Participation of Ethnically Diverse Personnel in State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

Abstract

The rate of employment among those with disabilities, especially from culturally diverse backgrounds, is extremely low and the prevalence of poverty rather high compared to the general population. However, the long-term outcome of consumers of the state-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) system continues to be in need of substantial improvement. The fact that the ethnographic composition of the direct service professionals and administrators employed by the system does not represent that of the country complicates the matter even further. The current study, involving 7,862 professionals from 38 VR agencies, was designed to ascertain the demographic composition of rehabilitation personnel in: (1) State Offices, (2) District/Regional Offices, and (3) Evaluation/Training Facilities. It was found that the participants were mostly Caucasians, females, did not have degrees in rehabilitation, and possessed non-rehabilitation related certification/licensure. The representation of people with disabilities was extremely low. Recommendations for future research, continued federal funding of rehabilitation and related programs, and possible changes in existing policies were made.