Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Outcomes

This chapter identifies some of the main barriers and available supports that allow students with disabilities to participate in vocational rehabilitation (VR) transition programs. VR is a US federal program that attempts (as one of its goals) to introduce students with disabilities to employment experiences while they are still in school. The program uses access to paid internships and vocational counseling among several other components as key mechanisms to pursue its objectives. The chapter describes how the program is introduced from a best-practices perspective and proposes a conceptual model that highlights the individual, organizational, and contextual factors affecting employment outcomes for youth with disabilities. It also introduces the concept of entrepreneurship as another way to support the transition of high school youth with disabilities and discuss the implications of VR programs and supports on the employment outcomes of youth with disabilities.