LIGHTLY EDITED FILE

         Minnesota Department of Employment and

               Economic Development (DEED)

                    Training Session

                      June 29, 2021

                  9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

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  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT



 >> Recording in progress.

 >> Kim: All right, good morning, everyone, my name is

 Kim Babine. I am Director of Community Partnerships with DEED-VRS, Vocational Rehabilitation Services.

 We have a performance-based agreement training for you,

 "PBA."

 And we are so happy to have our community partners with

 us today.

 
 Both organizations that work with VRS and State

 Services for the Blind, SSB, and some of you are

 thinking about becoming partners with Vocational

 Rehabilitation Services.

 So welcome.

 We're excited to have you as you learn a little bit

 more about some of our services.

 We'll get goin' in just a few minutes.

 We're really happy -- we'll get going with the bulk of

 the presentation, but I want to turn it over to Sara

 for a little fun start to our morning and then Chris

 and I will offer welcoming remarks after that fun

 start.

 Sara:  Thank you, Kim.

 We just thought we would maybe start with something fun

 just to get this goin'.

 I know it's early in the morning.

 So, curious what your idea of a vacation looks like.

 So this poll's going to be open for just a few seconds,

 if you want to click on your thoughts and we'll come

 back together.

 All right.

 I'll give you ten more seconds to respond.

 All right.

 So it looks like a majority of individuals have ideal

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 vacations being some sort of tropical or beach vacation

 at 46%, followed by outdoors, hiking, fishing and

 nature, followed by some road trips at 15%.

 Only a few of you don't like vacations and like working

 all the time so I guess we appreciate your dedication

 to Voc Rehab Services or to your organization.

 But, you know, I think vacations are great.

 I'm leaving for vacation on Friday, which I cannot wait

 for.

 I would have answered this poll probably my favorite

 vacation is tropical beach, but I'm actually going on

 an outdoors hiking, nature vacation.

 So thank you for participating.

 >> Kim: Wonderful.

 Thanks, Sara.

 So just to get us going, I want to thank everyone for

 being here.

 We have been working very hard over the last six months

 to make some changes to our general performance-based

 agreement for job placement and follow-up services and

 come up with a brand-new performance-based agreement

 for people who are on waivers.

 So as E1MN launches on July 1st, this is VRS'

 response to that and our ability to pay a little bit

 more for those performance-based agreements, those job

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 placement and retention services for people on a

 waiver.

 So I want to thank all of you, everyone's been along

 for this journey, as we have shared information in the

 last couple months as we've been develop this.

 We appreciate your feedback and your questions and the

 things that have really made us think and sometimes go

 back to the drawing board and come up with other ideas.

 So we're really grateful to you.

 We're also really grateful to Sara Sundeen and Evie

 Wold who have been leading up the charge for Vocational

 Rehabilitation Services and leading some groups, some

 work groups that have been working through these

 issues.

 So here we are.

 It is June 29th, and all these changes take effect

 on July 1.

 So this is not the end, it is the beginning of the

 information that you'll receive about these changes.

 We wanted to make sure that you had it before July 1,

 and we will be following up with more information and

 more detail as we hear what questions you have or what

 things might not be super clear.

 We also know that no matter how much time we would have

 spent on this, there are always things that slip

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 through that maybe we don't anticipate.

 We are anticipating those things.

 So we are -- we'll be looking very closely at feedback

 that we receive from you over, you know, the coming

 weeks and months.

 We'll be making, you know, decisions about whether we

 make small changes here and there.

 We will also do a more formal review where we look at

 data we receive, we work on some specific targeted

 feedback, make sure that we're hearing from all of you

 staff and community partners and individuals and their

 families to see how this is working.

 So know that that's coming.

 That's built into the process and we'll be in touch as

 those things -- it's time to work on those things and

 turn those on.

 So, I'm very grateful to have you all here today.

 I am going to turn it over to Chris McVey, who will

 also just provide a few opening comments.

 >> Chris: Good morning, everybody.

 Thank you so much for joining us.

 This is a performance-based agreement training that

 D.E.E.D./VRS is hosting for our community partners and

 our potential community partners in Minnesota.

 I want to also -- I know Kim and I want to thank the

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 folks from Vocational Rehabilitation Services and State

 Services for the Blind that are also joining the

 meeting today.

 VRS and SSB staff were trained, actually, last week,

 but we invited them back to this session so that they

 could hear this information, an additional time, but

 also to get a sense of what our community partners are

 thinking about and asking about.

 I think it's a richer experience when we can have a way

 for us to all engage together.

 So thank you to VRS and SSB staff that are joining us

 today and with that, I'm going to hand it to Sara and

 Evie.

 >> Sara: All right.

 Well, thank you, everyone, and we'll get going.

 I'm going to share my screen.

 And, Evie, just a quick thumbs up, that is working for

 you, would be great.

 Okay.

 Awesome.

 We're glad you're all here.

 My name is Sara Sundeen, and I am a program specialist

 on the community partnerships team.

 I've been with Voc Rehab Services for just over five

 years and prior to that I was a community partner and,

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 so, I feel like this training is just like a bring

 everything I've known in my career together and I'm

 just really excited today to launch this with you.

 So a little bit of housekeeping.

 What I put in the chat for you is our question form.

 So we have the chat feature turned off today, so please

 click that link for the Microsoft question form for

 your questions throughout the training.

 You can submit a question over and over and over again.

 But we will definitely look at those and do our best to

 answer as many today or get back to you at the end

 following this training through some FAQs that we're

 developing.

 So, as I mention --

 >> Oh, good morning.

 I just want to say hello, I'm Evie Wold, I'm a program

 specialist in placement.

 I live and work majority -- I live all the time and

 work the majority of time in southern Minnesota, but

 also help out on statewide projects.

 So happy to be here this morning.

 Thank you.

 >> Sara: I'm so sorry, Evie.

 As I mentioned, today and as Chris and Kim said, the

 lens for our training is going to be on

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 performance-based agreements, which we call PBAs, and

 we're going to talk about the changes to the general

 PBA and launch and share with you the new E1 PBA.

 So just to be really clear, the training today is about

 PBAs.

 It's not going to be an in-depth training about how we

 provide placement services, about supported employment,

 or about the E1MN or MOU process as a whole.

 And, again, I put this in the chat, but questions can

 go through our Microsoft form.

 So our objectives for this morning is to review the VRS

 job placement services, so we're all on the same page,

 understand how the PBA milestone payments fit into the

 job placement and follow-up process, to know the

 difference between the general PBA and the E1 PBA and

 when Voc Rehab Services will refer for each one.

 And to differentiate between follow-up and job coaching

 services.

 So as we focus our lens today, we're going to assume

 that the job seeker needs job placement assistance,

 informed choice has been discussed and that they have

 chosen a placement professional.

 VRS has been updating many of our forms in anticipation

 for some of these changes, and we'll talk about these

 as we go through our training.

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 Our updated forms can be found on our external website

 link.

 So we can paste that into the chat later for you to

 have access to if you can't find it.

 Evie:  All right.

 Before we get into the details of the placement and

 follow-up services, we really want to dive into the

 definitions for placement and follow-up and how you

 know when someone needs them.

 So let's look at the definitions and then we'll work

 ourselves into the process.

 Placement services -- this is a list of activities that

 we often encounter in the job search phase of the

 process.

 So identifying and developing the job opportunities, as

 placement professionals we're researching the labor

 market, often contacting employers, looking for classes

 and looking at job boards.

 We assist with creating and updating of résumés.

 This is often an ongoing process, depending on the job

 that our job seeker's looking for.

 We're completing employment applications online, which

 are challenging and sometimes even still paper

 applications.

 Preparing for job interviews, doing sample questions,

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 mock interviews.

 Completing cover letters and thank you letters.

 Providing on-site job analysis, working with employers,

 looking at modifications, structural or attitudinal

 barriers that affect our job seeker's work location.

 So these are just a sample of some of the placement

 services that we provide.

 And it's not limited just to this list.

 But this is a broad overview.

 So let's look at follow-up services in a broad

 definition of what that looks like.

 So follow-up services occur after someone finds and

 starts a position and are those services provided to

 assist that person with the adjustment into employment.

 We know this is an important time in the process and

 sometimes follow-up services can require as much or

 more time and effort than placement services to ensure

 a successful outcome.

 Common follow-up services include that orientation

 paperwork, sometimes getting feedback from an employer

 on work performance, if the job seeker has disclosed,

 and as the individual gets acclimated, follow-up

 services continue.

 The placement professionals continue to identify and

 coordinate services needed and assist the individual in

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 advancing in their employment follow-up services we

 know are very individualized, and notice that job

 coaching is not on our follow-up list anymore.

 And we'll go into that today.

 This is a nice overview of the job search process.

 So it starts with the prejob search activity on the

 left side.

 >> Good morning.

 Pardon me?

 Evie:  And goes through some of the pieces that the

 counselor might go through with the job seeker before

 the placement person joins that team at the time of the

 signed placement plan.

 So a lot of -- there's some nuances and some tweaking

 that we did to this process and we'll be going more in

 depth into that today.

 And this form is available on the D.E.E.D. site as well

 and it's just a nice overview of the whole process in a

 visual.

 So the first step before the placement plan is done,

 before the placement professional joins the team, the

 counselor does a lot of activities with that job

 seeker.

 They look at different areas relating to finding and

 keeping employment before that process even begins.

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 So we're not going to go into depth on these.

 We just want you to be aware of the many activities and

 topics that the counselors go through with the job

 seekers to ensure that they're ready for that job

 search.

 Once the person is ready, we need to choose a placement

 professional so let's talk about who can provide

 placement services within an E1 PBA.

 So informed choice is the process that engages the

 participant in the process of choosing which community

 partner they feel best meets their service needs.

 All VR participants go through the same informed choice

 process, whether they have a Medicaid waiver or not.

 The VR participants may choose a provider with a PT

 contract or a VRS placement coordinator to help them

 with their job search.

 And community partners do not have to be 245D licensed

 to provide E1 PBAs.

 That being said, in many cases, a VR participant has

 been connected with a community partner who worked with

 them during waiver services and that participant might

 choose to continue with the same community partner to

 assist them with the find phase and then continue

 working with them when they move back to DHS funding in

 the keep phase.

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 So in this case, there's a benefit to being a 245D

 license provider and a VRS provider, so a participant

 can have a seamless continuum of services.

 However, the community partners who do not have a 245D

 license can provide E1 PBA services and may be selected

 by that participant if they feel that they best meet

 their needs.

 >> Sara: Okay.

 So we're going to start with the general PBA.

 And we are going to go through the PBA process from

 start to finish so you can clearly see where some of

 the new changes or clarified guidance takes place.

 Remember, these changes start on July 1st.

 So here's the milestone structure for the general PBA.

 There are no changes to the payment structure for the

 general PBA.

 We still have three milestones, which is milestone 1,

 the signed placement plan at 1330.

 Milestone 2 is the first paid day of employment at

 $1200, and milestone 3 is successful placement closure

 at 1270.

 So the PBA pays out $3,800 if all three milestones are

 hit, and the occupational communication specialist

 services differential of $400 may be added if it's on

 our partner's contract.

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 So now it's time to prepare for the placement

 professional to join the team.

 We have some new changes here that we want to

 highlight.

 Our referral process for job placement and follow-up

 services starts with the invitation of placement.

 And there are three required documents that VRS

 prepares for you, the placement professional.

 The first item is the invitation to placement.

 This form has been updated.

 It is used to invite the placement professional to join

 the team.

 For VRS, there's a section on the front highlighting

 the required components and required if completed.

 So, remember, we're not sending all the copies of the

 I-9 information, but we're checking complete if VR

 staff have verified that the job seeker has the

 appropriate employment documents.

 The second is the VRS counselor will also send a

 completed sample application.

 This is a generic job application that is prepared to

 assist with placement services in the development of a

 résumé.

 In completing the sample application, VRS staff get to

 know more about the job seeker by learning their

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 strengths, abilities, work history, challenges and

 support needs.

 By completing this prior to the placement professional

 getting involved, it can help speed up the placement

 process.

 The job seeker should complete as much as possible

 independently with a family or support person, if

 needed.

 Finally, the relevant information from the VR

 assessment of needs.

 The VR assessment of needs is completed by a counselor

 and is a narrative representation of the job seeker's

 unique strengths, resources, priorities, concerns,

 abilities, capabilities, and interests.

 There's a change here in sending relevant information

 versus automatically sending the whole document.

 We don't want you, our community partners, to worry

 about this change.

 The change is about data privacy practices and making

 sure that we at VRS have control over the information

 the person has agreed to release.

 So, by giving the whole assessment, we are vetting the

 information to make sure we aren't releasing private

 information about that job seeker.

 We understand the valuing of the value of the VR

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 assessment and needs and we'll send you the information

 that we're able to send and that is relative to the job

 search process.

 It is our goal to get these three documents to the

 placement professional in advance so that the placement

 professional has time to review it and complete any

 necessary paperwork ahead of time.

 We really want to make it a positive experience for the

 job seeker and we want to avoid having that placement

 plan meeting be a meeting where they're just signing

 paperwork.

