Transcript

Evan Robish: Coming back on Path in life, I have a true job, wait, I have more benefits than I could come up with.

VR Workforce Studio Singers:  Singing V-R Workforce Studio.

Malik Thornton: In high school I was homeless. I battled with being homeless, couch hopping from my friend’s houses, cousin’s houses.

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.

Anonymous:  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:  Welcome to a very special edition of the VR Workforce Studio podcast. I’m Rick Sizemore.

Betsy Civilette:  And I’m Betsy Civilette. And Rick, did you know today is International Podcast Day?

Rick Sizemore:  Of course, Betsy. I’ve been practicing my international podcast acceptance speech all day.

Betsy Civilette:  Perfect. Well, while Rick fine-tunes that. Let’s celebrate what makes podcasting so powerful, the stories that inspire, inform, and connect.

Rick Sizemore:  We’ve had some great ones this year. Remember when Grace Miller stopped by and talked about the 100 Stories In 100 Days? That campaign is igniting VR success stories nationwide.

Betsy Civilette:  Of course, or when we had the chance to do the live podcast to open CSA VR’s conference this spring in Bethesda and being on stage with Steve Watterson during his swan song and featuring, of course, the amazing Georgia Tennehee, as well as Caleb Jeffries from Sentinel Robotics and Dreamy Cookies, yum, yum. All great stories. It was really like the Oscars of VR packed with networking, learning and their little red carpet magic.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, absolutely. And let’s not forget being engaged with the NCRTM with Heather Servais. The other amazing stories like Out of the Lion’s Den with Lauren Worley, as well as Malik Thornton, the band director who started out homeless and saw his dreams come true through VR.

Betsy Civilette:  And behind the scenes we’ve been pushing the boundaries too. Our podcast has evolved into video and it’s now available on our YouTube channel at VR Workforce Studio. So even bringing our AI avatar, Sage Wilson, to life on stage. So the future of podcasting, it isn’t just audio anymore, it is full on production thanks to our executive producer, Rick.

Rick Sizemore:  The translation is Betsy makes it sound good and smart, and I just try not to trip over the teleprompter.

Betsy Civilette:  No, that’s my job. But either way, podcasting lets us do what we love most, and that is to share the stories of real people with disabilities finding success in the workplace and the employers who believe in them.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. So on International Podcast Day, September 30th, Tuesday, September 30th, here’s our challenge to you, share your favorite episode, hopefully from VR Workforce Studio with a friend posted on your socials. But don’t just listen. Join us as we ignite the sparks of vocational rehabilitation.

Betsy Civilette:  And because the more voices we bring into this conversation, the stronger it gets.

Rick Sizemore:  If anyone does hand me that Global Superstar Award, I promise to keep it under two minutes.

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah. Or you’ll get hooked off the stage. But today we bring you a powerful story of resilience, recovery, and workforce success.

Rick Sizemore:  Evan Robish joins us today on the podcast. He survived a life-threatening brain injury, rebuilt his life through vocational rehabilitation, and is now thriving in a full-time job at George Mason University.

Betsy Civilette:  And we’re also joined by his counselor, Christa Sizemore, a vocational rehabilitation counselor who supported Evan through his training at Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center, a division of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and this episode is about courage, recovery, and what’s possible when determination meets opportunity.

Rick Sizemore:  Welcome, Evan.

Evan Robish:  Hello. Thanks for having me.

Rick Sizemore:  We’re so delighted you’re actually on your lunch break, and we appreciate you fitting us in. You’re on the campus of George Mason right outside where you’re employed. Can you share with us what happened in the fall of 2023 and how that changed the direction in your life?

Evan Robish:  Well, in fall of 2023, September, I had a brain injury while I was sleeping right next to a nurse who took me to the hospital and took care of me right away. All I lost from that injury was some memory of when I would drink too much. So yeah, I went back home and lived with my parents and just quickly sobered up and really just, it fixed me. That’s how I see it.

Betsy Civilette:  Right. Well, you said that your injury actually fixed you rather than disabled you. Tell us about that outlook and how it shapes the way you live today.

Evan Robish:  Well, I just went back to being around with my family and just finding fun and true hobbies, like going to choir practice and making really good dinners for my family and baking goodies for where I volunteer.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, Evan, what were some of the biggest challenges that you faced in those early days as you were recovering from this brain injury and moving away from substance use?

