Transcript

VR Workforce Singers:  VR Workforce Studio.

Michaela Pacelli:  And having ADD and Autism, people like me, I am heavily detailed oriented which causes me to have a habit of being a perfectionist.

Jake Hart:  Four, three, two, one. VR Workforce Studio, podcasting the sparks that ignite vocational rehabilitation through the inspiring stories of people with disabilities who have gone to work.

Flora Frazier:  Working in a field that I understand.

Jake Hart:  As well as the professionals who have helped them.

James Hall:  A job and a career, you got to look at how life-changing this is.

Jake Hart:  And the businesses who have filled their talent pipelines with workers that happen to have disabilities.

Debby Hopkins:  To help expand registered apprenticeship.

Jake Hart:  These are their stories.

Megan Healy:  Because there’s such a great story to tell about people with disabilities.

Jake Hart:  Now, here are the hosts of the VR Workforce Studio, Rick Sizemore and Betsy Civilette.

Rick Sizemore:  In our big inspiration showcase we welcome, Michaela Pacelli, a student enrolled in workforce training at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center. Who is here to give us her perspectives on how vocational rehabilitation is helping her to prepare for a career in business and what it’s like living and working with Autism. Welcome, Michaela.

Michaela Pacelli:  Hi everyone, and thank you for bringing me on the show.

Rick Sizemore:  Oh, great to have you.

Betsy Civilette:  You’re very welcome. We are also joined by Michaela’s occupational therapist, Shendy Smith. It’s Shendy, not Cindy, right? Shendy is short for Shenandoah, uh…

Rick Sizemore:  Right here in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

Betsy Civilette:  Yes, perfect. Welcome to the podcast, Shendy.

Michaela Pacelli:  That’s correct. You took the joke out of my mouth.

Shendy Smith:  Thank you.

(laughter).

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Michael, first tell us your story. How did you get involved in the business school here at Wilson Workforce?

Michaela Pacelli:  Well, it kind of really started in high school because having Autism and having AD… ADHD it’s, it can be pretty hard even for both the person do, having to deal with it and the parent. And so, when it came around time when I was in my junior or senior year, that was when we got the recommendation that, of WWRC because this place helps people who have disabilities like me and other disabilities.

Rick Sizemore:  Wow. Well, Doctor Stephen Shore is an Autism advocate. He’s on the spectrum and is credited with one of my favorite quotes which is that, “If you’ve met one person with Autism, you’ve met one person with Autism.” Michaela, what does it mean to you to have Autism?

Michaela Pacelli:  Well, the very first thing that anyone should know about us is…

(sighs).

Michaela Pacelli:  To sort of quote some stuff from, I tend to make a whole lot of references to medias and stuff. The very first thing that you need to know about us is that if any of you have ever seen the, the DreamWorks movie Over The Hedge, us, any person with… Well, in my certain case, having ADD and Autism, we have the attention span of Hammy the Squirrel. And he is chock-full of energy.

(laughter).

Michaela Pacelli:  The second thing is that our minds are basically like a constantly changing radio station. ‘Cause we will nearly always have music playing in it and it will change nearly every five minutes.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah.

Michaela Pacelli:  Unless we are stuck on a song like I am today.

Rick Sizemore:  What song are you stuck on today?

Michaela Pacelli:  It’s, well, it tend… It’s funny but the one that I’m currently stuck on now, ironically, although I’m not really into scary stuff is, someone who made a song for Sonic.EXE which is called, Play With Me.

Betsy Civilette:  Oh.

Shendy Smith:  So, a lot of those media references come into play in therapy because that’s a way that Michaela explains her lived experience is and that helps me understand a little bit more, too. So, I love that we get those media references…

Rick Sizemore:  Absolutely.

Shendy Smith:  Sometimes I have to look up what she’s talking about.

Rick Sizemore:  Absolutely.

Shendy Smith:  So I can get that perspective.

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, it’s. It’s a great way to relate. So, Michaela, how has Autism affected you? And more importantly, what’s happening here at Wilson to help you get ready for a job and live on your own?

