Summary of Findings and Recommendations - continued

III. Ethnicity

Finding:

Ethnicity was an optional category on the survey form. A total of 3,232 respondents, representing 95 percent of all respondents, provided this information. Of this group 85.2 percent identified themselves as Caucasian while 14.8 percent identified themselves as belonging to an ethnic minority. OVR's data base indicates that 84.7 percent of customers are Caucasian while 15.3 percent fall into ethnic minorities. Of the minority respondents, the vast majority (11 percent) identified themselves as African Americans, which is an excellent response.

Satisfaction by question category and ethnicity:

(Again remember that Minority responses are largely from African Americans)

Satisfaction Factors, in order of importance.

Caucasians

• Feedback from counselor
• Accessibility of counselor
• Responsiveness of counselor
• Competence of counselor
• Awareness of counselor
• Explanation of customer's responsibilities

African Americans

• Accessibility of counselor
• Responsiveness of counselor
• Competence of counselor
• Explanation of customer's responsibilities

Implication(s):

Once again, the importance of a factor relates to the strength of agreement/disagreement rather than the level of satisfaction. Although the responses of Caucasian and minority customers are similar, the difference in perceptions regarding relationships with counselors is interesting.

The data appear to indicate that customers who are African American value different aspects of their relationship with their counselor than Caucasian customers.

Commendation:

OVR's efforts to better serve minority populations appear to be reaping benefits. OVR is commended for the consistency of ratings between customer groups.

Recommendation:

The Rehabilitation Council recommends that OVR continue Diversity Training and minority outreach efforts under the guidance of the Multicultural Advisory Committee.

IV. Overview of Survey Dimensions

As previously noted, the survey contained four general dimensions (or categories of survey questions): Agency, Counselor, Supports and Suitable Employment. This section of the report will summarize some of the more notable findings for each dimension.

Agency:

Findings:

There is generally high satisfaction with the Initial Interview and moderate to high satisfaction with Contracted Services, Opportunity to Provide Feedback, Clarity in interviews and Communication with Other Agencies.

An area of concern is "Understand the Appeals Process". Over 19 percent of respondents reported issues in this area. Of this 19 percent, several offered comments including, Unaware of the process (139 comments), Inadequate explanation (49 comments) and Frustration with the process (18).

(NOTE: The number of comments does not equal the number of people who made remarks, as some made more than one.) This supports anecdotal information from a variety of sources, including phone calls to the Council office.

Counselor:

Findings:

Counselors received uniformly high overall ratings particularly in the areas of positive attitude, respect for the customer, listening skills, accessibility, knowledge of disabilities and knowledge of Rehabilitation Services. While still high overall, "Counselor encourages my participation" and" Counselor proactively identifies options" were the lowest rated factors.

Support Services:

Findings:

As noted previously, many of the services related to this dimension are contracted to agencies which provide training and placement services. While overall satisfaction ratings range from 70 percent to 74 percent, Holleran Consulting recommends that Unfavorable rating percentages 20 percent and over receive additional examination:

Suitable Employment: (Employment Outcomes)

Findings:

Overall satisfaction in this dimension ranged from 63 percent to 74 percent. Again, the number of persons rating these areas as unfavorable bears examination.

Implications (all four dimensions):

Of the Bottom Ten Satisfaction Factors, Understands the Appeals Process is the only direct Agency related factor. This may indicate a need to review procedures.

Services covered under Suitable Employment are often provided by vendors who specialize in training and placement services. This may be an area where OVR probably does not receive the credit when things go well but does receive the fallout when outcomes do not match expectations. However, the unfavorable ratings should be of substantial concern, since placement into meaningful employment is the purpose of the rehabilitation system.

Commendation:

OVR is to be commended for its efforts to streamline processes and improve outcomes.

Recommendation(s):

The Council recommends that OVR review procedures related to the Appeals Process.

The Council further recommends that OVR work with the Council on assessment of vendor performance.

The Council also recommends that OVR research and analyze any available data for the general workforce in Pennsylvania related to satisfaction with Job Matching, Wages, and Opportunities for Advancement, perhaps as provided by private outplacement specialists and/or other State employment programs. In addition, the Council recommends that OVR review these factors in depth within its own system and, if necessary, develop a plan to increase satisfaction ratings.

V. Summary:

The Rehabilitation Council believes that this study meets the Rehabilitation Act requirements for assessment of customer satisfaction. In addition it meets the Council's criteria for a statistically valid effort which examines all aspects of the OVR experience. OVR counselors, in particular appear to generate a great deal of overall satisfaction with the public rehabilitation system. Areas for improvement appear to be consistent with those targeted in the World Class Initiative and other organizational efforts.

Recommendation(s):

The Rehabilitation Council recommends that OVR review this material and prepare a written response consistent with State Plan development requirements. It should monitor this area closely and, if necessary, develop a specific plan to work with vendors to raise satisfaction in this category.

The Council recommends that OVR review the survey material in depth when identifying areas for staff training and development.

VI. Summary Recommendation to OVR:

The Rehabilitation Council recommends that OVR develop a written response to this report, consistent with State Plan development requirements and that it meet with the Satisfaction and Planning Committee concerning any plan to address survey findings.

VII: Rehabilitation Council Follow-up Activities

The Rehabilitation Council adopted the following activities at its December 1998 meeting:

Regarding the FY 98 Survey:

1. Develop a system to monitor OVR response to the Council's recommendations.
2. Publish general outcomes and recommendations in the 1998 Annual Report and on the Web site.
3. Research national statistics for placement service satisfaction, to create a larger frame of reference of employment outcomes consistent with individual factors and rehabilitation goals.
4. Research other State Rehabilitation Council survey outcomes to put overall survey data into a larger frame of reference.

Regarding Future Surveys:

The Committee has considered the question of future surveys and offers the following recommendation:

1. Institute a cycle of in-depth surveys and targeted surveys in successive years.
2. Suggested Cycle
   • FY 98 In depth system wide survey - Benchmark Study (completed)
   • FY 99 Targeted surveys:
   • Vendors (in collaboration with OVR's effort)
   • Minority issues (in collaboration with the MAC)
   • Appeals Process
   • FY00 Targeted Survey (via statewide focus groups)
   • Employment Outcomes
   • FY01 In depth survey at same levels of confidence and acceptable error rate as 1998.
3. In the years where the Council is working on targeted surveys, OVR will be working on reviewing and responding to the in-depth survey and Council's recommendations as well as any plans of correction it develops.
4. In the years where it is working on targeted surveys the Council would also monitor OVR's response to the in-depth survey.