John Halliday

Publication Year: 2013

Introduction: We hypothesized that consumers who are blind or visually impaired (that is, those who have low vision) who were served by state vocational rehabilitation agencies with decision-making control over administrative functions would experience better vocational rehabilitation outcomes than consumers served by vocational rehabilitation agencies with less control in these areas. Methods: We merged person-level RSA-911 (fiscal year 2010) data with agency-level data collected as part of the National Survey of State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies, which we conducted in 2011. We employed multilevel modeling, controlling for select person-level characteristics, and agency-level indicators of primary decision-making control by vocational rehabilitation agencies in six key administrative functions: human resources, infrastructure, management information systems, policies and procedures, program evaluation, and purchasing. Dependent variables were measures of "any employment" and "competitive employment" outcomes. Results: We report a positive association between agency decision-making control over policies and procedures and competitive employment outcomes by consumers who were blind (odds ratio = 2.64; 95% confidence interval 1.23-5. 72). Among consumers who are visually impaired, agency decision-making control over human resources was negatively associated with any employment closures (odds ratio = 0.56; 95% confidence interval = 0.36-0.93) and competitive employment outcomes (odds ratio = 0.56; 95% confidence interval = 0.33-0.97). Discussion: Results demonstrate the potential for factors related to agencies, in addition to factors related to individuals, to function as mediators of vocational rehabilitation outcomes for consumers who are blind or visually impaired. Implications for practitioners: Findings highlight the importance of understanding how management control over areas such as policy and procedures have the potential to influence service delivery and subsequent employment outcomes.

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I heard recently that 18 new vocational rehabilitation (VR) directors have taken their positions within the past year. This means that more than one in five of the 80 VR directors across the country are new to their role. If you’re one of these new leaders, welcome! As a former state director, I have some advice for you: make time to network with other VR directors. Why peer networking is a priority I know that this may not sound like your highest priority.

I heard recently that 18 new vocational rehabilitation (VR) directors have taken their positions within the past year. This means that more than one in five of the 80 VR directors across the country are new to their role. If you’re one of these new leaders, welcome! As a former state director, I have some advice for you: make time to network with other VR directors. Why peer networking is a priority I know that this may not sound like your highest priority.

This Supported Employment (SE) research focuses on vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency partnerships with other state entities, and sources and models for long-term funding (extended services). The design called for embedding supported employment questions in ongoing surveys of multiple state agencies and case studies of SE coordination and funding models in several states to illuminate issues identified through these surveys.

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Presentation Date: 10/25/2011

Susan Foley, Robert Burns, and John Halliday from the ICI presented to the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR) the case study findings from VR-RTAC. This presentation focused on illustrating the case study findings on effective VR program management practices.

Research to Practice Issue NO. 43, 2006