TACE Program: Update on Proposed Plans for FY 2010 (and beyond) Implementation

1. TACE Program: Update on Proposed Plans for FY 2010 (and beyond) Implementation General announcements. Needs assessment and workplan overview. Needs assessment details. Revised Calendar Next steps.

2. General Announcements

3. Overview of Proposed Needs Assessment and Workplan

4. Lessons Learned from FY 2009 Workplan Process • Need for greater consistency. • Need for clear expectations and guidance. • Need to reduce reporting burden on TACEs and RSA. • Need a manageable way to read and analyze needs assessment and workplan content.

5. Solution: Integrated, Online Needs Assessment and Workplan • Contains pre-populated fields that reduce work for TACE and increase consistency. • Yields needs assessments and workplans with the same structure to easily assess similarities. • Becomes a default data collection system and annual progress report. • Is searchable, making analysis easier for RSA and NTAC. • Can be used to track progress on many levels for many purposes.

6. Integrated, Online Needs Assessment and Workplan • Submitted into RSA’s Management Information System (MIS): http://rsamis.ed.gov/choose.cfm • Information on registration and use provided in the future.

7. Details of Needs Assessment Proposal

8. Needs Assessment Process • TACE Centers create their own processes for assessing the performance and complianceneeds of agencies and their partners. • TA and CE are not needs. They are ways to address performance and compliance needs.

9. Assessing the Needs of Agencies • Review all monitoring reports, corrective action plans, and performance improvement plans for every agency in the region. • Discuss performance and compliance needs with every agency in the region. • Communicate with the RSA state team for every state in the region, particularly if the state has not been monitored. • Needs must relate to agency performance and compliance.

10. Assessing the Needs of Partners • Annually create/revise a list of partners for each agency in the region (must include AIVRS, CILs, CAPs, CRPs, and Randolph-Sheppard Programs). • Confirm list with agency and submit to RSA. • Develop mechanism for getting needs information from partners on the list. • Directly confirm any partner needs that are identified by agencies or in monitoring reports, etc. • Needs must relate to agency performance and compliance.

11. Advisory Committee • Provide membership list to RSA annually. • Convene committee annually to discuss agency and partner needs. • Identify additional needs. TACE Center decides to what degree the committee is involved in determining when and how needs are addressed through the workplan.

12. Needs Assessment Report • Needs are reported on an agency-by-agency basis. • Partner needs are reported in connection to the agencies with whom they partner. • No limit to the amount of needs included in the report. • All performance and compliance needs from monitoring reports for which an agency has requested TA and CE will be included automatically. • You cannot complete the report until you have determined the TACE Program Year in which you will begin addressing the needs.

13. Prioritizing Needs • Needs linked to corrective action plans (CAP) must be addressed consistent with the timelines in the CAP. • Needs linked to performance improvement plans (PIP) must be addressed consistent with the timelines in the PIP. • Needs linked to agency or partner performance must be addressed based on the effect the need has on performance (i.e, the greater the effect, the sooner it should be addressed). You should come to an agreement with each agency on the year you will begin addressing the need.

14. What RSA Wants to Know about Needs in Your Region • Who has the need? • What is the need? • How did you find out about the need? • What information substantiates the need? • When do you plan to begin addressing the need?

15. Needs Assessment Report: Who has the need? • Select an agency from a drop-down menu. • This selection generates a table (see next slide). • You will complete a table for every agency in the region. • A partner must be associated with an agency. • The table includes all needs identified in monitoring reports for which TA or CE was requested (if applicable).

16. Needs Assessment Report

17. Needs Assessment Report

18. Select a partner from the drop-down menu (if applicable): American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Service Projects Assistive Technology Act Programs Centers for Independent Living Client Assistance Program Community Rehabilitation Program Department of Agriculture Program Developmental Disabilities Agency Institution of Higher Education Mental Health Agency Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Program One-stop Center Randolph-Sheppard Program State Education Agency State Medicaid Program State Rehabilitation Council Statewide Independent Living Councils Substance Abuse Agency Workforce Investment Board Other Needs Assessment Report: Who has the need?

19. Needs Assessment Report

20. Needs Assessment Report: Who has the need? • If “other” is selected from drop-down list, use a text box to explain: • who this partner is • what this partner does in relationship to the agency • why none of the selections in the drop-down menu accurately represent this partner

21. Needs Assessment Report

22. Needs Assessment Report: What is the need? • The table is pre-populated with rows that contain all needs identified in monitoring reports for which TA or CE was requested. • For these needs, the TACE enters only partners (if applicable) and status. • Other needs are added to the table through an “add row” function.

