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Over the past twelve years a number of valuable and revealing studies have addressed service utilization and employment issues pertinent to minorities with disabilities. Research conducted by Atkins (1980) and Belgrave and Walker (1991a; 1991b) provides considerable evidence that utilization and successful completion of rehabilitation programs by minority persons, especially African Americans, is often associated with factors such as (1) attitude toward disability, (2) attitude toward self, and (3) perceptions and expectations of the rehabilitation process. Attitude toward disability has also been linked to employment in a study by Jenkins and Amos (1983) where it was reported that subjects considered their disability as a barrier. There were also implications in this study that attitudes toward their disability might also influence the extent to which the subjects would manifest a desire to work. There is a need, however, for more systematic study of psychosocial variables that may be uniquely operable among African Americans with disabilities. The more we understand these dynamics the more we can equitably adapt our efforts in the interest of enabling all clients to become more independent and self-sufficient. This information is especially critical for African Americans since it has been reported that among those of working age, one in seven have disabilities (Bowe, 1983).

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