Vocational Rehabilitation Outcomes for Students Participating in a Model Transition Program

The authors examined vocational rehabilitation service and outcome differences between youth with disabilities who participated in a model transition intervention and youth with disabilities who did not. The transition model featured research-supported components integrated into a single service model and implemented across 11 Maryland school districts from 2007 to 2013. Using administrative data extracted from the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services, several major findings emerged. Model participants experienced a shorter time from eligibility to development of the Individual Plan for Employment, but longer open cases; received more job-related services and less assessment and diagnostic services; cost less to serve; achieved significantly higher employment rates at case closure; and worked slightly fewer hours and earned less per week at closure. These results signify implications for vocational rehabilitation practice with students and youth with disabilities, especially in the context of transition service requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.