Transcript of “Rights Here, Rights Now –

Episode 33 Rachel and PRE-ETS

Produced by the disAbility Law Center of Virginia.                                                            

[INTRO]:                      The information provided on this podcast does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. Instead, all information, content and materials available are for general informational purposes only.

[Enter host, Molly Carter]:

 

[Molly]:                       Welcome to Rights Here, Rights Now!  A podcast about disability advocacy and activism. I'm your Advocate host, Molly Carter.

 

[Enter host, Virginia Pharis.]

 

[VIRGINIA]:                 And I'm your Advocate host, Virginia Pharis.

 

[Molly]:                       Every two weeks we dig into to relevant issues, current events, and avenues for self-advocacy.

 

[VIRGINIA]:                 Because someone has to.

 

[Molly]:                       And it might as well be us.

 

This podcast is produced and edited by the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, the Commonwealth’s protection and advocacy agency for disability rights. Find out more at: www.dlcv.org.

 

[Enter, again, hosts Molly Carter and Virginia Pharis.]

 

[Molly]:                       Virginia, I’m just so excited for our guest today. She’s one of our most                                           respected advocates here. But also just one of my favorite people! Rachel                                and I go way back. How are you feeling today?

 

[Virginia]:                    I am super jazzed (lol) to learn about pre employment services from Rachel.  This is one of those areas that I don't do a whole lot of work in. So, I'm excited to learn new things and to have her open my eyes.

 

But first…let’s hear a dLCV Call to Action:

 

[Call to Action Segment]:       “My name is Rhonda Thissen and I'm a Senior Disability Rights                                                        Advocate at DLCV, and this, is a call to action: Have you been                                                    abused or neglected by a paid caregiver? the disability Law Center                                                 of Virginia wants to hear your voice! We are collecting                                                                                 stories from individuals                                                                                                                      with disabilities about their experience with abuse and                                                                         neglect, committed by the people who are paid to care for                                                             them. This could be anyone: a direct support professional                                                               a doctor, or a  nurse case manager or other person whose                                                               job it is to care for a person with disability….[…] for them                                                                this could be a direct support professional doctor and                                                                     nurse case manager or other person whose job it is to care                                                            for you. Abuse can be anyone ever hits or touches you                                                                    when you don't want them to…It can also happen when                                                                 they use rude language, bully, or make fun of you, or steal                                                                 your money, or property; neglect happens when a                                                                           caregiver ignores your need for food or water, or services.                                                              care or the other things you need to be safe and healthy.                                                                    Neglect also happens if the person ignores you. […]We                                                                    believe the state should keep a list of caregivers who                                                                     have abused or neglected people with disabilities. This is I                                                                     important because knowing if a person has a history with                                                                 somebody  might prevent them from doing it again .If you                                                              could have been abused or neglected by someone paid to                                                              care for you please visit our website at www.dls.org abuse; And tell us your story!

 

[Molly]:                       This week, we have Rachel Loria, who is one of our experts on pre-                                                employment transition Services. Excuse me! Or PRE-ETS & she's going                                             to tell us about what the exciting services are, and let us know about the                                           impact project that DLCV’S working on this year! So I’m very thrilled to have her here- Rachel, thank you so much for joining us today!

 

[Enter, DLCV advocate Rachel Loria.]

 

[Rachel]:                     Thank you for having me! So, I want to start off with, like, what these services like PRE-ETS actually for students ages 14 to 21 they should be available in all high school so if you don't know about them you should contact your 504 team, or, contact you or IEP team to talk it services are meant to help youth who are in high school prepare for a career after school and also a store that there's a smoother transition after these services are typically provided by one of two agencies: Either the department for the Blind and vision-impaired dbvi or the department for the Aging and rehabilitative services-- department for aging and rehabilitative services—or, DARS. Both of these agencies provide job services for adults as well so it's important that if you are receiving pre-employment transition Services as you are finishing High School you also begin talking with them about adult VR services but that's a completely different story! (Lol.)

 

 

[Virginia]:                    Yes. So, Rachel, you’ve already got me sold on these PRETS. I love the catchy nickname, I love the idea of a smooth transition. But can you tell me a little bit more about what these Services can include specifically?

