Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation

In order to advance the growing national momentum to focus on integrated employment as the desired outcome for citizens with disabilities, the Board of Directors of APSE recently established a strategic objective to support and promote the Employment First movement throughout the United States. The purpose of this paper is to identify the fundamental principles of an effective state or local initiative. The principles identified in this paper are built upon practical experiences and track records of several Employment First projects operating successfully around the country.

This study investigated the effects of an intervention designed to address the career exploration, decision-making, and problem solving needs of girls with learning disabilities. The sample consisted of 120 9th grade girls with and without disabilities. The intervention group consisted solely of girls with disabilities who participated in an eight-session program over a two-week period. All students completed the Career Maturity Inventory-Revised (CMI-R), which measures career exploration and decision-making abilities. They all also completed the Problem Solving Inventory (PSI). At pre-testing, there were statistically significant differences found for girls with disabilities as a whole for these constructs when compared to girls without disabilities. Girls with disabilities who participated in the intervention had significantly better scores at post-testing on the decision-making and problem solving variables.

The authors of this article share the results of a study that compares specific benefits of internships completed by students with disabilities, as perceived by males and females, high school and college students, Caucasian and non-Caucasian students, and students with invisible disabilities and those with visible disabilities. Students in the study completed six- to twelve-week internships in fields that included computing, biology, engineering, research, administration, and health science. In a post-internship survey, participants reported gains in their motivation to work toward a career, knowledge of career options, job skills, ability to work with supervisors and co-workers, and knowledge of accommodation strategies. Analysis of participant responses revealed differences in perceived gains between respondents. The authors share lessons learned that may help career development, cooperative education, counseling, advising, and human resource professionals more effectively support high school and college students with disabilities who engage in internships.

Many students with disabilities receive some form of disability benefit from the Social Security Administration. There is a common misconception among individuals with disabilities, their families and the disability services provider community that saving for post secondary education is not permitted under the Social Security disability benefit program rules. In fact, for individuals receiving disability benefits authorized under title II of the Social Security Act, there are no restrictions placed upon asset accumulation or the amount of resources a beneficiary may have. The title II disability programs include Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Childhood Disability benefits (CDB) and Disabled Widow(er)s Benefits (DWB). Many other students receive benefits from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. Currently, SSI program rules require that eligible individuals have no more than $2,000 of countable resources with a $3,000 limit for two SSI recipients who form an eligible couple. While this limit is stringent, there are numerous resource exclusions which do not count in any way against the student when SSI eligibility determinations are made. Several of these resource exclusions are specifically designed to permit SSI recipients to save for post secondary education or training which prepares them for paid employment. This paper summarizes these provisions and provides information on additional resources individuals with disabilities may access to help cover the costs of education or vocational training after high school. The provisions covered include:

– Plans for Achieving Self-Support or PASS

– Educational Savings Accounts or 529 Plans

– Coverdell Accounts

– Educational Assistance received under Title IV of the Higher Education Act such as PELL and Supplemental Educational Opportunities grants and federal work-study Individual Development Accounts (IDA)

– Assistance from State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies and One-Stop Career Centers

This study examines the effects of socio-economic, attitudinal, and support-related variables on the employment status of young adults with disabilities who participate in community-based and facility-based work settings. It was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,899 young adults with disabilities, ages 18 to 26, from White, Black/African-American, and Latino backgrounds living in the U.S. Secondary analyses of the data showed that race/ethnicity, gender, education, socioeconomic level, perception of disability by respondents and family members, and the availability of formal (e.g., vocational rehabilitation service) and informal supports (e.g., family/friends) are significantly related to community-based employment. The results suggest that non-White young adults with disabilities are less likely to be employed in a community-based setting, compared with their White peers, even after controlling for other variables. The need for more effective policies and programs to support successful transition into community-based employment for members of ethnic and racial population groups is discussed.

The purpose of the current study was to examine those variables that we postulated as predicting whether a registered college student with a disability would request accommodations in higher education. To achieve this purpose, a variety of predictor variables were considered as predicting whether a student with a disability would decide to request accommodations and analyzed using logistic regression analyses. Results indicate two significant predictors of a college student with a disability requesting accommodations, which were a student’s university characteristics (e.g. being large public versus small private) and student attitudes toward requesting accommodations. Results indicate the importance of both personal and environmental factors as influencing a student's behavior of requesting accommodations.