Meet and Discuss Notes
1-27-09
CWDS Update – Ryan Hyde said that Annual Reviews are being registered as done in CWDS – it does register in CWDS. Enhancements to CWDS are coming in May. The Agenda for UAT testing is not complete yet, but the Agenda is to test everything in the CWDS system. Deloitte’s role in the testing is to fix errors, and do system integration testing (SIT). CWDS has cost OVR $8,836,279 so far (18% of the cost of CWDS is OVR’s portion of the cost). Updates go out to the field on a daily basis, usually 5-10 per day. There was a concern that our SSA data had been lost, but it was not lost – the figures just didn’t match up, and the data needed to be corrected. OIT is still working on clearing it. We will not lose SSI reimbursements. We also got a waiver from SSA on getting it straightened out. The "Employment Barriers" box will be fixed by Deloitte. There also is a problem with authorships of CPN’s in CWDS. The problem is that the former OVR Counselor’s CPN’s are being indicated as the new Counselor’s CPN’s. Ryan Hyde told us to have the (new) Counselor call the Help Desk, to report and correct the problem. SSA forms- Management says that we still need to complete the 1365 forms, in order for OVR to get SSA Ticket to Work reimbursement. Also, for OVR cases which have multiple Participant ID numbers (PID’s), this should be reported to the Help Desk, and a ticket number should be obtained. Also, before calling Help Desk, the CWDS coordinator should be consulted, to see if the problem is being addressed already.
Air Cards – PSSU told management that some D.O.’s may need more Air Cards, to increase productivity.
Budget Update – Fund code 1 – Has not been reduced. State Fund Code 5 -State extended supported employment. The original amount was $1,025,000, and it was reduced by $50,000 to $975,000. Management put out $800,000 till we see what the budget will look like, coming from Governor Rendell. State VR program took a bigger cut- in the amount of $1,365,000. We had requested $3,553,000. ICAN program was cut by $400,000. It was $943,000 in the past. This program is 100% State-funded. CIL’s - took a $97,000 cut, this program will be reduced to $1.8 million, and we expect more cuts. We won’t be surprised to see more cuts coming in all the programs. But also discussed was the $500 million (nationwide) that OVR could get from the President’s Economic Stimulus Plan. It would be $250 million a year for 2 years. PA OVR’s amount would be close to $10 million.
Social Security reimbursements- Allentown is doing very well in this area.
Big Ticket Fund in Central Office ? Yes, there is a "Big Ticket" fund (about $2 million) set aside in Central Office, for items costing over $50,000, like van modifications.
Bump Rights – for if or when layoffs come – Kara Sunday of Labor relations did not know how Bump Rights work, when layoffs occur. She was also asked to get PSSU an updated seniority list.
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Staffing Cindy Mundus has recruited 11 paid interns, hired in the Spring ’09 term. We are still permitted to hire VR Counselors. There are 2 Employment Facilitators in Philadelphia, and 1 in Reading. They run Job Clubs, Job Prep Workshops, resume writing, interviewing, and visiting with employers. They were hired because of staff shortages.
Goals and Statistics Doing well. As of the end of December, we have 37% of our goal achieved – should be at 25%. Our goal for this year is 8837 rehabs.
Leases Reading DO- their lease expires end of September, and there are 4 good proposals now. Trying to find space in Tamaqua at the Salvation Army building- but it appears they won’t be able to help us. We’ll look elsewhere. Erie DO – BBVS will move from the 3rd floor to the 4th floor. Pittsburg DO – working on a parking garage evacuation route. OVR wrote a letter to a County Executive about the problem , but we should have written a letter to the Mayor instead. The Building Inspector was prevented from going onto the roof, to inspect it. There is a lot of noise coming from the roof, also. There is also a seam opened up in the floor on the 2nd floor of the building. This may be due to settling, or due to the other building being attached to it recently. Tom Washic says that L & I is investigating this. The signage in the front of the building still has not had the spelling corrected.
Office Security Every D.O. now has a Safety Committee. There is formal L & I Safety training available – on various topics, including how to set up a safety committee. This training can be set up thru Beck Pratt. Statewide Safety training is also coming – to be done by GWU.
Careerlinks OVR spent $844,128.26, and will spend potentially $1,382,328 on Careerlinks. This amount will stay the same, even if some Careerlinks close. Some Careerlinks are shortening their hours of operation.
Workgroups – Clerical Workgroup is developing procedures and a manual for CWDS. There also is a "Hard of Hearing and Deaf/Blind" workgroup, a "D&A" workgroup, a Diversity workgroup (who are planning a conference) and an Employer Services workgroup. A Van Mod workgroup is being discussed.
PC replacement - We will be getting new computers in July. We are not converting to XP- because we don’t want the expense of it. We’ll use Windows 2000.
RSA Case Review RSA case review process has not changed. Central Office saw problems with case documentation. Counselors must be more specific when talking about tasks a client cannot do, when we are doing eligibilities. This requirement is based on the 1998 Amendments of the Rehab Act, which can be seen on the LION. Central Office will be putting out a "back to basics" training platform for case documentation.
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Noncompetitive Rehabs A percentage of our rehabs have to be competitive, for our RSA rating. Management says that we will not see "no more homemakers" in writing from Management. But we can’t have a great amount of closures being "homemakers". We can still appropriately document them. But we cannot change a case to a "homemaker" if we were not able to find them a job. If the case was started as a homemaker, and a service was provided, then the case can be closed as a successful Homemaker case.
Next Meet and Discuss Meeting – March 30, 31, 2009, at PSSU, Harrisburg