 So, again, at that first meeting, it's a meeting with

 all the core team members -- the job seeker, the

 placement professional and the VR counselor.

 This meeting is to establish rapport with the job

 seeker for meaningful discussion and sharing of ideas

 regarding their job search.

 It's about the job seeker and what all of us on the

 team need to do to help them achieve success.

 We want to focus on creating that positive experience,

 so we want to focus on looking at that team approach

 and taking time to really think about the placement

 plan and then filling out other necessary paperwork

 later.

 When you complete the VRS placement plan, you can use

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 your own form or our new updated version.

 The VRS placement plan is a template for identifying

 the responsibilities each core team member, including

 the job seeker, the placement professional, and the

 counselor.

 These responsibilities should be identified and agreed

 upon by the team during the placement plan meeting.

 We know that many community partners have their own

 placement plan form and you can continue to use that.

 If you use your placement plan form, the VRS counselor

 as facilitator of the team should ensure that all the

 roles and responsibilities are properly identified.

 Remember, only select the applicable responsibilities

 on the form.

 Not all items need to be checked for every job seeker.

 We want to make sure this process is very

 individualized.

 The placement professional is responsible for ensuring

 that the plan is agreed upon and it's very important

 that during this placement plan meeting, the first

 60-day meeting is scheduled.

 We'll talk more about 60-day meetings to come.

 So some changes to the signed placement plan.

 For payment for milestone 1, the community partner must

 provide VRS with a signed copy of the placement plan

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 with an invoice.

 A change is that the community partner will no longer

 need to submit a placement plan meeting summary.

 The VR counselor will case note the summary of the

 meeting.

 Everyone gets copies of that signed plan.

 Let's talk a little bit about some communication

 expectations.

 It's going to be very important that we always

 communicate early and communicate often.

 We are making a change from our biweekly communication

 updates that you've known for a long time and moving

 towards a monthly progress report.

 Monthly progress reports -- we'll talk about these a

 little more in detail -- but this report must be

 received during the job placement follow-up phase.

 Our partners will submit their last biweekly

 communication update, highlighting information through

 June 30th of 2021.

 So any work done through June will be done via the

 biweekly communication update and the process that you

 currently use.

 You should submit this to VR in early July.

 Starting July 1st, the monthly progress reports

 will become our form and be used.

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 And the first report is going to be due to VR on August

 10th, summarizing the month of July.

 The placement professional communication expectation is

 that they attend at least weekly communication with the

 job seeker while working with them.

 Okay, let's talk about the monthly progress report.

 So here are some changes in the written communication

 from the placement professional.

 One, the monthly progress report is now required.

 Everyone submits once a month the monthly progress

 report until that case is closed.

 This report is also going to be used for milestone 2,

 first paid day of employment details, and for milestone

 3, successful placement closure details.

 This report meets RSA's requirements with employment

 details.

 And we have also vetted this report with a number of

 our community partners and gotten your input and

 important information on the report as well.

 A change for us is that everyone is going to be using

 the same report.

 The report we are requiring our format, so the

 information that is shared is uniform and consistent

 across all job seekers and all organizations.

 And then these monthly progress reports will be

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 submitted within 10 days following the end of each

 month.

 And, finally, just remember, this is not intended to

 stop communication.

 We want to stay in touch.

 This is simply a report summary of each month.

 So let's talk a little bit about those 60-day check-in

 meetings.

 All core team members come together at a live meeting [

 in air quotes ] every 60 days until that job seeker has

 obtained employment and worked their first shift.

 We define a live meeting as an in-person or virtual

 meeting that is scheduled and planned, not just to

 check in on the phone.

 However, we know that with COVID restrictions,

 in-person meetings are not yet an option for VRS and we

 want to be person centered and meeting that job seeker

 where they're at.

 So if virtual meetings don't work for the job seeker, a

 phone meeting is okay, as long as all core team members

 are present.

 It is important that during the 60-day check-in that we

 review the job search process, identify and address any

 barriers to employment, amend the employment or

 placement plan as needed, implement new strategies,

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 agree at that meeting that placement and follow-up

 services will continue.

 If the agreement is that placement and follow-up

 services will continue, then the next 60-day meeting

 should be scheduled at that meeting.

 Evie:  And now we're at the point of job offer, the

 exciting day where we get to celebrate, here's our

 office.

 Everyone's happy.

 The job offer came.

 So we have a lot to think about at this point right

 when the job offer's made.

 The placement professional, of course, will want to let

 the counselor know, the VRS counselor know right away

 when that job offer is received.

 They'll be going through any needed supports, like job

 coaching, accommodations, technology, uniforms.

 They'll be addressing any new discoveries about the job

 seeker's background and maybe some barriers to

 successful employment.

 So if there's previously scheduled child care,

 transportation, and that job location may impact that,

 they'd be talking through those considerations.

 Also placement professionals really often, and this is

 a best practice, would be meeting with that job seeker

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 before the first day of working to through all these

 pieces.

 This can be really helpful, of course, if our job

 seeker's anxious about that first day, just kind of

 laying the groundwork for that first day of work.

 The placement professional may be communicating with

 the employer if they have a release to do so.

 They'll be ensuring the individual understands their

 responsibilities, to report their earnings to Social

 Security or any other benefit programs.

 And then the counselor here will be looking for any

 needed supports as well.

 And then if there's more intensive supports that will

 be needed, job coaching should be discussed at this

 time and an authorization should be prepared.

 So this shouldn't be the first conversation about job

 coaching.

 This is the time to confirm those needs and get an

 authorization in place.

 So the potential need for job coaching usually starts

 at the placement plan and those 60-day meetings.

 We encourage everyone to use context clues from your

 work together.

 Just from being a placement person, I think you get a

 pretty good feeling about the support needs as you work

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 with someone through their job search.

 And we'll talk more about job coaching in a little bit.

 Next piece we want to talk about is the two 90-day

 clocks.

 So this graphic kind of shows, things may have been a

 little fuzzy and we really want to make this clear.

 VRS operates under two 90-day clocks to consider for

 the rehabilitation process.

 This isn't new.

 We're just really wanting to clarify it and call it

 out.

 You may have understood it before, but we want to say

 it again today.

 We have two 90-day clocks.

 The first clock is called employed for 90 days.

 And the second clock is achieved 90 days of employment

 stability.

 So let's just look at those side by side.

 So the employed for 90 days clock, this starts day one

 of work.

 And once the first day of work, paid work, is done,

 that is the first day of employed for 90 days.

 This clock tracks the 90 days to reach that third

 milestone and closure from employment and follow-up

 services.

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 And the person working must meet -- that job must meet

 the definition of an acceptable position and we'll go

 through that in a little bit, but considerations such

 as minimum wage, a competitive, integrated employment,

 and we'll go through those considerations but that job

 must meet that standard.

 Now let's look at achieve 90 days of employment

 stability.

 And this is really a VRS clock.

 This tracks the VR closure.

 So this starts once employment stability is reached.

 We move the person to in employment and this starts the

 "achieved 90 days of employment stability."

 This can be day one of the first day of work or it

 could start later, and this clock may match the

 employed for 90 days clock or it could be different.

 So employment stability is referenced in our VRS policy

 and guidance.

 Our counselors determine when employment stability is

 reached.

 And we know it might feel a little different for our

 counselors to close a PBA when the participant may

 still need supports, but we're looking at this being a

 different way of thinking about services.

 So let's just walk through an example of what this

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 could look like.

 So here's what employed for 90 days looks like.

 So our partners are very familiar with this.

 So Sam starts a new job on February 1st.

 There's a job coach on site providing training supports

 for the first two weeks.

 So this is day one of employed for 90 days.

 On February 15th, Sam, the job coach, and the

 counselor agree that he no longer needs job coaching,

 so follow-up services continue, and that would be day

 15 of the employed for 90 days.

 Then on May 1st, Sam's still working, doing well in

 his job.

 This is the 90 days of employed for 90 days.

 And VRS will pay milestone 3 when we have all of our

 reports and invoices and the placement and follow-up

 services will be closed.

 Now let's look at what achieved 90 days of employment

 stability looks like.

 So this is the clock VRS is watching as well.

 So Sam starts a new job on the 1st.

 There's a job coach.

 So February 1st is day one of employed for 90 days.

 On the 15th, the job coach agrees he no longer

 needs -- and Sam agrees -- he no longer needs the job

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 coaching.

 So this is day 15 of employed for 90 days, but it's day

 one of achieve 90 days of employment stability.

 So the counselor moves Sam from job coaching to in

 employment in our Workforce1 status, that's our case

 management system, and the placement professional

 continues to provide follow-up services.

 So Sam maintains his job, continues to work, and has

 reached that 90 days employed.

 So the placement professional bills for milestone 3,

 placement and follow-up services close, but VR

 continues to keep Sam open until he reaches that 90

 days of employment stability.

 So everyone is in agreement that no other services are

 needed and often VR will move to close his VRS file and

 outcome.

 So VRS may continue to keep a person open longer than

 our placement providers.

 Job coaching does not impact the employed for 90 days

 clock.

 Employment stability might have many meanings, and VRS

 should reference our training and guidance.

 It will be important for you, the community partner, to

 track that employed for 90 days, and VRS is going to be

 watching that 90 days of employment stability while our

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 partners should be looking at the employed for 90-day

 clock.

 >> Sara: Okay.

 So let's move back to our PBA.

 And prior to the two 90-day clocks that we talked

 about, we know that a job offer was made.

 So the job seeker has officially started.

 The placement professional provides the VRS counselor

 with job information as soon as possible and the

 monthly progress report with the details on employment

 come no later than seven days after that employment

 start date.

 We must collect and record the employer name, address,

 wage and job title, hours, start date, level of

 benefit, and the name of the person who gave you that

 information.

 Again, this is day one of "employed for 90 days."

 And for milestone 2 payment, the community partner

 submits that monthly progress report with the job hire

 details and invoices for the milestone 2.

 It is important to make sure that all monthly progress

 reports have been received since the last milestone was

 paid.

 Depending on the support needs, this may or may not

 start that achieve for 90 days of employment stability

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 clock.

 And, remember, while the placement professional has

 seven days to get the job offer details did to us on

 the monthly progress report, we must know about the job

 offer prior to the start date so any supports, like

 uniforms or job coaching, can be set up.

 And we'll talk about job coaching soon.

 All right.

 I know you've been waiting for this.

 New changes to job coaching.

 So starting July 1st, the 20 hours of job coaching

 are no longer part of the PBA and will now become a

 separate service.

 VRS staff have been asked to review their caseloads and

 identify individuals who are currently working and in a

 PBA, and if you think a participant will need job

 coaching, discuss this with the counselor and request

 an authorization to start on July 1st.

 With the job changes in job coaching, it will be

 important to remember, job coaching should be discussed

 at the time of job offer where there's agreement on

 hours to be authorized and a job start date for the

 authorization to begin.

 VR will move the job seeker to our new activity status

 called job coaching.

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 And job coaching is now a layered service that can be

 authorized in addition to a PBA.

 So here are a couple of scenarios, example number 1,

 there's a participant in a PBA and they are currently

 working today, June 29th, and receiving job

 coaching that is baked into the PBA.

 If you think that participant will need to continue job

 coaching on or after July 1st, then VRS staff

 should work with the participant to amend that

 employment plan to include job coaching and Voc Rehab

 staff should create a new authorization for hourly job

 coaching starting July 1st.

 So we're only a few days away, and hopefully you've all

 had those conversations with counselors already.

 Let's talk about the changes after July 1st.

 It will be important to define follow-up and job

 coaching.

 So follow-up is part of all PBAs.

 After job placement, the placement professional

 provides follow-up services to the individual from the

 first day of employment until placement and follow-up

 services close.

 The placement professional identifies any areas of

 concern or additional services needed to maintain or

 advance in employment and follow-up services include

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 communicating with the employer, if appropriate, to

 ensure that essential performance standards are being

 met and offer assistance and resources to facilitate

 adjustment to a position.

 Follow-up requires regular check-ins with the

 individual to assist the person's adjustment to

 competitive, integrated employment, at a minimum

 biweekly check-ins during follow-up.

 Follow-up could involve contact with the individual

 and/or employer on or off site, using the agreed-upon

 mode of communication, whether that is email, text,

 telephone, or face to face, to determine ongoing

 satisfaction with their terms of employment.

 This could include communicating with the employer to

 ensure that those essential performance standards are

 being met.

 If the job seeker has disclosed and there's a

 relationship with that business.

 And then remember that monthly progress reports are

 required to document the two follow-up contacts.

 Additional communication with the VRS counselor may be

 required if you see additional services that are

 needed.

 Like job coaching, assistive technology, et cetera.

 So, job coaching is a time-limited service.

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 It is authorized separately and prior to the start of

 service.

 It involves providing support, training, and

 consultation to the individual and/or the employer to

 facilitate successful competitive integrated

 employment.

 It's provided to individuals needing more intensive

 services than the placement follow-up service and

 provided up to the point of employment stability.

 It can be performed on or off site.

 When providing job coaching services, the job coach

 provides regular updates to VR.

 We strongly recommend weekly updates as a best

 practice.

 This can be a phone call or email.