Evan Robish: Well, just-

Rick Sizemore:  What challenged you?

Evan Robish:  Just probably thinking about how the injury went down and how it happened, and just really being in a new place was interesting to me. I was used to living in Richmond for a while, so just adjusting to a new house, and I still hadn’t thought of a new way to have fun, so it was still on my mind, but that changed quickly.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, at some point you were connected with vocational rehabilitation and the Wilson Workforce Center. How did you come about that?

Evan Robish:  I was attending a adapt clubhouse in Northern Virginia, which was already a part-time where everyone would meet up and we would do little job training. I did food service for them, but hey, word spread about WWRC being a wonderful place. I could see how great it was.

Rick Sizemore: Yeah, yeah. Well, part of your training at Wilson included Serve Safe certification, but you worked through programs like workplace readiness, food service training, safety courses. What was it like being at WWRC?

Evan Robish:  Well, it was a wonderful food service training and really got to doing it, dishes, serving, cooking, prepping. Yeah, it was nice having the important sit downs and the true learning through words and whatnot. It was very, hey, really trying to get us fully trained and knowledgeable about the job that we’re looking for.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, you already had experience as a chef and line cook before your injury, so how did this training at WWRC really help you build on that background and prepare you for the workplace again?

Evan Robish:  Well, hey, just doing some things that I had done back in the day, brought back memory of me doing it.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, what was it like in the actual training program? What kind of things did you do?

Evan Robish:  It was nice. They had us to make good food and things that were not extremely simple. Hey, it was nice that they had me train deli slicers because that’s something I had before George Mason and I would’ve to do a thousand cuts a day so having some practice of that was very important.

Betsy Civilette:  Christa, you worked with Evan directly. What stood out to you as you supported him through this process?

Christa Sizemore:  So I’d have to say I worked with Evan for quite a while. I knew him as he came into vocational evaluation and then onto our workplace readiness program, and then transitioning into food service and his SIP. So we spent a lot of time together figuring out what accommodations he needed, ancillary services he needed with OT and communication, behavioral health and behavior support and I’ll have to say that Evan is one of the most eager clients I’ve ever seen that was just so grateful to receive the services here at Wilson. He took advantage of every opportunity we offered him and made the most of every service that he was given to reach his goals.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, his supervisors noted how positive, flexible, and hardworking he is. So from your perspective, how did Evan’s attitude and strengths help him succeed?

Christa Sizemore:  Well, he is the clearest example of the power of positivity and motivation and his strong faith and determination, he was very driven toward his goals and knew exactly where he wanted to go, and made every opportunity to reach those goals as fast as he could because his goal was to go back home, to be independent and to work.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, that’s great. Hey, we found this video that’s been floating around. Evan, you might even recognize the person in this video. Well, you are dancing in the kitchen, working at the stove. This is a video that someone shot of you on the job. Of course, the folks tuned into the podcast are seeing this. Let me ask you, Christa-

Evan Robish:  This is the one I sent? 

Betsy Civilette:  It is.

Rick Sizemore:  It’s the one you sent. Christa, what would you want to say to Evan about his life, especially after seeing that video, someone so happy on the job. What do you want to say to him about his life, his evolution through VR and his success?

Christa Sizemore:  Evan, I’m most impressed by your drive and your vision. You were very clear from the beginning what your goals were and what you set forth for your life, vocationally, employment-wise, communication, independent living. You were very clear on those goals, and when I see you in that video dancing and seeing it all come to fruition, it’s just so impressive and it was an honor to work with you and to have you here at Wilson.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Evan-

Evan Robish:  Yeah. I’m lucky with my new job. My coworkers play a song and, “Hey, Evan, can you sing this one for us, please?” Evan singing a song about loving his job.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Evan, today you’re working full-time at George Mason University. What does this job mean to you?

Evan Robish:  What does it mean to me? Oh, coming back on path in life, I have a true job… wait, I have more benefits than I could come up with. Wow. I feel like I am truly in an adult position.

Rick Sizemore:  Evan, what advice would you give someone who’s going through recovery or maybe wondering if they can get back in the workforce after they’ve had a problem in life, what would you say to them?

Evan Robish:  Well, hey, find something that you already have some desire to do, and I already enjoyed cooking. I had done it for my family, and hey, there’s a way you can do it in a more professional manner. If you like mowing your lawn, there’s yard work out there. If you like painting, there’s a way to go paint and get paid for it. So I think that’s a pretty important part of it, is just finding something that you can enjoy doing full-time.

