Blogs

Dear IARP colleagues,

In an effort to keep the IARP membership fully informed on the status of our association, I will be providing a monthly written update to the entire IARP membership following the monthly IARP Board of Directors meeting.  I will also be hosting a monthly President’s call in “question and answer.”  The written update is intended to provide information to the membership timely following the monthly board meeting, and the “question and answer” is intended to give every member the opportunity to ask questions and provide input to the IARP leadership team.  Each “question and answer” session will be attended by myself and one other board member.  So on to the update!! 

2015 IARP Annual Conference

This year’s conference committee has really outdone themselves.  The lineup of topics and speakers is top drawer.  The conference promises to be one for the ages – both in terms of the location and the program content itself. One of the principal charges to this year’s conference planning committee was a renewed focus toward evidence based presentations and presentations that will results in take-a ways that can immediately be implemented into your practice.  Here are some highlights that I am personally interested in: 

• Scott Weiss who is practicing attorney will be describing the essential elements to include in an expert engagement letter. There is always a good nugget of information in these types of sessions. 
• John Gardner will be discussing the economic processes to estimate the present value of future health care costs. While I don’t personally do economic projections in my practice it is helpful to understand who our analysis impacts the economic analysis. 
• Patrick Dunn who is both a Rehabilitation Counselor and Attorney will present on integrating research evidence into your rehabilitation analysis and opinion formulation.   

These and many more topics promise to deliver the high quality content that you have come to expect from IARP.  The part that is most exciting to me is to see the broad scope of topics that truly reflects the multidisciplinary scope of the IARP membership.  If you can only attend one conference this year – make sure it is the 2015 IARP Annual Conference!! 

Education Committee 

The IARP Education Committee is being restructured under Board member Jim Boyd to work with section liaisons, state chapters, and graduate instructors to broaden the scope of educational offerings to IARP members.  This includes sequenced courses in core practice areas, advanced training in selected/specialized topics, and self-study opportunities with the journals and publications in our field.  .Granted, these are all in development, but it gets the word out and may even generate some interest in getting more actively involved.    

State of the Rehabilitation Counseling Profession

Over the past several weeks, you have seen multiple announcements from IARP and other rehabilitation oriented associations, credentialing and certifying bodies.  The most prominent of which was an announcement from the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) regarding passage of a merger between CORE and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).  Immediately following this announcement, IARP staff was directed to post the announcement to our all member forum.  Shortly thereafter, additional announcements were made by the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) and the National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE).  Following each release, IARP staff were directed to pass this information on receive input from our membership.  What followed was several weeks of excellent discussion on our all member forum.  

Long before this announcement was made, IARP realized the landscape underlying the vocational rehabilitation community was shifting beneath our feet.  IARP did not want to be reactionary to these changes, so the board moved over a year ago to fund efforts targeted toward unifying and strengthening the relationship between the various stakeholders in the rehabilitation community.  The Board of Directors approved three members to represent IARP in this initiative – Ms. Lynne Tracy (California), Ms. Katherine Dunlap (Montana), and Mr. Bob Pare’ (New Jersey).  This effort resulted in the formation of Rehabilitation Counseling Coalition (RCC). Groups and organizations agreeing to participate in the RCC include:

•  American Board of Vocational Experts (ABVE)
• Counsel of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR)
• International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals (IARP)
• National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns (NAMRC)
• National Association of Service Providers in Private Rehabilitation (NASPPR)
• National Council of State Agencies for the Blind (NCSAB)
• National Council on Rehabilitation Education (NCRE)
• National Rehabilitation Association (NRA)
• National Rehabilitation Counseling Association (NRCA)
• Rehabilitation Counselor and Educator’s Association (RCEA) 

Over the weekend of August 8, 2015, the RCC convened at Wright State University in Dayton, OH.  In addition to member organizations of the RCC, several affiliate members were also present that included Frank Lane, Executive Director of CORE; Patty Nunez, President of CORE; and Cindy Chapman, Executive Director of CRCC. The RCC was the first group CORE addressed to discuss the CORE/CACREP merger which will take effect July 1, 2017. Over the next two years, CORE will be working on the transition that includes standards review and revision for graduate Rehabilitation Counseling programs and alignment of CORE standards with those of CACREP. Through the RCC, IARP has advocated several positions to CORE which were adopted by the RCC and published on August 17, 2015.  The RCC position statements include: 

