GHA: Florida Certified Business and Technical Assistance Consultant (CBTAC)

Participants will learn:

1. If a supported employment customer can have a self-employment case in Florida.
2. The amount Florida VR will fund for a self-employment case.
3. Who makes the final decision to move forward with a self-employment case?
4. What can Florida VR pay for in a self-employment case?

Presenters:

Peter Shepis MS, CRC, CWIC – Vocational Rehabilitation Program Administrator, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Florida Department of Education – Peter G. Shepis is a Program Administrator with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) Florida Department of Education. Peter has worked with the agency since 2015. He has an MS in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling from West Virginia University (WVU) and is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), and Community Work Incentive Counselor (CWIC). Before coming to Florida DVR he worked in community behavioral health at La Frontera Arizona in Tucson, AZ as the Employment Team Supervisor where he supervised a large team that included adult Peer Mentors working as Job Coaches and Employment Specialists.

Jan Pearce – Supported Employment Administrator, Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation – Jan is a professional with over 43 years of working with youth and adults with disabilities.  Her work has focused on developing, implementing, and supporting programs for youth and adults in public and nonprofit disability service settings.  She has a proven track record of working with internal and external stakeholders to advance competitive integrated employment options for all individuals. For the last 12 years of Jan’s career has been at the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) as the Supported Employment Administrator.  Her role was to oversee and develop statewide programs and services for individuals with the most significant disabilities including Supported Employment.  In that role, Jan was also responsible for developing VR’s Discovery and Customized Employment program, the Adult Project SEARCH model, and the development of the Career Counseling Information and Counseling services for individuals working in subminimum wage.  She was also very involved in the expansion of Self-Employment Services at VR.