Transition-Age Youths with Visual Impairments in Vocational Rehabilitation: A New Look at Competitive Outcomes and Services

2012 ◽  
Vol 106 (8) ◽  
pp. 475-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Martin Giesen ◽  
Brenda S. Cavenaugh
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Competitive Outcomes ◽  
New Look

Job-Search Activities, Job-Seeking Barriers, and Work Experiences of Transition-Age Youths With Visual Impairments

2021 ◽  
pp. 0145482X2110591
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Cmar ◽  
Anne Steverson
Keyword(s):  
Job Search ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Job Seekers ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Work Activity ◽  
Transition Age ◽  
Work Activities ◽  
Job Seeking

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to describe the job-seeking and work experiences of transition-age youths with visual impairments. Methods: We analyzed follow-up data from a quasi-experimental study of a job-search intervention conducted from 2016 to 2019. Participants were 88 youths with visual impairments from three states; approximately half received the job-search intervention, and the other half served as a comparison group. Measures included job-search activities and outcomes, job-seeking barriers, volunteer and work experiences, and parental support for job-seeking. Results: Commonly reported job-search activities were preparing or revising resumes, talking to people about jobs, submitting applications, and submitting resumes, but most participants performed these activities infrequently. Many job-seekers encountered barriers during their job search, and few searches resulted in paid employment. Participants generally reported moderate levels of preparation to handle job-seeking barriers and parental support for job-seeking. Intervention and comparison participants had similar results on most measures, with few exceptions. Discussion: When youths actively search for a job but do not find one, their motivation to continue job-seeking may be reduced, particularly if their preparedness to overcome job-seeking barriers is low. Although many participants had some engagement in volunteer or work activities, short-term work experiences were the most common—and perhaps most misunderstood—work activity. Implications for practitioners: Youths with visual impairments may benefit from feedback on their job-seeking approach, application materials, and interview skills so they can make changes and determine how to focus or refocus their efforts. In addition to offering feedback, service providers can provide ongoing support to youth job-seekers and encourage them to persist in their job search. Explicit discussions about different types of work activities may help transition-age youths understand how short-term work experiences differ from paid jobs.

Factors Related to Employment Outcomes for Vocational Rehabilitation Consumers with Visual Impairments: A Systematic Review

2019 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 518-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Lund ◽  
Jennifer L. Cmar
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Employment Outcomes ◽  
Rehabilitation Services ◽  
Vocational Rehabilitation Services ◽  
Visually Impaired People ◽  
Rehabilitation Services Administration ◽  
Report Data

Introduction:The purpose of this article was to conduct a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies on factors related to employment in consumers who are visually impaired using Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA-911) Case Service Report data.Methods:We used database, hand, and ancestral search strategies to systematically identify peer-reviewed studies published between 1990 and August 2018 where researchers used RSA-911 data to address the target question. All included articles were coded by two reviewers for study and participant characteristics, quality indicators, and outcomes.Results:Nine articles consisting of 14 analyses were included. Twelve analyses concerned employment outcomes; two concerned earnings. Researchers in most studies used large samples of 3,000 or more consumers and used multivariable analyses, most commonly multilevel logistic regression. Factors that consistently predicted lower employment across studies included presence of a secondary disability and legal blindness; higher education level consistently predicted higher employment, as did earnings and self-support at vocational rehabilitation application. Few analyses included state- or agency-level variables or specific vocational rehabilitation services.Discussion:These results indicate that certain groups of vocational rehabilitation consumers with visual impairments may be at greater risk of unsuccessful closures; researchers should examine specific strategies that may improve outcomes in these groups. These results also highlight the importance of education in securing employment among people with visual impairments. Researchers should examine state- and agency-level variables that may affect outcomes as well as the effects of specific services on outcomes. Additionally, researchers should analyze factors that may affect employment quality as well as employment outcomes.Implications for practitioners:Practitioners who are working with visually impaired people who do not have a postsecondary degree should encourage and assist their clients in obtaining one; practitioners may also wish to provide more targeted support for consumers from potentially high-risk subpopulations.

Latino VR Access Rates by Disability Type and Proportions in the General Population with Disabilities

2005 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey L. Moore ◽  
J. Martin Giesen ◽  
Brenda S. Cavenaugh
Keyword(s):  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Mental Retardation ◽  
African Americans ◽  
General Population ◽  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Substance Dependence ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Racial Group ◽  
Group Members

The access (application and entry) rates of Latino and other ethnic/racial group members to the state-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) system was provided and compared to proportions with the same corresponding disability in the general population. Percentages were slightly higher (2-3%) for Latinos with visual impairments, and Latinos with deafness and hearing loss, and about the same for Latinos with substance dependence and those with mental retardation relative to the percentages of Latinos with the same types of disabilities in the national population. We concluded that the socioeconomic disadvantages of Latinos with visual impairments and with deafness and hearing loss may increase their need to access VR relative to all other ethnic or racial group members (i.e., African Americans, Whites) with visual impairments or with deafness and hearing loss. There was additional discussion of a strikingly higher percentage of African Americans with substance abuse in VR.

Agency Type as Predictor of Employment Outcomes for Persons with Visual Impairments: Current Trends and Considerations

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Eniko Rak
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Visual Disabilities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
Rehabilitation System ◽  
Rehabilitation Services Administration

Persons with visual disabilities receive vocational rehabilitation (VR) services through general, combined or separate agencies within the public system. Currently there are 32 combined, 24 separate and 24 general agencies in the United States (US). This study examined the role of agency type in predicting employment outcome of persons with visual impairments using the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA-911) data, which is a comprehensive database of clients exiting the public vocational rehabilitation system. The study compared separate and combined agencies. Persons with blindness and other visual impairments exiting public vocational rehabilitation during four fiscal years (2008 – 2011) participated in this study. Outcomes of binary logistic regressions indicate that agency affiliation is not a significant predictor of successful closures when controlling for employment status at application and major demographic variables. Implications of these findings, limitations of the current study and future research recommendations are discussed.

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