Disability Insurance Beneficiaries with Visual Impairments in Vocational Rehabilitation: Socio-demographic Influences on Employment

Abstract

Introduction Given mutual concerns of vocational rehabilitation and the Social Security Administration, our purpose was to evaluate the effect of current individual and economic factors on competitive employment for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries with visual impairments in vocational rehabilitation. Methods Using fiscal year 2010 RSA-911 data on 4,478 SSDI beneficiaries whose vocational rehabilitation services had concluded, we conducted descriptive and multilevel analyses to determine which client and state or agency factors predicted competitive employment. Results Unemployment rate, gender, age, race, disability, severity of visual impairment, education, prior earnings, SSDI amount, and interactive effects of agency structure were significantly related to competitive employment. Discussion This research provided new knowledge of state or agency influences, risk factors, advantages, and compensatory effects of services in blind agencies, and underscored the importance of prior work experience in achieving competitive employment for SSDI-beneficiary consumers. Implications for practitioners Recommendations related to vocational rehabilitation services to SSDI beneficiaries, policy regarding agency structure, and future research are made.

Association of Vision Loss and Work Status in the United States

“…1 Several previous studies have demonstrated it is unlikely that visually impaired individuals are employed. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] However, the estimates for workforce participation presented in these studies were subject to bias because data were not population based, 3,5,6 relied on self-reported visual impairment (as opposed to measured visual acuity), 2,4,5 did not adhere to a clearly defined definition of visual impairment, 3,5 and/or analyzed individuals receiving vocational services. 6,8,9 Here, we assess employment rates by vision status in a nationally representative sample of working-age American individuals analyzed as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.…”

Employments effects of Vocational Rehabilitation in Germany

“…Empirical results on the effects of gender are consistent, demonstrating that males exhibit better return-to-work outcomes than females, everything else being equal (Cancelliere et al, 2016;Cornelius, Van Der Klink, Groothoff, & Brouwer, 2011;Feuerstein, Berkowitz, Haufler, Lopez, & Huang, 2001;Giesen J. & Cavenaugh Brenda, 2013;Saltychev, Tenovuo, & Laimi, 2013;Stergiou-Kita, Mansfield, & Sokoloff, 2016).…”

“…The level of prior education has also been found to be strongly correlated with return-to-work outcomes (Blackwell et al, 2004;Cancelliere et al, 2016;Giesen J. & Cavenaugh Brenda, 2013); the likelihood of successfully returning to work increases with additional education.…”

“…Various studies have also detected that education is a useful predictor of return-towork outcomes (Blackwell et al, 2004;Cancelliere et al, 2016;Giesen J. & Cavenaugh Brenda, 2013).…”

“…Concerning the rehabilitants' work and professional lives, several studies found that individual work history significantly affected employment outcomes. The history included past income and employment developments, as well as employment or job type related indicators (see for example Adams & Williams, 2003;Cornelius et al, 2011;Giesen J. & Cavenaugh Brenda, 2013;Ottomanelli & Lind, 2009).…”