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Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether there were differences between European and African American vocational rehabilitation consumers' perceptions of the barriers they experience towards obtaining employment. A secondary purpose was to determine whether there were differences in these perceptions based upon gender or educational background. Method: The perceived barriers to employment success of 189 consumers of a state-federal vocational rehabilitation agency were evaluated using the Barriers to Success Inventory (BESI) between 2004-2007. Univariate (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were used to investigate the effects of three independent variables (gender, ethnicity and educational background) on five dependent variables. The five dependent variables include the BESI Personal and Financial scale, the Emotional and Physical scale, the Career Decision-Making and Planning scale, the Job-Seeking and Knowledge scale, and the Training and Education scale. Results: The results indicate that African American consumers perceived significantly more barriers to obtaining a job or succeeding in employment than their Euro-American counterparts for all five dependent scale variables. Conclusions: African American participants' primary perceived barriers relate to practical matters, such as having sufficient education or training for the type of job sought, childcare, transportation, medical care, housing, and financial resources. (Contains 4 tables.)

Access to health insurance is one of the critical aspects of securing employment for people with disabilities. This study investigated whether vocational rehabilitation consumers secured employment with an employer who offered health insurance at similar rates to workers in the general population. In general, the results show that vocational rehabilitation consumers had significantly lower health insurance access rates than workers in the general population. Implications for rehabilitation counselors are discussed. (Contains 1 table.)

Study looked at the working alliance between rehabilitation counselors and clients. Analysis of survey results indicated that a) employed clients had a stronger working alliance than unemployed clients, and b) the working alliance is related to the client's perception of future employment prospects and his/her satisfaction with the current job. Implications for rehabilitation counselors are discussed. (Contains 35 references, 1 table and 1 appendix.) (ADT)

Individuals with disabilities should expect employee benefits similar to those expected by all employees (Gilbride, Thomas, & Stensrud, 1998; Hart Research Associates, 2001; Rehabilitation Act Amendments, 1998; Shoob, 2001). The [...], This study investigated the impact of race and gender on access to typical employee benefits for individuals with disabilities. The authors analyzed data on the proportion of employers offering specific benefits. The study focused on two areas: (a) Males with disabilities were compared with females with disabilities and males and females with disabilities were compared with workers in the general population, (b) Caucasians with disabilities were compared with Non-Caucasians with disabilities and Caucasians and Non-Caucasians with disabilities were compared with workers in the general population. The results show that there were (a) no differences between males and females with disabilities, (b) minimal differences between Caucasians and Non-Caucasians with disabilities, and (c) significant differences between individuals with disabilities and workers in the general population. Implications for rehabilitation counselors is discussed.

Estimates show that 22.1 percent of Americans ages 18 and older have a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year (Regier, Narrow, Rae, Manderscheid, Locke, & Goodwin, 1993), about 1 [...], A key factor in the development of an effective relationship between the client and counselor is the development of a strong working alliance (Bordin, 1979). It is pertinent to recognize the consumer's subjective views (Lustig & Crowder, 2000) regarding the impact of the services they receive. In this study, individuals with severe mental illness (N=305) completed a survey that measured their reported level of the working alliance and information related to the outcome measures. Results indicated that employed clients measured stronger on the working alliance than the unemployed clients. Additionally, higher levels of working alliance were associated with higher levels of job satisfaction. Finally, the results indicated that for unemployed clients, the stronger the measured level of working alliance the more positive the clients viewed their employment future.

Cognition has been widely recognized as an important factor to consider when working with individuals regarding issues related to vocational development and career decision making (Lustig & Strauser, 2000). Research [...], Research has suggested that an individual's career thoughts play a significant role in what an individual perceives as viable career options and how an individual makes specific career choices. This study examined the differences in career thoughts between 63 individuals with a disability and a convenience sample of 149 college students in a southern urban university. The results of independent sample t-tests suggested no significant differences between the groups on all four scales of the Career Thoughts Inventory. The authors discuss effect sizes, several possible explanations for the results, and limitations to the study. The results would also suggest that rehabilitation professionals working with individuals with disabilities should not assume that individuals with disabilities have a higher level of dysfunctional career thoughts. Instead, rehabilitation professionals should individually analyze an individual's career thoughts to determine implications for career development and rehabilitation planning.

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the work value preferences of individuals with disabilities with the work value preferences for a sample of individuals without disabilities. Methods: The preferred work values of a sample of vocational rehabilitation consumers were compared to workers employed in a Southeastern university. Results: Results indicated that vocational rehabilitation consumers preferred Independence and Support while workers in the general population preferred Recognition and Relationships. No differences were found with respect to Achievement and Working Conditions. Conclusions: This study provides evidence that there are differences between persons with disabilities and the general population with respect to preferred work values. Rehabilitation counselors should assist the consumer in securing employment where there is congruence in work environment and preferred work values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding consumers' concerns about vocational rehabilitation services is important because of the current emphasis on empowerment and consumer-directed services. This study focused on participants' responses to an open-ended survey question that asked them what they thought could be done to improve their satisfaction with a vocational rehabilitation program. Participants were employed and unemployed consumers of vocational rehabilitation services. The responses were analyzed using a form of qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in the development of four categories: concerns about general counseling skills, concerns about program-specific counseling skills, concerns about treatment outside of counseling sessions, and concerns about education and employment. The implications of the findings for program improvement and counselor training are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of demographic characteristics and the working alliance between counselor and consumer on employment outcomes for rural and urban consumers with disabilities. A sample of 2031 vocational rehabilitation consumers from urban and rural areas were compared. Results indicated that both urban and rural consumers who had more severe disabilities, were older, and had a weaker working alliance with their counselor experienced poorer employment outcomes. Rural consumers with a severe disability were at a greater employment disadvantage than their urban counterparts. Educational level contributed significantly to predicting employment status for urban participants but not for rural participants. Implications for services are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]