Michaela Pacelli:  Well, here at Wilson, because I have Autism and, and ADHD, there’s like I said, we have the… From my personal case, I have the attention span of a puppy. So, trying to find a way to hone in my focus and sort of siphon and focus that energy into what I need to do in the workplace is a big major key of me being able to do what I need to do when I graduate. And it’s difficult because, with my short attention span, it means that I tend to go back and forth between things a lot. And it gets to the point where if I get so focused on trying to distract my brain because I tend to my… Ms. Shendy can, can account for me on this ‘cause right now we’re trying to break me of the habit of me constantly doing origami as a stress reliever. And that tends to get in the way of work because it’s, ‘cause it’s relaxing, it can be confusing, but it’s also heavily addicting. But, but at least it’s a good addiction, although it still needs to be broken.

Betsy Civilette:  What job do you think would be a good fit for you though?

Michaela Pacelli:  That’s kind of hard because, knowing me, I’ve already worked in the fast food industry and I don’t like standing up on my feet a lot because… Because this is a podcast, most people can’t see but, my physique isn’t built for moving around a lot ‘cause… And plus I am a gamer so I’m used to being stationary most of the time and pretty much looking at a screen all day. So, the, so I’m trying to figure out if there’s a way that I can balance that, where I can mostly stay stationary. But there are a few times where I can get up and move around so that I don’t end up getting into a hypnosis, of just staying put and then, and end up possibly falling asleep. ‘Cause that has happened a few times before.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, there has to be a lot of jobs out there that require some screen time, and energy, and concentration. So, we’ll get into this a little deeper. Shendy, it’s Occupational Therapy Month, congratulations and thanks to you and OT’s abroad for the work that you do. Wilson is a very unique place because it’s not only a vocational rehabilitation training school, it’s driven by the needs of busines and industry. You’re helping people with things like physical and occupational therapy, and communication services, in the classroom. Shendy, tell us what you do in your work with students and how you’re supporting them inside the vocational training classroom.

Shendy Smith:  We work on specific strategies that she can use to manage the, you know, attention and the sensory needs that she’s dealing with. So, some examples; we have established some sensory strategies to use in the classroom or potentially that could be used at work. So, trying to shift away from something that is more distracting like origami to something that is more manageable to kind of shift back and forth while she’s doing work. So…

Michaela Pacelli:  Actually, I have one of them in my pocket right now.

Shendy Smith:  So, we’ve got some fidgets. Right now she has kind of a metallic, it’s almost like a fidget spinner but more kind of a grown-up version. So, we use that and some visual like there’s a bubble timer and sand timers and things like that, that’s something visually to look at to stimulate the brain. So, that, that increases her attention and focus and all those things that she’s been talking about. So, we do one-on-one services like that that are, where we attempt to increase a person’s success in the classroom and then in the workforce, and at the same time we do services to improve independent living skills. So, Michaela is expecting to live independently when she leaves here. So, we’re using her time here to improve money management, bill paying, all those independent living skills; cooking, grocery shopping, taking the bus, public transportation, all those cool things.

Michaela Pacelli:  Cooking is a big one ‘cause I can only cook a few things and most of them are breakfast.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, that’s great. We will take a photo of that fidget spinner and that will be in the show notes at vrworkforcestudio.com. Betsy?

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, well, talking about living independently, living on your own, and working, what do you have to contribute to a business owner who might hire you, Michaela?

Michaela Pacelli:  Well, like I’ve said, I’ve worked, I’ve worked in the fast food industry before and even though that my attention span can go off track a lot, I also make sure that, I make sure that… Sorry, I keep stuttering. I always make sure that whatever they tell me to get done, I get it done as fast as I possibly can. Not as in I, I rush the job but I get it done as soon as I’m able to do it. And, and being, and having ADD and Autism, it also means that people like me or specific, or to me specifically, I am heavily detail oriented which causes me to have the bad habit of being a perfectionist.

Rick Sizemore:  I’m not sure that’s a, a bad habit.

Betsy Civilette:  Right, no. That I think is, can come in handy.

Michaela Pacelli:  Well, well, it can be because, because being a perfectionist means that it take, that you take up a lot more time in getting something done and it ends up kind of leaving you backtracked. And because I’m a perfectionist that means I, it takes me a lot more time to actually put an idea into motion.