• Introduce and legitimize the RCC to CACREP
• Publicly and in writing by both CORE and CACREP, recognize CRC as the premier credential for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
• Through review and revision of CORE standards, reinforce the CRC as the premier credential for Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
• Facilitate the ongoing appointment of a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Representative to the CACREP Board, post July 1, 2017
• Promote the Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling profession as a distinct and valued specialty of counseling
• CORE is asked to influence CACREP and NBCC on grandfathering language so as to not disenfranchise current practitioners
• CORE will assist in addressing the lack of pathways for VRCs in reciprocity proposals set forth by ACES, NBCC and AMHCA as well as the lack of congruence with ACA’s reciprocity language. 

During the most recent RCC meeting, the constituent members spent significant time discussing the ultimate effects of this merger upon the profession of Rehabilitation Counseling.  As a fundamental tenet, the parties agreed that the profession of vocational and Rehabilitation Counseling must emerge stronger than ever as the discipline that serves, counsels and in some instances, advocates for individuals with disabilities. The RCC with be focusing on the Certified Rehabilitation Counselor’s scope of practice and protection of that scope of practice from impingement upon by others who lack the unique knowledge, skills, and abilities of the Rehabilitation Counselor.

 To further provide information to our members, I have invited the CORE leadership to directly address the IARP membership regarding this merger in the coming weeks.  I have directed IARP staff to arrange this webinar.  Further information will be forthcoming regarding this webinar date and time. This webinar will provide IARP members a forum to express questions and concerns regarding the CORE/CACREP merger.  Further, IARP and RCC members Katherine Dunlap, Elizabeth Skyles (Illinois), and Lynne Tracy will be holding a town hall meeting at the IARP Conference in New Orleans on Friday, October 23, 2015 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. This session will provide an outstanding opportunity to have your concerns heard directly by RCC members.

As you process these many sources of information, it is easy to become impassioned and emotional and assume that because you have not seen or heard something that nothing is occurring.  As issues are brought to the attention of the IARP leadership from our chapters and our many organizational affiliations, we are taking action in a measured and calculated fashion that supports the long term viability of the Rehabilitation Counseling profession and of all IARP members.   Should you have questions or a concern, we want to hear from you! Without the input and engagement of our members, and affiliated organizations, IARP has no way to learn or emerging or pressing issues of professional concern.  The IARP leadership, multiple IARP members from around the country, and multiple affiliated associations are working hard to influence the entire rehabilitation field – not just the Rehabilitation Counseling – in positive and productive ways.  

Section Updates

You may recall that several months ago, the IARP Board of Directors sought to streamline our membership dues structure, which concurrently providing greater access to the content comprising the special interest sections.  In support of the IARP Course of a Lifetime branding initiative, the IARP Board of Directors did away with a section specific dues structure – every IARP member now has access to content from each section (with the exception of the SSA VE BPA holders which requires the participant hold an active BPA with the SSA). This rich source of cross section information will give every member greater insight into all that IARP has to offer in terms of special interest practice groups.  At the June 2015 IARP Board Meeting, the board considered and adopted a new developmental section dealing with vocational rehabilitation services targeted toward students transitioning from school to work, but also transition to education/training, independent living, and community participation. 

 At the August 2015 board meeting, the board moved to appoint Liz Watson (Illinois) as the section representative to the IARP Board of Directors and the very first chair of this new section.  Ms. Watson will now focus her attention on the organizational structure of this new section and to seat a section board who is lead it forward.  More information on this new section is forthcoming.  

Social Security Administration Vocational Expert Section

The Social Security Vocational Expert (SSA-VE) Section has seated its new Board of Directors under Chairperson Vanessa May (Iowa). The SSA-VE section has been very busy over the past several weeks, the most of impressive of which has involved section fundraising to continue to support a lobbyist to advocate for a fee increase for vocational experts providing vocational expert testimony to the Social Security Administration.    

