Date
Dear School Administrator and/or Special Education Director:
Iowa Department for the Blind Vocational Rehabilitation Brings Services To Your School!
Like you, the Iowa Department for the Blind Vocational Rehabilitation (IDB-VR) is committed to helping students who are blind or have vision loss graduate from high school and go on to achieve meaningful, gainful employment in the community.
IDB-VR and many schools across Iowa have worked together to serve students as they prepare for life after high school. IDB-VR is offering to bring our services to you! Specifically, we have assigned an IDB-VR counselor to your school to complete a variety of activities with students, who are blind or have vision loss, including:
• take applications for VR services,
• attend IEP meetings, and
• provide assistance with transition planning,
• provide pre-employment transition services in the form of work experiences, introduction to career pathways, counseling on opportunities for post-secondary learning and job exploration, and training
and information in the areas of workplace readiness and self-advocacy.
• consult with students, parents and teachers about IDB-VR services,
• provide guidance about informed choice, disability issues and employment, and
• conduct follow-up.
We believe that by offering these services to students who are eligible or potentially eligible for vocational rehabilitation services through the Iowa Department for the Blind, we can increase the number of students with disabilities who graduate and go to work in your community. We are interested in meeting with you to share additional information about our agency and assist you in identifying students who are between the ages of 14 and 21 that are potentially eligible for our services.
Changes with WIOA have stressed the importance of partnerships between schools, the workforce and vocational rehabilitation programs. We want to support your school so that students who are blind, deaf-blind, or have vision loss have the academic, vocational, technology and independent living skills they need to make a smooth transition from school to work or post-secondary education.
Please let me know how the Iowa Department for the Blind-VR program can best support you, your school and the students that you serve.
Sincerely,
Keri Osterhaus
VR Program Administrator
524 4th Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
Email: Keri.osterhaus@blind.state.ia.us
Phone; 515-281-1281