 But we want to stay informed because we all know how

 quickly things on a job can change, and VR should be

 kept up to date and not reported to at the end of the

 month.

 We want to make sure that we're working as a team to

 best support the individual for success in employment.

 A job coaching report is submitted at the time of

 billing/invoice.

 You can use our template with the necessary information

 or you can use your own.

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 Travel time can be authorized as agreed upon, both VRS

 and the partners have the responsibility in having this

 conversation and making sure that this option is

 addressed.

 We want you to remember that job coaching is now a

 layered service.

 When you layer a service, like job coaching and a PBA,

 then our community partner now needs to complete the

 paperwork that's required for both services.

 So in this situation, while in a PBA and in follow-up,

 we will require that our community partner continues to

 fill out the monthly progress reports highlighting the

 follow-up services.

 If our community partner is also providing job

 coaching, they will also require those weekly updates

 on progress and a job coaching report with the invoice.

 VRS staff can authorize up to 60 hours of job coaching

 and after 60 hours it does require R.A.M. approval.

 So we know there might be some different opinions when

 deciding between follow-up and job coaching and it is

 important to have a conversation and discussion with

 the placement team to ensure that the job seeker gets

 the supports and services that they need prior to

 services starting.

 So here is a side by side of follow-up versus job

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 coaching.

 Again, follow-up is provided to all new employees.

 It's assistance with the new employee orientation,

 initial paperwork.

 Assistance in adjustment to employment.

 Possibly getting feedback from an employer on work

 performance if they've disclosed.

 Identifying services needed to maintain or advance in

 employment.

 And any orientation, paperwork assistance that might be

 needed in addition.

 Job coaching is considered an intensive training and

 support service.

 It can include facilitating communication with that

 employer, educating the employer about the individual's

 needs and accommodations, and it may include assistance

 with the creation of or use of visuals, checklists,

 timers, hand-over-hand instruction, or apps.

 It is important for our partners to stay in

 communication with VRS.

 If job coaching is needed, once a job is secured, this

 is the time to request that authorization.

 We try to prepare as best as possible, however, we know

 that sometimes last-minute job supports come up.

 We acknowledge that there is some gray between

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 follow-up and job coaching, and we know that not every

 person will need job coaching, and we want to make sure

 we assess the service on an individual need basis,

 looking at the person, what the placement team has

 learned about support needs throughout the job search

 process, and the specific position that the individual

 accepts.

 Partnership and consultation will be the key to

 success.

 So we say when in doubt, consult.

 So let me give you a little example about follow-up

 versus job coaching.

 As a former placement specialist, and I know that Evie

 said this, too, sometimes you just have that feeling

 when you know job coaching is needed.

 And more intensive support is needed.

 So here's how I see the difference in follow-up versus

 job coaching.

 So my son started his very first summer job.

 And, so, I wanted to help him with a W-2 paperwork, I

 helped him with direct deposit forms, I made sure that

 he read and signed all those consents and

 acknowledgements and orientation paperwork that he gets

 that a typical 16-year-old probably has no idea about.

 And this would be follow-up services.

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 It's something we would make sure and check that every

 new worker has in place.

 He and I also talked about his uniform and what he

 needs to wear.

 This conversation is also follow-up.

 We talked about his work schedule, does he know how to

 access it, does he know who to talk to or call if he

 gets sick, can he trade shifts, how does that work.

 This conversation is also follow-up services.

 We talked about his scheduling and him marking his

 availability for work on a monthly basis.

 So every month I have been checking in with him to make

 sure that he's completed his work availability schedule

 and turned it in.

 This is follow-up.

 When he comes home from work, I ask him how his day

 was.

 Sometimes we take time to chat about something

 frustrating or exciting, and I listen to and assist

 with the processing of situations.

 This is follow-up.

 If he needed extensive help understanding that new

 employee orientation information and had issues with

 comprehension and wanting to understand what that

 paperwork meant and walking through piece by piece,

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 then that could be job coaching for him.

 If he was working and even with the employer support

 had challenges with remembering the order of how to do

 his daily tasks, if he needed help creating a checklist

 for his duties, if he needed to have a visual or set

 some timers and cues to make sure that everything was

 getting done appropriately, that would be job coaching.

 If he needed assistance talking to his employer for

 extra training or support or if he needed assistance in

 getting an accommodation set in place, then that would

 be job coaching.

 So hopefully that helps kind of set the stage and

 provide a little bit of clarity between follow-up and

 job coaching.

 So what we're going to do next, we're going to break

 out into some small groups to talk more about follow-up

 versus job coaching.

 We have set up our breakout rooms based on BENS

 locations.

 Hopefully you are familiar with the BENS, the business

 engagement networks that happen across the state.

 We are asking that you choose one BEN location that

 works for you.

 We know that sometimes some of you attend more than

 one, but just choose one breakout room.

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 We're going to give you 20 minutes to discuss a few

 questions in your breakout and if you have trouble

 getting into a Zoom room, we're going to ask that you

 raise your hand and come off mute and we will assist

 you.

 So, I'm going to encourage you right now to take a

 picture of this slide so that you can talk about it in

 your breakout group.

 When we go into breakouts, you won't be able to see the

 slides, you'll just see each other, so please take a

 picture of this so that you have the questions to

 discuss.

 As we said, there can be gray between follow-up and job

 coaching.

 And we can anticipate that not every job seeker will

 require job coaching, and this will be something to

 discuss throughout the process and then to consult with

 the VR counselor at the time of offer.

 The ultimate decider about job coaching is the VR

 counselor.

 So we will give you 20 minutes to talk about is the

 distinction between follow-up versus job coaching

 clear?

 And what clues do you look for in the job search

 process that might indicate that job coaching should be

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 authorized in addition to the follow-up services?

 We have in our Microsoft form a question number 4,

 where you can submit either your tips from your

 conversation in the breakout, any comments you have or

 questions you have from this breakout group.

 So take a few minutes to grab that Microsoft form from

 the chat, since you won't have access to that in the

 breakouts either.

 So I think I'm going to turn it over to Janeen to have

 us open up those breakout rooms.

 Again, if you have any trouble getting into a breakout

 room, raise your hand and we can assist you.

 >> Just briefly, this is Janine, I want to let all of

 you know, if you need an interpreter, the interpreters

 will be located in the east metro breakout room.

 Thank you.

 >> Can I assist you?

 >> Yeah, I think I figured it out.

 Can you hear me?

 Hello?

 I think I figured it out, I'm good.

 >> I can't see where I need to go.

 >> Okay.

 I will assign you to the north metro BENs, okay.

 >> And it can be identified as maybe more intensive

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 than, like, just checking in after their first day or

 helping, like, virtually with some of the onboarding on

 the back end of things.

 What would you classify that as?

 Would that be more of follow-up, if you were in person

 doing orientation with that person and anyone going to

 the job, maybe the first day for a couple hours to make

 sure that they were comfortable?

 I guess that's where my confusion was with in person,

 versus not in person.

 >> That is such a great question.

 And I'm glad you brought it up, Amy.

 And Sara did allude to the fact that sometimes there is

 this gray area.

 And I certainly think follow-up services could include

 going to the job site with the person and helping them

 in person there as they're doing their new employee

 orientation and paperwork.

 What I guess I would look at as a placement

 professional is knowing this individual and, you know,

 thinking down the line, are they going to be needing

 after that initial let's get started follow-up, are

 they going to need some more one-on-one intensive

 services than maybe just a quick check-in, whether it's

 on site or by phone?

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 If you believe that, you should probably have a

 conversation with the counselor about, you know, we may

 need these job coaching services once I'm done with the

 initial follow-up orientation.

 >> So just to clarify, you can have those job coaching

 hours prior to that follow-up if you're anticipating

 needing to use it?

 Maureen:  Yes, that would be something before probably

 that person even gets employed.

 You should be having a discussion with the job seeker

 and with the VRS counselor, you know, about, do we

 anticipate that job coaching is going to be needed, you

 know, right from the beginning.

 Because if that can be on the plan, you know, and we

 know they are going to need that, it gets the ball

 rolling quicker.

 But, first, always have that discussion and see if

 people are in agreement.

 I mean, some -- you know, we've all worked with job

 seekers who don't want job coaching.

 You know?

 So, it needs to be that collaborative discussion, but

 that's another great question.

 [ silence ]

 Dawn:  Mary Beth, I think you can go.

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 >> Good morning, I'm Mary Beth Elchert, I work with the

 St. Paul deaf and hard of hearing office.

 And I'm just thinking of some clients who get jobs,

 excuse me, at big box stores, like let's say Target or

 Wal-Mart, and as part of their orientation, they're

 required to do anywhere from, you know, 15 to 20

 computer modules.

 And, so, if our person is deaf and they need an

 interpreter and sometimes a job -- what we've been

 calling a job coach as well, so now in the new

 terminology, is that part of the follow-up services

 that the placement professional would provide to help

 them step through these computer modules?

 Maureen:  Mary Beth, this is Maureen, you jumped me.

 That's that's a really great question.

 I think what I would do is, again, have that

 collaborative discussion with everybody on that team.

 You know?

 And figure out, you know, how intensive is this and

 does it go beyond follow-up services.

 And, you know, sometimes it does.

 And you just need that job coach for the extra

 intensive services.

 But, again, I would go back to that discussion with the

 team.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 How many hours did you say that might typically take?

 Mary Beth:  It's really so individual depending on the

 person's, you know, reading ability and understanding.

 So, I mean, I've been in situations where maybe the

 employer thinks, you know, spend today working on the

 computer modules and then you can start working on the

 floor tomorrow.

 But, in reality, it might take a whole week to get

 through those computer modules.

 And nobody -- that's just a hard one to predict how

 long it might take.

 And sometimes the computer modules have nothing to do

 with what the person's job actually is, but the

 employer wants them to have a complete overview of the

 company and, so, yeah, it can get complicated and take

 a long time.

 Maureen:  Right.

 And those would be things, too, like if the person does

 have some cognitive disability as well in processing

 and whatever, then again, you would talk with the

 counselor and it might be a case where they do need

 those more intensive services.

 Mary Beth:  Thank you.

 [ silence ]

 >> And also as a counselor, I just wanted to say

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 something that because we know the client that we're

 referring to job placement, and we know those who are

 going to need job coaching, the times that we may think

 somebody does not need job coaching but then happens to

 do and that's why the open conversation with us, the

 counselor, it's important to be able to figure out what

 you guys are seeing on the job versus what we thought

 we know about the client.

 Because sometimes you guys work with the client and you

 probably know more about what their capabilities are on

 the job.

 They may present to be able to perform the job, but

 once they get on the job, things may be different.

 So just wanted to include it.

 Maureen:  Yes, Fatai, that's a really great point.

 And that happens, you know, frequently or sometimes,

 you know, the opposite where we think they might need

 the job coaching and they just really are doing well on

 their own.

 So, you know, you can anticipate, but we don't always

 know for sure.

 But that, again, like you mention why it's really good

 to consult with the VRS counselor and the team and, you

 know, make sure the person is good with job coaching if

 we feel that might be the best service for them.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 And Page kind of brought up the second question with

 her question, but what do you look for in the job

 search process that might indicate job coaching should

 be authorized in addition to follow-up services?

 So I think that we have been covering that.

 You know, what the counselor knows in advance and what

 the placement professional knows in advance and what we

 know about the job, but getting back to Fatai's point

 where, you know, we've seen it, too, where we expect

 the job, everybody expects the job to be a certain

 thing and then you get in the employment and there's

 all these other duties and other things that we didn't

 anticipate, so it just has to be that great

 communication.

 Sara and Evie talked about all along the way, you know,

 just keeping people informed what's going on so that we

 can make sure that, you know, whatever they need, the

 person gets it.

 Any other comments or questions from people or

 confusion?

 Doesn't just have to be about job coaching and

 follow-up and what has been presented so far today.

 Fay:  Maureen, this is Fay.

 I think it's just with the question number 2, I'm going

 to say I get a gut feeling, and I think basically it's

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 just going to be communication back and forth with

 everyone because, you know, I have someone I'm working

 with right now that doesn't want job coaching, but what

 I'm seeing, he may need it.

 You know, we've had the opposite.

 So, yeah, just, I would say, I'm just going to send out

 emails or whatever to the team, say, hey, this is what

 I see, what do you guys think?

 So we can try to catch it right away.

 Maureen:  Yeah, Fay, that's great.

 And it's that early, you know, what you're seeing early

 on because the sooner we can at least prepare for that,

 the better.

 And I was just going to say something about that.

 And like Evie Wold said, and I think it's true because

 I did placement for over 20 years, you know, when

 you're working really intensely with someone as a

 placement person, you get that gut feeling, like Evie

 said, you just know, this person's going to probably

 need some extra support for a while on the job, anyway,

 to be successful.

 And, so, certainly if it hadn't been discussed before,

 that would be a good time to at least open up the

 discussion and why you feel that might be beneficial

 for that person.

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 Steve:  This is Steve Emory.

 And I have a little confusion about the 90-day clock.

 Like if someone's getting job coaching, does that mean

 those days that they're getting job coaching, that we

 can't count that towards the 90 days?

 I know in the past, like, with supported employment

 plans, my understanding was you wait until they're

 stable and then you start the clock.