 

[Rachel]:                     Sure! Yeah, I’d be glad to. We often have to tell people that the PRETS is                           not a car (LOL!) So, PRETS usually consists of five different key services and that                                              can include exploration counseling, work-based learning experiences                                                 counseling on training and other educational options, workplace                                                   readiness training, and also, an introduction and instruction in self-                                          advocacy. Do you want me to go into depth about what each of                                         these services are?

 

 

[Virginia]:                    Please!

 

 

[Rachel]:                     The job exploration counseling is if you’re not clear or unsure what they                                       want to do for a career, which, let's be                                                                                                 honest, both in high school and even as adults, we don’t exactly know                                                 what we want to do! So with job exploration Services, students  can sit                                         down with the counselor and they can start looking at what their                                                   strengths are, what their interests are,  and what careers they might                                       enjoy. This is usually done in a survey; If reading’s a struggle it can also be                                     done at different (various) reading level is or if reading it's a struggle can                                           also be done with pictures. In job exploration Services, students can sit                                      down with a counselor and they can start looking at what their strengths                                      are and what careers are interesting to them. And this is usually done in a                                   survey can also be done if reading level is reading as a struggle and also                                               be done with pictures. We did learn that! So students can sit down and                                         start looking at what their strengths are, with their interests are, and                                         what kind of types of careers are interesting to them the counselor can                                     also sit down with individual and look at what job markets look like for specific careers. Where that student is going to be and that's also really good so that they can get a better picture of what the job is (going to be like). What they and it may be—what the job market looks like. We don't know what a job really is like until we can experience that job in person. So, then, work-based learning experiences can include going to specific workplaces and seeing what day today the day today job looks like in those environments. This can also include watching videos of people working in specific jobs; Students can get an idea of what the job looks like and what day to day life in that job looks like. And the third one is counseling and training and educational options . Every time I start talking about this with high school students every time we start talking about continuing education, after High School, I get this glorious groan. (LOL.)  Education after high school is… School is not for everyone but if you are a student that is interested in education After High School the counselor can talk with you about what your options are this could be a junior school this could be a 4-year school this could be a vocational school to learn trade and specific skills. The PRETTS counselor can talk with you as a student and also with the family to determine what options look like. As an aside--I do—(pause) they can talk with the family, and it's important for them to communicate with the family, but, it's also really important that as a used these high school students start taking ownership of the services because it's for them it's about them, and it's important that they start being really active in this planning. The next one is workplace Readiness training. Yes, this is different from work based learning! Workplace Readiness training can include skills that are necessary for the workplace and that can include social skills, include interview preparation, that can include resume development, that can include teaching time management, and also include other crucial work skills. We sometimes refer to this as the soft skills that are necessary for the workplace. But the last one is instruction and self-advocacy what's an adult with a disability I can tell you that the self-advocacy it's really crucial counselors can work with you to teach them about how to advocate for their needs: This can include advocating for their (own) needs, if they continue education, if they're in the workplace, or also, if they're in the community.

 

[Molly]:                       Rachel thank you so much for outlining each of those (services) for us! I did have a quick question, though. Because you said that both the families and the students can be involved. And I would gather you know with all these Services it's hard for students and their families to know you know which one might be right for them, or, like, were even to start in this process. Can you give us a little example or example of insight into what your conversation looks like when you when you are working with students and their families? Like, how do you kind of persuade or not persuade, but, encourage the students to get involved in this process because it does sound I mean as wonderful as you know a big change for them so what does that look like??

 

[Rachel]:                     Right, well I try to tell these students that these services are about them. So, these services really can’t occur without their imput or their knowledge.  I have a specific PowerPoint and that's kind of my clients that talks about what their interests are and what their careers are or what careers they  are interested in . It also talks about like different things like, if they’re  interested in school after high school, if they're interested in learning Independent living skills; what kinds of skills are necessary for them to learn? &  this PowerPoint template kind of allows for students to have their own insight. And then when we have that then when we meet with the VR counselor or when we/they meet with their agency, either DARS or DBVI, the student can then show them that PowerPoint  the student can really lead the meeting, by just talking about what their interests are. What their goals are.

 

 

                                   

 

 

 

[Virginia]:                    So…I mean clearly PRETS is a ton of services! So, I mean, as with all of these it comes down to the money-- it comes down to the funding. Whp pays for these Services? – is it free to the students?

 

[Rachel]:                     It is free to the students. And it’s free to the schools as well. That’s a                                             great question!

