OVR COMMITTEE MEET & DISCUSS MINUTES 2-22-10
OVR Meet and Discuss Minutes
2-22-2010
The meeting started with Cindy Mundis talking about CSPD, and how OVR is to meet the requirements of the 1992 Rehab Act and the 1998 Amendments. The deadline is Oct 1st, 2016 for every OVR Counselor to get their Masters Degree, or else the employer will separate them from their position in L&I (OVR). We have hired 414 people who met the standard when they were hired. PA OVR also got an award from NCRE (The National Council on Rehabilitation Educators) for the way they recruited Counselors. Our retention rate is 73%
Staffing and Complement – We are doing well with getting Counselors hired, but we need secretaries desperately. We have requested 12 waivers to hire Secretaries. In regards to the fact that we were asked to give up 58 vacancies within OVR, we got that number reduced to 10 for OVR itself, and 2 for HGAC (which will come from AFSCME). (Of the 10 OVR positions that we gave up, 4 will be from PSSU, 4 from AFSCME, and 2 from our Management). These total of 12 positions were all vacant positions. There is no freeze on Counselor positions. We will hire Social Worker and Rehab Teachers in BBVS. Denise Verchimak indicated that we still want to hold to the 4 to 1 ratio of Counselors to Secretaries, but some offices have ratios of over 7 to 1. York DO will fill a Counselor position ASAP. There is a Clerical vacancy in Central Office. RSA still has training grants for people who want to get their Masters Degree (individual training grants). In terms of the Extension of Probationary Periods for Counselors, a combination of 19 counselors and Interns were provided extensions since 2001. PSSU is concerned about so many extensions, and we feel they are not being properly trained. Denise Verchimak felt that 6 months is not enough of training for Counselors, and realizes the extending of probation periods is “hard to swallow”. There were 4 extensions in 2009 (out of 76 hired in 2009). Work has slowed down in many offices, and Denise said that possibly clerical overtime may be possible. There are offices who are doing clerical overtime now, and they are doing it on Saturdays. Tom Washic talked about a 25 hour (weekly) overtime cap on overtime (per caseload ?) He said that no Supervisors are doing overtime.
Office Closings – Denise said that OA says who gets paid for closing, not us. The Managers are to use their best judgement in doing a closing. Tom Washic said that no one is to “work from home” when it is snowing and people can’t get to work. Mr. Washic said that he will talk to the DA’s about communicating better with Staff about bad weather and closings.
Budget – Last year, we did not spend $ 7 million, and it was probably due to not having enough Counselors. PSSU suggested raising what we pay for college, to use
more of our money. But Tom Washic said that that change would require discussion by the State Board, would require public meetings, etc. We did look at increasing the BTT amounts in the past. Central Office has talked to the DA’s about spending money. We have received $ 5million so far this year in Social Security reimbursements. We have level funding again for our State Match, Supported Employment was decreased to $ 482,000. State VR is no longer being funded, as is the ICAN Program. We will not be getting a COLA in our funding next year. We have a lot of money, however, and we are looking at opening the “Order of Selection”, making more people eligible for OVR services. But this change would also need State Board approval.
Out of the $20.925 million we received in ARRA money, we spent $293,000 so far. The use of OJT is starting to pick up, and we have used $ 147, 000 in OJT. We will have ARRA funding until 9-30-2011.
When PSSU Asked if we can use Fund Code 1 for Staff Training, we were told that we have been sending people to the PRA Conference and other training.
Careerlink costs – In the year ending 6-30-09, we spent $ 833,000 on Careerlinks, and so far this year, we spent $605, 000, (as of 2-22-2010).
GOALS - At this time of the year we should be at 33% of our goal, but we are at 43% of our goal, ahead of our goal. Only one office is behind in their goals. The “prorating of goals” was discussed, if we “shut down” before 9-30-2010. Denise said that she will think about this.
CWDS – It was asked what can be seen by Careerlink staff in regards to an OVR case. Ryan Hyde said that only Base Record info can be seen by the Careerlink, unless the client inputs their Keystone ID and their password. UAT testing went well, and 1000 scenarios were worked on. They also need volunteers again soon (at the end of March), and they need 5 people total (2-3 case Managers, 2 clerical and 1 Manager), for 2 to 3 weeks. The Saturday rollout went well, but then the following week, the system was timing out. The permanent fix then went out and it fixed it. All staff are to be trained in the CWDS system. The IT dept will be putting letterhead into the system. Also, when a Counselor selects a provider and all services on a screen, they will show up and you will just need to click on it to enter it into the system.
The Rights and Responsibilities form – This form was developed by Central Office to reflect changes in the new CRCC Code of Ethics. Questions have been sent to Central Office about the form. Some of these questions were addressed in this meeting. For example, “legal issues” was discussed, and the example presented was about if a client is a felon, they can’t train for or take certain jobs, due to their legal record. In the
“Protect from Risk” example, it was stated that one service will be more risky than others, like putting people in a car to drive (is it appropriate for this person to drive ?). Another example of risk in our program would be where psychological testing for a client reveals certain client problems, of which they may not be aware. PSSU suggested that the OVR handbook may need to be changed, due to issues on the “Rights and Responsibilities” form.
Data Entry into CWDS - Ryan Hyde indicated that it is OK in CWDS to go from status 02, right to status 16. But he said that backdating certain things into the previous quarter will be a problem. So he advised Counselors to get cases into CWDS on time, if possible.
Safety - In Norristown, safety concerns were approved by L&I Safety coordinator Becky Pratt. Denise Verchimak indicated that Police should be asked to come into all D.O’s to talk with Staff about safety, and have the Police evaluate the building, to suggest safe procedures in dealing with the public, etc. In Erie, there was problems at the Wendy’s restaurant, and at the DPW parking lots, including a robbery and an abduction of a BVS employee. It was suggested that BVRS and BVS share a Security Guard. “No Trespassing” signs should be put up, and increased patrols by Police should occur. Other agencies are in the Erie building (Employment Compensation, and Welfare Office). Management (Tom Washic) said that he will look into security in this office “Immediately” and “Right Away”.
Clarification of mileage policies – Management says that people who are Alternatively Headquartered, must stay at least 1 hour in their Headquarters in order to get travel time to their DO.
Next Meet and Discuss – April 27th at Central Office.