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FINAL DRAFT (4/10/12)
Recommendations to Improve Effectiveness of the National TACE Model
Introduction: Purpose of this document
The directors of the ten Technical Assistance and Continuing Education (TACE) Centers share
the Rehabilitation Services Administration’s (RSA’s) goal to improve capacities of the Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) system to serve the employment needs of people with disabilities. It is our
desire to meet the spirit and intent of the Rehab Act, regulations, the initial 2008 Notice Inviting
Applications and our cooperative agreements. After three years of evolving TACE protocols, we
have observed opportunities to improve effectiveness. This paper is our collective effort to
address these opportunities and to make recommendations for a more effective system that
utilizes the strengths and contributions of all VR system partners.
TACE Strengths
In a discussion of a more effective TACE model, it is important to identify the strengths of the
current system so that any suggested changes build upon a solid foundation. Using an
appreciative inquiry process with the state directors in our respective regions, we performed an
analysis of the current TACE model that resulted in the identification of five categories of
strengths that are articulated below.
Category 1: Awareness and Knowledge of the Unique Needs of our Customers
One of the major strengths of the current TACE model is that the TACE centers have intimate
knowledge of the unique technical assistance (TA) and continuing education (CE) needs of the
individual VR agencies, consumers, community rehabilitation programs (CRPs), and other
stakeholders in the community. The TA and CE needs vary from State to State, and many times,
within individual states, based on numerous factors that are best known by people living and
regularly interacting with people in the Region. The TACE programs have a long history of being
culturally and regionally sensitive to the VR programs in their areas and customize TA and CE
based on that awareness. Whenever possible, the TACE centers are inclusive of all VR
stakeholders in their Regions and are keenly aware of how stakeholders interact with the VR
programs and can tailor TA and CE based on this local information.
The TACE centers in each Region have developed trusting relationships with the VR programs
and other stakeholders. That trust is based on many years of consistency and reliability and
well-established lines of communication. These relationships are the cornerstone for all of the
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TACE activity and allow the TACE centers to create and modify TA and CE to maximize their
effectiveness.
Category 2: Responsiveness
One of the most important strengths of the TACE centers is timely responsiveness. The VR
programs and other stakeholders know that the TACE centers provide an ease of access that
can only be ensured by placement of the TACE centers within the Regions they serve. The VR
programs and other stakeholders across the nation receive rapid responses to their request for
TA and CE from the TACE centers. Training is developed quickly, and information is gathered
and disseminated to all affected parties within a reasonably short time.
The unique local knowledge of the TACE centers, and their experience responding to the needs
of their customers, ensures ongoing capacity to respond quickly and efficiently. In addition, the
TACE centers are able to identify emerging trends in their Regions and those shared across
TACE centers and develop TA and CE promptly to address the specific needs resulting from
these trends. There is simply no substitute for the timeliness and quality of TA and CE that can
be provided by local TACE centers that have well established relationships with VR programs
and other stakeholders in their Regions.
Category 3: Expertise
TACE centers employ knowledgeable staff with VR experience and expertise as well as
knowledge and skills in areas relating to VR partner agencies. The following are critical areas of
expertise possessed by TACE faculty that prepare professionals in the field of VR and support
RSA’s comprehensive system of personnel development:
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Knowledge of the public vocational rehabilitation program
Knowledge of current and recurring needs of VR professionals
Multi-modal approaches to TA and CE provision, including use of technology for
education
Knowledge of unique support needs for learners of all abilities
Knowledge of emerging practices and the performance, analysis and interpretation
of needs assessments
Numerous subject matter areas including but not limited to improved quality and
quantity of employment outcomes, transition, organizational development,
leadership, services to specific populations and program evaluation
Knowledge of the range of VR partner organizations including their current and
recurring TA & CE needs in order to provide improved VR services
Expertise and experience in accessible event management.
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Many of the TACE centers have the support and resources of major universities at their disposal
when providing TA and CE. This ensures that the training provided will be of the highest quality
and supported by a long-standing network of VR professionals. In addition, TACE centers are
approved to support the attainment of CRC credit for qualified rehabilitation professionals.
Each TACE center performs an annual and on-going needs assessment, and frequently assists
VR programs in their triennial comprehensive statewide needs assessment required by RSA.
TACE centers are experienced in developing work plans based on the results of these needs
assessments.
