Vermont’s DBVI and DVR programs received data for the first time on all five WIOA Common Performance Measures and how we compared to national averages. The data for FFY 2021 shows that:

• Vermont DBVI and DVR consumers are achieving all outcomes at a higher rate than the national average on all five performance measures.
• The employment rate two quarters post exit improved continues to improve, moving from 49% in SFY 2019 to 51.1% in SFY 2020 to 53.5% in SFY 2021.
• The median earnings two quarters post exit increased jumped from being below the national average in SFY 2020 to being above it in SFY 2021, with an increase from $3,901 in SFY 2020 to $4,630 in SFY 2021.

In 2014 the US Congress reauthorized the Rehabilitation Act via the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). WIOA is the first legislative reform of the public workforce system in more than 15 years. It strengthens and improves our nation’s public workforce system and increases economic opportunities for individuals in the United States, especially youth and individuals with significant barriers to employment. In addition to increasing services to youth with disabilities, WIOA intends to support employer engagement, emphasize competitive integrated employment, enhance accountability, and promote collaboration between human services, education, and labor efforts. In short, WIOA heralded the most significant changes in VR structure and practice in a generation.

The biggest impact of the WIOA legislation is the new requirement that VR agencies across the country devote 15% of VR 110 federal grant funding to provide Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) for students still in high school, starting services as early as the freshman year. The goal of Pre-Employment Transition is to engage students with disabilities earlier to improve their long-term employment and post-secondary educational outcomes.

WIOA also has changed the way VR programs will be measured and evaluated by the federal government. The new measures are as follows:

New WIOA Measures

1.Employment rate two quarters post program exit

2.Employment rate four quarters post program exit

3.Median earnings at two quarters post program exit

4.Credential attainment

5.Measurable skills gains

6.Employer satisfaction

For more detail about the new WIOA measures, please see the Technical assistance circular.

DBVI has two years to put systems in place to collect the required data and establish baselines. After that, DBVI will be required to negotiate targets for each measure with the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration. We believe the measures will support and encourage DBVI programs to focus on longer term outcomes for our consumers and help them build career pathways to higher wage employment.