 But now it seems like the training, the way they're

 presenting it, is that we would count, like that

 example for the first two weeks you're doing the job

 coaching, it seems like it's saying that we can't count

 that towards the 90 days for when we close it, VR.

 So I have some confusion about that.

 [ Overlapping conversation ]

 Maureen:  I'm glad you brought that up, too, Steve,

 because that's a huge change.

 So for you, yes, as a counselor, you cannot count those

 days that they're getting that job coaching training

 service because your clock is different.

 It's employment stability versus the 90-day employment

 clock.

 So meanwhile, the placement professional can count the

 time they're getting job coaching in that 90-day

 period.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 So, right, in the example they gave is if they start

 February 1st and they get 14 days of -- 15 days of

 job coaching, the placement professional is counting

 those as 90 days, whereas, you are not.

 So you wouldn't put them in employment until the

 15th day.

 So your clock would not close then until, you know, 90

 days plus 15 days.

 Fatai:  105.

 Maureen:  Does that clear it up a little bit?

 Dawn:  This is worded a little bit differently.

 If someone needs ongoing supported employment, if

 somebody, you know, needs a job coach with them to do

 part of their job three days a week into perpetuity,

 when does that 90-day clock start?

 Maureen: And that's another great question.

 And there will be some people, Dawn, as we know who are

 always going to need some level of support.

 On the counseling end of things, -- well, first of all,

 they're going to touch on this more in the rest of the

 training on that.

 But, yeah, depending on, you know, if those people are

 in waivers, we'll look at, are they stable in their

 employment with the lowest level of supports?

 Will they be transitioning if they're waiver to, you

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 know, back to the waiver funding for the long-term

 supports?

 So that is something that counselors will also -- you

 know, that will be their end of things as far as, are

 they at the lowest level of supports, are we able to

 close, do we refer to -- back to the waiver case

 manager for those long-term supports.

 Sheila:  I have a question, Maureen.

 So I understand we can do the -- start counting the in

 employment from the date of stability and then close 90

 days from there.

 So would the placement provider also close at that time

 too?

 Or do they go from the first date?

 Fatai:  First date.

 Maureen:  That's right.

 They go from the first date.

 But as Evie mentioned, the placement professional must

 also meet the placement case closure consideration.

 So, for example, they have to be in competitive,

 integrated employment.

 They have to be earning at least minimum wage or

 higher.

 But if they are in employment for 90 days and the

 placement professional meets all those case closure

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 considerations, their clock ends at 90 days.

 Whereas, for the -- for VRS, it could be longer.

 And, for instance, too, like let's say they don't need

 job coaching on day one and it's day 50, and they need

 a job coach, so, the counselor will need to stop that

 clock because they go into training, job coaching,

 while the placement professional can continue their

 90-day clock and once the job coaching is done, let's

 say at day 80, the VRS counselor needs to restart their

 90-day employment stability clock.

 So that's similar to what you've done in the past.

 Sheila:  Okay.

 They can go ahead and still close, okay.

 Maureen:  Correct.

 If they meet the closure considerations, yes.

 Sheila:  Okay.

 Maureen:  Was there another question?

 Andy:  Maureen, this is Andy.

 Hey, it's good to see ya.

 Maureen:  Nice seeing you.

 Andy:  I like Hawaii.

 So, I'm not certain if this relates to job coaching,

 but it might.

 What about in cases where a person has a temp to hire

 job through an employment agency and, so, the higher

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 part of it really depends on how quickly that person

 will, you know, be successful on the job.

 What do you pay for and what don't you pay for in that

 temp to hire kind of placement?

 Or is that not considered competitive employment if

 it's a temp to hire position?

 Maureen:  It can be, and that's come up a bit and

 that's a great question, Andy.

 It has to be agreed upon that the individual's career

 job goal, employment goal is, you know, long-term,

 permanent temporary assignments.

 If they are just taking a two-week temp job in order to

 pay a bill or they're desperate, that would -- and they

 really want a full-time job that would not count.

 If they're looking for permanent work.

 So, it really depends.

 >> So what we're going to do is take a five-minute

 break.

 So we'll come back at 10:20.

 All right.

 Thank you.

 [ break ]

 [ break ]

 >> Recording in progress.

 >> Sara: All right.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 Welcome back, everyone.

 Hopefully you all had time to enter any questions you

 had based on that small group discussion and we are

 going to keep moving in our presentation.

 So I'm going to share my screen again.

 All right.

 And then hopefully, again, you know, put your questions

 into that Microsoft form and we will do what we can to

 address your questions.

 We will be talking about job coaching follow-up again

 as we get into the E1 process in a little bit, and

 then, of course, in the questions and answers at the

 end of the session.

 So, as we wait for people to return, we're going to do

 a really quick -- another poll.

 So we'll see how well you know Snow White and the seven

 dwarfs.

 So, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which one of these

 is the right answer for the seven dwarfs?

 And I'll leave this open for 15 more seconds here.

 Okay.

 Oh, look at that, a whole bunch of people know their

 Disney characters.

 Well done, everyone.

 >> Sara, you're making me feel my age today.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 [ Laughter ]

 >> Sara: Sorry, Kim.

 >> Not many people voted for -- [ Overlapping

 conversation ]

 >> And not many people fell for the smurfette thrown in

 there, I guess.

 >> Sara: We just thought we'd have a little fun.

 Well, Evie and I think, you know, PBAs are tons of

 fun but we thought we'd have a little fun with this,

 too.

 Okay.

 So, as we were talking before, at this point in the

 placement process, the VR counselor and the placement

 professional should be checking in with that individual

 on a regular basis.

 For the VR counselor, this check-in should be

 documented in Workforce1, and this is an important step

 in the process and helps maintain the connection with

 that individual.

 It also helps to ensure that the individual has the

 supports they need in place to be successful in their

 employment.

 In addition, in those follow-up check-ins, it's

 important to check in and note and make any changes

 that may occur with their supervisor, any natural

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 supports, things going on with their work culture,

 their job satisfaction, transportation and hours,

 housing, child care, and making sure that their wages

 are reported to Social Security if they have Social

 Security.

 Also it's important to remember that the monthly

 progress reports continue until closure from placement

 to follow-up services, that we expect the placement

 professional is doing follow-up with that individual

 twice a month, that the supports match that

 individual's unique rehabilitation needs and if there's

 job coaching that the partner should provide an update

 to VRS weekly with those invoice reports.

 So I did see a question in there, I just want to

 emphasize, when we have two services, then you would

 follow two paperwork processes.

 So you would do the monthly progress report, which

 meets the requirements of follow-up services, and if

 you're also doing job coaching, then you would have

 those quick updates to VRS and the job coaching report.

 And then when employment stability is reached, after

 that job coaching has phased out to a point where

 employment stability has been reached, then that starts

 that achieve for 90 days of employment stability clock

 for VR.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 Evie:  All right.

 So we finally made it through to closure.

 So some of the conditions for closure from placement

 and follow-up services, there's a form on our D.E.E.D.

 website and also in our VRS guidance and on our

 SharePoint that goes over these conditions for

 successful closure from placement and follow-up

 services, but let's go through them quickly.

 We want to make sure that the job matches the job goal

 that was on the employment plan.

 That the person's paid at least minimum wage and

 customary rate and benefit level.

 The number of hours per week is agreed on and adequate.

 That the work is performed in a competitive, integrated

 setting.

 Ongoing supports are matching the needs of that now

 employee.

 And the 90 days of employment must be with the same

 employer in the position unless the individual made an

 informed decision for successive temporary assignments.

 Also, the VRS record of service, as we talked about,

 may not be closed before the community partner can

 receive the final PBA milestone payment as VRS may

 still be providing other services.

 So for that third PBA milestone, we want to make sure

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 the job seeker has been working for 90 days since

 milestone 2 and the first day of employment.

 Have a little one here saying good-bye.

 The PBA milestone 3 payment, we need to make sure that

 the final monthly progress report has been submitted

 with the details on accepted job offer and that the

 verification -- that employment verification closure,

 that section was completed.

 We will be looking for the invoice for the final

 milestone, and making sure that all those monthly

 progress reports have been received since that second

 milestone.

 So now we've made it through the general PBA process

 and we're going to pivot a little bit to talk about

 clarity with some PBA special circumstances.

 So there are some special circumstances we know that

 can occur during a PBA, like 12 months in a PBA or a

 PBA that goes on a hold status.

 And those are two situations that we want to go over

 and provide some guidance around now.

 So when someone hits -- this is new -- new sticker

 bouncing in -- when someone hits that 12-month mark of

 a PBA, there's some considerations that we want to look

 at for the continuation of services.

 So this is new guidance.

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 And placement and follow-up services begin the day of

 assigned placement plan.

 We know the team will be meeting every 60 days to

 discuss the job search progress for up to 12 months.

 If a job search continues at or beyond the 12-month

 mark, we want to go through different options with you.

 So the first one, the progress in job search is

 continuing and the team agrees that the person's making

 progress.

 At this point of 12 months, we want to cancel the

 existing PBA and a new PBA should be encumbered.

 The new authorized PBA will include all the milestones

 starting with the first milestone of the signed

 placement plan.

 As always, those services are determined by the

 counselor and the participant.

 The second option would be if the placement progress

 has stalled out or stopped, the person and the team

 agree that job search should be discontinued and we

 look at other services outside of job search, like job

 shadows, business tours, looking at careers, should be

 considered.

 The existing PBA should be canceled at this point as

 well, and the counselor, the person and the team will

 determine what other services are required and who will

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 be responsible for providing those services.

 The third scenario, a person has received the VRS job

 search services and VRS determines the person can no

 longer benefit from continued placement at this time.

 So the team agrees that the placement services have

 been exhausted, so the remaining PBA should be

 canceled, the person would be referred to another

 agency, such as the county, for required services, if

 appropriate, and the VRS case would be closed at that

 time.

 And it's important to remember that in all cases, the

 VRS counselor makes that final decision on the

 authorizations after consulting with the placement

 professional and the job seeker.

 All right.

 So let's move on to holds.

 This is another area where we have some new guidance

 around holds.

 We heard from our partners, from you, that holds, you

 know, they take up a spot, it's hard for caseload

 management.

 We encumber money into a PBA while a person's on hold,

 and all of us are really providing supports to that

 person on hold.

 So it isn't like our services just stop when that

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 person goes on hold.

 And this would be situations where there may be a

 medical issue or a mental health.

 There just needs to be a pause on that job search.

 And it can be the provider or the job seeker.

 We heard an example in rural Minnesota where the

 placement provider went on to maternity leave, for

 example.

 So we came up with some guidance, of course,

 communication is super important during this process.

 When a PBA is paused for more than two weeks, a hold

 will be discussed with the placement team.

 When placement services are on hold, of course,

 communication's important.

 Minimally at 30 days, VRS will check in with the job

 seeker.

 Hopefully we're checking in very regularly during this

 hold.

 This is new, at 60 days, a meeting will be held with

 the placement team and a decision will be made about

 next steps.

 The PBA clock is put on hold and we decide at this

 point two different options.

 Either we are scheduling a date to resume placement

 services or we are closing job placement services.

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 The placement team, of course, as we said, should stay

 in communication.

 The closure is at the discretion of the counselor and

 the job seeker and often our counselors at this point

 will be checking in with their managers on these

 decisions.

 That 60-day meeting will be a key point where we decide

 what the future of this PBA will be.

 Is there a meeting or are we closing?

 If at 60 days, the person says they're ready to begin,

 but it might be a week or two, we set the meeting and

 keep going, but if there's still ambiguity about what

 is happening or the person's just not ready at that

 time, we'd be looking at closure from that PBA.

 Okay.

 I know we haven't been back a long time, but we're just

 going to take five minutes here for a stretch break.

 And then we're going to launch into our E1 PBA process

 and we'll be likely not taking a break after that.

 So we want to make sure that you had a quick stretch

 time here and we'll be back in five minutes to complete

 the training.

 [ break ]

 >> Sara: All right.

 Welcome back, everyone.

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 >> Recording stopped.

 Recording in progress.

 >> Sara: All right.

 I'm going to share my screen again.

 All right.

 So as we wait for some more people to come back, we'll

 do a couple other polls.

 We'll see if -- I feel like our first -- or the last

 one was really easy.

 So I'm curious about how many of you know what the

 official Minnesota state tree is?

 Give it about five more seconds to answer.

 End the polling.

 Oh, you guys are really smart.

 You are right.

 The official state tree is the red pine.

 Good job.

 All right.

 One more.

 Let's see.

 Oops.

 Oops, I just relaunched that.

 Ah!

 [ Laughter ]

 All right.

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 My polling ability -- okay, here we go.

 What is the Minnesota state fruit?

 Does no one like seedless watermelon?

 [ Laughter ]

 All right.

 Five more seconds.

 All right.

 Nice work, everyone.

 You are right.

 The state fruit is the honeycrisp apple.

 And our very last one, did you know that we have a

 state muffin?

 Evie:  I think we have a smart Minnesota group here.

 >> Sara: A little smarter than our training group.

 [ Laughter ]

 Five seconds.

 Ding ding.

 You guys are brilliant.

 The blueberry is the official state muffin.

