Agency Partners
A spirit of cooperation among public agencies goes a long way toward expanding the opportunities for their mutually served clients.
SCVRD’s partnerships with many other agencies and organizations pay off with better employment outcomes and newfound independence for many people with disabilities. The department has more than 400 cooperative agreements with organizations throughout the state.
SCVRD and the Department of Mental Health share the services of employment specialists who identify persons with severe and persistent mental illness who could benefit from vocational rehabilitation services. The agencies work together to get those clients on the road to employment. In 2001, SCVRD and DMH began working together as part of a grant from Johnson & Johnson to develop a pilot program to help people with mental illness to return to the work force through supported employment services. This initiative has expanded to six additional sites due to the success of the pilot program and the commitment of the agencies to the model.
The department works closely with the Department of Corrections to connect persons nearing release from correctional facilities with local staff in their home communities who will help them prepare for employment.
An agreement with the Department of Juvenile Justice enables SCVRD staff to work with troubled juveniles to help them steer away from institutionalization. In addition, many DJJ youth receive VR services which help them make the transition from an institutional setting to employment.
Persons who are on parole or probation and have disabling conditions benefit from SCVRD’s partnership with the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services. VR liaisons help them with employment issues and in meeting their responsibilities in the community.
SCVRD teams up with the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs to share resources for persons who have mental retardation, autism or head and spinal cord injuries and want to enter or return to the work force.
All of South Carolina’s high schools are assigned VR counselors, thanks to a partnership with the Department of Education and local school districts. Special education students and students with disabilities receive services to help them make the transition from school to employment. SCVRD and local school districts also jointly fund transition employability specialists in three locations as part of a pilot project.
The Employment Security Commission helps pave the way for employment of people with disabilities through an agreement that provides SCVRD with information needed to help identify job opportunities for clients.
The Commission for the Blind sometimes has clients with other physical disabilities who are referred to SCVRD for a particular service. SCVRD’s Disability Determination Services also coordinates Social Security disability claims for South Carolinians who are blind.
SCVRD also provides services to people with disabilities through agreements with the Workers Compensation Commission, Department of Social Services, Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School, Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), county commissions on alcohol and drug abuse, and other agencies.