OBJECTIVE:This study examined data provided by the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) in an effort to evaluate the impact of demographic variables, vocational rehabilitation services, and agency characteristics on the employment outcomes obtained by transition-age youth (i.e., 16 to 25 years old) with visual impairments and blindness. RESULTS: Results indicated that young adults who were male, Hispanic, between the ages of 23 and 25, not receiving Social Security disability benefits, and diagnosed with less severe visual impairments were more likely to become employed than younger, female, Caucasian young adults with more severe visual impairments who were receiving Social Security disability benefits. Receiving reader and assistive technology services also predicted successful employment outcomes. CONCLUSION: Results of this investigation document the importance of individualized VR services that promote long-term career success for transition-age youth with visual impairments and blindness.

OBJECTIVE:This study investigated the extent to which demographic characteristics, Social Security disability benefits, and vocational rehabilitation (VR) services influence competitive employment outcomes for transition-age youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). METHODS: The Rehabilitation Services Administration's Case Service Reports (RSA-911) database for Fiscal Year 2011 was examined using a purposeful selection multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Results indicated that participants who received on-the-job support, job placement services, rehabilitation technology, occupational/vocational training, other services, job search assistance, vocational counseling and guidance, and job readiness training from the state-federal VR program were significantly more likely to achieve competitive employment than were participants who did not receive those services. In addition, higher levels of educational attainment, receiving a greater number of VR services, and not receiving Social Security disability benefits were positively associated with competitive employment outcomes. In contrast to findings reported in other studies of VR participants with ASD, gender was not associated with competitive employment outcomes. CONCLUSION: Overall, the number and type of VR services had more influence on competitive employment than did demographic variables or Social Security disability benefits.

Existing research has indicated an association between resilience and psychosocial adjustment to disability. The purpose of this study was to validate the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) in a sample of vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers. Participants were 277 individuals with disabilities receiving state VR services. Findings support the identification of two factors in the BRS, labeled succumbing and resilience by the researchers. The succumbing factor was positively associated with reporting of depression while the resilience factor was associated with well-being. Implications for practice in state VR agencies are provided.

Client demographic and VR service-related variables significantly predict competitive employment outcomes for transition-age youth with traumatic brain injuries. Vocational rehabilitation services should focus on the specific interventions that are most closely associated with successful rehabilitation.