 I actually told Evie that when we were creating this

 training.

 And she had no idea we had a state muffin.

 Fun facts.

 Okay.

 We're going to launch into the E1 PBA.

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 Just as a refresher for you, E1MN or Employment First

 Minnesota, is a model that is coming with engage, plan,

 find, and keep.

 And you can see on this model where the funding changes

 between VRS and DHS.

 And our performance-based agreements, our PBAs, are

 going to focus on the find section here.

 With Employment First Minnesota, the waiver case

 manager will now be a part of our planning and

 conversations need to occur if an individual is going

 to need long-term supports, a commitment from the

 waiver case manager for long-term supports needs to be

 provided prior to job placement services being added to

 that placement plan.

 So if you haven't seen it yet, here is the new E1 PBA

 and our milestone structure.

 We worked really hard in our work group to model the E1

 PBA has closely in alignment with the general PBA.

 And that is how we will term them.

 We have our general PBA, which is that PBA you guys

 have known and loved for a very long time, and then we

 now have the E1 PBA.

 So the E1 PBA is a PBA with four milestones.

 The E1 PBA is for individuals on one of four Medicaid

 waivers, being the CADI, the community access for

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 disability inclusion waiver, the brain injury waiver,

 the community alternative care waiver, or the

 developmental disability waiver.

 And if you provided general PBAs to VR services and

 it was on your contract, you do not have to make any

 amendments to provide an E1 PBA.

 So the E1 PBA adds an extra milestone.

 As you can see, milestone 1 is the same as the general

 PBA with that signed placement plan at 1330.

 Milestone 2 is the same.

 The first paid day of employment at $1200.

 And milestone 3 is the same at successful placement

 closure of 1270.

 What the E1 PBA has is a fourth milestone called the E1

 milestone and it's the 120 days of service.

 And we will talk more about this as we go through the

 E1 PBA process.

 So the real significant differences with the general

 PBA and the E1 PBA is that the E1 PBA payment option

 comes live online available July 1st.

 As I said, the E1 PBA is for job seekers with the

 Medicaid waivers.

 The waiver case manager is now part of the team.

 There is that extra milestone payment, the E1

 milestone, at 120 days of service.

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 Again, any partner with a PBA on their PT contract can

 provide either an E1 PBA or a general PBA.

 If the person is on a waiver and needs the E1 PBA, the

 E1 PBA is now going to be a new service type in our

 Workforce1 case management system.

 We know that this could be a job seeker's first

 experience with competitive, integrated employment.

 It is possible that they may need more individualized

 and intensive services and job placement assistance and

 supports.

 This is why we added that extra milestone.

 To be clear, we're not saying that the general PBA

 doesn't have intensive services.

 We are saying that it's more likely that job seekers

 using a E1 PBA could need more individualized intensive

 services and supports throughout the process.

 Also, as we discussed, the waiver case manager is a

 member of our placement team.

 Their involvement will not be as intense as you, the

 job seeker or the VR staff, but it will be very

 important to keep the waiver case manager informed of

 the job placement and follow-up process and the

 progress that is being made.

 Also, remember, there's no flexibility in choice in

 what PBA you or VRS thinks that job seeker needs.

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 The determining factor for general PBA or an E1 PBA is

 one of the Medicaid waivers.

 Evie:  All right.

 So just like with the general PBA, there's items that

 the counselor is going to be sending before the signed

 placement plan meeting to the placement professional.

 So the first item they'll be sending is that invitation

 to placement team.

 They'll be sending the completed sample employment app

 and then the relevant information from the assessment

 of VR needs.

 The new piece for -- or the different piece for the E1

 PBA would be the invitation to the case manager and the

 communication that happens with them prior to the

 signed placement plan meeting.

 Now, we'll be inviting those waiver case managers, but

 please note that they won't be required to be there.

 We don't want to hold up a meeting waiting for them,

 their schedules.

 So we want to make sure that we communicate and get the

 invitation over but we're not going to wait for that

 meeting.

 Also there's a little bit of a difference with IPS.

 With IPS, a lot of the prejob search activities are

 completed with the counselor, the provider and likely a

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 mental health provider as well.

 They're not completed an invitation to placement team

 form because they've already likely been working

 together.

 The IPS placement person will use their time getting to

 know that job seeker as the process is really, we know,

 that rapid engagement.

 In addition to IPS, if the job seeker is in customized,

 and completing a discovery assessment, the counselor

 should consult to ensure that those prejob search

 activities are addressed and documented either in the

 customized employment plan or in the case notes.

 Then we find ourselves at the placement plan meeting.

 During this meeting, of course, we're completing that

 VRS placement plan or the provider's placement plan.

 As Sara mentioned earlier, this form has been updated

 and is available on our SharePoint and also on our

 D.E.E.D. website.

 The placement professional's responsible for ensuring

 that everyone's in agreement on this plan.

 It's a template for identifying the responsibilities of

 each person on the team and they're agreed upon and

 then signatures are done and so the placement

 professional, the counselor, and the job seeker will

 sign up on the plan.

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 There is a section for the waiver case manager roles

 and responsibilities on the new placement plan.

 However, we aren't going to require a from them prior

 to the close of that meeting.

 As with the general PBA, that 60-day meeting is set up

 at that meeting and also everyone is getting a copy of

 that plan at the close of the meeting.

 All right.

 As with this whole process, so important, communicating

 early, communicating often.

 At this point the communication expectations for the

 placement professional would be at least that weekly

 communication attempts with that job seeker.

 If -- well, a résumé is done, hopefully the résumé gets

 completed, we're sending that off to the counselor, and

 the monthly progress reports during that job search

 time.

 And throughout the whole process, for that matter.

 Also, the VRS expectations, we're working with the case

 manager.

 VRS is also checking in with the job seeker to make

 sure everything's going well with the job search.

 And all team members assist that job seeker to upload

 the documents into their Vault account, if they want to

 store them there.

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 All right.

 So the monthly progress reports for the E1 PBA, again,

 they're required, so we're going to look for those

 every month, from the time of the placement plan until

 the time of the placement closure.

 In that report there are sections for the employment

 details and closure details.

 So those sections you'll see in the report, similar to

 how the communication update looked.

 We have requirements from RSA on certain employment

 details, and all of those requirements are in our

 monthly progress report.

 So if you're submitting that to us, we're getting

 everything we need as far as those requirements go.

 Everyone's using the same report now, so we're asking

 all of our partners to use our form and that helps us

 with our staff for uniformity and consistency.

 And we know they should be submitted at the end of each

 month by the 10th of the following month, and, of

 course, we want to keep that communication going aside

 from those progress reports at all times.

 All right.

 So in an E1 PBA, what does the job search look like?

 So is it different than a general PBA?

 And the answer really is that it depends.

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 Like with all VR services, our services are

 individualized to meet the person's need.

 So some general considerations to think about is always

 we want to meet that job seeker where they're at.

 With the E1 PBA, competitive, integrated employment may

 be new to the job seeker, so they may have worked in

 some enclaves, some center-based employment, but likely

 this competitive, integrated employment is new and, so,

 because of that, they may need some more frequent

 meetings or longer meetings.

 The job search process itself may take longer and it

 may require some more job development.

 And because of all of those pieces, that's the

 rationale between -- behind that extra milestone of the

 E1 120 days of service milestone.

 And we'll be looking at the data in the future to see,

 you know, how long these processes are taking and doing

 some further tweaking and looking at the process to

 make sure it's running smoothly as we go forward and

 get that data.

 All right.

 So the E1 PBA 60-day check-in.

 So just like with the general PBA, we're going to be

 doing the 60-day check-ins with the E1 PBA.

 And really looking at assessing that job goal, you

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 know, continually assessing that to make sure it's

 still appropriate, the supports are there for the

 person in that job goal, look at any barriers that

 might have come up, encourage and support the job

 seeker and the placement coordinator keep going.

 If we think it might take longer, we want to continue

 to support each other through that process and

 brainstorming on ideas.

 That's always just a huge part of those 60-day meetings

 with the counselor and the job seeker and the placement

 professional.

 At the close of each 60-day meeting, we should be

 scheduling the next 60-day meeting.

 We may not need it if the person starts work, but we

 want to make sure that we have it on the books.

 And the VRS counselor should be letting the waiver case

 manager know of those meetings, at least inviting them

 if they're able to attend, and letting them know about

 any major decisions or changes that happen as a result

 of those 60-day meetings.

 All right.

 Let's talk about the E1 milestone.

 So this 120 days of service is kind of a new concept

 for us.

 This can really happen during a job search or when a

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 person is working.

 So the milestone is paid at 120 days of service.

 It's only -- it's unique to the E1 PBA, it's not a

 piece of the general PBA.

 It could be during follow-up services once they've

 started working.

 So it can occur at all different points of that

 process.

 When we are going to pay for that E1 milestone, we are

 looking to make sure that we've gotten all of the --

 should have four monthly progress reports by that time

 since that placement plan.

 A record of the 60-day meetings, if they were in job

 search that long and an invoice from the provider.

 >> Sara: All right.

 Yay!

 Another job!

 So the job seeker has accepted the job offer and, just

 like with the general PBA, there are many things to

 consider at this point.

 It is the responsibility of the placement professional

 to contact the VRS counselor when the job offer has

 been received to discuss any needed supports, for

 example, as we talked about job coaching, any

 accommodations, assistive technology or uniforms.

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 It's important to address any new discoveries regarding

 the job seeker's background and barriers to successful

 employment, might be child care to consider meeting

 with the job seeker to assist with the preparation of

 that first day of work.

 This can be really helpful for that individual,

 especially if they're anxious about starting work, to

 have a meeting and talk about or discuss any questions

 they may have or assist in completing any of that

 pre-employment paperwork for their new job.

 It could be communicating with the employer as

 appropriate and ensuring that that individual

 understands their responsibility to report their

 earnings to Social Security or any other government

 benefit programs that employment may affect.

 Post-job offer, pre-job start is the responsibility of

 the counselor to identify other needed services for

 successful employment.

 And if at the time of the offer, the placement

 professional, VR counselor foresee intensive supports

 will be needed, then job coaching should be discussed,

 how many hours and an authorization should be prepared.

 The VRS counselor will update the waiver case manager

 and request that long-term support funding is initiated

 at this time.

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 If job coaching will be needed, the placement

 professional and VR counselor should also discuss an

 authorization, whether travel will be needed.

 Just like the general PBA, the E1 PBA will have those

 two clocks running and, again, they could be the same

 dates or they could be different.

 So in review, employed for 90 days is something that

 the community partner is tracking.

 It's that day one of first day of work is day one of

 employed for 90 days.

 It tracks the 90 days to reach the PBA milestone 3 and

 tracks the placement and follow-up service closure.

 Achieved 90 days of employment stability is the 90-day

 clock that VRS tracks using Workforce1.

 Once employment stability is reached, the job seeker is

 moved to "in employment" and it starts the "achieved 90

 days of employment stability."

 Again, this could be day one of the first day worked or

 this could be a later start date.

 This clock may or may not be aligned with the "employed

 for 90 days" clock and VR uses it to track outcome

 closure.

 So when we talk about first paid day of employment in

 the E1 PBA milestone 2, it is important for the

 placement professional to contact the VRS counselor as

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 soon as possible with information and the job offer.

 The placement professional provides the VRS counselor

 with that information that is needed, and within seven

 days completes the monthly progress report with the

 employment job hire information.

 The payment for milestone 2 is when the community

 partner submits that monthly progress report with the

 details of job hire and an invoice for the second PBA

 milestone.

 To be paid, all monthly progress reports have to have

 been received by VR since the last milestone was paid.

 Evie:  Okay.

 So this is review of what we looked at when we were

 talking about the general PBA and those changes about

 follow-up versus job coaching.

 So, again, I know we had a breakout on this, but it's

 new for us so we want to make sure we're covering this

 again.

 Follow-up, just with the E1 PBA, as well as the general

 PBA, as with all job coaching hourly services, it would

 be the same messaging.

 Follow-up is provided to all new employees.

 It helps with new employee orientation paperwork,

 adjustment, getting feedback, and looking at other

 services, whereas, job coaching would be more of that

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 intensive training kinds of activities and could

 include any of those visuals, checklists, timers,

 hand-over-hand kinds of assistance.

 Another example that might be helpful, I know a lot of

 our partners, a lot of you will have a job developer as

 well as a job coach involved with the job seeker.

 So just wanted to go through another scenario.

 So we're going to be talking about Heidi is our job

 seeker, and Heidi found a new job.

 So we all celebrate.

 Raise the roof.

 But Heidi has severe anxiety about starting new things,

 places and situations.

 Based on the relationship and observations, working

 through the placement process, it's determined that

 Heidi will need some job coaching.

 Heidi's been working with Sara in job search and will

 work with Gretchen as a job coach.

 So Sara, the placement professional, will help Heidi

 with that new paperwork, and that is follow-up.

 Sara will continue to check in with Heidi and Gretchen

 throughout her 90 days of employment, completing those

 monthly progress reports and updates to the counselor.

 That's follow-up.

 Gretchen, the job coach, will go with Heidi on her

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 first day of work.

 She'll introduce herself and her new role.

