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Wyoming vocational rehabilitation highlights high disabled‑worker employment, VR youth work and virtual‑reality training
Summary
Vocational Rehabilitation staff told the council Wyoming ranks above the national average for employment of people with disabilities and outlined youth transition activities, employer education, virtual‑reality job simulation and success stories linking training to micro‑enterprise.
Callie Davis, policy training and innovation manager for Wyoming Vocational Rehabilitation, briefed the council on services, partnerships and outcomes that support people with disabilities in the workforce.
Davis highlighted that Wyoming currently reports about 40,000 people with disabilities in the workforce, a higher participation share than the national average. She described an array of partners — community colleges, University of Wyoming disability resources, centers for independent living, Medicaid waiver case managers and local chambers — that DVR uses to connect participants to jobs, assistive technology and supports.
DVR staff outlined services to youth starting as early as age 14, including transition coordination, work experiences, apprenticeships/pre‑apprenticeships and counseling on enrollment options. Davis emphasized outreach like transition fairs (the Wyoming Transition Team) and a statewide VR virtual‑reality program that brings job‑task simulations to schools so students can safely preview and explore career paths.
Davis also described employer outreach and ADA guidance, citing the Job Accommodation Network as a free resource and noting that many accommodations cost little or nothing; DVR provides employer consultations and connects businesses with local supports. She closed with local success stories, including a MakerSpace microenterprise connection where a student trained to produce workforce badges and attracted local orders.
Council members asked about geographic coverage of community providers, metrics and VR’s ability to maintain services amid federal funding changes. DVR said federal funding shifts have posed challenges given partial federal funding of VR, but staff continue to provide services and are focused on employer education, youth transition and partnerships with community organizations.
