Fiscal Year 2013 Monitoring Report on the District of Columbia Rehabilitation Services Administration Vocational Rehabilitation Program

Section 107 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Rehabilitation Act), requires the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to conduct annual reviews and periodic on-site monitoring of programs authorized under Title I of the Rehabilitation Act to determine whether a state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency is complying substantially with the provisions of its State Plan under section 101 of the Rehabilitation Act and with the evaluation standards and performance indicators established under Section 106. In addition, the commissioner must assess the degree to which VR agencies are complying with the assurances made in the State Plan Supplement for Supported Employment (SE) Services under Title VI, part B, of the Rehabilitation Act. Through its monitoring of the VR and SE programs administered by the District of Columbia Rehabilitation Services Administration (DCRSA) in federal fiscal year (FY) 2013, RSA: (1) reviewed the VR agency's progress toward implementing recommendations and resolving findings identified during the prior monitoring cycle (FY 2007 through FY 2010); (2) reviewed the VR agency's performance in assisting eligible individuals with disabilities to achieve high-quality employment outcomes; (3) recommended strategies to improve performance and required corrective actions in response to compliance findings related to three focus areas, including: (a) organizational structure requirements of the designated state agency (DSA) and the designated state unit (DSU); (b) transition services and employment outcomes for youth with disabilities; and (c) the fiscal integrity of the VR program; (4) discussed emerging practices related to the three focus areas and other aspects of the VR agency's operations; and (5) provided technical assistance to the VR agency to enable it to enhance its performance and to resolve findings of noncompliance. The nature and scope of this review and the process by which RSA carried out its monitoring activities, including the conduct of an on-site visit from January 29 through February 1, 2013, is described in detail in the FY 2013 Monitoring and Technical Assistance Guide for the Vocational Rehabilitation Program (ED610129).