Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation professionals are increasingly interested in the vocational rehabilitation approach called Individual Placement and Support (IPS) for persons with serious mental illness.

Since employers play a crucial supporting role for the IPS service user in the workplace, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences and views of employers in Sweden who have participated in the IPS network and taken IPS service users into their workforce.

Grounded theory with situational analysis was used to analyze data from nine employers.

The core category being socially committed was identified. Six stages/categories illustrated the employer process, from taking on IPS service users to supporting them at work: 1) IPS is the keyhole, 2) being ready to open the door, 3) making a job offer, 4) removing barriers, 5) achieving the goal, and 6) pride mixed with negative feelings.

The study results suggest that collaborative relationships with employers must be based on trust and professionalism, and that employers must be provided with adequate support.

The aim of this study was to understand how the characteristics of self-determination (i.e., choice, problem-solving, goal setting) and factors associated with resilience (i.e., support and self-efficacy) relate to each other, including the relationship these variables have on quality-of-life (QoL) for individuals with disabilities.

Data were collected from 195 youth and young adults with disabilities.

Results indicated self-efficacy as a critical skill, showing positive associations with behavior of choice and QoL. In addition, social support emerged as an important factor in the development of self-determination skills. The findings also indicated that an individual’s financial situation assumed a mediator role between self-determination components and QoL. Through structural equations modeling (SEM), a model representing the relationships between these variables was designed.

Interagency collaboration has been identified as one variable predicting successful post-school outcomes for youth with disabilities (Test et al., 2009). However, at times and in certain contexts, collaboration between these disciplines has been inconsistent and limited.

Researchers investigated collaboration between VR counselors and transition teachers by surveying agency personnel in four states: Florida, Maryland, Oregon, and Utah.

We disseminated two electronic questionnaires: one to VR counselors and one to transition teachers. The questionnaires explored respondents’ satisfaction with collaboration across agencies. Additionally, respondents rated the importance and feasibility of collaboration practices. Statements of collaborative practice were specific to transition and were generated by the researchers based on a review of collaboration literature.

Respondents included 78 VR counselors and 220 teachers. Results showed relatively low levels of collaboration and satisfaction between VR counselors and teachers. Respondents rated a list of collaboration practices relatively high in importance but consistently low in feasibility for implementation.

We discuss results with regard to improving collaboration between rehabilitation counselors and transition teachers to improve transition practices.

A considerable proportion of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) consumers with visual impairments are Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries. The consumer and the effectiveness of VR and the Social Security Administration can benefit from greater understanding of the processes leading to improved employment outcomes for this population.

Our purpose was to investigate service patterns and evaluate the impact of VR services on competitive employment outcomes for consumers with visual impairments who also are SSDI beneficiaries.

Using FY 2011 RSA-911 data on 3,610 consumers who received SSDI, closed after receiving services, we conducted descriptive, factor analytic, and multilevel analyses to determine service patterns and what services predicted competitive employment.

We found service groupings related to special and remedial services, job-related services, evaluation, and training and supports. Job placement, job search, on-the-job supports, on-the-job training, counseling and guidance, rehabilitation technology, other services, and maintenance were positively related to competitive employment, but reader services, interpreter services, job readiness training, augmentative skills training, and assessment were negatively related to employment.

Pattern groupings of services suggest a systematic, holistic approach in VR. A new perspective is needed when examining the service-outcome relationship. Services positively related to competitive employment can have direct, direct-assistive, or indirect effects. Services negatively related to employment can be viewed as risk indicators.

This review of the literature examined the association between demographic variables of individuals with multiple sclerosis and specialized housing needs. Since MS symptoms present a unique challenge to housing caregivers and rehabilitation management, understanding the association between the demographic variables and specialized housing will facilitate effective planning, referral and recommendation for specialized housing.

The common themes that emerged from the literature review as factors that affect specializing housing needs of individuals with MS include age, gender, income/employment, race/ethnicity and social life

Implications for rehabilitation practice are discussed.

Several studies have shown that the structure of employer attitudes toward employing individuals with psychiatric disabilities was multidimensional, but none has clarified the causal relationships within the employer attitude structure.

The purpose of this study was to formulate causal models based on data from two previously published studies of employer attitudes toward employing individuals with psychiatric disabilities, and to examine and verify the models. The models were either for all types of industry or specifically the transport sector.

The sample was selected to infer the influence factors for employment of individuals with psychiatric disabilities (for all types of industry) and specifically promotional factors (for the transport sector). An analysis of covariance structure was used.

For all types of industry, prejudice and fear were shown to be indicators of activity limitation, attention distribution, and employer disincentive for hiring. In the transport sector, recruitment standards based on capacity were shown to be an indicator toward employer motivation for hiring and for making preparations to hire, self-efficacy for managing employment, and prejudice and fear.

The results suggest that having recruitment standards based on capacity might reduce prejudice and fear and increase employer motivation for hiring individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Assistive Technology (AT) devices are vastly used by individuals with disabilities in their workplace to accommodate their disability and enable productivity. However, barriers and gaps with integration and use of AT in workplace are well documented in literature.

This research study demonstrates the application of a systematic evaluation framework, the Usability Scale for Assistive Technology-Workplace, to examine the usability of work-related AT devices for employees, employers, and vocational rehabilitation providers to identify gaps and optimize the implementation of AT. The framework is fundamentally driven by the employee’s vocational context and range of work-related tasks, and comprehensively accounts AT devices and related accommodations that address each task.

Five employees with different motor and sensory impairments are presented as case scenarios to highlight the application of the evaluation framework.

By using the evaluation framework, it was found that the employees in general were successful in the use of AT devices and rated their productivity as high. However, some unique as well as common barriers were also reported and pertained to technical knowledge and training, reliability and compatibility of the AT devices, and limitations in accessibility.

Future research is required to derive and establish a standardized evaluation tool using the framework.

Although the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) approach to supported employment has been shown to be more effective than other approaches, it is not clear whether IPS is financially viable within a blended funding system.

This study aimed to compare the financial viability of two approaches (pre-IPS and IPS enhanced) to supported employment for people with mental illnesses in a context where fee for service funding is blended with results based funding.

An Australian disability employment service at three locations on the central coast of New South Wales (n = 107) assessed their pre-IPS service results over an 18 month period in terms of job commencements and the attainment of 13 and 26 week employment milestones. Services were then enhanced with IPS practices and a new cohort (n = 68) was tracked for the same outcome variables over the same time period. Both results were compared to the national cohort of disability employment service participants with the same primary psychological or psychiatric disability type (n = 15,496).

Supported employment services enhanced by IPS practices achieved significantly more job commencements (67.6%) than pre-IPS services (56.1%) and the national average for DES providers (39.9%). IPS enhancements were most cost effective per person and per 26 week employment milestone, for those with greater assistance needs.

IPS enhanced employment services were most financially beneficial when applied to participants with more severe psychiatric disabilities. Providers assisting people with psychological or psychiatric disabilities could benefit from developing a capability to deliver more intensive evidence-based practices such as IPS. The financial advantage of IPS enhancements increases with both the extent of clients’ assistance needs and with the funding system’s emphasis on results-based funding.