This working paper series provides preliminary information and documents the process and impact of the Progressive Employment model implementation in Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation. These papers will be updated as the research progresses to reflect new data and findings.
Presentation Date: 10/20/2015
Presented at the National Rehabilitation Education Conference in Arlington, VA by Joe Marrone, Randall Slikkers, Paula Seanez, and Susan Foley
Publication Year: 2013
The Vocational Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (VR-RRTC) based at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston partnered with a national group of content experts to identify potential promising VR employment practices serving people with psychiatric disabilities. In funding the VR RRTC, NIDRR requested an emphasis on identifying promising practices for two particular populations (people with mental illnesses and people with intellectual disabilities) and to identify promising practices related to order of selection and the designation of most significant disability. This report provides a summary of case studies of VR employment practices for persons with mental illnesses.
Publication Year: 2013
Publication Year: 2013
Case Studies of Promising Practices in Vocational Rehabilitation
The Vocational Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (VR-RRTC.org) based at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston partnered with national content experts to identify promising VR employment practices serving people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD). The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), the funding agency, requested an emphasis on identifying promising practices for people with mental illnesses and people with intellectual disabilities/developmental disabilities, and to identify promising practices related to order of selection and the designation of most significant disability. This report provides a summary of four promising VR employment practices for persons with IDD. The study included a nationwide call for nominations through extensive outreach using a variety of channels and venues, including (but not limited to) direct contact with VR agencies, Technical Assistance and Continuing Education (TACE) Centers, the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), and NIDRR. The VR RRTC formed a Delphi expert panel to review and rate all nominated practices using a systematic, multi-step procedure to evaluate nominations.
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.
Review VR Issue NO. 6, 2014
By Libin Zhang, Kartik Trivedi, and Susan Foley
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.
Review VR issue NO. 5, 2014