Integrated Resource Teams

For vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals, the use of an Integrated Resource Team (IRT) strategy is not an additional program requirement. Instead, it is a practical coordination tool that helps counselors leverage partner resources, streamline service planning, and strengthen outcomes for individuals with multiple and/or complex service needs. By improving communication and aligning services across systems and programs, IRTs support more efficient case management, better use of available supports, and an increased likelihood of long-term success.

How does it work?

• The VR participant engages in career exploration with support from their VR Counselor.
• While the VR participant engages in career exploration, the VR Counselor and the participant also identify current resources/support needs and resource/support gaps.
• Once the participant has identified an employment goal, the participant and the VR Counselor work together to outreach to and engage any other programs and systems the participant is working with and/or may need resources or supports from to invite them to an IRT meeting, a process called active resource coordination. 
• The participant leads the discussion about their employment goal, supported by a designated facilitator who helps organize the conversation and maintain focus.
• Partners share current plans, services, and available resources, providing a clearer picture of existing supports.
• The team clarifies roles and responsibilities across programs, improving coordination and reducing service overlap. 
• Services and funding may be braided or sequenced to address barriers such as employment needs, transportation, benefits planning, or assistive technology.
• The team establishes clear communication and follow-up steps to support progress toward employment.

At its core, an Integrated Resource Team (IRT) is a structured, participant-driven coordination meeting that brings together the participant, their VR Counselors, and representatives from a range of other programs based on the participant's unique resource needs to align services and resources to help the participant reach and maintain their employment goal. It provides a practical framework for VR and partner agencies to clarify roles, reduce duplication, sequence services, and braid resources in real time, without asking any program to provide services or resources that are beyond their authority to do so. An IRT results in the participant having one coordinated path that spans all plans and programs with which the participant is engaged to support them in achieving their employment goal.

Resources

• Abridged Overview of IRT
• Integrated Resource Team Overview (2020) (60 Minutes) - VR and The IRT
• Integrated Resource Team (IRT) Pilot Implementation Roadmap - Coming soon
• The Family Empowerment Model: Improving Employment for Youth Receiving Supplemental Security Income (featuring the IRT as part of the model) - Coming soon
• Virginia DARS Targeted Communities Project
• Oregon use of the Integrated Resource Team in Workforce Systems (2016) Promising Practices: Supporting Job Seekers with Multiple Challenges to Employment
• Your Dream, Your Team Toolkit