Wyoming assessment of rehabilitation needs

When asked about the age of the student at DVR enrollment, most districts indicated their students typically enroll during the 2^nd semester of the junior year (Table 29). However, the percentage of students actually enrolled is rather small. On average, only 13 percent of 11^th and 12^th grade special ed. students in the responding districts are currently enrolled with DVR. When asked how many should be enrolled with DVR, responses varied dramatically from 10 percent to 100 percent. This raises a potential concern about the referral process which is discussed further in the section entitled “Students in Transition”. On average, respondents indicated that 32.6 percent of 11^th and 12^th grade students should be enrolled.

The survey also asked several questions about DVR and internal transition activities. About one-half of respondents indicated that DVR counselors “very frequently” or “somewhat frequently” attend IEP (Individual Education Plan) meetings (Table 29). About an equal number indicated that DVR counselors attend IEP meetings “not very frequently” or “never or almost never”. When asked about internal career counseling, most indicated that they conduct both group and individual career counseling (Table 29).
Respondents were also asked to provide an overall rating of high school and DVR transition services on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being very poor and 10 being very good. About 65 percent of respondents rated high school transition services a 6 or better (Table 30). Forty-eight percent rated DVR transition services a 6 or better. Interestingly, this is not consistent with the ratings provided by students. In the student survey, 46 percent of respondents rated high school transition services as a 6 or better, and 63 percent rated DVR transition services as a 6 or better (Table 30).
As with the student survey, the special education coordinator survey also provided an opportunity to make open ended comments. Some of the more relevant comments are as follows:

• 
  Since there are now more state requirements and more emphasis on transition, it is important that there is collaboration between the schools and DVR.
  
• 
  I would like to see DVR provide services before the student graduates, so that the process will be completed with the school still involved.
  
• 
  My experience has been that students/families do not refer themselves to DVR while in school. I am unsure of the reasons.
  
• 
  Our DVR counselor is very interested in helping kids. He is definitely superior to other counselors during the past 9 years. He covers too much territory and is restricted on meeting attendance.
  
• 
  My belief is things are getting better. But we really would like to see 90 percent of our kids actively involved.
  

Table 29: Characteristics of DVR and High School Transition Activities (according to special education coordinators)
Age Students Typically Referred to DVR	# of Responses	Frequency DVR Counselor Participates in IEP Meeting	# of Responses
1^st semester sophomore year	4	Very frequently	9
2^nd semester sophomore year	2	Somewhat frequently	6
1^st semester junior year	9	Not very frequently	10
2^nd semester junior year	10	Never or almost never	6
1^st semester senior year	5	No response	1
2^nd semester senior year	1
No response	1
Frequency of High School Internal Career Counseling as a Group	# of Responses	Frequency of High School Internal Career Counseling Individually	# of Responses
Very frequently	14	Very frequently	17
Somewhat frequently	11	Somewhat frequently	14
Not very frequently	5	Not very frequently	1
Never or almost never	2	Never or almost never	0
No response	0	No response	0

Table 30: Quality of DVR and High School Transition Services (according to special education coordinators)
Overall Rating of Internal High School Transition Services (scale of 1 to 10)	# of Responses	Overall Rating of DVR Transition Services (scale of 1 to 10)	# of Responses
Very poor 1	0	Very poor 1	2
2	1	2	4
3	2 11	3	3 16
4	3	4	3
5	5	5	4
6	3	6	0
7	6	7	0
8	3 20	8	8 15
9	4	9	2
Very good 10	4	Very good 10	5
No response	1	No response	1

Interviews:
In addition to the focus groups and the two mail surveys, public input was obtained through numerous face-to-face and/or telephone interviews (Table 31). Interview results were utilized to develop many sections of the report, especially the findings and recommendations sections.

Table 31: People Interviewed for the 2006 Wyoming Assessment of Resource Needs
Name	Responsibility	Organization	Town
Jim McIntosh	Administrator	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Kirk McKinney	Field Office Supervisor	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Steve Miedziak	Planning and Data	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Merle Derdall	Rehabilitation Specialist	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Woody Absher	Independent Living	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Glenna Campagnaro	Business Training/Outreach	Wyoming Department of Workforce Services	Cheyenne, WY
David Griffin	Employment Services	Wyoming Department of Workforce Services	Cheyenne, WY
Ted Knowles	Transition Coordinator	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Riverton, WY
Donna Thompson	Transition Coordinator	Wyoming Department of Education	Riverton, WY
Ray Sattler	Area Consultant	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Stephanie McCawley	DVR Counselor	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Douglas, WY
Kristine Bachert	Area Consultant	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Casper, WY
Mary Mertz	Admin. Specialist (budget)	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Casper, WY
Robert Bennett	Veterans Outreach Officer	Wyoming Division of Employment Services	Cheyenne, WY
Don Potter	Planning and Data	Wyoming Independent Living Rehabilitation	Casper, WY
Ken Nielsen	Special Ed. Coordinator	Lander School District	Lander, WY
Ed O’Leary	Consultant	Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center	Logan, UT
Lindy Foley	Transition Coordinator	Nebraska Department of Education	Lincoln, NE
Beverly Peterson	Transition Liaison	South Dakota Department of Education	Sioux Falls, SD
Howard Sallik	Transition Coordinator	Colorado Department of Voc. Rehab.	Denver, CO
Lynn Kirkbride	Transition/Job Develop.	Business Leadership Network	Wheatland, WY
Paul Demple	Mental Health Counselor	Central Wyoming Counseling Center	Casper, WY
Carol Day	Program Manager	Wyoming Division of Mental Health	Cheyenne, WY
Group Interview	Transition Coordination	Wyoming Transition Council	Riverton, WY
Ree Lindgren	Disability Determination	Wyoming Division of Vocational Rehabilitation	Cheyenne, WY
Linda Parrott	Disability Determination	Social Security Administration	Cheyenne, WY