Rick Sizemore:  Shendy, what would you want an employer, who’s never hired someone with Autism, to know about what’s going on here at Wilson?

Shendy Smith:  Well, first of all, thinking about people with Autism a lot of times we talk about it from a deficit perspective. You know, having executive function deficits or this and that. But, a lot of times we lose the focus on what strengths a lot of people with Autism have. And Michaela saying that she’s a perfectionist, you know, that sounds like a negative but a, you know, for an employer it really can be a positive.

Rick Sizemore:  A positive.

Shendy Smith:  Someone with Autism is going to potentially be very attentive to every single detail of the job. Get it right every single time. Be incredibly consistent and reliable. There’s a lot of strengths that often come along with Autism including creativity, could go on and on. And again, it is, you know, you meet one person with Autism, it’s one person with Autism. So, we can’t fully generalize about the population but there are, there tend to be a lot of strengths that go along there, as well.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, that’s great. We’ve had guests on the show, business owners, who only hire people with Autism, for those very reasons. The attention to detail, rule-following, the ability to attend to things that might seem monotonous to other people, and yet there’s a level of intrigue that a person with Autism has about that routine. So, it’s all about finding your strengths, right?

Shendy Smith:  Mm-hmm.

Michaela Pacelli:  ‘Cause like I said, for, for me specifically, I’m someone who, who likes routines. Which also means that I, I myself, even though that I tend to leave certain things till last minute, I hate being late to things. Which is why usually if I’m like a minute late to class, my brain is like, “Oh crap.”

(laughter).

Betsy Civilette:  Well, that is a good habit for an employer, certainly, but. So, Michaela, any final thoughts, advice to, you know, potential students who are thinking about coming in for vocational training? Other individuals with Autism, what would you, what would you tell them?

Michaela Pacelli:  Trust me, it’s going to feel a bit weird because, ‘cause for people like us, we have a lot of codependency because we’re still learning on how to do certain stuff by ourselves. To kind of, to kind of quote one of my favorite comedians, he talked about when he got his first, when he got his first adult job and he said, “And I realized at my first big boy job, I’m not ready to be an adult yet.”

(laughter).

Michaela Pacelli:  My boss, my boss gave us three, a piece of paper and said to write down three-work goals that we wanted. I did not know that she wanted work-related goals. Most people put down promotion, better customer service, a raise. To quote him, he said, “I wanted to pin a bear, I want to wrestle and pin a bear at the carnival, I want to go to Wrestle Mania, and I watch, and I want to watch every Rocky movie in one sitting without getting up to pee.”

(laughter).

Rick Sizemore:  Well, you are, you are just a delight. One of the joys of… Betsy, being here in the studio, you’re, you’re joining us from headquarters in Richmond today… But one of the joys is seeing the chemistry between Shendy and Michaela. What does it mean to you to work with someone like Michaela?

Shendy Smith:  Well, it’s just a joy to see someone like Michaela come in and like she said, maybe she’s not ready to be an adult at this point. But, we have some time and we’re certainly gonna get her there and just seeing her go step by step by step to get there. And can I share an anecdote, Michaela, about our funny event that happened? In…

Michaela Pacelli:  Which one?

Shendy Smith:  Well, when we took the bus.

Michaela Pacelli:  Oh, yes. Oh, God. That was… Go ahead.

Shendy Smith:  So…

Michaela Pacelli:  I’m gonna try not to laugh through this.

Shendy Smith:  So, we decided that one skill that Michaela could benefit from would be taking the bus…

Rick Sizemore:  Mm-hmm.

Shendy Smith:  Public transportation because she’s not currently driving. So, when she graduates from here and gets a job she may need to utilize public transportation. So, she and I did a, a bus outing and we successfully got all the way to Statler Square in Staunton and, you know, did what we needed to do there. Went to the cell phone store and then we went, we set an alarm for when the bus was coming back, and we went back and stood right by the same sign where the bus dropped us off. And as we were standing there we saw the bus just fly by us on the other side of the road and…

Michaela Pacelli:  And literally waved at us as it drove by.

(laughter).

