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August 2008 MessageIn this message
DVR Rocks!DVR staff, partners and customers are contributing in major ways to our continued success! We have now finished 10 months of our federal fiscal year and, in comparison to a year ago, most of our performance indicators are showing positive improvements. Please accept my sincere thanks for all the work that you do. We are demonstrating that we can effectively build our capacity and can exceed our performance expectations. Your hard work, dedication and commitment do make a huge difference! As the Director, I am honored by the work that we do and very much appreciate each of you. Applications are increasing; we have 7,652 new applications so far this federal fiscal year. New plan development has increased; we have written 4,000 IPEs so far this federal fiscal year. Successful rehabilitations have increased; we have 1,863 successful rehabilitations so far this federal fiscal year [and as I write this, we have exceeded the number of successful rehabilitations we had for all of last year!]. The rehabilitation rate has steadily increased and it is now at 61.2% - exceeding both the federal standard and our goal! We still have areas for continued improvement, such as assuring that individuals progress into plan and receive services in a timely way and increasing the wages and benefits customers earn at placement, but we are absolutely on the right track. Please accept my thanks! Difficult decision … but the Statewide In-Service Training is CancelledAs many of you are aware, Governor Chris Gregoire has asked all state agencies to make immediate adjustments to our administrative spending. Even though Washington’s economy remains healthy, a weakening national economy has affected us. The skyrocketing costs for groceries and the high price of fuel are being felt by all Washingtonians and by state agencies and institutions as well. To mitigate the unforeseen impact of rising fuel costs and a continued softening of the national economy, the Governor has asked us to take specific action to increase our budget savings accordingly. We now have a freeze on hiring to fill new staff vacancies; we are unable to approve any non-emergency out-of-state travel; we have a freeze on discretionary purchase of new equipment and we have a freeze on signing of non-emergency personal services contracts. In line with the Governor's letter, DVR has cancelled the planned Statewide In-Service scheduled for Sept. 9-11 in Tacoma. We recognize the value that the statewide in-service would have provided us with an opportunity to recognize staff and learn from the keynote speakers and the 60 breakout sessions. It would have been our first statewide in-service since 2005 and a great way to celebrate the end of ‘Order of Selection.’ Regardless, we also know that by cancelling the training, we will reduce our fuel consumption and be able to comply with the freeze on personal services contracts for many of the trainers. It is a difficult but right decision for us. Please join me in thanking the planning committee, our partners and all the staff that agreed to present. We applaud your hard work and commitment to DVR. It's important that we all recognize that the administrative reductions are not impacting our client services resources. This is not a resource issue for us. We want to assure that we keep communicating that we have the resources and an expectation to continue delivering quality services to our customers. We will provide you with on-going updates as we receive them. My sincere thanks to each of you for your assistance as we proceed. Summertime Leadership ActivitiesThe Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment is gearing up for the Ninth Annual Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) next week. YLF is scheduled for August 10-15 at The Evergreen State College in Olympia. Once again, a group of energetic young people with disabilities from across the state will work together to gain additional skills and take those next steps forward in leadership development. As one of the sponsors, we support DVR customers who are interested in attending and being a part of YLF each year. DVR staff and partners will again participate as part of the training team and we all look forward to getting to know this new group of emerging leaders! State Workforce Board needs your inputWashington’s 2008 strategic workforce development plan ('High Skills, High Wages')is now available in draft form and we need your input. Have we identified the right goals, objectives, and activities to increase employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities? Public forums were held in Eastern Washington July 22-24. Thanks to all of you that participated! Vancouver, Olympia, and Bremerton will host the next High Skills, High Wages public forums through a combination of public forums and interactive television links on August 11 from 12:30-2:30. Another forum is scheduled for August 26 for Seattle, Tacoma, and Mt. Vernon. You are invited to participate in person or by videoconference. Written comments are welcome as well. For meeting locations and a copy of the draft strategic workforce development plan, go to: http://www.wtb.wa.gov/Activities_HighSkills.asp YouthSource Renton earns U.S. Department of Labor AwardThe U.S. Department of Labor honored YouthSource Renton, a multi-agency education, employment and development center for at-risk youth, with a Recognition of Excellence Award at the national 2008 Workforce Innovations Conference in New Orleans earlier this month. The Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County is a key funder and partner of YouthSource. See: http://www.metrokc.gov/dchs/CSD/WorkTraining/In-School.htm Washington is Recognized as one of the Best States for BusinessOur colleagues at CTED (Community Trade and Economic Development) shared the following good news: Washington State made the headlines for moving up to third place in Forbes.com rankings of the Best States for Business. You may recall that last year Washington and its culture of innovation was Forbes’ big story when we moved from 12th to 5th place. While we still have work to do, our higher ranking is welcome national recognition that helps us attract and retain business investment. Our work together is what makes this possible. To find out more, click on the links below: Governor Gregoire’s announcement about Forbes.com ranking Seattle Center for Independent Living Seeks a New Executive DirectorThe Alliance for People with disAbilities – the Seattle-based Center for Independent Living – is seeking a new Executive Director. The recruitment announcement will be available soon. If you are interested in this exciting career opportunity, be watching for the announcement. In the meantime, please check out the Alliance’s website: http://www.disabilitypride.org/ and consider the possibilities! Beginning to Plan the Annual Report/CalendarEach year, DVR is honored to have the opportunity to use the Annual Report and Calendar to highlight our achievements and success stories. We’ll be assembling the content for our 2009 Calendar over the next 3 months. Now is the time to begin identifying outstanding customer success stories, employers to recognize and partnerships to highlight. Please share your ideas and suggestions with Kathy Krulich at State Office. She’ll be organizing our effort this year. Thanks Kathy! Governor’s Awards – Submit Nominations by August 29It’s that time again. We have the opportunity to recognize employers from across the state that demonstrate best practices and are leaders in their communities for promoting the employment of people with disabilities. The Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment and the Washington State Business Leadership Network are anxiously awaiting your nominations! The deadline is August 29 at 5 p.m. The nomination packet and the letter of invitation from Governor Chris Gregoire are available on the WSBLN website: www.wsbln.org Wellness – Mini moves can add upWhen it comes to boosting your health it’s important to know that even small changes can contribute to your wellbeing. In this busy day and age implement small changes in your lifestyle instead of reaching for perfection when it comes to healthy living. Even mini moves can add up to huge disease-fighting payoffs. Here are a few easily adopted mini moves each day:
Closing thoughtsAugust is a great time of year to recharge your batteries. With school and fall activities just around the corner I hope you take many opportunities in these August summer days to have fun with friends and family. I appreciate very much your dedication to our customers. You are making a huge difference in the lives of so many. Lynnae Ruttledge |
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