 

Because of WIOA, or the workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act we know that 15% of the federal funds that are allocated to DARS and DBVI I have to be spent on pre-employment services. Which is really needed, because we’ve worked in several districts where they can’t afford to provide these services for their students. And we reply with, “Well, great, the school can’t afford it?? Then DARS and DBVI are the ones who will pay for it. So, it really is no cost to the family, And that's really important for families to understand. There are also some schools are talking with us all about a wait list for services, but then, that’s really important to understand that in the disability world—there can be a wait list for many things! But for PRETS, there. Is. no. wait. List. Once they fill out that application, they should be getting services. As long as they are eligible. We’ve had an issue with this quite a few times actually that we're having issues with the wait list, and, well, -- there is no wait list! Sooo.

 

[Molly]:                       Rachel thank you so much for clarifying all of that. Just so I can clarify, Rachel, is it DARS, or is it DBVI that's providing the services, or is it both organizations?? And, also, just to go back: you said VR training?  Can. you clarify what VR means for our listeners?

 

[Rachel]:                     VR stands for Vocational Training. That is training that adults receive. Usually, it’s to help them prepare for a job, or it’s for them being promoted in a job. DARS & DBVI are both the agencies that should be providing services. If a person has a visual impairment, then, DBVI should be the agency that’s covering those services. If they have any other disability, then, DARS, should be the agency that is covering the services. They should be paying for those services. However, sometimes they will be paying through a contract, through another agency. And pay them, to go into these schools, and then provide the services in the schools. But mostly they’ll be coming from DARS OR DBVI.

 

 

[Virginia]:                    Now, Rachel, Imma need you to slam on those breaks for just a moment because you said come into the school or going to the school and right now we are not doing that in in the year of Our Lord 2020! How has COVID changed that?

 

 

[Rachel]:                     That’s, yes, let’s address it with COVID. So, COVID has definitely made it’s presence known, (lol). It’s definitely poked it’s head into situations. Um,  I do know that these online services can be occurring virtually. Not only CAN THEY, but…they SHOULD BE occurring virtually! So if your student, or your child was receiving services in the high school, before COVID, and somehow now they are not receiving those services? Contact DARS; Contact DBVI. Contact the school. Contact us. Because they should be receiving those services virtually, if they are not.

 

[Molly]:                       Okay, so thank you for clarifying all that, Rachel. Because I know, you know it these Changing Times, it can be hard for people to know what services are still available. Or, how they're going to get in contact with people and I think now more than ever we're realizing how important services like this are.

 

[Rachel]:                     Absolutely! And it can be done virtually. It’s been successful having them done virtually.

 

[Molly]:                       Yes, yes I mean I think we really seen technology help with that. You know, that you can still sit down with somebody face-to-face. So. Rachel can you tell us about the impact project the DLCV is working on this year?

.

 

[Rachel]:                     Sure. A few years ago DLCV had some staff working at the Department of Juvenile Justice, or DJJ. And we realized that a lot of youth were asking about pre-employment transition services, PRET. Because they wanted job skills. They wanted job preparation. Sometimes in institutions or facility settings, the youth move around quite a bit, & as we know as advocates, sometimes that means they don’t receive the services that they should be getting. Really really unfortunate. So, we’ve been giving youth at DJJ PRET, and now were going into several psychiatric, treatment, facilities, PRTFs, for children. And we’re ensuring that the youth there are also getting services. Another co-worker is looking at some other barriers to discharge. And we are looking at some of the vocational areas, as such.

 

[Virginia]:                    So you know, taking half a step back: when you guys were at DJJ and maybe even others, did you guys, were you guys able, to figure out whether the youth deer had benefited from PRET services?

 

[Rachel]:                     Absolutely! Youth at DJJ really did benefit from those services.  Some realized as they were getting those services that things needed to change in their school environments, like leadership roles that they needed to take on; So, youth at DJJ ABSOLUTELY benefited from services, and they are still benefiting from them. And their continuing to benefit from the services. They are still getting them. We at DLCV know that youth within facilities are sometimes the ones who need these services the most. So it was really important that we were able to get into DJJ. And that the youth there were able to benefit [from these services].