Betsy Civilette:  Oh, no.

Shendy Smith:  And at that point, she and I both realized that there was also a sign on the other side of the road and so the east-going bus went by that way. So, that is just, you know, our starting point for learning public transportation for both of us. But then at this point, I can say Michaela has gone out, taken the bus multiple times to different locations. To go to the pharmacy, and cell phone store, and things like that. So, it’s seeing those, you know, this is where we started, and then seeing her master those skills, and gain independence, and just get closer and closer to her goals of, of being independent and gainfully employed has, it’s, you know, it’s just a pleasure.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s wonderful. Michaela is a student enrolled in business training at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center, and we’re certain you’re gonna make someone a great employee. And Shendy Smith is her occupational therapist. You can find links with more information about vocational rehabilitation and the extraordinary work being done at the center in our show notes at vrworkforcestudio.com.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Shendy and Michaela, thank you both so much for being on today’s podcast, in person. Which is, as Rick said, a joy. So, thank you for being here.

Shendy Smith:  You’re very welcome.

Michaela Pacelli:  No problem.

Rick Sizemore:  Later in today’s show, the director of the Rehabilitation Services Administration’s National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials, walks us through where to find information about Autism. Whether you’re a family member just needing the basics or someone interested in research and education on the topic, the Clearinghouse is for you.

Rick Sizemore:  On the second half of today’s show, we welcome Daniel Clausen who’s employed by Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions. Also known as, uBreakiFix. Welcome, Daniel.

Daniel Clawson:  Thank you.

Betsy Civilette:  We are also joined by Daniel’s supervisor who owns and operates the uBreakiFix location in Herndon, Virginia, where Daniel works. Welcome, Brenda Johnston.

Brenda Johnston:  Thank you for having me.

Betsy Civilette:  Brenda, if you would, give us a quick overview of uBreakiFix.

Brenda Johnston:  Absolutely. We’re electronic repair business. We repair small, portable electronics such as smartphones, tablets, computers, game consoles, and we also do various other products as well. And it was founded in 2009, and Asurion acquired us in 2019, and we are partnered with Samsung and Google we’re the authorized service center for them. So, that means all the customers can walk in here instead of mailing out their phones and we offer… Also, if you have insurance on your devices through Verizon or AT&T, they file a claim and they come into our stores to get a repair done.

Rick Sizemore:  There are hundreds of uBreakiFix locations across the United States. Brenda, how many stores do you own and operate?

Brenda Johnston:  I have three. I have Herndon, Virginia. Fairfax, Fair Lakes as we call it, and a Gainesville, Virginia location. So, three, and I’ve been in operation since 2016. So, this is going on my seventh year next month.

Betsy Civilette:  And Daniel, tell us about your job and how you went to work at uBreakiFix.

Daniel Clawson:  It is a little bit simplistic to call me a cellphone repair technician. I, I, I repair everything from cellphones to tablets, to computers. Sometimes game consoles but those are less frequent. I came to work at uBreakiFix through DARS. I was at the WWRC for about a year, from the start of 2019 right to the start of 2020. And they reached out through, to the district manager and they, hiring manager and I got an interview through that. I’ve been working here since the end of 2020.

Betsy Civilette:  Okay, so…

Rick Sizemore:  Well, that’s also…

Betsy Civilette:  When the pandemic hit, yeah. You’re lucky to get a job.

Rick Sizemore:  I think about how many times I dropped my phone and you go to the website, then you, there’s some language there about the phone cascading off of your lap and you seeing it hit the concrete. We’ve, we’ve all experienced that. So, it’s a great work that you’re doing. Daniel, the people who listen to this podcast want to learn about people with disabilities who’ve been successful and gone to work. What is your disability?

Daniel Clawson:  I have ADHD. For me, it isn’t as much of a disability. I am different from other people, I will acknowledge that, really allows me to focus extensively on one thing. Which is great when that one thing is fixing something.

Rick Sizemore:  Absolutely.

Betsy Civilette:  Right.

