Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired:

1. Improving Employment Outcomes for Individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired: An Overview of Six Research Projects Bybee, J., Cavenaugh, B., Crudden, A., Giesen, J.M., LeJeune, B.J., McDonnall, M.C., O’Mally, J. & Uslan, M. AER International Conference 2012

2. Overview • National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research • 2010-2015 Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) Grant • Funds 6 research projects on improving employment outcomes for individuals who are blind or visually impaired • Training & Technical Assistance

3. Six Research Projects • A Customized Transportation Intervention • Employment Mentoring for College Students • VR Agency-Employer Interactions • Best Practices in the Randolph-Sheppard Program • Employment Outcomes of SSDI Beneficiaries • Accessibility in the Workplace

4. Goal of 6 Projects • Improve competitive employment outcomes and employment success for individuals who are blind or visually impaired by developing and evaluating new and existing employment interventions and practices.

5. Project 1 A Customized Transportation Intervention Presenter: Jamie O’Mally Contributor: Adele Crudden

6. Overview • Address barriers to employment related to transportation • Conducted in conjunction with Alabama Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS)

7. Transportation Goals • Identify transportation to work options • Assist consumers in identifying and accessing transportation options • Evaluate success of service delivery model • Develop model for potential replication

8. Customized Transportation • Based on concepts from: • Customized employment • Problem solving therapy • Case management

9. Customized Approach • Provides individual assistance to locate transportation options for persons seeking or having employment • Provides information to consumers about how to locate and access transportation in their home community

10. Procedure • VR counselor refers to MSU • MSU conducts pretest/screening via phone • MSU assigns consumer to the intervention group or the comparison group

11. Group Assignment in Alabama Intervention Comparison Split County

12. Transportation Services • Comparison group receives • Gift card • Handbook in preferred format • Intervention group receives • Individualized services

13. Transportation Services • Transportation Coordinator meets consumer in home and together they develop transportation plan • Jointly explore options to find and secure most feasible options

14. Transportation Project • Currently two coordinators for AL • Targeted sample of 64 persons • Data collection through December 2012. • Referral base smaller than anticipated

15. Project 2 Employment Mentoring Intervention for College Students Presenter: Jamie O’Mally

16. Overview • Employment Climate • Importance of Mentors • Current Study • Participants • Benefits • Procedure • Mentoring Relationship • Required Discussions • Update • Recruitment

17. Employment Climate • Degree = JOB… right?? • Employment at historic lows • Employment for Youth with B/VI • Difficulty finding employment despite highest rate of postsecondary attendance among youth with disabilities. • 72.6% without disabilities • 38.2% with VI (only ~1/3 full time)

18. Importance of Mentors • Mentors help develop skills, provide information, increase student motivation, and offer networking and job shadowing opportunities.

19. Current Study • Does working closely with a mentor improve postgraduate employment outcomes for college students who are legally blind?

20. Participants • All participants must be legally blind, living in the U.S. and able to access online materials. • College or Grad Students • Under age 35 • Graduating Jan 2013-Dec 2014 • Planning to seek employment after college • Professionals • Currently employed or recently retired

21. Benefits • One-on-one interactions • Incentives for students • Access to career materials • Assist with research that seeks to benefit college grads who are blind

22. Procedure • Random Assignment • Mentor Matching • Orientation • Introductions • Mentor Manual • Measures & Reports

23. Mentor Relationship • Participate for one year • Matched by location and career • 3 hours a month face-to-face • Biweekly contact • Online activity reports • Discussions & activities • Job shadowing

24. Mentoring Manual • Accommodation planning • Blindness and low vision skills • Disclosure • Social skills • Transportation • Transfer of technology skills • Career counseling • Job shadowing • Job seeking skills • Job placement assistance

25. Recruitment • Sign up through DEC 2013 • Students start based on grad date between JAN 2013-DEC 2014 • http://tiny.cc/mentoring-project • Tell people!!

26. Project 3 VR Agency-Employer Interactions Presenter: Michele McDonnall

27. Overview • Employer’s negative attitudes = major barrier to employment • Different approaches to interactions with employers • Is the way the VR agency interacts with employers associated with employer attitudes and employment outcomes for consumers? • Will identify employer interaction practices that are most associated with employment outcomes • Will also collect information about employers’ knowledge about how people who are B/VI can perform specific job tasks, and their attitudes towards employing people who are B/VI

28. VR Agency-Employer Interactions • This project consists of four major research activities, culminating in the development of evidence-based practice guidelines. It is broken into three sub-projects: • Project 1: VR Agency Surveys • Project 2: Evaluation of Existing Practices • RSA-911 Analyses • Employer Surveys • Project 3: Development of Guidelines

29. VR Agency Surveys • Purpose – to determine what practices agencies are using to interact with employers and to measure the emphasis placed by agencies on these practices • Two surveys have been developed and conducted: • with administrators of all VR agencies that serve consumers who are B/VI (separate and combined agencies) • with employment specialist staff and/or rehabilitation counselors of these same agencies

30. VR Agency Surveys • Results from the surveys are being used for two purposes, associated with the sub-project 2: • to combine with RSA-911 data to evaluate the impact of the practices on employment outcomes for consumers • selection of states for the employer surveys (based on their reported emphasis on and types of employer interactions) • Status: Surveys have been administered, data have been analyzed, and one descriptive article is in preparation. An additional article is planned.