Category 4: Networking
The TACE centers constitute a powerful network of resources available to provide TA and CE to
the VR community. TACE centers network and collaborate with each other, RSA, CSAVR,
NCSAB, CANAR, universities, CRPs and other programs to ensure the highest quality of service
delivery. TACE centers often act as a conduit between the Designated State Units and RSA. The
TACE network results in an increased ability to leverage resources, develop products, and
deliver timely and effective TA and CE. The ability of TACE centers to network has resulted in
the development and utilization of learning communities around program evaluation, ethics
and transition. TACE centers share research and have the ability to help each other replicate
powerful and productive training programs. The networking capacity of the TACE centers
leverages the resources of several major research universities that are leaders in the field of
rehabilitation counseling, ensuring that there is a wealth of information available to the TACE
Consortium that increases the quality of TA and CE provided.
We recognize the benefit of a stronger collaborative community and would like to build on
current efforts. Below are a number of specific ways that the TACE centers work together to
develop, share and disseminate information that supports their mission of providing TA and CE:
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Monthly conference calls with RSA and each other to discuss current and emerging
needs and issues
Face-to-face meetings at conferences such as CSAVR, NCSAB, NCRE and the National
TACE Consortium forum
E-mail, list-serves and phone calls to obtain and share information, problem-solve
and identify needed resources for TA and CE
Sharing electronic resources via the Web such as training materials on specific topics
like Ethics, serving people with Autism, Motivational Interviewing in the VR program,
etc.
Periodically sending trainers to other Regions (at the request of the TACE in that
Region) to provide specialized training
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Partnering to develop web-based curriculum on Program Evaluation
Development of learning communities consisting of TACE staff from all of the
Regions that share information and investigate best practices on important topics
such as transition, ethics and fiscal issues.
Development of standards and curriculum designed to increase the professionalism
of rehabilitation personnel delivering employment services to consumers of the VR
program. The Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators (ACRE) training is
an example of such collaboration providing competency-based training for VR
Partners.
Facilitation of national data collection (ROI, federal employment of PWD,
employment conference initiatives, Randolph-Sheppard initiatives)
Facilitation of national communities of practice such as the Program Evaluation
Quality Assurance Summit Group and associated conferences
Presentations at national conferences and on webinars
Authorship of articles and documents such as IRIs
Partnering to implement leadership and supervision programs
Category 5: RSA Monitoring Process
The TACE centers assist the public VR programs and RSA in the monitoring process. The TACE
centers can help VR programs prepare for monitoring and are involved in the monitoring
process at whatever level the VR program desires, from simple consultation to full-time
immersion. TACE center staff helps the VR program and RSA develop TA and CE plans in
response to monitoring findings and these plans constitute a major portion of TACE center
activities throughout the year.
Foundation for Recommendations
Based on the strengths the TACE centers bring to the VR system, we have developed
recommendations for improvement. Following are the underlying values driving our
recommendations:
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Quality outcomes
Professionalism
Responsiveness
Collaboration
Flexibility
Accountability
Customer Service
Respect for partners and stakeholders
Efficiency (streamlined process)
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The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended provides the authorization to support training
centers that serve either a Federal region or another geographical area and provide for a broad
integrated sequence of training activities that focus on meeting recurrent and common training
needs of employed rehabilitation professionals throughout a multi-state geographical area.
The TACE Program Goal as stated in the Cooperative Agreement is to improve the quantity and
quality of employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities through technical assistance
(TA) and continuing education (CE) for State VR agencies and partners that cooperate with
State VR agencies. TACE centers should contribute to improved quality of vocational
rehabilitation counseling skills and related services for increased effectiveness and efficiency of
state vocational rehabilitation agencies’ service delivery, also, according to the Cooperative
Agreement.
With this funding authority and our values aligned, we offer the following broad
recommendations to enhance TACE services nationally.
Recommendations for Improvement
As we look toward the future, we envision a consortium of TACE centers that share resources
and staff expertise, collaborate on development of training and TA strategies to meet common
needs and complement each other’s availability of on-line programs and expertise.
Each TACE will bring unique strengths to the network, but all will provide culturally specific
solutions to the agencies in their geographic area. While staff from across the TACE Consortium
will contribute to a common knowledge base, each center will customize an approach for
utilization to the specific needs of the agencies they serve.
The TACE Consortium will consist of centers that are autonomous but support each other as a
greater whole, rather than act in isolation. Therefore, leadership will be decentralized and
shared, building a peer-to-peer network with flexibility to achieve agreed-upon commitments.
Administrative processes will not be centralized but will be replicable for each center, allowing
for ease of collective reporting and resource identification, while addressing field-initiated
concerns.