Daniel Clawson:  I did run into issues earlier on, where I would focus on one thing at the expense of everything else and I wouldn’t hear things that are going on around me. I’ve gotten better at that. But it does help me, if a cellphone comes in, I can focus on that customer’s device from when they come in the door to when they come in to pick it up. It might be me, it might be someone else who checks them in and checks them out. But it is very possible and somewhat often that the same person who checks them in works on the device. And usually in, usually once you’ve worked on the device, often you’re the one to check them out.

Rick Sizemore:  Right. Do you take medications?

Daniel Clawson:  I do not.

Rick Sizemore:  So…

Daniel Clawson:  I used to, I don’t anymore.

Rick Sizemore:  So, you’ve been able to compensate for the challenges of the job in other ways?

Daniel Clawson:  Yes.

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah, as we like to say, it’s differing abilities, right? Instead of focusing on the disability.

Daniel Clawson:  Yep.

Betsy Civilette:  But tell us about your time here at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center and the vocational rehabilitation. How that helped you to…

Daniel Clawson:  Yeah.

Betsy Civilette:  Obtain this job?

Daniel Clawson:  I went into the technology, the IT department. I was there for about a year. The goal for that class was not just to get me to pass two tests that allowed me to get the certification for CompTIA A+ technology certification. But it also gave me the skills I needed to understand repairing devices.

Rick Sizemore:  Right.

Daniel Clawson:  Cellphones were the most common thing that came in then and I got the most comfortable working on them at that time.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, Brenda, what have you learned about working with people that happen to have disabilities?

Brenda Johnston:  I see aptitude but one thing I can honestly say with this group is the loyalty and the commitment that they have to, not to, you know, to themselves but also to the business. And they truly have contributed to the success of my business. And I’ve been in business since 2016, I didn’t learn about the program until 2020. I just wish I, I had known about it earlier. But I’m very happy that I’m, I’m in it now and we’ll continue to lobby and champion for, for these guys, and…

Rick Sizemore:  Now tell us, tell us how that emerged in, in your business operations that, that you began working with people with disabilities.

Brenda Johnston:  So, in 2020 we had an employee that applied through Indeed, and on their resume they had a reference and it was Mrs. LaPearl Smith, who was I think the director at the time. She called the store before I had an, chance to call her and said, “I’m his reference and let me tell you about, you, you know, the potential hire.” And at this point, I had already known we were hiring them. And that’s how we were involved and it just kind of, LaPearl Smith, you know, asking questions; what do we do and if we were looking for more hires? And we said, yes, and then Daniel comes in and then we’ve had a couple of more. So, that’s, that’s our journey.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, that is wonderful to hear that you’re becoming an advocate. You touched on this, but how is uBreakiFix different today? Or maybe even better today because Daniel and, and several of their other DARS clients work there.

Brenda Johnston:  Absolutely. Their, their ability, they’re, they’re willing, they challenge themselves to repair more. They take on more, much more challenging devices’ which again, brings the increase of volume of different devices that we’re able to repair and or different, you know, things that their, their skillsets. So, that’s where it contributes heavily ‘cause they, they just don’t stay on one device, they, they push themselves to grow because we, that’s how we’re set up to do. We want them to grow themselves and we give them those opportunities and the more that they learn and grow, the more our business grows.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. Hey, Daniel, what do you think you would be doing today if you hadn’t of gone to Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center and eventually wound up at uBreakiFix?

Daniel Clawson:  Probably be doing what I was before. I was in food service before and I didn’t like it.

(laughter).

Rick Sizemore:  I bet you’re making more money now, too.

Daniel Clawson:  I am, that does help. But I also like my job. So, that is…

Betsy Civilette:  Well, yeah that’s…

Daniel Clawson:  More motivation for me.

Betsy Civilette:  Very important.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s great. That’s great.

Betsy Civilette:  Do you have any final thoughts?

Brenda Johnston:  Yeah, no. I was just saying, you know, you know, I think, you know, thanking Daniel and, and I think that they, you know, just having them being a part of our team, we have grown and we’re like a family now. And it just really, they don’t give themselves enough credit to know the, their contribution has really made a huge impact on the business and they also contributed for us winning Store of the Year at the Fairfax store, Fair Lakes store as we call it. Brandon and Daniel both were big contributors to the success of that and, you know. So, kudos to them for, for being a big part of that win last year out of 750 stores.