31. RSA-911 Analyses • Will allow us to evaluate the impact VR agency-employer interaction practices have on the employment outcomes of their consumers • Two outcome variables: employment (or not) and earnings • Predictor variables will be taken from the VR survey; control variables from the 911 data and state economic indicators • Status: Data preparation is ongoing; analyses will be conducted later this year.

32. Employer Surveys • Telephone surveys of employers (businesses) in selected states will be conducted to determine: • their knowledge about how persons with B/VI can perform some specific job functions • their attitudes towards persons who are B/VI as employees • The knowledge survey will consist of questions about how persons who are B/VI perform job tasks, such as accessing a computer or pre-printed material. • Status: The instrument to be used has been developed, pilot tested, and refined. States to conduct the surveys have been identified.

33. Development of Guidelines • Results from the analyses conducted in sub-project 2 will provide the basis for evidence-based practice guidelines for VR agencies. • In addition to the statistical results, interviews will be conducted with VR agency personnel in states using effective interaction methods and with employers. • The guidelines will serve as a handbook that will guide VR agencies serving people who are B/VI on best practices for establishing effective relationships with employers.

34. Project 4 Best Practices in the Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program Presenter: Jacqui Bybee Contributor: Brenda Cavenaugh

35. Overview • Six objectives & nine outputs/products • Identification of best practices and development of training and marketing materials • Special emphasis on deaf-blind and transition-age individuals

36. Project Objectives • Identification and evaluation of the knowledge and skills needed by state VR agency staff to improve/enhance services provided • Identification and evaluation of best practices in recruitment, initial training, and retention of individuals with dual sensory impairments • Identification and evaluation of best practices in recruitment of transition-age youth and young adults

37. Project Objectives • Identification of knowledge and skills needed by R-S facility managers to effectively operate facilities • Identification of minimum and preferred competencies needed by VR consumers for entry into the R-S program • Identification of preferred performance standards (e.g., gross, net profit) for R-S facility types (e.g., vending route, convenience store, snack bar, cafeteria)

38. General Data Sources • Data from state directors • Data from other SLA staff and selected vendors • Terry Smith, Expert Consultant • Collected materials, interviews, and information from state agencies • NRTC-produced materials • Peer-reviewed publications and other related literature • Focus groups • Site visits • R-S related and branded franchise websites • Dan Frye, R-S Program Specialist, RSA • Beth Jordan, HKNC Regional Representative

39. Informational Brochure • Product 1 • Information about R-S Program for legislatures, state agencies, and the general public • Will be available for download from our website, August 2012: http://www.blind.msstate.edu

40. Deaf-Blind Component • Products 2 & 3 • Identification of Best Practices • Interviews will be conducted with state directors, business counselors, and training staff who work with deaf-blind vendors • Deaf-blind vendors will also be interviewed • Video Vignettes of Deaf-Blind Vendors

41. Online Training Curriculum • Product 4 • 8 to 10 modules • Basic Orientation to Blindness • The R-S Act • VR Process • Active Participation • Marketing the Program • Supervising Facilities • Implementing Business Practices

42. Standards for Vendors • Product 5 • Competencies for entry into the program • Performance standards once licensed

43. Transition-Aged Component • Products 6 & 7 • “How-to” guide and marketing glossy for recruiting transition-age youth and young adults (18-35) into R-S program • Emphasis on enhancing the image and appeal of the program • Video vignettes of transition-aged individuals

44. Publications and Presentations • Products 8 & 9 • Peer-reviewed and consumer publications • Results of survey data from BEP state directors • Expected completion: Fall 2012 • Peer-reviewed and invited presentations • Annual BEP-MS meeting – September 2012, Jackson, MS • BLAST – May 2013, Indianapolis, IN

45. Project 5 Employment Outcomes of SSDI Beneficiaries Presenter: Michele McDonnall Contributor: J.M. Giesen

46. Background • Why SSDI Beneficiaries? • $100 billion annual federal cost for Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits to SSI and SSDI beneficiaries • >$2.6 billion spent for state-federal VR employment services • >25% are SSA beneficiaries

47. Background • Why SSDI Beneficiaries? • ~ 1/3 of VR consumers who are legally blind are SSDI recipients (2008 data) • Population is at greater risk for poor employment outcomes • Both VR and SSA want to improve employment outcomes for this population!

48. Objectives • What factors are associated with employment outcomes for SSDI beneficiaries? • Using RSA-911 national data • Identify • Facilitators • e.g., better for younger consumers ? • Risk factors • Female? Race/ethnicity? • What works • Best combination of services • Recommendations for practice and policy

49. Multi-level Approach • Utilizing a multi-level research approach to individual-level employment outcomes • Individual-level factors studied before • State/agency factors studied before for agency outcomes • Multi-level approach lets state/agency and individual-level factors be assessed together • How they both affect individual consumer employment outcomes

50. Multi-level Influences Unemployment rate, State economics, Agency structure State/ Agency ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Age, gender, Education, Work history, Disability, Services Competitive Employment Consumer