintains this system for performance accountability, research, monitoring, and evaluation purposes required by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended by title IV of WIOA, and title I of WIOA. This system contains information on individuals who are participating in or who have exited from the VR and Supported Employment programs, as applicable. Please refer to the Federal Register notice for information related to public comment and other details regarding the modified system.

Throughout the summer of 2020, RSA offered a virtual series of webinars highlighting RSA-funded technical assistance centers and other demonstration projects. The webinars feature the results of these projects, reflect on lessons learned, and share ideas for the future. All webinars are captioned and include a transcript. Please visit the National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials’ website for the complete series or select the individual webinars below. 

• July 9, 2020: Welcome to the Series and Kickoff
• July 16, 2020: Technical Assistance focused on Targeted Communities and Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance
• July 23, 2020: Technical Assistance focused on Services to Students and Youth with Disabilities
• July 30, 2020: Demonstration Projects
• August 6, 2020: Technical Assistance focused on Services to American Indians and Older Individuals who are Blind

On April 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) submitted this report pursuant to the congressional explanatory statement to the FY 2020 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 116-94), signed into law on December 20, 2019, that “directs the Secretary to submit a report within 90 days of enactment of this Act to the Committees evaluating any changes in trends in employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities served by State vocational rehabilitation programs before and after the implementation of the WIOA.” In addition, “[t]he agreement directs the Secretary to ensure appropriate State level implementation of the Rehabilitation Act, which may include the Department providing technical assistance as necessary.”  This report summarizes trends in the performance of the VR program with respect to the characteristics of individuals served, the services they received, and the employment outcomes they achieved, using data collected and reported by VR agencies to the RSA prior to and following the enactment of WIOA. The report also describes the technical assistance RSA has provided to the State VR agencies as they have implemented the changes to the VR program made by WIOA.