Some specific recommendations for improvement include the following:
1. Increase Collaboration and Strengthen the TACE Consortium
We recognize the opportunity for the ten TACE centers to develop further a National TACE
Consortium around common themes and priorities. Currently, the TACE centers collaborate in
a number of different ways to develop, share and disseminate information that supports their
mission of providing TA and CE. Some of these strategies were listed above (See TACE
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Strengths). We are striving to create more effective and efficient systems for sharing and
leveraging resources that will enhance our capacity to serve VR programs. These include but
are not limited to:
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A relational data base for needs assessment, work plan and reporting that will be webbased, searchable and mined for data in a variety of ways. Each TACE will enter
information for their geographic region and will be able to search for needs and
activities nationally by topic area. RSA will be able to see discrete reports for each
region and query for a wide variety of reports at any time. It will facilitate aggregation of
data at the national level while affording each TACE Center management functions for
their own information.
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A web-based inventory of knowledge, abilities and skills of TACE staff for use of the
TACE Consortium in planning for cross training, region-to-region training/TA,
identification of gaps in expertise and staff development activities within the TACE
Consortium.
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A standardized process for collaboration which is developed, directed and administered
by the TACE Consortium. The process would include annual meetings consisting of
sharing of information from the regional needs assessments and advisory forums,
review and determination of common needs, brainstorming potential collaborative
ventures, and planning for collaboration. This would result in an annual written plan for
collaboration, with input from CSAVR and NCSAB representatives, which would be
submitted to RSA for their review. Activities will be completed on a national basis or
through designated regions based on need, practicality and equitability. This process
would allow for naturally occurring collaborative activities which we have found to be
more productive than prescribed collaboration requirements.
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Expansion of nation-wide TACE learning communities that identify best practices and
develop state-of-the-art training materials in response to emerging trends, issues and
concerns facing the public VR program and its stakeholders. These learning
communities will be marked by representation from all TACE centers, flexibility, speed
and responsiveness. The content developed by these learning communities will be the
shared property of all TACE centers and will be available through multiple sources,
including on-line and electronic sources.
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The development of national training opportunities that are available to VR programs
and their partners across the nation and that provide training that is collaboratively
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developed by the TACE centers. Funding for these national training opportunities will
be shared by the TACE centers as will organization, platform development, content
development and instruction.
We recommend an internal structure among the TACE grantees in partnership with RSA and
State VR agencies rather than an external coordination entity to accomplish the establishment
of the Consortium. By employing the strategies recommended above, we can create an efficient
system that does not duplicate staff efforts and resources.
2. Support RSA’s Objectives through Strengths-Based Partnerships
In order to assist RSA, State VR agencies and their stakeholders to meet agreed upon
objectives, the ten TACE centers recommend the establishment or expansion of the following
partnerships:
Partnerships among State Agency Directors, RSA and TACEs: The overall goal of TACE
collaboration is to maximize the provision of TA and CE that will result in positive outcomes for
consumers served by VR agencies and their stakeholders. In true partnerships, all parties have
a stake in meeting mutually agreed-upon outcomes, have clear and specific roles and are
equally accountable for achievement of those outcomes. To strengthen the partnership
between State Agency Directors, RSA and the TACEs, the TACE centers recommend using
regional forums such as advisory committees or regional CSAVR meetings to reach consensus
on the following:
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Clarification and prioritization of the needs of VR agencies and their partners based
upon monitoring findings and input from the VR agencies and TACEs
Recommendations for national strategies to address specific needs
Specifying the roles and responsibilities of all partners.
The current model for creating a TA Plan following monitoring employs a similar strategy. We
recommend a similar approach for determining other TACE priorities, including an RSA
representative in regional conversations between State Agency directors and the TACE Center.
Partnerships with CSAVR and NCSAB: In addition to the critical partnership with RSA, the TACE
centers must maintain close relationships with CSAVR and NCSAB. In these organizations of
State VR agency leadership, emerging needs and promising practices are identified, especially
through the work of the standing committees. The TACE center directors have been invited to
participate in the CSAVR list serve and monthly membership phone calls. These communication
links are a vital part of an on-going needs assessment process and keep the TACE centers at the
forefront of resources when TA and CE solutions are needed.
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Partnerships with CANAR: Many State VR agencies provide counseling and services to
American Indian participants in close collaboration with tribal VR programs. Therefore, the
Consortium of Administrators of Native American Rehabilitation (CANAR) is another important
partner for the TACE Consortium. The CANAR CIRCLE cooperative agreement is very new to the
TACE business, and relies on the experience of established TACE centers. We work
cooperatively and assist as needed and indicated by each State or tribal VR program. In turn,
the tribal VR programs contribute to our understanding of culturally appropriate services and
enrich our expertise.
