Supported Employment and Long Term Follow-Along

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• Supported Employment and Long Term Follow-Along
• for the
• Counselor and Job Coach

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Introductions

• Who are we?
• Judy Hill - EES/LTESS Coordinator
• Scott Fraley, SE Program Coordinator
• Jack Hayek, Program Director ESSP

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OFFICE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES AND SPECIAL
PROGRAMS

• JACK HAYEK 804-662-7124
• - email JACK.HAYEK_at_DRS.VIRGINIA.GOV
• SCOTT FRALEY 804-662-7016
• - email ESCOTT.FRALEY_at_DRS.VIRGINIA.GOV
• JUDY HILL 804-662-7108
• - email JUDY.HILL_at_DRS.VIRGINIA.GOV
• TIM OLIVE 804-662-7127
• - email TIM.OLIVE_at_DRS.VIRGINIA.GOV
• FAX NUMBER FOR ESSP 1-804-662-9140
• DRS TOLL FREE VOICE 1-800-552-5019
• WEBSITE http//www.vadrs.org
• then click on Employment and Vocational
  Services
• The Supported Employment Guide can be found at
• http//vadrs.org/essp/downloads/seguide/pdf

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DRS Impact on ESO Programs

• DRS Field Spends over 7.7 Million
• DRS ESSP LTESS and EES Spend over 7.8 Million

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Topics to Cover

• Insights into SE/Long Term Practices
• Brief Historical Background LTESS
• Key Service Requirements for Long Term
  Follow-Along

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Why are we here?

• Importance of communication and collaboration
  between all parties
• Supported employment specifics
• Long Term Follow-along LTESS

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SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT

• Collaboration and Communication
• Roles of each of us from referral to follow along
• Clarification of services

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DRS Counselor Roles and Responsibilities

• Once eligibility is established SE planning
  begins
• Are long term supports needed? If yes, then SE
  case. If no, consider JCTS.
• Identify long term support
• SE cases must be coded as MSD

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DRS COUNSELOR ROLE

• Establish benchmarks regarding progress
• Stop the process if needed and discuss issues
• Clarify expectations
• Maintain a separate role with consumer from
  vendor
• Continue to communicate with consumer after
  referral to job coach
• Case statuses must be properly updated.

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Job Coach Role

• Provide job skills training as needed
• Ensure consumer stability and job satisfaction on
  both consumer and employer side
• Provide extended support services, where
  appropriate

• Assist consumer with locating suitable job
  matches
• Assist in job search efforts
• Provide timely written reports and phone contacts
  with updates as needed

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Job Coach Responsibilities

• Communicate and collaborate with DRS Counselor
  and consumers
• Providing information as to fading plans, need
  for follow-along, funding options

• Work as a team with DRS, case managers,
  consumers, families, etc. to improve likelihood
  of success

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Communication Issues

• Initial Planning
• Authorizing Services
• Service Provision
• Report Writing
• Invoicing

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Opportunities for Communication and Collaboration

• Initial Planning Expectations
• Situational Assessment
• SE vs. JCTS
• Job Development
• Placement and training
• Stability/Fading
• Long Term Follow Along

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JCTS

• Consumer receives initial situational assessment,
  job development, job skills training,
  transportation training, or other support
  services provided by an ESO however long term
  follow-along is not necessary after DRS case
  closure.
• This is a separate service and requires
  applicable service category on vendors rate
  sheet.
• Service Item Codes are not the same as those for
  SE.
• Cases can be coded as either MSD or SD.

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Opportunities for Communication and Collaboration

• Authorizing Services
• Authorizations before Services
• Timely Responses for Hours
• Justification for Hours
• Communicate Justification
• Emergencies- including Post Employment

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Opportunities for Communication and Collaboration

• Service Provision
• Agreement of goals, sufficient service hours
• Issues to address in Placement and Training
• Functional limitations/behavior
• Transportation
• Job development
• Report Writing
• Complete, timely, individualized and accurate

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Opportunities for Communication and Collaboration

• Invoicing
• Complete, timely, individualized and accurate

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Movement of Case to LTFA

• Ideally, the status of an SE case will go from 18
  (training) to 22 (working and stable) at the time
  intervention levels off and performance is
  satisfactory.
• LTFA can begin to fund support at the time the
  case moves into status 22 - communication between
  DRS and ESO is imperative for this planning to
  take place

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WHAT IS STABILITY?

• Traditional guideline job coaching support is
  20 or less. This may not always be the case.
• Support needs have flattened out.
• Consumer should demonstrate stability for at
  least 30 days before case is moved to status 22.

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STABILITY

• After a minimum of 30 days of stability the case
  should be placed in status 22
• LTESS funds should be used in status 22 and LTESS
  applications should be submitted as soon as the
  job coach/counselor thinks the consumer will
  maintain employment not when the case is closed
  
• Exception SEPD cases

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LTFA VS POST EMPLOYMENT SERVICES

• LTFA is the maintenance of a person in
  employment.
• LTFA does not mean case management
• If retraining, job placement or other services
  are needed, the DRS counselor should be contacted
  immediately. The consumer probably will need
  services other than LTFA.

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LTESS HISTORY

• Grassroots effort by ESOs with General Assembly
  in FY 94
• Success for FY 95 - 375,000 in State funds with
  primary target of Supported Employment Follow
  Along for persons with severe disabilities
• Incremental increases most years

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EES/LTESS BUDGETSFISCAL YEARS 05 06

• Additional LTESS dollars in FY 05 150K
• FY 2005 LTESS was 4,499,922
• Additional LTESS dollars in FY 06 100K
• FY 2006 LTESS is 4,595,104
• No new vendors in either year3 on wait list
• FY 2007 New Money????

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Long Term Employment Support Services Funding
95-06
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LTESS ISSUES

• Counselor approval must be obtained and
  documented before applications submitted
• Applications must be thoroughly completed
• Applications must be submitted by the 20th
• Applications cannot be submitted for consumers
  receiving JCTS.

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General Information

• Services billed through LTESS must be employment
  related follow-along services
• Job development, retraining, general case
  management services are NOT considered
  follow-along
• Provide the services needed to maintain
  employment not nice to do or always have
  done it that way or the employer likes me to
  come every week
• Spikes are expected-over 20 of hours worked-send
  in documentation
• Written notification is sent to counselors upon
  enrollment

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LTESS GUIDELINES

• LTESS funds CANNOT be used to supplant planned or
  current funding for long term supports.
• If a consumer is being sponsored by a public
  source, it should continue
• - No split funding for employment
• Vendors cannot charge DRS more than any other
  purchasers of the same services as specified on
  the vendor rate sheet.
• Example Accepting the Medicaid waiver rate
  for SE individual placement but charging DRS a
  higher rate.

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LTESS GUIDELINES (continued)

• As LTESS is the funding of last resort for long
  term supports, vendors must document attempts to
  secure sponsorship and the absence of alternative
  funding sources.
• Each consumer is required to have an
  individualized service plan that is clear,
  complete, and current following CARF guidelines.
  
• DRS requires monthly progress reports for all
  consumers sponsored with LTESS dollars

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LTESS GUIDELINES (continued)

• Monthly reports (including intervention sheets)
  should be maintained in the individual consumer
  file except
• if an individual is billed 20 or more of the
  total hours worked, the vendor must submit
  justification in the form of a monthly progress
  report

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Questions?
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