Rick Sizemore:  Wow.

Brenda Johnston:  So, we’re super…

Betsy Civilette:  Wow, congratulations.

Rick Sizemore:  That’s amazing.

Betsy Civilette:  That’s a huge accolade.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah.

Brenda Johnston:  Yeah.

Rick Sizemore:  Daniel, Daniel Clawson works at uBreakiFix, soon to be known as Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions, located in Herndon, Virginia, for owner, operator, Brenda Johnston.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, thank you guys, both, for being on our podcast today.

Daniel Clawson:  Thank you for having me.

Brenda Johnston:  Thank you for having me.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, it’s time for our National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials report with the always entertaining and informative Heather Servais.

Heather Servais:  Hey, Rick, how are you? Good to be back.

Rick Sizemore:  I am so glad to hear from you. Of course, this month we’re focusing on Autism and of course, it’s OT Month. So, congratulations and kudos to all of those great therapists out there across the nation and the world that are helping people become independent. Particularly those with Autism and I think you have some resources for us.

Heather Servais:  I do. We’ve got three resources to share with you today about Autism. The first, which I’m really excited to talk about is The Autism Spectrum Disorders Outreach Guide, which was created by the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment, also known as VRTAC-QE. And what I love about this outreach guide is it’s a collection of resources for a wide variety of audiences. So, if you’re a VR counselor, if you’re a community rehab provider, parent, or even an individual who are job seeker with Autism, there are some resources in this resource for you. There’s a lot of information and data about employment for individuals with Autism. There’s also links to trainings. So, if as a counselor you may not be familiar with Autism, there’s an Autism 101 training, Autism employment trainings. There’s also research and fact sheets that are available and even information for businesses in hiring individuals with Autism in the workplace so…

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. Let me…

Heather Servais:  Please check that out.

Rick Sizemore:  Let me jump in and, and say, rehabilitation counselors and professionals all across the country, the, the Clearinghouse is their go-to. But I don’t want to forget as we reach out to families, and getting ready for today’s show, we’ve engaged a lot of families and sometimes they’re just overwhelmed. The Clearinghouse is open to everyone and particularly family members who need that introduction to how to take on the myriad of challenges and, and issues that people face particularly when people with Autism are considering their future and work.

Heather Servais:  Absolutely and for family members, you can check out our training and events. There’s on-demand trainings that may be helpful for you. But also in our library, you can filter by resources that are geared towards family members or individuals with disabilities. Or you can also use our keyword search to just type in Autism and a variety of resources will pop up that might be able to help you find what you’re looking for.

Rick Sizemore:  Outstanding.

Heather Servais:  I have two other resources to share with you. The second resource is also by VRTAC-QE and it’s called, Researching Solutions for Job Seekers on the Autism Spectrum, and this is an information brief that’s really geared towards VR counselors and service providers, and really helps them consider employment options for working with their customers that have Autism. And then lastly, wanted to share some resources from our federal partner at Workforce GPS, which is called, Workplace Resources for Autism Spectrum Disorder, and this is a web resource that offers accommodation strategies, web-based hiring resources, fact sheets. That’s really geared towards businesses and to VR counselors to help their customers in the workplace.

Rick Sizemore:  Heather Servais, directs RSA’s National Clearinghouse of Rehabilitation Training Materials, and joins us each month for the Clearinghouse report. Links and resources from the NCRTM are included in the show notes at vrworkforcestudio.com. Thanks, Heather.

Heather Servais:  Thanks, Rick.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, thank you for getting involved in today’s show. If you or someone you know has a disability and wants to get into the workforce, vocational rehabilitation may just be the answer to kickstart your career. Visit us at vrworkforcestudio.com to find links and resources as well as our contact information. On behalf of my co-host, Betsy Civilette, and I’m Rick Sizemore inviting you to join us as we podcast the sparks that ignite vocational rehabilitation.

Jake Hart:  The VR Workforce Studio Podcast is owned and operated by Vocational Rehabilitation’s Partners in Podcasting. Audio content for the podcast is provided to VR Partners in Podcasting by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, in exchange for promotiona