How Do Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes Vary Among Different Types of Living Arrangements?

1. How Do Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes Vary Among Different Types of Living Arrangements? Fabricio E. Balcazar, PhD Professor & Director, Center on Capacity Building for Minorities with Disabilities Research AshmeetOberoi, M.Sc., M.A., Program Coordinator Fredrik Langi, M.A., Graduate Research Assistant Sean Cariño, MPH

2. Compared to the clients living in a private residence, the clients living in community group homes tend to have a lower chance of getting an hourly wage at average rate or higher. They also have a lower chance to work during the week for a number of hours considered as average or higher among all clients. The clients in community group homes, however, are not significantly different from those in private residences in terms of employment status. Clients who reside in a facility/institution are less likely to get employed as compared to the clients in a private residence. In addition, the former group is less likely to work each week for the average number of hours or higher. The clients who come from correctional/homeless shelters and any other type of living arrangement have higher likelihood of employment and are more likely to have worked per week at average hours or higher when they are contrasted to those from a private residence. These clients, nonetheless, are less likely to receive an hourly wage that falls within the average rate or higher as compared to the clients in the private residence group. Individuals who are minorities, have less education, and more number of impairments have lower odds of being employed and other economic outcomes. How Do Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes Vary Among Different Types of Living Arrangements?

3. Policy implications: Promoting and supporting people to live in the community is associated with most advantage with respect to employment, wages, and hours worked. Promote and encourage a learning community of counselors and the office supervisors.  Policies should encourage better alignment between customers’ specific needs, disadvantages, services provided and employment goals.  Encourage initial education of consumers and clarification of roles and expectations early on in the process may help minimize these barriers. Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes and Living Arrangements

4. Implications for service providers/clinicians: Increase outreach to minority communities and promote cultural competence Degree of engagement with the customer should be a part of the case file review by the supervisors. Practices promoting consumer empowerment should pay extra attention to minority or marginalized individuals. Implement programs that encourage consumers’ education for long-term career development. Examine criteria for eligibility Employers’ discriminatory practices toward individuals of color with disabilities need to be addressed too. Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes and Living Arrangements

5. Implications for consumers/ Advocate with VR for increasing outreach to consumers in different living arrangements and from different backgrounds (minorities). Living in the community is beneficial for economic independence of persons with disabilities so families should prefer this living arrangement over others. The program seems to overemphasize deinstitutionalization, while underemphasizing the role/benefits of employment for PWDs in the community. Consistent support to engage as productive members of the community is needed. advocates/families Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes and Living Arrangements

6. Are the eligibility criteria for services discriminating minorities— especially those with limited English proficiency? How much support from the supervisor is needed to save a case that may have otherwise been closed? Should an additional intervention be introduced to try to “salvage” the case? Are efforts to deal with employers’ attitudes and concerns about hiring minorities with disabilities helpful? What are the opinions of consumers in this program regarding the benefits of community living versus institutional living? Are family members satisfied with current level of services and supports? Let’s put on our Thinking Hats

7. Private Residence 2. Community Group Home 3. Facility/Institution includingRehabilitation Facility, Mental Health Facility, Substance Abuse Treatment Facility, and Nursing Home 4. Other: Including Adult Correctional Facility, Halfway House, Homeless Shelter and Other Appendix: Residential/Living Arrangement Categories

8. Individuals who are minorities, have less education, and more number of impairments have lower odds of been employed and other economic outcomes. Race: The odds of being employed in Black and Hispanic clients were significantly lower in comparison to White clients. However, the odds of having average or higher hourly wage among Black clients was about 34% higher and in Hispanic clients was about 32% higher than White clients. Hourly Wage (n = 22,018; M = 9.18; SD= 5.00) Hours Worked per week (n = 22,018; M = 27; SD= 12.22) Appendix: Findings

9. Education: Compared to VR clients with high school or less or no formal schooling at all, clients with more education have significantly greater odds of being employed, of receiving average or higher hourly wage and of more weekly working hours. Impairment type and number of impairments: Individuals with sensory disabilities had better odds of being employed, better wages and worked more hours per week than individuals with other types of impairments. However, clients with more than 2 impairments had a lower likelihood of being employed and working average or higher number of hours per week than a client who had 2 or less types of disabilities. Number of impairments was not associated with wage amount earned. Appendix: Findings

10. Gender was not found to be associated with obtaining employment, as male VR clients had the same odds as female clients of getting employed but females had 1.32 times lower odds to have an average or higher hourly wage and 1.4 times lower odds of working average or higher hours than male VR clients. Finally, certain types of VR services increased the odds of getting employed greatly, compared to VR clients who did not receive such services, including Vocational rehabilitation guidance, On the Job Supports, Job Placement Assistance, and Rehabilitation/Technical Assistance & Development. Appendix: Findings