 She'll help Heidi acclimate to the worksite, her work

 space and her supervisor.

 Gretchen will assist with coordinating the

 communication regarding schedule changes.

 Gretchen will educate Heidi's supervisor on her

 preferred learning and communication style.

 And once Heidi feels comfortable in her job, Gretchen

 will coordinate with the employer and Heidi a plan for

 phasing out of her services.

 Then Gretchen will be updating the VRS counselor weekly

 and submitting a job coaching report with the invoice.

 Sara, the placement professional, then continues her

 follow-up and submits the monthly progress reports

 until Heidi's been employed for 90 days and then

 invoices for milestone 3.

 All right.

 So while the participant is working, the VRS counselor

 should really regularly be checking in with that job

 seeker, and the check-ins really ensure the counselor

 maintains that connection with the individual.

 We don't want at the placement plan or 60-day meeting

 the counselor to wave good-bye and say good luck, we

 want them to be continually involved in that process.

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 And that helps to really ensure that those supports are

 in place when the person starts their job.

 So the placement professional will be following up with

 that job seeker when they're working twice a month, a

 minimum of twice a month.

 They'll be submitting those progress reports until

 closure.

 Providing that support, looking at the individual and

 what their unique needs are.

 If there's a job coach, we talked about that that

 partner would be submitting an update to VRS best

 practices weekly with a report and invoice.

 And then when stability's reached, we know, we talked

 about the 90-day clocks, but when stability is reached,

 that starts the "achieved in 90 days employment

 stability" clock at that time.

 >> Sara: And like the general PBA, the conditions for

 successful closure from placement and follow-up

 services are the same with the E1 PBA.

 It's going to be important that that position matches

 the job goal on the employment plan, that the

 individual is paid at least minimum wage with customary

 rates and benefits, the number of hours and -- hours

 per week is adequate, that it is in a competitive,

 integrated setting, that ongoing supports match the

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 needs of that individual, that they have been employed

 for 90 days with the same employer and position,

 unless, as Evie said, that individual made an informed

 choice for temporary assignments, and then the VRS

 record of service can stay open even after the job

 placement and follow-up services have been closed and

 milestone 3 has been paid.

 Again, that successful closure for the E1 PBA milestone

 is having that final monthly progress report with the

 details of the accepted job offer and verification of

 employment and then our partner will submit an invoice

 along with that final report.

 Again, 12 months of an E1 PBA, this is the same

 guidance that we just shared.

 The placement and follow-up services begins day one of

 the signed placement plan, and the placement team meets

 every 60 days to discuss the job search process for up

 to 12 months.

 And, again, if job search continues at or beyond that

 12-month mark, VRS should consider the same three

 options for the E1 PBA.

 If progress in job search is continuing, the team

 agrees the person's close to a job or employment,

 existing PBA is canceled and a new one is encumbered,

 starting with milestone 1.

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 If placement progress has stalled out or stopped, the

 person and the team could agree that job search will be

 discontinued and explore another service that may be

 necessary to help that individual with their employment

 goals.

 And the third one is if a job seeker has received VRS

 job search services and VRS determines the job seeker

 can no longer benefit from continued placement services

 from VR at this time, the team agrees that the

 placement and follow-up services have been exhausted

 and the remaining PBA is canceled and the job seeker is

 referred to another agency, such as the county for

 required services.

 And if appropriate at this time, the VRS case may be

 closed.

 Again, in all of these cases, all these situations, the

 12 months of an E1 PBA or a general PBA, the VRS

 counselor makes the final decision on PBAs and

 authorizations.

 Again, the guidance around holds while in a PBA.

 When a PBA is paused for more than two weeks, a

 discussion about a hold will take place with that

 placement team.

 When placement services are on hold, that communication

 is going to be really important.

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 Minimally, at 30 days, VRS will check in with the job

 seeker.

 And at 60 days of a hold, a meeting is held with the

 placement team and a decision is made about next steps.

 When placement services are on hold, the PBA clocks are

 also put on hold.

 So this will also pause that E1 PBA clock for 120 days

 of service and the 12-month mark clock.

 Again, the next steps at that 60-day meeting will be

 either scheduling a date to resume job placement

 services, so this is a commitment to set a date on the

 calendar to resume services, or a decision to close job

 are placement services.

 The placement team should stay in communication during

 a hold.

 Job placement service closure is at the discretion of

 the counselor and the job seeker.

 Again, it's important to note that if an agreement to

 put a placement file on hold, it stops the clock, the

 12-month clock and that 120-day clock.

 Again, it is essential to communicate with the

 placement team and assess each individual's needs

 carefully and, again, we know this is new guidance for

 you, so when in doubt, the best practice is to consult.

 Evie:  All right.

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 We're coming into the home stretch.

 We're going to bring it together, the E1 PBA with some

 scenarios.

 This first scenario, you can see at the top, the

 milestone sequence would be the placement plan, first

 milestone.

 The E1 120 days of service milestone.

 The person starts working.

 And then closure.

 So Abdi starts job placement, has his initial placement

 plan on February 1st.

 Then we're getting that placement plan and an invoice

 for milestone 1.

 Abdi continues in job search.

 We have that 60-day meeting.

 And everyone's in agreement that will continue.

 So we're getting those monthly progress reports each

 month.

 Abdi continues in job search and has reached 120 days

 of service on June 1st.

 So then we're getting -- we've gotten those monthly

 progress reports and we've got the invoice for the E1

 milestone.

 So we're paying that E1 milestone payment there.

 Then Abdi finds a job and starts his first day on

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 August 16th.

 The partner submits monthly progress report with the

 section on employment details completed and follow-up

 information and invoices for the milestone 2.

 And then Abdi is successful, doing well on his job, on

 November 16th, so we're hitting that 90 days

 employed and we're getting those monthly progress

 reports with the closure information and that invoice

 for the third milestone.

 Now, the next scenario, this person will have a

 placement plan, begin working, and then they will hit

 the 120 days of service and then closure.

 So Dillon starts job placement, has initial placement

 plan meeting on February 1st.

 We're getting that plan and the invoice for the first

 milestone.

 He continues in job search and has a 60-day meeting.

 It's agreed that he'll continue.

 So we're getting those monthly progress reports.

 Dillon accepts a job and works his first shift on March

 15th.

 So we're getting that monthly progress report with the

 information on the job and the invoice for milestone 2.

 Then after Dillon's working, he hits that 120 days of

 service mark on June 1st.

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 We're not having a 60-day meeting because Dillon's

 working.

 But he's hitting that E1 milestone marker, so we're

 getting that monthly progress report.

 We make sure we have all of those and the invoice for

 the E1 milestone.

 And Dillon's doing well on June 15th, and we're

 looking at the closure with milestone 3 there.

 The next scenario is also the person starts working,

 but this person has a little bump in their road here.

 So Jane starts job placement, has her initial placement

 meeting on February 1st.

 So we've got that first milestone.

 She continues, has a 60-day meeting, and wants to

 continue with job search.

 So we're continuing to get those monthly progress

 reports.

 She finds a job and starts her first shift on April

 5th, so we'll pay that second milestone payment

 once we get that invoice.

 And the monthly progress report with the details.

 But Jane quits her job.

 Has this ever happened to you?

 It happens to me.

 So she quits her job on April 15th.

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 Of course, we're all in communication about this.

 And everyone agrees that wasn't a match, so we're going

 to resume the job search and then she'll have that

 60-day meeting after 60 days again in job search.

 And then we continue on, just like we do with the other

 PBAs.

 She meets the in service 120-day mark on the 15th.

 So we're paying that E1 milestone.

 She continues and has another 60-day meeting.

 Then she finds a job on September 15th.

 It's a great fit.

 We're getting those reports.

 We've already paid milestone 2, so we're not paying

 that milestone again.

 But after 90 days, she is happy and doing well and, so,

 at that point we're getting that closure information in

 the monthly progress report and that third milestone.

 The next scenario is for a partial PBA.

 So, this happens sometimes where someone, for some

 reason, ends their PBA.

 As we've talked about some of those scenarios earlier.

 But Sam starts his placement plan on February 1st

 in job seeking.

 So we're paying that first milestone.

 We get to the 60-day meeting, and everyone's in

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 agreement to continue.

 He meets the E1 milestone at 120 days.

 So we're paying for that milestone.

 And then at the next 60-day meeting, the parties agree

 that they're going to stop placement services.

 So we're making sure that we have all the reports,

 since the placement plan, and at that point we would

 close the file.

 Okay.

 So no retroactive PBAs.

 All right.

 So, starting July 1st, the E1 PBA will become an

 option with a rolling implementation for new PBAs.

 Individuals currently in a general PBA will continue

 for the remainder of their placement and follow-up.

 We're not going to change the authorization from

 general to E1 PBAs.

 And individuals who are in a general PBA and attain a

 waiver while in the PBA will continue in the general

 PBA for the remainder.

 Although these -- the E1 process will start on July

 1st, the other pieces we talked about, such as

 holds, job coaching being unbundled, and 12 months in a

 PBA, those pieces will begin July 1st, but we're

 not switching anyone between the PBAs after July

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 1st.

 So if we have a new person coming after July 1st

 that's on a waiver, we'll start them in the E1 PBA but

 we won't be switching back and forth.

 All right.

 So new PBAs start July 1st, and here's Sara and I

 jumping for joy.

 [ Laughter ]

 Because we've been waiting for this moment and prepping

 for this moment.

 And I think right now we're going to move over to the

 question phase.

 So the link is there in the chat for your questions

 using the Microsoft form.

 We're going to keep that question link open so even

 after this training and after even the 1st, as you

 start to encounter questions and work with this E1

 process, please continue to submit those questions

 because we can still receive them.

 We're really thankful for you all attending today.

 I know, as Sara said, PBAs are super exciting for

 Sara and I, but they might not be for everyone,

 especially two or three hours of training.

 So thank you for hangin' with us.

 And we'll start to categorize some of your questions

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 now and go through them.

 Thank you.

 >> Kim: Yes, thank you so much, Evie and Sara, that was

 fantastic!

 All right.

 Thanks, everyone.

 This is Kim Babine.

 Thanks for stickin' with us.

 We are excited to answer some of your questions here.

 So I'm just going to -- I need to do one other thing --

 but basically we have Chris McVey and Amanda

 Jensen-Stahl who are joining us to answer questions, so

 I am going to kick things off with a question to Evie

 and Sara.

 We have a couple questions around job coaching.

 So can you talk a little bit about, is there a limit to

 the number of hours of job coaching VRS can authorize?

 How does that work?

 >> Sara: We are not saying there's a limit to the

 number of hours VRS can authorize because services are

 individualized.

 However, at 60 hours of job coaching, then it's going

 to require a R.A.M. consult.

 >> Kim: Great, thanks, Sara.

 This is Kim again.

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 We'll follow up on that with a couple other job

 coaching questions.

 So, do vendors need to amend their contracts to add job

 coaching separate from the PBA?

 >> Sara: So, this is Sara again.

 If you are a community partner and you have a PT

 contract with us and job coaching is not a line in your

 PT contract, we would highly recommend that you reach

 out to us and amend your contract to have job coaching

 in an hourly fee -- and an hourly fee put on your

 contract.

 >> Kim: Reach out to Sara or Anne Paulson, we also have

 Jess and Janeen who have joined the community

 partnership team or if Kim Babine's email is the

 easiest one for you to find, you can reach out to me

 and I'll hook you up with Anne and Sara and Jess and

 Janeen.

 Talk a little bit about what communication should be

 happening between providers and VR about the need for

 job coaching?

 The question specifically was, should providers call VR

 to see if job coaching can begin?

 Can you speak a little to that?

 Evie:  Sure.

 I think at the time of the placement plan meeting,

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 that's really a great time for the counselor to share

 with the placement professional what their thoughts are

 and the job seeker to express what their thoughts are

 about job coaching based on their job goal.

 And then, like I said, I really see it evolving and

 continuing.

 So as you're locating that employer and talking with

 the employer, learning more about the job duties, you

 know, it's going to continue to refine what you know

 about that job seeker's skills and how they match up

 with those job requirements.

 So, it will continue to be a process and communication

 will happen, I know, at multiple points along that way.

 And I see Chris' hand up too.

 >> Chris: Hi, everybody.

 Chris McVey.

 I just want to reiterate what Evie just mentioned.

 It's so important that at a very early stage, starting

 at that placement plan meeting that there be discussion

 about the need, potential need for job coaching

 services.

 I know that one of the things as we were consulting

 with various people within Vocational Rehabilitation

 Services, but also with our community partner

 committee, which is comprised of community partners

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 from around the state, the topic around communication

 came up and it's so, so important to communicate

 communicate communicate.

 There are times where a counselor will not have a sense

 of what -- whether the person needs job coaching or,

 you know, think, I don't think they're going to need

 job coaching, and at times that comes up as a job

 search is going on or even after the job starts.

 And that's, again, the need for communication.

 That if the placement professional or job coach is

 seeing that there is a need, a need for more hours,

 that needs to be communicated very frequently and not

 in a monthly progress report only.

 But pick up the phone, email, text, find ways to engage

 and to connect with that counselor in the event that

 job coaching hours are needed or more hours are needed.