Rick Sizemore:  Evan Robish, thank you for sharing your remarkable journey with us today, and congratulations on your success at George Mason.

Evan Robish:  Hey, thank you for letting me succeed and bringing me to that opportunity.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, thanks to Christa Sizemore. Thank you for the work you do and the entire VR team to do to make these stories like this possible.

Christa Sizemore:  It’s truly an honor.

Evan Robish:  (Evan singing) I’ll dance to this song.

Rick Sizemore:  Evan’s dancing in the Kitchen.

Evan Robish:  Hey, I’m on break right now, but all right. Yeah, no, at work, I get asked to lucky me.

How rare is that?

Rick Sizemore:  Betsy, one of the most exciting things happening right now in the VR community is the 100 Stories In 100 Days campaign.

Betsy Civilette:  Right, Rick, this initiative from CSAVR, has been gathering powerful success stories from vocational rehabilitation programs all over the country and amplifying them in a way we have never seen before.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, and leading the charge on this national effort is Grace Miller. You met her in last month’s episode. She’s an associate with Brit Crampsie Communications. Grace has been working tirelessly to make sure these stories get told and shared.

Betsy Civilette: Well, so let’s take a moment to hear directly from Grace with an update on how the campaign is going and the impact that it’s already making.

Grace Miller:  Here we are at day 37 of 100 Stories In 100 Days campaign, the momentum has been incredible and as someone who is, I would consider myself pretty new to the VR world, this project has been the best kind of education hearing directly from not only agencies, but businesses, parents and VR customers, about just how transformative these services are. Some of the stories so far, well, all of the stories so far really have been unforgettable.

We have Anne-Marie in Minnesota who once felt that every door was closed to her, but with VR, she found confidence and opportunity and today she’s leading as a CEO of a nonprofit advancing accessibility. Then we have Roxanne in Washington, and she fought her way back from illness and is now earning a PhD in microbiology and she has this quote that really stuck with me when I was putting together the story.

And she said, with DVR’s help, I’ve kicked down many doors, and now I intend to hold them open for the next people to follow. And then of course, we have Malik in Virginia, who your listeners may remember from this very podcast who went from homelessness and uncertainty to being an incredible band director and a mentor to his students. These stories show how incredible the power of VR is, and the best part is we’re only on day 37 and we have plenty more stories to come. So keep sharing, keep spreading the word. Every story adds momentum.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, that was Grace Miller with Britt Crampsie Communications. What a powerful reminder of how storytelling is fueling the change.

Betsy Civilette:  Absolutely and there’s still time for everyone to get involved sharing these stories and amplifying them on social media and making sure this message reaches far and wide.

Rick Sizemore:  So a big thank you to Grace for that update, and congratulations to everyone contributing to the 100 Stories and 100 Days campaign. Welcome to the VR Workforce Studio podcast. We are podcasting the sparks that ignite vocational rehabilitation, where disability employment success stories are told, and the voices of vocational rehabilitation shine through. I’m Rick Sizemore.

Betsy Civilette:  And I’m Betsy Civilette and today we’re thrilled to welcome back one of the nation’s most respected VR training programs, the University of Wisconsin Stout, and a very special guest, Beth Gaertner. Welcome, Beth.

Beth Gaertner:  Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Rick Sizemore:  Beth serves as the project director for StaffUp ASAP. Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute’s new grant awarded through RSA’s most recent round of disability innovation funds plays a key leadership role in building the next generation of VR professionals. She’s been instrumental in helping Stout expand its national presence, grow its graduate network, and now secure an exciting new federal grant. Again, welcome to the podcast, Beth.

Beth Gaertner:  Thank you so much for having me. Happy to be here.

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Beth-

Rick Sizemore: Yeah, we’re excited to have you.

Betsy Civilette:  Yeah. Well, first off, congratulations on this tremendous achievement. This new grant is a big win for Stout and SVRI, and we know it’s a result of a lot of hard work and vision. What does this moment mean to you and your team?

