DVR Newsletter - March, 2020 Issue

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation's latest initiatives and activities.

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Director's Update: 100 Years of VR

Director Mayes reflects on his returning to VR in time for this year's 100-year celebration of Public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) in America. "When I realized I would get to be a part of the 100-year celebration of Public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) I was overwhelmed with emotion and thrilled that I get to be a part of this celebration in my role as the DVR Director for the great state of Alaska."

Read More from Director Mayes

DVR Helping Alaska Face COVID-19

Over the past 74 years, DVR has played an important role in helping Alaskans adapt to formidable statewide challenges, like the 1950s Tuberculosis outbreak, the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, and the dramatic increase in physical disabilities due accidents in the burgeoning industries of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, logging and construction. Today, we add facing the COVID-19 virus to this list. While DVR continues to monitor the evolving situation and formulate new plans, here are a few of the immediate actions we have taken:

Accessibility to COVID-19 Announcements

DVR has had the honor of working with the Governor's Office to ensure televised announcements about COVID-19 are accessible to Alaskans with disabilities.

Protecting the 80% of Our Customers Who Are Vulnerable

Using the CDC's definition of who is most vulnerable to serious complications of COVID-19,DVR analyzed our current customers and found that 80% are at high risk. We then implemented recommendations from Alaska's Chief Medical Officer to keep our vulnerable customers safe, including:

• Our staff will not be meeting with people in-person, but rather by phone, email, SARA, or mail.
• We have postponed all public orientations until after April 1st, 2020, or until we can ensure that we can provide orientations in the safest way possible.

DVR is committed to continuing to support the needs of individuals with disabilities and recognizes this is a very stressful time for many of the individuals we serve. DVR staff will continue to be available, however, the best way to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus is to practice Social Distancing (remaining at least 6 feet away from other people and avoiding public areas).

If you are DVR client or interested in services, please call the DVR office that serves your community to discuss how we can best continue to work with you while keeping you safe.

VR in America for 100 Years

2020 marks the 100th year of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services in the United State of America and the 74th year of the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation’s (DVR) operation in Alaska.

Roots of VR in America: Helping WWI Veterans

The federal VR program can trace its roots to WWI. Because of advances in medicine at the time, many more soldiers survived battlefield injuries than before. Huge numbers returned home unable to perform their former jobs, so a program was started to help them find new work. The program was so successful at helping veterans, and was such an obvious benefit to the economy, that a VR program open to non-veterans with disabilities was started soon after.

DVR Helping Alaska for 74 Years

Over the past 74 years, DVR has served over 200,000 Alaskans with disabilities while Alaska has evolved dramatically. It moved from a U.S. territory to a state, persevered through natural disasters, and saw the boom of different industries which attracted a large influx of workers to well paying, but difficult and dangerous jobs. DVR played a critical role in facing these all these challenges and more.

Statewide Challenges

• 1950s: Tuberculosis was a major disabling condition plaguing Alaska in the 1950s. When people recovered, they were advised not to "return to arduous labor or inclement weather." The majority of those who recovered and were released from medical care were Alaska Natives from interior Alaska who had depended on subsistence hunting and fishing, but now their doctors recommended that they not go back to such work. With help from their DVR counselors, many were able to transition to new types of work, such as office or technical repair work, and remain self-sufficient.
• 1964: The 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake Struck Alaska
  

  “Since meeting my DVR counselor and her staff I have found a new sense of myself. A new belief that I am not broken or disabled but just need to find a different way of going about things in my life.”

  - DVR Participant

  The most powerful earthquake in North American history and second most powerful in world history, the Good Friday Earthquake destroyed many houses, buildings, and infrastructure, and killed people in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Canada. Tsunamis heavily damaged most coastal towns in the Prince William Sound, Kenai Peninsula, and Kodiak Island areas. Alaska VR was there to help retrain the injured who could not return to their former occupations, getting a special 5-Year grant to do so.

• 1970s: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline
  The Trans-Alaska pipeline and increases in logging and construction brought with it the opportunity for many good paying, but dangerous jobs and the prevalence of physical disabilities increased. VR was essential in helping those who could not return to their former jobs to stay in the workforce in other professions.

Personal Challenges

DVR is not just important to Alaskans facing a Statewide crisis, but also when facing the personal crisis that disability can cause for many Alaskans.  It is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans have a disability today. Throughout this newsletter you will read just a few of the thousands of public testimonials that DVR has received describing how we have helped Alaskans face the challenge of working with a disability.

DVR Evolves to Meet Alaska's New Challenges

Today, Alaska faces new challenges, and DVR is evolving, once again, to meet them.

This past state fiscal year:

• 2780 Alaskans with disabilities received DVR services, and
• 421 completed the program employed
• with an average wage of $15.10/hr.

We have helped our clients stay in or re-enter the workforce, enter the workforce for the first time, increase their incomes, or move off public supports to become financially independent.

While these are great successes, there is much work to yet to be done. Alaska DVR must continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of Alaskans with disabilities.

Serving Alaska's Youth

Youth Exiting to Streets with No Supports

Alaska has a growing population of "at-risk" youth that are either exiting the foster care system and/or the Division of Juvenile Justice correctional facilities with minimal supports in place to ensure success. DVR is proud to be part of a new, cross-department taskforce created at the direction of the DOLWD Commissioner, Dr. Tamika Ledbetter, and the Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner (DHSS), Adam Crum, to improve outcomes for this population. We are confident that the State of Alaska can affect this change for the better, and do so in a collaborative manner between both DOLWD and DHSS.

Building on Our Success at Serving Students

DVR also continues to better serve students with disabilities by building on the success of our Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS), expanding our reach, finding more passionate partners, and refining our various Pre-ETS programs.

The Silver Tsunami

Alaskans are living far longer, and seniors want to, or must, work beyond previous retirement ages. Sometimes referred to as the "Silver Tsunami," the number of citizens 65 and over living in Alaska has increased by more than 5 percent each year since 2010 and is growing faster than any other state in the nation. The Mature Alaskans Seeking Skills Training Program (MASST) is an important program to help this population, but it will take teamwork and innovation to help meet this challenge.

At the direction of Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner, Dr. Tamika Ledbetter, DVR, MASST, Alaska Job Centers, and the Alaska Commission on Aging have begun strategic planning to effectively tackle the ever growing issue of senior employment.

When the Doctor Has Tough News

After 30 years in construction, Scott Martin was not ready to hear what his doctor had to say next: It's time for an office job. "My first thought was, No way! Are you kidding me?" Scott said. "I did not think office work would be for me, and I wondered how I could even get a job like that, because I had no experience." But Scott found success and a whole new career.

It all started with a call to DVR. Read more about Scott Martin's journey