Disparities in Job Placement Outcomes Among Deaf,Late-Deafened,and Hard-of-Hearing Consumers

Abstract

This report identifies disparities in the proportions of vocational rehabilitation (VR) cases closed into competitive jobs (Status 26) based on type of hearing loss (i.e., deaf, late-deafened, and hard-of-hearing). Case records obtained from the RSA-911 database for fiscal year 1997 were evaluated. A series of chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses were utilized to investigate potential relationships. Results indicate that a significantly greater proportion of VR consumers who are deaf achieve competitive jobs than of consumers who are late-deafened and hard-of-hearing. A significantly lower proportion of VR services significantly associated with competitive jobs (i.e., college or university training, business and vocational training, on-the-job training, and job placement) were provided to consumers who were late-deafened and hard-of-hearing. Results are presented for work status at closure (i.e., competitive jobs vs. noncompetitive jobs), and the implications of findings for service and research are discussed.

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