Beth Gaertner:  Honestly, we’re just incredibly excited. When you finally land a big grant project like this, it’s just this intense feeling of both relief and panic, like, “Oh boy, now we got to get to work.” So yeah, a lot of feelings. Very excited. We’ve been working towards a project like this for many years now, and it wouldn’t be without our partnership with UW-Madison on ERI and CSAVR that we would’ve been able to make this happen. So I just want to shout out our partners on this project. They have been a wonderful team to work with, and our internal team is so excited now that we’ve really had time to dig into it and get to work. We’re really happy with how things are going, and we’re so excited to start sharing it with the whole country and with everybody in voc rehab,

Rick Sizemore:  That excitement is palpable. I feel like coming through computer screen as we talk with you and your team. What though, does it mean for the institute and for the field of vocational rehabilitation to receive this kind of support at such a critical time?

Beth Gaertner:  Yeah, so a lot of my previous experience, I’ve worked a lot on other national projects a lot of times in a training, technical assistance, continuing ed type of way and we just have seen over and over again that there are a lot of gaps. State agencies, they’re asked to do so many things, and recruitment and retention have been a big struggle lately. So we really feel like this project can help alleviate some of that burden and stress for state agencies. So we’re not hoping to replace anything we’re hoping to help fill in gaps, bolster agencies, meet them where they’re at.

So it’s really wonderful that we’re having support at the federal level for this, that we awarded this project that we have support from our partners and really across the country. All of this began, our first kind of work on this project was a needs assessment, and we reached out to all the state agencies and we had tremendous response from both general agencies, blind agencies combined across the country, some of the territories as well and they all weighed in on what they wanted more of in terms of content, training, development for their staff and what they felt like they could use a little extra assistance in.

And not only what was important for their staff, but what they felt would be really important for their vendors and their community resource providers in their area. So we’ve really been checking in a lot with them as well, on a broader agency level across the country to see, what do you need? Because we want to meet your needs. So I really feel like we’re keeping a close pulse on what’s going on with them and hopefully really helping to serve a lot of different needs across the country.

Betsy Civilette:  I love it. You said that you’re filling in the gaps because as we know, the workforce is changing and the demand for qualified VR professionals is growing. So how has this funding helping you build capacity to meet those emerging needs?

Beth Gaertner:  So traditionally, we had this pipeline where folks went into a bachelor’s program and then a master’s program, and they came out with this master’s in rehabilitation counseling and they went in, had a job at a state agency and moved forward and that worked really well for a really long time. But as we all know, things have shifted. So now we’re pulling in people from different fields that have different backgrounds. They may be coming to us from social work, maybe even nursing or kind of all over the place, which is both wonderful because you get different perspectives, new ways of looking at things, but also they’re not coming with the same background we all used to have when we came out with our CRC and our degree in rehab counseling.

So helping to get those folks who might be coming from a different educational background, a different employment history, a different field, getting them a immersive experience into what is voc rehab, what are we all about, what makes us unique and special as a field? And hitting them with some of those pieces that they may have missed just because they’re coming from a different area of expertise.

So we want to welcome them into the field, and we want those diverse experiences because I do think that’s genuinely helpful, but we also want to help get those people up to speed on who we are and what’s important about voc rehab and fill in some of those gaps for folks. So I do think there’s a big need there, and it’s great to be able to have this holistic approach.

Rick Sizemore:  Speaking from boots on the ground and the walk that I have every day, I run into a lot of vocational rehabilitation counselors. Many of them listen to this podcast, and I can tell you they’re coming from education, they’re coming from social work, and the profile of those offices is dramatically different. The backgrounds, the fabric of that office is changing and as you say, they come from a rich and diverse array of professional arenas, which is great. But this grant at this time is spectacular to help all of those people integrate into VR. So again, we’re so excited. For many who may not be familiar, or I should say, for those who may not be familiar with SVRI, give us a quick overview of what makes your training program unique and how do you keep the curriculum aligned with real-world VR practice given that you’ve got this new opportunity?

Beth Gaertner:  I think as I mentioned at the very beginning, we started with that needs assessment, reaching out directly to the state agencies, and we’re not just creating content that we feel is important or that we think might be helpful. Of course there’s an element of that as well but we are also asking the states, what do you need? What will work best for your staff, for your region, for your agency? So I think that’s really where it starts, is having that open line of communication with the different state agencies. And then we don’t want this to be a stagnant training. We have two wonderful staff who will be the faces for learners and participants going through the program who are there to see what the needs of the individual students are. And we’re going to continue to tweak and adapt content and materials as we go along for the duration of the project.