 So just wanted to put that plug in that you can't

 overcommunicate when it comes to a person who's in the

 job search or after they start the job.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Chris.

 You mentioned a little bit in the questions here, but

 also the question was, is a separate authorization

 needed for job coaching?

 And, so, if someone can speak to that.

 >> Sara: Yes.

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 So a separate authorization will be needed for job

 coaching.

 So if the agreement is that an individual is in

 follow-up services and we're going to layer, we're

 going to add job coaching services as well, then an

 authorization is going to be -- is going to need to be

 put in place for job coaching services.

 And part of that authorization for job coaching

 services could alsos include that travel or

 transportation vendor part of the authorization.

 So that is where at that time of job offer, it's going

 to be really important to communicate with that VR

 counselor the job coaching hours that you're going to

 be requesting and needing.

 And, again, sort of to Chris and Evie's point is, at

 that time of job offer, the thought or the concept of

 job coaching shouldn't be new, right?

 We're working, we're planning, we're a team, and we're

 going through the process together.

 And as you're picking up on your job placement services

 and the context clues that you have in working with

 that individual and learning that individual's support

 needs, their learning styles, that's when those

 conversations should be happening and, so, everyone on

 the team should be pretty prepared that job coaching is

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 going to be needed as a layered service.

 But at the time of job offer is when that request would

 actually happen and then the authorization could be put

 in place for their start date.

 >> Kim: There are some questions around just some

 concerns about how do we make sure that that gets in on

 time, that we don't have purchasing violations.

 Do you have some ideas for best practices to make sure

 that everything flows smoothly with that need for

 separate authorization?

 Evie:  Yeah, I can speak to that.

 I know as a placement person, this has come up a lot

 with, like, uniforms or those last-minute things people

 need to start work.

 And we have to get those authorizations in place really

 quickly.

 So I would say, you know, let the counselor know right

 away.

 I think there's others -- I know that there's other

 staff at VRS that can help if, like, the counselor's on

 vacation, you know, reach out to the techs in those

 offices to get some support with that as well.

 And just, you know, the worst-case scenario would be

 somebody gets a job to start -- they get the job offer

 on Saturday to start Sunday, for example.

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 And, you know, if we can't get the job coach in place,

 really, the person, you know, they're going to need

 that support to start the job, we might have to talk

 with the employer about a little bit later start date

 because if it's necessary, it's necessary.

 And, so, it should be discussed along the way.

 We know last-minute things can come up.

 But making sure that they have all the pieces in place

 to support them on that first day is really crucial.

 >> Kim: Thank you.

 And with that -- this is Kim.

 With that job coaching authorization, if someone is

 working, has worked with the individual -- a provider

 has worked with the individual through the PBA process,

 would there be a separate intake authorized for those

 job coaching services, those layered services?

 >> Chris: This is Chris McVey, and I would say that

 that's not something that we would support.

 Given the fact that the performance-based agreement is

 in place, you know, the intake work for that provider

 is in place, the job coaching would follow, but should

 not require a separate intake.

 >> Kim: Just to expand on that.

 These layered services, whether it's job coaching, we

 also will in the future provide more information around

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 how job tryout or other pieces like that might be

 layered with the PBA, and when you as a provider are

 already working with the individual in the PBA and we

 authorize for an hourly service layered with that, we

 assume that you already know the individual, that

 you've already done the intake.

 We know that the services are a little different, but

 those can be as you're working on those goals and

 working on that -- on those new services with the

 individual, those can be -- those initial conversations

 are built into the hourly hours that you're authorized

 for.

 So it's only when a provider would be working with

 someone new for job coaching or new for this that then

 we would consider authorizing for an intake.

 All right.

 We'll go to a few questions on the milestones.

 So is it still required to have the first 60-day

 meeting scheduled before the payment of the first

 milestone for both the general and the E1 PBA?

 Evie:  So I think if I'm understanding this right, at

 the placement plan meeting, we're going to schedule the

 60-day meeting, so that's always recurring and being

 scheduled, so at the next 60-day meeting, we're going

 to schedule the following 60-day meeting and so forth.

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 So we're always scheduling those, and we would do that

 before we conclude the placement plan meeting and then

 at the conclusion of that meeting, the partner could

 submit that milestone 1 and the placement plan for

 payment.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Evie.

 This is Kim.

 Question about the two 90-day clocks.

 Provider says that we've had a few instances where

 counselors let our placement staff know that the

 milestone 2, it's been confusing how it's achieved or

 met with stability versus the 90-day specific to the

 90-day clock.

 So can you spend a little bit more time on the

 difference between the two 90-day clocks?

 >> Chris: I think I'll take this one.

 So here's a real opportunity that I think has been

 living in the gray around performance-based agreements.

 And when we pay our milestone payments, especially for

 milestone 3.

 We know that since we started a PBA many years ago that

 this has been a question, when do we pay that milestone

 3?

 And, so, it's actually for the years that I've worked

 for VRS and we've had a PBA, I, myself, have been at

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 times confused about, well, when should we pay that.

 What we're doing with this new training that's

 launching July 1st for general and E1 PBA is

 separating out the two 90 days.

 There's two sets of 90 days.

 And I think for our VRS staff, we have not been clear

 ourselves, we have not received clear direction, and

 I'll take ownership of that, around when we pay that

 third milestone.

 So what we're doing is making it very clean, as Evie

 and Sara train to, it's very clear, 90 days after the

 person starts their job, so from day one of work, to

 day 90 of work, is when that third milestone can be

 paid.

 There's a separate 90 days that VRS and SSB staff have

 to be aware of and identify and for us the 90-day clock

 starts the day the person is considered stabilized.

 After job coaching has concluded or in the case of

 someone who's on a waiver or not on a waiver, if they

 have long-term supports and we determine, the counselor

 determines that that person is working at their

 capacity and that can be the start of that 90 days and

 then that 90-day clock starts at that time.

 So in the waiver world and as we're training on E1,

 it's about the level of support someone needs and their

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 ability to satisfactorily complete the job -- or do the

 job with or without supports.

 So it doesn't mean that the person no longer needs job

 coaching.

 In the cases of somebody who's on a waiver or may have

 access to extended employment grant funds, those are

 examples that that might be the level of support that

 they need and that's okay because that long-term

 support is there.

 So we're separating out the two 90 days.

 For our community partners, that 90 days to you means

 90 days after the start of job you can bill for that

 milestone 3.

 VRS staff and SSB staff, you can pay that third

 milestone once the invoice is submitted because the 90

 days of work has been completed.

 On our side, again, there's a distinction about when

 someone is considered stabilized or meets that

 threshold of they have the supports they need and they

 do that job, that's when we can go ahead and consider

 our 90 days to be satisfied.

 I don't know if anybody else wants to add in there.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Chris.

 This is Kim.

 Question on the paperwork.

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 So regarding payment for milestone 3, do we need to

 resubmit all the monthly progress reports occurring

 since milestone 2 payment or just ensure that they have

 been sent to the counselor at the appropriate times

 throughout that period?

 Evie:  You said milestone 3, Kim?

 >> Kim: Yup.

 Evie:  Okay, yup, so for milestone 3, be sure to

 complete that closure piece, the closure employment

 details and submit that along with the invoice.

 And we do not need to resubmit all the months of the

 monthly progress reports, just submit those timely each

 month by the 10th of the following month and we'll

 be looking to make sure we have those before we pay

 those invoices.

 >> Question from Kim.

 I'm going back to the very beginning, I've been trying

 to hold it because I'm taking notes.

 But could you review again the initial meeting and the

 plan development with the team, you know, I think you

 mentioned something about no signature's needed on that

 particular session.

 Do we just take attendance and put it on the form?

 Because we're not submitting a report, you said, right?

 There's no attendance and no signature needed, no plan

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 signature needed, is that correct?

 Evie:  Right.

 So when I talked about the placement plan, if you're

 using our VRS placement plan, there's a space for

 signatures for all the team members except the waiver

 case manager.

 So we don't expect a signature from the waiver case

 manager because we don't want to hold up that process

 waiting to make sure that they're at that meeting.

 So those three core team members will need to sign that

 placement plan and submit that along with an invoice

 for that first milestone.

 After that, we'll be looking for those monthly progress

 reports but not with the placement plan since they

 haven't had any progress yet.

 Kim:  So my placement plan for the E1 MN should be the

 same as the PBA where I would send it to the VR

 counselor for signature and the client, same as before,

 and then -- but am I submitting that with the intake

 billing?

 Since no report --

 [ Overlapping conversation ]

 Still doing the same thing?

 Evie:  Right.

 You're doing the same thing.

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 >> Kim: Oh, okay.

 Evie:  And the signatures should be collected at the

 meeting.

 And if we're doing a virtual meeting, of course, we're

 sending it.

 But hopefully someday world when we're all meeting

 together in person, we'll be collecting all those at

 the same time, those signatures, and going through

 those pieces and then submitting that for payment with

 the invoice.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Evie.

 And any follow-up questions, any additional questions,

 please use the form that's linked in the chat.

 So that will help us manage this time that we have.

 I'm actually going to share my screen and show --

 there's some questions about where do we find these

 forms and where do we find additional information.

 So I'm going to share my screen here and show you some

 things that we've done on our external website.

 So this link is one that I send out quite often.

 I can put it -- maybe someone else can throw it in the

 chat.

 It's our community partners part of our D.E.E.D.

 website.

 And it looks a little different.

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 We have five new sections.

 So there's a couple that you'll go to a lot.

 First is this community partner guide for the VR

 program.

 The second one is to the right and it's VRS news.

 So, just so we'll go into the news really quickly here.

 The news has a tab that says "forums" on it, and that's

 where we have information from today, here's the

 presentation materials linked for both PDF and

 PowerPoint.

 And it also has past forums and ability to register for

 the forums coming up in the future.

 Then I'm going to -- there also is a tab that has the

 messages that we sent out via email or archived here.

 So you can always go back and see what we said.

 And if you'd like to sign up for future email updates,

 if you registered today, you'll be added to the email

 list.

 If you or other colleagues would like to be added, you

 can contact Karla Eckhoff.

 So now I'm going to go back to that main community

 partners page and go into our community partner guide.

 This is really where a lot of the bulk of the

 information is.

 And under "contracted services," there's one more click

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 because we're building out this information about

 billing.

 Billing, authorizations, invoices and reports.

 There's more information that we need to clarify there

 but we're building that out.

 So if you click "services" here, then you'll see little

 drop-downs for all of the services that we have on our

 PT contracts.

 So if you go to job placement and retention services,

 there's a link that will bring you to its own

 performance-based agreement for job placement and

 retention page.

 And that's where you'll see information and, again, a

 lot of the information that we're presenting today we

 haven't translated it all to the website, so this will

 get built out in the next couple weeks.

 But the information will be here.

 The forms, there's one change under here, the overview

 has a typo that we're correcting and we'll get up

 shortly, but this is where the forms are.

 So this is where you can find that monthly progress

 report and other -- the coaching report, samples,

 there's the placement plan, other pieces like that.

 So forms under the PBA part of the community partner

 guide.

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 So I'm going to stop sharing.

 And get back to a couple questions.

 So that's where you can find everything.

 Now we'll go to another question on the milestones.

 For the new milestone, for the E1 PBA, the E1

 milestone, if a person is placed before the 120 days of

 service, would a community partner be allowed to bill

 for that new milestone or is it only for follow-up

 prior to placement or services prior to placement?

 >> Sara: So we built the 120-day milestone, that E1

 milestone, as a flexible milestone.

 And, so, that's why we tried to walk through the two

 different scenarios, what that milestone is really

 triggered by is 120 days of service since the placement

 plan meeting.

 So a person could be in job search for those full four

 months and then be at 120 days of service, still in job

 search, you would submit monthly progress report and an

 invoice for that E1 PBA or the person could have been

 in that first 120 days, they could have been in job

 search and secure employment, so they're in follow-up

 services and they hit 120 days of service.

 So it's 120 days of service regardless of their status

 of job search or employed.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Sara.

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 This is Kim.

 For an individual on a waiver, who's approaching one

 year in a VRS PBA, can you talk about what happens at

 that 12-month mark around -- after someone's been in a

 PBA for about a year?

 Do we start a new one?

 Do we end placement?

 Does it go back to county-funded services?

 What are some of those considerations?

 Evie:  So I'll encourage you to kind of look at this

 PowerPoint, the slide that talked about the 12-month

 mark.

 There's those three situations we went over.

 But, in general, the first scenario would be if someone

 is making progress, they're still continuing -- and

 everyone agrees they just need some more time, they'll

 be getting that job soon.

 So that's happening.

 We should close the PBA and authorize a new PBA.

 A year of being in a PBA, we think, you know, that's a

 long time for our providers to go without additional

 funding, so we want those PBAs to be closed out,

 reauthorized, start with the first placement plan

 meeting and continue on from there just as you would.

 The second scenario would be if the person is really

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 stalled out on their job search or stopped job

 searching and they really need to stop the PBA and look

 at other services within VR such as like job shadowing

 or some of the other services that we can kind of put

 in, maybe we need to relook at that job goal and change

 it.

 So kind of the back to the drawing board kind of

 scenario.