23. Needs Assessment Report

24. Needs Assessment Report: What is the need? • For all needs that are not pre-populated, the TACE Center will enter a needs statement into a text box. • A needs statement: • is short and can be converted to a goal statement • includes an expected result that is measurable (increase, decrease) • describes what must change and for whom

25. Needs Assessment Report: What is the need? • Example of a clear, measurable needs statement: “Southwest Combined needs to decrease the length of time it takes to achieve employment outcomes for returning veterans.” • Example of an unclear, not measurable needs statement: “Southwest Combined needs to improve the quality of services provided to returning veterans.”

26. Needs Assessment Report

27. Needs Assessment Report: How did you find out about the need? • Leave this blank for pre-populated items. • Otherwise, the TACE Center will select a source from a drop-down menu that includes: • RSA (by means other than monitoring) • Agency • Partner • Advisory committee

28. Needs Assessment Report

29. Needs Assessment Report: What information substantiates the need? • Leave this blank for pre-populated items. • Otherwise, the TACE Center will enter data that supports the need into a text box. Data supporting a need must: • evidence that the need exists • explain how it affects agency performance • describe the nature and causes of the need

30. Needs Assessment Report: What information substantiates the need? • Example of appropriate data supporting a need: “Due to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, Southwest Combined reports a 17% increase in requests for services from returning veterans. Veterans have unique rehabilitation needs because of the nature of their injuries, the high likelihood of PTSD or other mental health issues, and their involvement in other service systems, particularly the VA. Counselors working with returning veterans are reporting difficulty in addressing their needs appropriately due to a lack of training and experience. As a result, it is taking approximately 6-9 months longer to achieve a successful employment outcome for a veteran.”

31. Needs Assessment Report

32. Needs Assessment Report:When do you plan to begin addressing the need? • The TACE Center will assign a status to every need using a drop-down menu with the following selections: • Agency/partner plans to address this need • Agency/partner has addressed this need • Agency/partner no longer requests TA or CE • To be addressed in TACE Program Year 2010 • To be addressed in TACE Program Year 2011 • To be addressed in TACE Program Year 2012 • To be addressed in TACE Program Year 2013 • To be addressed in TACE Program Year 2014

33. Needs Assessment Report:When do you plan to begin addressing the need? • Agency/partner plans to address this need = you will not provide TA or CE related to this need but will follow-up to determine when the agency has addressed the need. • Agency/partner has addressed this need = you did not provide TA or CE; the agency addressed this need on its own. • Agency/partner no longer requests TA or CE = the agency is declining TA or CE despite the request during the monitoring process. These selections remove a need from “active” status in the MIS.

34. Needs Assessment Report: When do you plan to begin addressing the need? • To be addressed in TACE Program Year 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, or 2014 = You will begin addressing the need during that year. • All needs with these statuses are “active.” • They automatically roll into the workplan for the corresponding year. • RSA track progress on them until they no longer are active.

35. Needs Assessment Report

36. Updating a Needs Assessment Report • The TACE Center uses a drop-down menu to enter the month and year the need was met (i.e., when all objectives associated with a need in your workplan have been met). • This removes the need from “active” status.

37. Revised Calendar

38. Revised TACE Program Calendar • Implementation of new workplan begins February 1 of each year. • “TACE Program Year” (TPY) = February 1 to January 31. • Example: TPY 2010 = February 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011. • All activities that take place during a TPY lead up to the February 1 start date.

39. Revised TACE Program Calendar: Needs Assessment • Begin needs assessment process for TPY 2010 no later than June 2009. • Assess needs of agencies not being monitored, and non-monitoring needs of agencies being monitored. • Mid-term progress report for TPY 2009 due July 15, 2009. • Serves as APR, covers events from start of grant until June 30. Details TBD. • Draft needs assessment for TPY 2010 due August 1, 2009. • RSA provides TPY 2010 needs assessment feedback by September 1, 2009. • RSA issues monitoring reports by September 15, 2009. • Final TPY 2010 needs assessment report due October 1, 2009. • This includes all monitoring needs.

40. Revised TACE Program Calendar • First draft of TPY 2010 workplan due December 1, 2009. • RSA review of TPY 2010 plans during December. • TA Network meeting in early January 2010. • TPY 2010 workplans revised, re-submitted and approved by January 31, 2009 • TPY 2010 Workplan implementation begins February 1, 2010. • Final report for TPY 2009 due February 28, 2010. • Covers from July 1, 2009 to January 30, 2010. • Mid-term progress report for TPY 2010 due July 15, 2010. • Covers from February 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010. Serves as APR.

41. Next Steps

42. Upcoming Events • TACEs provide feedback on needs assessment to NTAC. • RSA presents on the workplan and evaluation at April 21 meeting during CSAVR. • TACEs provide feedback on workplan and evaluation to NTAC. • RSA completes instruction manual to accompany needs assessment and workplan. • RSA submits information collection package to OMB for approval. • RSA and NTAC develop online systems (needs assessment, workplan, and evaluation). • RSA and NTAC train TACEs on use of systems. • Begin activities commensurate with calendar explained earlier.