So we’re not going to create something, put it out there, and then we’re done and we’re stepping away. We are going to continue to improve and ask for feedback, ask people to weigh in about what’s working, what’s not working. So I think being responsive to what leadership is saying, and then also being responsive to what folks who are boots on the ground actually doing the day-to-day counseling work, what they’re saying they need. And I would be remiss if I forgot to mention that we want to give people the opportunity to grow within their professional careers and grow within their agencies too. So I think that will be helpful too, to keep in mind as we go throughout this process. So yeah, it’s using our expertise, but also being responsive to what folks are saying they need and what they want.

Rick Sizemore:  This is an exciting opportunity for everyone with these new folks coming in. We’ve had the pleasure of partnering with UW-Stout in the past, we did a podcast for your library on how to podcast disability issues, and we know how committed you are to connecting with the national VR community. How do you see this grant helping strengthen the partnerships with agencies? Well, like our own DARS or other state VR programs?

Beth Gaertner:  Yeah, I think we really are approaching this project from a national standpoint. Even though we are based in Wisconsin and we have wonderful partners in the state of Wisconsin, we don’t want to only be responsive to the needs of our state or our region. We are really looking at this from a national perspective, which can be an interesting challenge trying to create something that is applicable on a really broad scale. But I do think even though each state and each agency is unique, they have different challenges, they have different strengths, there are a lot of commonalities as well. We do share a lot of common tissue across states and across regions. So I think it’s really reaching out across the country and we are also hoping to keep this national in focus by having an advisory council that has representatives from across the country.

Right now, that group is about 15 folks and we have people from general agencies, blind agencies combined, and then we’ve tried to grab at least one person from each region of the country as well and from different size agencies too. So the needs of Delaware are going to be different than the needs of Texas just because of their location and the size of their state. So we’re really looking to get perspectives from that advisory council to help keep us on track as we go through as well. So it started with the needs assessment and then we’ll continue through conversations with participants and that advisory council that’ll really help keep us aligned with what the needs are nationally and how we can really be responsive on that broader scale.

Rick Sizemore: Awesome, awesome.

Betsy Civilette: And it also gives you some checks and balances having that committee.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah.

Betsy Civilette:  It seems like you’re not just educating, but you’re shaping the next generation of VR leaders. So what’s one message you hope your students carry with them into the field?

Beth Gaertner:  I think the thing that resonates most, and this is me personally, but I don’t think my colleagues would disagree with this statement, is really that vocational rehabilitation, even though we have this strong history and identity as a profession, this work really is something that we love welcoming other perspectives and other people into. I think with a little bit of training and assistance, everybody can get to a place where they’re providing quality services and they are really that go-to place for our participants who are seeking assistance.

So I really think just kind of a passion for the field for helping individuals with disabilities, advocating for them, helping them through this system, which can be kind of complicated sometimes. I think just really a passion for the work and a passion for working with this population is the most important factor and I hope that carries through the training and that we really want this to be an open door regardless of what your background or educational experience might be, that really what we want to harness is that passion and cultivate that. I think that’s kind of my biggest message and if you had to ask the rest of the team their number one takeaway, theirs might be different, but I don’t think they disagree with that statement.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah.

Betsy Civilette:  Certainly. That passion is sweet.

Rick Sizemore:  Let me ask a quick question here before you get into your next one that we have planned, but who’s the ideal student or candidate that you hope will respond and reach out and get involved with this?

Beth Gaertner:  We talk about this a lot. So that’s a great question, Rick, because this is a conversation we have regularly. I think there are a couple ideal students, one of them is like we’ve talked about somebody who is now working in voc rehab and they come from a different field, so they have a different background and maybe just need a little bit of extra training in a few different areas. So somebody who’s coming from a different field, that’s definitely one group. Another one is somebody, we all know that in state agencies, we have staff who have been there for a very long time. They’re the backbone of the agency, but they might not be in those counseling roles. Perhaps they’re in a support role and they need a career path and a way to advance as well. So we also want those folks to see opportunity in this and a way to advance and use this as a stepping stone.

And if they want to go on to get their master’s degree, that’s wonderful. We would love to support them in that journey and help them progress in their career. So I think those are really the two big groups. But then also we’ve been talking a lot about how we see this program as a way that counselors could refer folks on their caseload who might be interested in getting into the field. So individuals with disabilities, are they interested in becoming voc rehab counselors? Are they interested in getting into the field?

Rick Sizemore:  Got you.