Forensic Section

The Forensic Section has also seated its new Board of Directors under Chairperson Burt Ashman (Louisiana).  The Forensic section continues to support the association wide training goals by production of a basic skills series of webinars that are under production. 

Life Care Planning Section (International Academy of Life Care Planners)

The Life Care Planning Section has seated its new Board of Directors under Chairperson Debbie Marcinko (Pennsylvania). The Life Care Planning section continues with preparations for co-chairing the 2015 International Symposium for Life Care Planning (ISLCP) with the Foundation for Life Care Planning Research (FLCPR).  The ISLCP will be held in Scottsdale, AZ on September 17, 2015 through September 20, 2015.  Beginning in 2016, IARP will assume full production and management of the ISLCP.  The Life Care Planning section continues with the development of a basic skills series related to the process of life care planning. 

Rehabilitation and Disability Case Management

The Rehabilitation and Disability Case Management (RDCM) Section has seated its new board under Chairperson Ed Steffan (Illinois). The RDCM section continues with the development of a basic skills series related to disability and case management services.  The section is also exploring ways to provide a greater level of outreach and information dissemination to members related to this special interest area.  

Chapter Updates

Several IARP chapters continue to be actively engaged in drawing resources and guidance from IARP National resources to build and support their respective chapters.  Still other chapters remain disengaged and struggle to meet the challenges of chapter growth and management.  IARP Director Beverly Olsen (Maine) is tasked with supporting the chapter leadership and being the voice for the chapter presidents at the National level.  I encourage chapter leadership to fully engage with Beverly to help grow and manage their respective chapters.  IARP as an association, commits tremendous resources to the chapters, but only a small portion of those resources are taken advantage of.  At the most recently Council of Chapter Presidents conference call, the following issues were discussed: 

• Chapters are pulling together their new boards following the recent election cycle.
• Chapters are providing IARP national notifications for upcoming conferences to tap into the promotional capabilities offered through IARP information technology systems.
• Chapter presidents have become more engaged through use of the Council of Presidents Calls for problem solving and brainstorming.  
• Feedback was provided related to the June 2015 chapter presidents training held in Chicago, IL. The feedback was good and the chapter presidents felt it should be continued. 
• Council of Presidents discussed using Facebook and LinkedIn pages to market to people outside of IARP.
• The chapters throughout the country expend significant resources on regional conferences. All members are strongly encouraged to participate in these local and regional events as they directly benefit the host chapters.  The local and regional conferences offer conference attending geographically focused content that is currently trending in practitioner’s local areas.

 Marketing and Membership 

Beginning with the 2015 IARP Annual conference in New Orleans, LA, IARP will be bringing back annual awards to publicly honor our members.  A task force was convened to study past awards, and to make recommendations to the Marketing and Membership Committee and to the IARP Board of Directors regarding a comprehensive program of member recognition.  The task force was co-chaired by Stony Landry (Louisiana) and Mitch Schmidt (Pennsylvania), in concert with committee members Barbara Harvey (Virginia), John Maier (Arizona), Paula Freeman (Nebraska), Todd Harden (Texas), and Steve Shedlin (Maryland).  This committee made several award recommendations that included: 

• IARP Lifetime Achievement Award
• IARP Outstanding Professional Member Award
• IARP Outstanding Leadership Award
• IARP Emerging Professional Award 

Beginning in 2015, I will begin what I hope to become an annual tradition by the issuance of Presidential Commendations to members who have significantly volunteered of their time, talent and resources to advance the mission of IARP.  

Finance Committee

The Board of Directors sought to decrease governance expenses in 2015 by decreasing in-person meetings to only two versus three or four that have been held in the past.  Despite these reductions, we continue to lag projections in educational income.  Over the past several years, IARP has made significant investments to our educational technology platform, but income from webinars and educational sessions continue to lag income projections.  

Rick Robinson, IARP President