90DETR-S3423 Consumer Satisfaction Survey.pdf

Nevada Vocational Rehabilitation

September 2024

Market Decisions Research 511 Congress St, Suite 801 Portland, ME 04101 www.marketdecisions.com

(207) 767-6440

Prepared by:

Brian Robertson, PhD Candace Walsh, MA Hailey Marnell-Bozdag, BA

Consumer Survey

Demographics - Trimester 1 and 2

Number of Consumers

T1 (471) T2 (384)

General VR 366 269

Youth In Transition 99 100

Older Individuals who are Blind 6 15

Cases by Length of Time in Service

T1 (471) T2 (384)

In Service IPE to 6 months 178 171

In Service 6 to 12 months 43 38

In Service 18+ months 172 97

Closed 78 78

What are the VR Consumer Experience Core Metrics?

The core metrics are the broad measures of the VR consumer experience.

• Key measures of the consumer experience that can be compared across concept, across groups, and trended year to year.

• Allow comparison of results across VR agencies using similar metrics.

• Some are domains, which are calculated by combining several questions.

• Others are individual questions.

• Nevada has 11 core metrics.

• 6 Domains and 5 key questions.

Presenter Notes Presentation Notes The core metrics can be compared across groups and trended year over year. The core metrics are not specific to NV so they can be used to compare the results of other VR agencies that utilize similar metrics. Some of these domains are calculated by combining sever questions and others use only one question. In total, NV has 11 core metrics, 6 of which are calculated using multiple questions, and 5 that use single key questions. If you’d like to know more about the core metrics, I do have a powerpoint available that provides more details.

Calculation of the VR Consumer Experience Core Metrics

The consumer experience core metrics all use a common 0 to 100 scale.

• The most positive result is bound to 100.

• The least positive result is bound to 0.

• Each metric is the average of all scores.

The higher the score the more satisfied the consumer or the more positively they view their experience.

• A score of 100 would represent an extremely positive experience among VR consumers.

• A score of 0 would imply an extremely negative experience.

Presenter Notes

The core metrics use a 0 to 100 scale with 100 being most positive and 0 being least. So the higher the score, the more satisfied the consumer or the more positively they view their experience.

What are the VR Consumer Experience Core Metrics?

• Overall Satisfaction and Expectations: A global measure of the consumer experience with Nevada VR/OIB Program.

• Experience with Services Provided by VR: This measure focuses on the services provided by the VR or OIB program and the range of services available in each program.

• Experience with Staff and Counselors: Consumer's experience working and interacting with Nevada VR/OIB Program staff and their counselors.

• Communications with VR Staff: This measure also looks at consumer’s interactions with staff but is focused specifically on communications between the consumer and staff. That this is separate from other experiences with staff underscores the importance of communications in the way that consumers rate their experience with Nevada VR/OIB Program.

• Consumer Control and Involvement: How consumers perceive their involvement in the process and control over the choices and goals.

• Outcomes and Meeting Goals: How well consumers perceive the services provided by Nevada VR/OIB Program help them meet their goals.

Presenter Notes

These are the core metric that are calculated from multiple questions. First, there’s the overall satisfaction and expectations- the global measure of the consumer experience, that is followed by the Experience with Serivces, which measures the services provided by VR or OIB and the services available within each program. Next, there’s the experience with staff and counselors, how do consumers feel about their relationship with staff and how those interaction are perceived. Communication with staff is the next domain and that focuses less on interactions with staff and more on how easy it is to reach staff, how prompt calls/emails are answered, generally accessibility of providers. Most of our feedback from consumers is related to communication and highlights how important this measure is to consumers. The next domain is consumer control and involvement- how consumers feel about their level of control in their choices and goals and how involved they feel in the process. Finally, the last domain is outcomes and meeting goals- this measures how VR and OIB helped consumers work toward and achieve their goals.

