SD3 - Study of the Human Services Transportation Needs in Virginia

  • Published: 1992
  • Author: Secretary of Health and Human Resources
  • Enabling Authority: Senate Joint Resolution 26 (Regular Session, 1988)

Executive Summary:
In 1988, the General Assembly requested that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) study the transportation needs of human services agencies and clients (SJR 26, 1988). As part of this study, an extensive analysis was conducted which focused on the transportation responsibilities of a number of human services agencies, including:

• the Department for the Aging (VDA),

• the Department of Health (VDH),

• the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS),

• the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services (DMHMRSAS),

• the Department of Rehabilitative Services (DRS),

• the Department for Rights of Virginians with Disabilities (DRVD),

• the Department of Social Services (DBS), and

• the Department for the Visually Handicapped (DVH).

The analysis raised a number of policy and programmatic issues which required additional study.

The 1990 General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 2 (SJR 2, 1990), which directed the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to continue the study of human services transportation. The objectives of the SJR 2 study follow:

• To explore the transportation needs of clients of Virginia's human service agencies and of citizens with disabilities.

• To identify the transportation responsibilities and current activities of human service agencies.

• To identify barriers to the provision and coordination of transportation by human services agencies.

• To identify existing efforts and models to coordinate human services transportation policies and services.

• To recommend short- and long-term strategies to enhance the provision and coordination of transportation by human services agencies.

The Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources designed this study to meet these objectives and to develop short- and long-term recommendations to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of transportation-related activities of human services agencies. Major activities of the study included:

• Reviewing previous human services transportation studies and the status of study recommendations.

• Updating state human services agency assessments of transportation needs, responsibilities and activities.

• Assessing human services transportation barriers and opportunities for service and policy coordination.

• Reviewing the current responsibilities of the Virginia Department of Transportation related to human services transportation.

• Identifying model programs and potential resources to address human services transportation needs.

In order to accomplish these activities, the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Resources surveyed each relevant state human services agency regarding:

• The nature and extent of its transportation responsibilities;

• Current and projected demands for transportation;

• Transportation system characteristics, including whether the agency system was centralized or decentralized, transportation-related expenditures in FY 90, the number of drivers employed, fleet size, the age and condition of vehicles used to provide transportation services, and the number of trips made and passengers served in a year;

• Transportation barriers and opportunities; and

• The extent of need for state and local transportation policy coordination.

Subsequent to the survey, agency heads were interviewed to discuss issues raised in their responses to the survey. Interviews focused on agency perspectives regarding the feasibility and desirability of local/regional and state transportation policy coordination. Agency heads identified various models of local coordination, some of which are discussed later in this report. Representatives of these coordinated transportation systems in the Commonwealth were invited to share information regarding the history and development of their programs. Their experiences may prove helpful to other communities interested in addressing transportation concerns.

Staff from the Virginia Department of Transportation's Division of Rail and Public Transportation at VDOT provided information on current federal and state grant programs and potential funding sources for human services agencies. Discussions with VDOT staff also focused on opportunities for improved coordination and cooperation in the future.