Definition of Insanity

Last week I wrote about Travis’s position with Elli’s Deli. That position ended in June, 2017. Travis’s team met with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) counselor in July, 2017 to regroup. At this meeting DVR decided to provide therapy from a DVR vendor that would work with Travis specifically on work behaviors.

On August 16th I emailed the DVR counselor. I had yet to receive any information from her regarding therapy from a DVR vendor. I had also received an email from a provider agency detailing a Career Academy three month program in which a client gets to experience a variety of job tasks in order to get a better understanding of what type of job they would like to pursue. Within this academy they also work on job social skills and receive a transcript and resume after the academy. This program provided one on one work and group work. I asked the DVR counselor if they would agree to fund the Career Academy for Travis.

In the same email, the provider agency shared that they had recently opened a business called the Snack Shack located at the main transit center bus stop. This is a different provider agency than the one that supported Travis at Elli’s Deli. But the concept was the same. The Snack Shack would work with individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) to teach them job skills. The goal is to move them from this position into a community position. This training was funded by DVR.

Had I not received the email outlining the position details from the provider agency, I wouldn’t have known it existed. Which doesn’t make sense because Travis was a DVR client and we were working closely with them. In my email to DVR I asked them if we could get Travis set up at the Snack Shack.

In the meantime, I made an appointment for Travis to tour the Snack Shack to determine if both he and the provider agency thought it might be a good fit.

On September 7th, three weeks later, I had yet to receive a response from DVR. So I resent the original email with a note asking if DVR could respond.

So imagine my surprise when I received a voicemail on October 3rd from DVR saying that they were deleting Travis from their case load because they hadn’t heard from us in so long. What? On October 3rd I resent the entire string of emails to the DVR counselor and copied her supervisor. I know what you’re thinking. Why not just call? At this point Travis had been a client with DVR for going on two years. I already knew that leaving a voicemail was pointless. At least with an email I have a paper trail.

DVR did not approve the Career Academy. But they did say they would complete the paperwork necessary for Travis to work at the Snack Shack. The reply email to me stated that this job would help Travis get back in the groove of working while he is participating in therapies and social skill building. Umm, he wouldn’t be out of the groove if my email had been addressed in August. And wait, he is not participating in the work therapy yet, because you have not sent me the DVR vendor information yet.

The provider agency did not get the DVR paperwork for another three weeks. We still hadn’t received the DVR vendor information for work behavior therapy.

On November 8th I emailed DVR again, asking for therapist information. I shared that Travis was already struggling with work behavior at the Snack Shack. He was having difficulty getting along with a co-worker. I asked for this therapy to begin as soon as possible. I told DVR that I believed without this support it will be difficult for Travis to maintain this employment and/or any employment in the community.

Let me tell you more about the Snack Shack. It is a very small space. It is basically four counters, about eight foot long each, spaced together in a square. The Snack Shack sold candy bars, chips, microwaveable sandwiches and a selection of bottled drinks. There was one provider agency employee there to supervise the IDD employees. Even if they had only one IDD employee and the agency employee, they were crammed in the tight space. But then they would schedule a second IDD employee. I get that the provider agency wants to help as many IDD individuals as possible. There is a couple of problems with this plan.

There was not enough space. And there was not enough business. Every now and again as someone got off the bus they might buy a candy bar or a drink. Certainly not enough to keep even one employee busy. This training is in no way preparing an individual to be able to work in a community position where multi-tasking is imperative. Travis was bored. That never ends well.

Travis was terminated from the Snack Shack on November 28th. The provider agency received a formal complaint from the city bus customer service staff that Travis came around the Snack Shack counter and confronted a bus patron. The patron said that Travis threatened to “kick his ass” if he did not stop making noises. The bus staff reviewed the video and confirmed his story.

When the provider agency talked to Travis he said that the patron was purposefully annoying a girl that he was working with. Travis asked him to stop making annoying noises. When the patron didn’t, Travis went outside the counter to, in his words, show he meant business.

The video did not have sound. But going outside the counter was threatening enough to the bus staff.

On November 28th I emailed DVR. Again. Three weeks after again asking for the therapy support that they offered. The reply email stated that the DVR counselor had spent the last few weeks researching a few places. She stated that some were not taking referrals and others aren’t a vendor.

I was confused. And extremely frustrated. Weeks to research your own DVR vendors? This therapy was offered to Travis in July. I’m thinking that if a vendor contracts with DVR, they are going to take the referral. Why would the counselor research others that are not vendors? Had Travis been participating in work behavior therapy since it was offered, it’s possible this incident wouldn’t have happened.

And where was the job coach? If Travis was getting agitated because the bus patron was making annoying noises, couldn’t they redirect him?

This position did create other challenges. When serving customers, or while on break smoking a cigarette, Travis introduced himself to various bus patrons. He exchanged phone numbers with a few. And then invited his new “friends” to come to his place to hang out. Deep sigh.

The end of the DVR email says that they would like to offer one of the resources that is a DVR vendor and able to provide services. I was given the name of a behavioral health center and phone number. So I had to email again and ask for the name of the therapist.

The staff of the provider agency felt bad about the situation. They offered Travis a different position that would keep him busier and may be of more interest to him. I emailed DVR on November 29th to share that information and asked them to contact the provider agency and see if this is a training position that DVR would consider funding as soon as possible.

So that Travis could get back in the groove of working while receiving work behavior based therapy.

I feel bad for DVR clients that do not have an advocate as tenacious as I am. How many get deleted from the case load due to DVR counselor error? How many cases linger on much longer than necessary? It’s hard to say.

Keep following to find out what happens next with the DVR debacle.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” - Per businessinsider.com, not an Einstein quote