 And the third scenario would be, we've gone through a

 whole year, there hasn't -- there's no longer progress,

 we've exhausted all of our services, and at that time

 we close the PBA and, likely, if they're in an E1 PBA,

 we'd be consulting with the county on what waiver

 services are available for that person from there.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Evie.

 This is Kim.

 If someone is already on a general PBA, in a general

 PBA, but they are on a waiver so they meet the

 requirements for the E1 PBA, should VRS staff be

 switching those authorizations to an E1 PBA after July

 1st?

 >> Sara: What we have decided is there aren't going to

 be switches between general PBA and E1 PBAs starting

 on July 1st.

 So the E1 PBA is a new payment option starting for

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 people who enter job placement services after July

 1st and have one of those waivers.

 So if an individual is on a waiver and in a general

 PBA, they would continue in their current PBA through

 the completion of that PBA or that 12-month cycle that

 we just talked about.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Sara.

 In the nitty gritty of this, I appreciate the

 questions.

 They really are helping straighten some of this out

 and, so, please keep 'em comin'.

 They're great.

 This question is from a provider about when there is a

 job hire at the beginning, middle of the month, do we

 immediately submit the monthly report, then submit one

 for the remainder of the month, do we just wait until

 the end of the month for the report and invoice

 together?

 How does that work?

 >> Sara: So, our recommended best practice is if a

 person got a job on the 15th of the month, we would

 ask, minimally, that that monthly progress report with

 the job hire detail comes in within seven days of the

 job offer.

 Now, -- so it is possible that you might, let's say,

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 submit your monthly progress report with the job hire

 information, let's say, on July 20th.

 We would want you to get back on cycle and submit a

 progress report summarizing each month so then in that

 month if there was a job hire, you probably would

 submit two monthly progress reports, one at that time

 with the offer, so we have that information, and then

 back in cycle, summarizing the entire month and those

 first few weeks of work in the follow-up and how that's

 going.

 So during a hire month, there would probably be two

 reports.

 Now, if a person, you know, got a job on July 28th,

 then that would, you know, sync into the cycle of the

 end of the month.

 So use your discretion on that.

 But if it happens, there's a possibility we would want

 that, because we will always want that job hire

 information as soon as you can get that to us and have

 that information because that is so vital and

 important, of course, and then we want to stay on that

 monthly progress report schedule of summarizing an

 entire month and having it submitted by the 10th of

 the following month.

 Evie:  I think, too, you know, we talk about those

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 monthly progress reports are a flash in time and

 communication is just so important along the way as we

 keep talking about the communication.

 But, you know, a quick call to the counselor, they got

 a job, they're starting this day here, just a quick

 touch-in is just always the best, I think, best

 practice.

 So I think letting them know as soon as possible and at

 that point the counselor is working -- going to be

 working with the waiver case manager, too, to get those

 pieces in place for those long-term supports, so many

 pieces kind of hinge on that job offer and that

 communication that we need those pieces but we need

 that communication first.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Evie.

 There are a fair number of questions -- this is Kim --

 there are a fair number of questions about the

 distinction between follow-up and job coaching.

 And we know that it is -- we provided as many examples

 and specifics as we could get to for today, but we know

 we'll learn a lot as this gets going.

 And, so, we will continue hearing from you.

 Please continue sharing with us where maybe it's a

 little fuzzy and we need to provide more clarification.

 So I just wanted folks to know that we'll work together

  CART CAPTIONING FILE - NOT A CERTIFIED TRANSCRIPT
 to distinguish between those as we move forward.

 So the question specifically is, again, to this

 communication throughout the process, so at what point

 should the community partner request job coaching hours

 when they're already providing on-site supportive

 services, like the follow-up services?

 So at what point should the provider be in touch about

 possible need for job coaching hours?

 >> Sara: What I would say is at that time of job offer

 is the ideal time to have that conversation about

 putting an authorization in place for job coaching

 hours.

 However, we do know -- I mean, every -- it's a little

 hard because every scenario is different and we know we

 work with people and when you work with people,

 everyone has a different scenario, right?

 But if you're working with an individual and they get a

 job offer and they start working and you're doing

 follow-up services, an expectation of the PBA, and you

 come across a hurdle, all of a sudden something changes

 and you're like, whoa, I didn't see this coming, you

 know, I'm going to need to get in there and do some

 more intensive services, as soon as you know that, then

 just alert the counselor that this is a need.

 It would be similar to finding out, like Evie was

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 saying, sometimes like putting an accommodation in

 place or getting a new uniform in place or something

 that they might need.

 Sometimes we just have to work as quickly as possible

 to put the services in place.

 So as soon as you have an awareness that that is going

 to be needed, that would be where you would make that

 request.

 Again, hopefully through the process you have those

 context clues, that job coaching supports will probably

 be needed and if there's agreement, it makes sense at

 that time of job offer to put that job coaching

 authorization in place.

 You could put in ten hours and it doesn't mean you're

 going to be there at day one at their orientation, but

 that job coaching support could be available knowing

 that that might come up too.

 >> Chris: I was just going to add this in is that I can

 tell you, in all honesty, that we have really focused

 on identifying the distinctions and the differences

 between job coaching and follow-up services, but as

 Sara said, it really is on an individual basis.

 So putting something in our policy, I mean, it's

 guidance, and it really is the counselor and that

 placement professional and the person talking together,

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 and that person's -- if it's a guardian, if it's a

 family member, who can also provide some context,

 sometimes a case manager.

 And really where we want to have the conversations

 first is well in advance of that person starting a job,

 that when it can take place, that conversation about

 the job coaching needs would be at the time of the

 placement plan.

 I think the distinction that we would say around the

 job coaching versus follow-up supports really is about

 the intensity of the need that that person has, so as I

 think about someone who's on a D.D. waiver, for

 example, or brain injury waiver, having them start a

 job and the typical things that anybody does needs to

 do in order to start the job and the extra assistance

 required due to disability is really the factor to

 consider as to whether it's job coaching or follow-up

 supports.

 If the person literally cannot fill out paperwork on

 their own or if the person is having a hard time

 bringing in that information they're hearing in the

 orientation and you as the job coach or placement

 professional need to repeat that multiple times for

 them to get it, those are examples of job coaching.

 And it goes beyond the employment supports that

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 typically would be provided as part of a PBA.

 I hope that helps a little bit.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Chris.

 This is Kim.

 Amanda, I was wondering if you could speak a little bit

 about what's happening with E1 Minnesota and the

 resources that you are working on with our DHS partners

 for resources and trainings that are coming up in the

 coming months?

 >> Amanda: Sure.

 This is Amanda.

 So E1 Minnesota officially launches July 12st, so I

 know that there were some questions that came in around

 waiver services and those types of things and, so, I'll

 just note that DHS will be updating their HCBS, their

 guidance, around those services, and, so, you can look

 for that July 1st.

 I know I have talked about this a lot, but I would

 always direct you to the E1MN website, I'll put it in

 the chat, there is a plethora of information there.

 Anything from those core trainings, if you didn't get a

 chance to participate in those, we have those broken

 into five short videos, so things like engage, plan,

 find, keep, what is that, how does that work, making

 sure that you get a chance to look at that.

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 We've been building out our frequently asked questions,

 there's a lot of questions in there, so take a look

 because after the coffee chats, we've been uploading

 the questions to that FAQ site.

 And then we're continuing those monthly coffee chats,

 moving forward, July, August and September.

 And then we're also continuing to work on training, so

 stay tuned for that.

 And I would just say, if you have questions that are

 really specific to the waiver, case managers, 245D

 licensing, that coffee chat forum is really going to be

 the best place to submit those questions and I'll say

 it again, I know I've said it before, it's really our

 chance, and by "our" I'm talking about VRS and SSB,

 working with DHS and working together to provide

 uniform responses.

 And, so, you know, we can talk about the PBAs and the

 E1 PBAs because that's very specific to our service

 and making sure that you all understand as providers,

 as well as staff.

 Now case managers, you know, they don't necessarily

 need that level of training.

 They don't need to know the nitty gritty details of our

 PBA or E1 PBAs, but, really, their role around, you

 know, providing long-term supports and being involved

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 in training.

 And, so, that's the training, that's the messaging

 that's going out to case managers.

 So any of those specific questions that fall into more

 of the waiver, 245D, case management bucket, you know,

 send those to the coffee chat and we can be addressing

 those as they come in.

 Our next one's at the end of July, so mark your

 calendar.

 Or if it's very specific, then we just address it kind

 of one on one.

 >> Kim: Thanks, Amanda.

 We are coming to the end of our time.

 And, so, I'm going to share a little bit of information

 about how to communicate with us in the coming weeks

 and moving forward.

 But then also Amanda, Chris, Sara and Evie, if there

 are any -- we didn't get to all the questions.

 We will be incorporating the questions that come in

 into additional training.

 We ourselves with VRS, we're going to develop -- we

 have been developing an FAQ that we'll publish and send

 out tomorrow.

 It will be on the PBA page that I linked to that I

 showed and Sara showed you how to navigate to in the

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 chat.

 So we'll have FAQs that come up that will address

 some of the questions that came in that we don't have

 time for.

 But if there's any other points that you want to make,

 Amanda, Chris, Evie and Sara, we'll go to you in just a

 second, but I just wanted to share with everyone both

 community partners and staff, so VRS staff and SSB

 staff, community partners, the question form that

 you've been using today that we've linked to and we can

 link to again is going to stay open at least through

 July.

 So that is the best way to communicate with this group

 here to say, this is how it's working, this is what's

 working well, here's where I experienced a hiccup, this

 is a question I have, so, you know, you can always

 contact any of us directly, but it will be best if we

 can divide some of those questions and be able to

 answer them as quickly as possible if you submit them

 into the form.

 And then we'll be updating.

 The plan is to update the FAQ about weekly and we will

 at the end of the week, so we're going to, would on

 questions through the week, and then update on Friday,

 and I'll send out emails via the email list that we

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 talked about when there are new FAQs that are put

 out.

 But you can always just check the website, too, to see

 if there's anything new there.

 But we'll communicate those about weekly.

 >> Sara: I'm just going to add, if you have been using

 our question form, which I think a lot of you have

 because we've gotten so many good questions, there is a

 last question number 5, where you can put your contact

 information so we're happy to follow up with you

 directly, I mean, your contact information comes

 privately through that form, it's not public, so, you

 know, if you're submitting those questions and you have

 a specific scenario or something that you want to ask

 and you want us to get back to you specifically to you,

 make sure you put your contact information.

 Otherwise we will just collect all the questions and we

 will work on keeping our FAQ up to date.

 So I just wanted to draw your attention to the ability

 to ask a specific question and get an answer directly

 back if you put in your contact information.

 >> Kim: Great.

 So Amanda, Evie, Sara, in particular, or, Chris, any

 questions that you saw come through that we can answer

 in the last couple minutes here?

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 That you want to hit.

 No.

 Okay.

 So closing comments.

 Anything else, Evie, Sara, Amanda, Chris?

 >> Sara: No.

 I would just say thank you for coming today.

 We know that we shared a lot of information with you

 today.

 And use that form, ask us questions.

 Really, we appreciate the partnership that we have.

 I know both Evie and I and Amanda, too have sat on both

 sides of the table as far as job placement services, so

 we really do understand and value that partnership that

 we have with you.

 And supporting an individual through this process is a

 team approach and, so, communication is just really the

 key.

 As we go through some of these changes, we'd hope that

 we provided some new guidance that will help the

 process long, but we also know when we present anything

 new, it takes a while to absorb that, but it takes a

 situation, a natural situation, to be able to address

 it.

 So just stay in really good communication with the

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 placement team and when you're in doubt, just consult.

 We want to keep that partnership open.

 We want to support the individuals to be successful.

 We know that the changes to the general PBA come online

 July 1st and we know that the payment option for

 the E1 PBA also comes online July 1st.

 So we've tried to make them work as closely in tandem

 as possible, but there are some significant

 differences.

 But just reach out and ask questions.

 We're all in this together.

 >> Chris: Very well said, Sara.

 Thank you so much.

 I know we're ending a couple minutes ahead of schedule.

 Absolutely, we value the partnership, VRS, SSB, and our

 community partners.

 We can't do this work without you.

 And I just hope that this information gives you what

 you need, but, yes, as Sara said, you may need to

 revisit this video, you may -- I mean, we want to

 encourage you to reach out to the resources that Kim

 and her team are putting up on our community partners

 page.

 And, again, my thanks to everyone for joining us and

 paying attention for three hours.

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 That's a big feat.

 So, again, my thanks.

 Evie:  I just want to say thank you, too.

 And also, watch the community partners site because

 Sara and I and some others are developing some more

 in-depth training on the process.

 So you'll see some more trainings coming out on the E1

 and some general on the process.

 >> Kim: I echo what my colleagues have said.

 We value this partnership.

 We're so grateful for you.

 This is going to be great for the individuals that we

 serve and providing services to them where they need

 it.

 In so, we are committed to working together and making

 this work.

 So we can do that by just ongoing communication and

 hope to hear from you good, bad, or otherwise.

 So thank you very much.

 Have a great day.

 And we'll see you soon.

 >> Kim: I'm ending the meeting for all, so thanks,

 everybody.



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