Summary of Domain Scores – Trending Domain 2022

T1

T2

T3

T1

T2

T1

T2

Overall Satisfaction and Expectations 72 75 71 73 73 73 70

Experience with Services Provided by VR 73 75 72 73 73 74 70

Experience with Staff and Counselors 84 86 86 85 84 86 84

Communications with Staff 74 74 72 74 74 73 70

Customer Control and Involvement 77 78 77 77 75 77 75

Outcomes and Meeting Goals 78 81 75 80 79 80 80

Ease of the application process for VR services 78 79 76 78 74 73 75

Accessibility of the VR office for someone with your type of disability 85 90 86 88 85 89 86

Satisfaction with current employment 80 73 82 79 72 68 70

Would you tell your friends with disabilities to go to the VR program for help? (% yes) 84% 89% 89% 89% 89% 90% 86%

Did you experience any problems with VR or the services they have provided to you? (% no) 71% 75% 68% 73% 70% 70% 61%

Summary of Domain Scores – Service Population

Domain General

VR

T1

General

VR

T2

Youth in Transition

T1

Youth in Transition

T2

*OIB

T1

OIB

T2

Overall Satisfaction and Expectations 72 68 77 75 - 68

Experience with Services Provided by VR 73 68 78 76 - 75

Experience with Staff and Counselors 84 81 92 89 - 90 Communications with Staff 74 68 76 76 - 69 Customer Control and Involvement 76 72 80 80 - 77 Outcomes and Meeting Goals 78 77 85 84 - 81 Ease of the application process for VR services 77 75 70 77 - 75

Accessibility of the VR office for someone with your type of disability 87 85 95 89 - 69

Satisfaction with current employment 65 68 77 75 - -

Would you tell your friends with disabilities to go to the VR program for help? (% yes) 89% 84% 95% 90% - 90%

Did you experience any problems with VR or the services they have provided to you?

(% no)

66% 59% 84% 68% - 66%

* Due to small sample size, OIB-specific results have been suppressed

Summary of Domain Scores – Trending

Consumers continue to be positive about their experiences and are generally satisfied with the services provided to them.

VR consumers rated their experience lower across all core metrics when compared to YIT and OIB consumers.

Positively trending metrics that increased 1+ points since 2023 T2 include:

Ease of the application process for VR services

Accessibility of the VR office for someone with your type of disability

Satisfaction with employment has been decreasing steadily since 2022 T2.

The percentage of consumers who would recommend the VR program remains high (86%), continuing a positive trend on this score.

Consumer Feedback

Summary

Consumer Problems

T1 T2

Issues communicating with staff or counselors, difficulty reaching staff 51% 41%

Needed more support or services, had to fight to obtain services, needed more services 15% 31%

VR counselors or staff was unprofessional, rude, did not care 16% 24%

VR Counselors or staff did not provide the help I needed, broke promises, customer had to do all the work

6% 24%

Needed more help finding work, need to help customers find work, customer had to find a job on their own

10% 23%

Waiting to receive services, have not received services 22% 21%

VR program was not effective in helping customer or helping customer meet goals 9% 13%

Not assigned a counselor, switched counselors, counselors need to spend more time with customers 6% 8%

Communication and the need for additional support are the source of the majority of consumer problems.

*Top responses among consumers expressing a negative view at any point.

• 1

Consumer Feedback

T1 T2

Issues communicating with staff or counselors, difficulty reaching staff or counselors 67% 60%

Needed more support or services, had to fight to obtain services, needed more guidance 40% 45%

Waiting to receive services, have not received services 38% 40%

Needed more information about programs and services, did not provide enough information 34% 30%

Needed more help finding work, need to help customers find work, customer had to find a job on their own

21% 27%

Difficulties with paperwork and forms, need help in completing forms, need alternate formats 18% 20%

VR counselors or staff was unprofessional, rude, did not care 16% 17%

VR Counselors or staff did not provide the help I needed, broke promises, customer had to do all the work

7% 16%

VR program was not effective in helping customer or helping customer meet goals 11% 14%

Communication issues with counselors and staff remain the primary feedback from consumers, with 60% reporting this in T2.

