As educators, advocates and parents respond to the negative effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on special educational and therapeutic services, it’s important to consider the impact on other disability services. The pandemic has particularly impacted the landscape of adult and vocational services that students with disabilities rely on either during their later transition years, or in the years immediately following their graduation.
Vocational rehabilitation (VR) or Medicaid typically fund employment services via payments to such community-based service providers. However, when the economy quickly shut down, the regular flow of VR and Medicaid dollars at the local level was hampered by complicated state and federal regulations that define how services are delivered.
Despite a relatively quick response from state and federal VR and Medicaid authorities to enhance flexibility and adjust funding requirements, these efforts were not fast enough to avoid many community-based services providers needing to shut down programs and furlough staff. In a survey of over 600 providers of employment services conducted by APSE, 40 percent reported closing services as a result of the pandemic, including facility-based day habilitation services and pre-vocational programs. Many agencies surveyed reported operating at as low as 50 percent capacity. These program restrictions have resulted in large numbers of individuals now requiring individualized services in their communities, which are typically funded via Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS), already in high pandemic demand by other Medicaid programs.
Read more in the APSE Survey Report: Impact of COVID-19 on Disability Employment Services and Outcomes >>
Housing support are also affected. The pandemic has resulted in a staffing crisis that has exacerbated a decades-long staffing shortages of direct service professionals (DSPs). The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) recently surveyed member agencies and found that 77 percent of community providers had turned away or stopped accepting referrals due to insufficient staffing. Nearly 60 percent indicated they had discontinued programs or service offerings due to insufficient staffing.
Read More in the ANCOR Survey Report: The State of America’s Direct Support Workforce 2021 >>
IEP team members planning transition services for youth need to consider the availability of community-based supports and services that will be available for graduates exiting the school system.
