We evaluated the ability of an intervention that consisted of a one-on-one meeting between a vocational rehabilitation (VR) professional and an employer to improve employer attitudes, knowledge, and intent to hire people who are blind or visually impaired. We evaluated the relative effectiveness of two approaches (dual customer vs. educational) and the impact of the VR professionals’ vision status (blind or sighted) on our primary outcome measures and on interest in follow-up. Participants were 59 hiring managers employed by a large company who completed measures at three time points: pre, post, and 4-month follow-up. We found that, regardless of approach used or vision status of the VR professional, the intervention was successful at improving employers’ attitudes, knowledge, and intent to hire. The educational approach resulted in increases in knowledge that were retained at follow-up, while the dual customer approach did not. Improvements in intent to hire were not retained at follow-up, suggesting that ongoing contact with employers will be beneficial to positively impact the hiring of people who are blind or visually impaired. These findings are particularly relevant given the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act’s focus on employer engagement for VR agencies.
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Supporting “Successful” Transitions into Adulthood