 

 

[Molly]:                       Okay, so, do you feel like, Rachel regarding this project, that if you want say some volunteers to get involved what are some ways to do that because I know at DLCV we also have great volunteers as well as staff that might want to get involved. So, can you tell us a little bit more about if that's possible

 

[Rachel]:                     It is absolutely possible…for volunteers to get involved. If they are interested in getting involved they can contact our community relation specialist.

 

[Virgina]:                     Okay, Rachel, well thank you for coming on here today to talk about ALL these services, that, to be honest, I didn't even know was available! And, if folks are, like we said, interested in volunteering or interested in finding out more, as always, they can visit us online at DLCV.org

 

 

[Molly]:                       Rachel thank you so much we really appreciate you taking the time to come in and talk to us about all these services today and I'm sure I know I learned a lot today and I'm sure our audience get as well, so thank you again

 

[Rachel]:                     Thank you for having me!

 

[Molly]:                       And now, for a DLCV Highlight!

 

[RHONDA’S SEG]:       So, we met the individual at one of the state hospitals during a monitoring visit. And he has been working with us for a while on a variety of State related issues, including a problem that he's had with one with of the staff in this Hospital, in which he filed a number of complaints but the state hospital did not follow up on his complaints in accordance with the human rights regulations. And so, we assisted him in filing a human rights complaint: One for the individual hospital in which he was being treated differently than other residents. Another unit at the hospital filed a human rights complaint, & the facility director denied to complain and the individual appealed to the local human rights committee which found in his favor. And they they found that the hospital violated his rights and dignity because they treated him it was kind of unusual am I understanding in that hospital actually file the appeal to the human rights committee. he's finding in the case and so DLCV assisted the individual  drafting a statement that he-- he represented himself human rights committee meeting with no DLC The Advocate was on the phone to provide support as well as one of those where he represented himself: He made his statement and ended in a really quick decision within 21 days, because that's the amount of time. BUT, they actually decided so quickly found out ABOUT AN HOUR LATER the he had prevailed! And so the human rights committee voted to uphold the local human rights committee decision that hospital violated his right to dignity and so it was good that he was very happy with the outcome!

 

[Enter, again, Virginia and Molly.]

 

[Virginia]:        So, we thank you one more time to Rachel Lori ever so about pre-employment                             transition Services. I feel like I've learned so much! with it seems like each one of                               these podcast we do I learn about something I didn't even know was a service- I’m just l before and I just go they offer that so a little glimmer of hope in these dark times absolutely and thank you all for listening to this episode of Right Here Right Now brought to you by the disability Law Center of Virginia are available on Apple podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcast don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you need assistance or want more information about DLC be and what we do this is online ID LCB. Org you can follow us on Twitter also at disability law VA and sure there's your friends until next time I'm Molly Carter and I'm Virginia Ferris and this has been right here right now

 

 

 

 

 

[Molly]:                       Oh yes, I know I did, too. I mean I'm very-- I'm always aware of the projects that different Advocates are doing but Rachel really just has such an in-depth wealth of knowledge and it's clear she's very passionate about it and it's been working towards this for a long time, so I'm so glad that we had her on to talk with us today.

 

[Virginia]:                     it seems like each one of these podcast we do I learn about something I didn't even know was a service- I’m just like before, and I just go: “They offer that?” So, a little glimmer of hope in these dark times. absolutely and thank you all for listening to this episode of Right Here Right Now brought to you by the disability Law Center of Virginia are available on Apple podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcast don't forget to subscribe and leave a review if you need assistance or want more information about DLC be and what we do this is online ID LCB. Org you can follow us on Twitter also at disability law VA and sure there's your friends until next time I'm Molly Carter and I'm Virginia Ferris and this has been right here right now

 

[Molly]:                       Absolutely!

 

[Virginia]:                     And thank you all for listening to this episode of Right Here Right Now brought to you by the disability Law Center of Virginia. We are available on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review.

 

[Molly]:                       IF you need assistance, or want more information about DLCV, and what                                      we do, Visit us online at DLCV.ORG.

 

[Virginia]:                                You can follow us on Twitter also at disability law VA and share us                                                 with your friends!

 

[Molly]:                                   Until next time, I'm Molly Carter-

 

 

[VIRGINIA]:                 And I'm Virginia Pharis. And this has been, Rights Here-

 

[Molly]:                       Rights Now!

 

 ***[End of Transcriptions]***