Oneida VR Services Program - Relaunching with New Energy
“Where can we learn what we need to know? How will we ever be able to understand tribal vocational rehabilitation? Where can we get the support we need?” These and many other questions flooded Carla Witkowski’s mind. It was October 2021 and Carla had just been appointed as director of the Oneida Nation VR Program. She and the staff knew very little about TVR but wanted to learn. She was encouraged to connect with AIVRTTAC and begin the intensive training and technical assistance (ITTA) process. She reached out to AIVRTTAC in April 2022.
The Onyota’a:ká, People of the Standing Stone, is federally recognized as the Oneida Nation. Its 102 square-mile reservation lies within the boundaries of Brown and Outagamie Counties in northeastern Wisconsin. The Oneida Nation VR program was initially funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration in October 1998 and continuously operated until September 2019. There was a two-year gap in services between 2019 and 2021, and the program was funded again in October 2021. New staff were hired, and these TVR employees needed individualized training and technical assistance. AIVRTTAC personnel were pleased to be a part of their learning process.
After working with AIVRTTAC for a little over a year before successfully closing their ITTA, Carla had this to say about her experience working with AIVRTTAC staff:
“Your support and encouragement kept us going. Each of you consistently showed up with positivity. We trusted you to the extent that we didn’t want to do anything unless we had permission from AIVRTTAC [Carla was kidding, but there was some truth in this]. Attending your webinar on integrating culture into the TVR activities was an eye-opener. We had no idea that this could be done and appreciated that you presented your information in a way that would allow programs to develop cultural activities aligned with their specific Tribal traditions. Everything we have learned about TVR came from AIVRTTAC. The website and toolkits provided everything we needed to understand TVR and Oneida’s specific grant. AIVRTTAC has a tremendous staff, and they all have heart.”
We would like to thank the Oneida Nation VR Program team for allowing us to work with them and contribute to their ability to serve tribal members with disabilities.
Interested in receiving ITTA or TTTA services from AIVRTTAC?
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