Employment	General Employmentl Pubs	Self-Employment Pubs	Resources

Projects

Current

Analyze state Vocational Rehabilitation databases to identify the impact of service delivery patterns on employment and economic outcomes for rural clients.

Research the current telecommunication technologies used by Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and their effectiveness. Develop and evaluate guidelines for using telecommunications to provide Vocational Rehabilitation services to rural clients.

Research the reasons for premature exit from the Vocational Rehabilitation system by rural clients. Develop and test a brief intervention to ameliorate factors leading to premature exit.

Assess the suitability of an enhanced Health Risk Appraisal model to prevent and manage secondary health conditions of Vocational Rehabilitation clients and develop guidelines for providing the model through the Vocational Rehabilitation system.

Assess the potential of a targeted Health Risk Appraisal model to prevent and manage secondary health conditions of Vocational Rehabilitation clients. Develop and evaluate guidelines for providing the model through the Vocational Rehabilitation system.

Past

Research on the Employment of People with Disabilities by very small rural businesses.

Develop a community assessment model to increase opportunities for community participation and for securing employment.

Develop and validate a program to improve the ability of rural people with disabilities to obtain and maintain employment.

Conducted a 10-year follow-up evaluation of state VR policies and procedures governing the use of self-employment and analyze the use of self-employment in rural and urban states.

Facilitated rural self-employment outcomes by educating counselors, providing business assistance to entrepreneurs, and developing recommendations for financing self-employment ventures using vocational rehabilitation funds.

Explored and assisted with building linkages between Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies and rural economic developers.

Build Models for Improving Employment Outcomes (1997 - Conducted a national study of entrepreneurs with disabilities.)

Identified and prioritized the issues facing rural vocational rehabilitation, assessed the differences of VR service practices between rural and urban areas, assessed the rural priorities for program and policy development, identified exemplary programs that address these issues, and developed and tested innovative approaches where needed.

Evaluated the extent of supported employment involvement along a rural/urban continuum to better delineate the cost-benefit aspects of rural supported employment and profile successful rural supported employment models from various states.