| Citation: |
Honeycutt, T. Luhr, M.; Harrison, E.; & Sevak, P. (2024). Pre-employment transition and vocational rehabilitation services: Experiences in response to Vermont’s work-based learning program.
Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 60
(1),
39-52.
|
| Title: |
Pre-employment transition and vocational rehabilitation services: Experiences in response to Vermont’s work-based learning program |
| Authors: |
Honeycutt, T. Luhr, M.; Harrison, E.; & Sevak, P. |
| Year: |
2024 |
|
Journal/Publication:
|
Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation |
| Publisher: |
IOS Press |
| DOI: |
https://doi.org/10.3233/JVR-230055
|
| Full text: |
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vocational-rehabil...
|
PDF
|
| Peer-reviewed? |
Yes
|
| NIDILRR-funded? |
No
|
| Background: |
State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies offer pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS) and other VR services to high school students, but the literature has not documented differences in pre-ETS use by individual characteristics or across individual services. |
|
Purpose:
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We describe variation in how high school students used services from the Vermont VR agency and how a demonstration program emphasizing work-based learning experiences affected that use. |
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Data collection and analysis:
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The study uses a descriptive approach to explore patterns in youth’s pre-ETS and VR services and outcomes two years after enrolling in a demonstration program. It compares youth with access to demonstration services (the treatment group) to those using usual services (the control group). |
|
Findings:
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Among all control group youth, more than half only used pre-ETS during a 24-month period, while about one-quarter used VR services and the remainder used no services from the VR agency. In contrast, nearly all treatment group youth used some VR services, with a majority (59 percent) using both VR services and pre-ETS. Control group youth who used pre-ETS and VR services differed from those who did not use these services by gender, disability type, employment, and service receipt characteristics; treatment group youth had fewer such differences. Earnings outcomes did not vary in consistent or interpretable ways. |
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Conclusions:
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The findings demonstrate how an intervention designed to promote work-based learning experiences increased pre-ETS and VR use and decreased subgroup differences in service utilization. VR administrators might consider collecting information on potentially eligible students to increase access to and use of services. |