Beth Gaertner:  This might be a great way for them to dip their toe and explore and start that journey as well. So I think that’s a group too that we really want to highlight and make sure everything is available for them as well and let counselors know that that’s an option too.

Betsy Civilette:  So before we wrap up, we wanted to introduce you to two of the outstanding trainers who help bring the StaffUp ASAP program at SVRI to Life.

Rick Sizemore:  This is Eric Roux….. Betsy?

Betsy Civilette:  Well, Eric is a vocational rehabilitation instructor and program support specialist known for his hands-on mentoring and commitment to student success across both academic and career paths. So Eric, give us your perspective on this important new grant. Great.

Eric Roux: Thank you, Betsy. Well, what I would say is this is a really exciting opportunity for us to develop a program that can reach across the whole country, to provide an avenue to coming into the profession for a huge number of people who might not be not only unaware of what vocational rehab offers, but also be able to access it in a way that they never could before. That’s both people in the community who might be interested in learning about or becoming VR professionals from the outside, from different communities who are often underserved to a lot of people who work inside the VR world, but don’t see a career path to moving forward to get into graduate school, and even entering college for the first time. This opens those doors and hopefully that really does a lot to strengthen the profession, and this grant is going to make that possible.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, Eric, good luck to you and the team. Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

Rick Sizemore:  And we’re joined by another of the team members from SVRI’s new initiative, Shayna Remund, a vocational rehabilitation instructor who brings real-world insight and passion into helping students connect theory with practice in meaningful ways. Shayna, what are you most excited about as you take on these new challenges?

Shayna Remund: Yeah, thank you. Yeah, I’m excited for, I came from being the training person in South Dakota public VR, and so I got to work with a lot of trainers across the country in public VR programs, and a lot of them we’re looking for a resource like what this training is going to be. We talked a lot about staff shortages and people just not applying that had the background in rehab counseling and so I’m really excited to be making a product that’s going to be really comprehensive of all of the most important thing that VR counselors and VR professionals really need to know, and I’m doing it in a way that is condensed out enough that people can fit it into their very busy schedules where they maybe don’t have a ton of time to dedicate to training throughout their week, but they can do it at their own pace and where it fits into their schedule and it’s really just getting to that most important information that they need to know to be working with their clients.

Rick Sizemore:  Right. Shayna Remund, thank you for joining us.

Shayna Remund:  Thanks.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, thanks again to the team from the University of Wisconsin-Stout for joining us today. We’re excited to see how this new grant will take your work to the next level. If you’d like to know more about Stout and the opportunities available through this new grant, you can learn more by checking the show notes at vrworkforcestudio.com, episode 134, or visit us on YouTube at VR Workforce Studio.

Betsy Civilette:  Congratulations again on your continued growth and national leadership. We’ll be cheering you on and watching for the incredible VR professionals that you continue to bring into the workforce. Thank you, Beth.

Beth Gaertner:  Wonderful. Thank you both and our website is now up and live, so staff up asap.org if you want to check it out.

Rick Sizemore:  Thank you.

Sage Wilson:  Hello, I’m Sage Wilson, part of the team here at VR Workforce Studio, inviting you to join us for the National Clearinghouse Report, featuring all the latest news updates and information in VR with Rick Sizemore and Heather Servais.

Rick Sizemore:  Well, welcome to the podcast, Heather. It’s always a pleasure to have you involved in everything that we’re doing, especially this National Clearinghouse for Rehabilitation training materials report. Welcome to the show.

Heather Servais:  Hi, Rick. Great to be with you. Happy International Podcasting Day.

Rick Sizemore:  Absolutely. Tuesday, September 30th, International Podcast Day.

Heather Servais:  I love celebrating that with you every year. It’s awesome.

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah. As we get ready for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, the two, I say they’re neighbors on the calendar, so it’s a lot of fun. What do you have in the Clearinghouse for us today?

Heather Servais:  Got a couple new resources for you. The first is an on-demand training called Project Management for people who are not project managers and this was created by us at NCRTM. And if you think about all of the VR professionals that we have, whether you’re a counselor or you’re a service provider or you’re a VR supervisor, you’re probably juggling a lot of different initiatives, you’re coordinating services, you are driving outcomes, you’re working with customers, and so you’re doing a lot of project management tasks and concepts and probably not even realizing that you’re doing it. And so this training really helps folks who are doing project management tasks in the course of their works, but aren’t trained or certified project managers, really think through the project management process and how to initiate, plan, manage and close a project effectively. And it helps you explore some of these practical strategies that you can apply in your day-to-day work. And the best part is that for those CRC counselors, it is available for one CRC credit.