Partnerships with CRPs: Since community rehabilitation programs (CRPs) are critical partners
for most state VR agencies, many of the TACE centers are active partners in providing training
and development activities for these service providers. The national organizations APSE and
ACRE (Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators) are important links to this
constituency group, and TACE directors/staff are actively involved in both.
Partnerships with R&T Centers: There are a total of 29 Research and Training (R&T) Centers
across the country, each specializing in a unique subject area. As research findings are
available, TACE centers may utilize the reports and materials published to enhance current
knowledge in the field. We also assist the R & T Centers in dissemination of the materials and
engagement of State VR personnel in studies. During monthly TACE director teleconferences,
representatives from a variety of R&T Centers are invited to contribute to the discussion as
their research relates to the topic of the month.
3. Regional TACE Centers
We recommend the maintenance of Regional TACE centers. Each TACE center has an
understanding of the uniqueness of each state agency, strong relationships with state agency
personnel and established methods and channels of communication. This allows TACE centers
to discuss needs, goals, and strategies to achieve these goals in an open manner. It also allows
the TACE centers to deliver technical assistance and continuing education which is customized
to the unique needs and characteristics of the state agency. In addition, many regions have
developed strong collaborative networks, facilitated by the TACE centers, to share knowledge,
solve problems and identify emerging needs and practices. These relationships strengthen the
VR profession, especially in times of political appointments of VR leadership. The region proves
to be an excellent training ground with a tradition of support for newcomers and kinship among
neighboring states. The TACE centers provide a structure for these connections.
4. Disseminate Promising Practices and Promote Utilization of Rehabilitation Resources
The TACE Consortium, together with the National Clearinghouse for Rehabilitation Training
Materials (NCRTM), can disseminate promising practices through webinars and good practice
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monographs that are identified by members of the larger VR community. In particular, the
TACE centers, RSA, CSAVR and NCSAB are in a unique position to identify promising practices in
State VR agency service delivery. In addition, there is an underdeveloped opportunity for TACE
centers to utilize specific IRI documents (i.e. “Rehabilitation of Individuals with Autism
Spectrum Disorders”) as best practices guides that would be used in collaboratively-developed
TACE training programs, available in multiple formats.
5. Influence Administrative Processes
The TACE centers appreciate the opportunity for partnership with RSA to develop an improved
process and system for work plan development and reporting, using uniform descriptors and
data that would provide standardized national aggregate information. As a start, the TACE
directors developed a standard Executive Summary for the 2011 Annual Report and combined
our reports using this format. We expect to incorporate feedback from RSA to have a final
version of that Executive Summary. This will provide all RSA units (Training, TA, SMPID, etc.) a
useful compilation of the work occurring in the ten TACE centers across the country.
Within the TACE Consortium, other processes could be standardized and shared to
accommodate all TACE stakeholders across the country. These administrative processes would
assist in:
a.) Establishing a Work Plan describing TA and CE activities that the Regional TACE center will
conduct to assist State VR agencies to accomplish the goals identified in their VR State Plans
and to achieve other performance and compliance goals identified by RSA’s monitoring reports.
b.) Collaborating and coordinating with other TACE centers and with other entities that provide
TA and CE to State VR and agency partners to provide TA and CE that is effective and cost
efficient.
c.) Evaluating how well each TA and CE activity meets a targeted area of need based on goals
and objectives established for the activity in the TACE center’s work plan.
d.) Providing useful information to RSA through reporting mechanisms as described above and
regular meetings or other communication formats supporting opportunities to work toward
shared objectives.
Conclusion
The goal of these recommendations is to maximize the provision of TA and CE that will result in
(1) improved quantity and quality of VR employment outcomes for individuals with significant
disabilities; (2) improved quality of VR counseling and services; and (3) increased effectiveness
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and efficiency of State VR agencies in delivering VR services. The ten TACE centers are fully
committed to working with RSA in this joint endeavor as described in our Cooperative
Agreements. We are also eager to provide the TA and CE that will effectively assist the State VR
agencies and their partners provide the services needed to increase the quantity and quality of
employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities.
As we face a new five-year cycle for the TACE Cooperative Agreement in 2014, we hope these
recommendations will inform the priorities in some way. We look forward to the opportunity
to work with RSA to further develop these broad recommendations based on our values and
strengths. In the last year we have enjoyed the support of our Project Officers (both Suzanne
Mitchell and Roseann Ashby), the Training and Services Division and a cooperative spirit from
the State Monitoring and Program Improvement Division. We are hopeful that the future will
be built with this collaborative approach and we are ready and willing to play a leadership role
in shaping our opportunities.