Over two-fifths (45%) of consumers report needing more support and guidance in obtaining services, while 40% report having not received services and wanting to.

Other top concerns include the amount of information provided (30%) and needing more assistance in finding a job (27%).

*Top responses among consumers expressing a negative view at any point. • 1

In Summary While most metrics declined compared to T1, consumers remain positive about their VR/OIB program experience and are generally satisfied with the services provided to them.

The most positive aspects of the consumer experience is working with staff and counselors and accessibility of the program office.

The YIT population report a more positive experience than other populations.

Those in service IPE to 6 months among General VR and Youth are more positive than other service phases.

By region, rural consumers and those in the North are more positive about their experience than the South.

• Although the percentage of consumers who would tell their friends with disabilities to go to the VR program is slightly lower compared to T1, it remains high (86%).

• Similarly, the accessibility domain score is lower compared to T1 but remains high as well (86 out of 100), suggesting respondents this trimester feel that VR offices are accessible for someone with their disability type.

Satisfaction with current employment continues to be the lowest domain.

Feedback around employment indicates low wages, difficulty with the work environment and lack of understanding of the individual's disability.

In Summary While no longer the least positive domain, communication is the primary subject of quality improvement feedback.

True of all three service populations There has been in an increase of those reporting problems in all service populations.

Consumer feedback focuses on staying connected and the time it takes to contact their counselor:

Issues communicating with staff or counselors, difficulty reaching staff or counselors Changing counselors, switching too much, causes problems VR counselors or staff did not provide the help needed Waiting to receive services

Consumer Comments

“Goal kept changing when new counselor was set up or changed based on the available vendors”

“It wasn't as hands on as I thought it would be. General questions were answered, but I wasn't satisfied with the curriculum. We never accomplished the things she said we'd accomplish.”

“Does not pay enough and company does not understand my disabilities.”

“I have been registered with Voc Rehab again for over a year and I still have not been placed in a job. The last time I used Voc Rehab it took less than three months to place me in a job I had for over 10 years. That was when my councilor was in the town.”

“Verrrrrrrrrrry hard to get ahold of. She emails me and expects me to call in but the number on her email isn't even a working number and she knows this so I have to google and get the number and then call and get transferred.”

Trend to Watch: Closed Cases

Declining Satisfaction Among Closed Cases:

• Overall satisfaction, experience with services and communication with staff dropped notably between T1 and T2.

• Overall satisfaction: 68 to 59

• Experience with services: 74 to 59

• Communication with staff: 74 to 58

• Satisfaction was also lower across these domains among respondents whose cases were closed unsuccessfully.

• There were no significant demographic changes among respondents that could explain the drop in domain scores for those with closed cases. Historically, older respondents and those with shorter service durations are the most positive, while those with longer service periods and middle-aged respondents are less positive.

• One-third (37%) of closed cases experienced a problem with services, which is similar to the overall (39%). However, among those who encountered a problem, 95% reported that VR did not work to resolve the issue.

Presenter Notes

These are the core metric that are calculated from multiple questions. First, there’s the overall satisfaction and expectations- the global measure of the consumer experience, that is followed by the Experience with Serivces, which measures the services provided by VR or OIB and the services available within each program. Next, there’s the experience with staff and counselors, how do consumers feel about their relationship with staff and how those interaction are perceived. Communication with staff is the next domain and that focuses less on interactions with staff and more on how easy it is to reach staff, how prompt calls/emails are answered, generally accessibility of providers. Most of our feedback from consumers is related to communication and highlights how important this measure is to consumers. The next domain is consumer control and involvement- how consumers feel about their level of control in their choices and goals and how involved they feel in the process. Finally, the last domain is outcomes and meeting goals- this measures how VR and OIB helped consumers work toward and achieve their goals.

Thank you!

For more information and details, please contact:

Brian Robertson, PhD brianr@marketdecisions.com

Candace Walsh, MA cwalsh@marketdecisions.com mailto:brianr@marketdecisions.com mailto:cwalsh@marketdecisions.com