Rick Sizemore:

Well, and people love that, and counselors constantly need to attend to that. So it’s wonderful that Clearinghouse offers so many options for you to sustain that engagement with your own development as a counselor.

Heather Servais:  Yeah, and then the second resource I have is another on-demand training, and this one is called Introduction to Section 508 What it is and Why it’s Important. This was done by New Editions Consulting Inc’s Disability Innovation Fund Technical Assistance Team, and this is an on-demand training session that’s intended to provide an overview, an introduction to section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act of 1973. So when you hear 508, a lot of folks really aren’t familiar with what that is, but it’s the law and that helps make sure that content is accessible for everyone, including people-

Rick Sizemore: Absolutely, absolutely.

Heather Servais: with disabilities. And so this training goes over the purpose. It explains why Section 508 is important. It describes who’s impacted by Section 508 and helps the folks who attend this training identify information and communication technologies and really think through whether the content that they’re creating or consuming aligns with Section 508.

Rick Sizemore:  Across the spectrum of compliance in business and government, wherever those opportunities for communication and accessibility exist, this sounds like a really important resource for people to dial into.

Heather Servais:  Yeah, it really can be for the counselors who are interested in making sure the resources that they’re sharing with their customers are accessible, or even for those that are working in VR agencies or working with service providers who are creating the content for people with disabilities, it’s going to be so important that you have some basic understanding of Section 508 and importantly, where to find resources so that you have something to turn to when you are creating some digital content.

 

Rick Sizemore:  Right, right, right, and you and I have said, and I’ve heard you say, “I didn’t know what I didn’t know until we got into this training.”

Heather Servais:  Yeah, of course. Exactly. I’ve been working in this field a really long time, and you think you know things and then you find out all the things you don’t know and the accessibility in Section 508 was one of those things where I didn’t-

Rick Sizemore:  Yeah, absolutely.

Heather Servais:  … know what I didn’t know until I started working here.

Rick Sizemore:  So check that one out for sure.

Heather Servais:  Absolutely. And then the last resource I have is a new NCRTM Material Spotlight video featuring the Alabama Parent Education Center Resources on Vocational Rehabilitation and these Material Spotlight videos are usually just short, anywhere from two to five minute videos going over different materials we have at the NCRTM. And this video features two products that’s really designed for individuals with disabilities and their families. The first is Understanding VR services. So for those that are not yet familiar with VR, it goes through what to expect and what it is, and then there’s a great resource called Questions for Your First Visit with a VR counselor that lays out some questions that families or the individual with a disability who’s getting ready to meet with their VR counselor can consider so that they really make the most of that first appointment and understand the process and really are able to share the most effective information to help guide that process.

One of the great things about this Material Spotlight link that’ll be in the show notes is it’s going to connect you to the resource and the NCRTM Library. And by clicking there, you’ll not only have access to the video, the Material Spotlight video, but you’ll also have links directly to those primary sources. So you’ll be able to link to the Understanding Vocational Rehabilitation Services and the questions for your VR counselor, so you can get all of three of those right with one click. And so for VR counselors, this might be something you want to share with your customers before they walk in through the door, so they have to start and think and prepare. And the understanding VR is a great outreach material also to help prep and prepare those prospective customers who are considering VR, helps get them on that path.

Rick Sizemore:  Yep. I want to do a little bit of rehab rewind here from our episode 133 when you talked about the training resources that are available for captioning and how that is to be done. That is an exceptional video. So I would ask people if you do captioning or you’re concerned with captioning, check out that resource as well. Always great to have you on the show. I have to also put in that plug for the numbers of rehab counselors that I talk with who use this Clearinghouse as an icon on their desktop. The things you talked about, finding those source documents. That’s such a unique feature of what the Clearinghouse does, and we are so grateful to you and the team at NCRTM for keeping all of those important sources and the training and the news, the updates at our fingertips for vocational rehabilitation. Hats off to you and the team at NCRTM, Heather.

Heather Servais:  Thank you so much, Rick. We appreciate it.

Rick Sizemore:  Heather’s 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. Well, thank you for getting involved in today’s show. If you or someone 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, I’m Rick Sizemore inviting you to join us we podcast the spark 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 promotional considerations.