Understanding vocational rehabilitation service access among adolescents and young adults in foster care

Carol Haywood; Judy Havlicek; Vanessa V. Klodnick; Lucy A. Bilaver

doi:10.1080/15548732.2022.2064032

Understanding vocational rehabilitation service access among adolescents and young adults in foster care

Carol Haywood, Judy Havlicek, Vanessa V. Klodnick, Lucy A. Bilaver^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Using mixed methods, this study examined vocational rehabilitation (VR) access for foster youth with disabilities through child welfare agencies in Illinois. First, one agency completed a process mapping exercise to document VR referral practices. Second, agencies (N = 26) across the state completed surveys about knowledge and use of VR. Only 50% of agencies assessed employment needs at intake, and although 71% of agencies were familiar with the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS)-funded VR, only 39% made referrals. Increased collaboration across child welfare agencies and DRS is needed to ensure vulnerable youth are effectively connected to disability-specific employment services supporting economic stability into adulthood.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	497-516
Number of pages	20
Journal	Journal of Public Child Welfare
Volume	17
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2022.2064032
State	Published - 2023

Funding

This research was funded by the Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities - Engaged Research Development Grant (PI: Lucy Bilaver). Carol haywood’s time was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute for Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (90AR5019, 90ARHF0003; PI: Heinemann).REDCap is supported at FSM by the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Science (NUCATS) Institute, Research reported in this publication was supported, in part, by the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Grant #UL1TR001422. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health;Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities; We are grateful for the partnership of Thresholds, Kevin Walsh and Julianna Harms from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and Gene Oulvey from the Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services.

Keywords

Transition aged youth
child welfare
disability
employment
foster youth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Developmental and Educational Psychology
Sociology and Political Science

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10.1080/15548732.2022.2064032

Cite this

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title = "Understanding vocational rehabilitation service access among adolescents and young adults in foster care",

abstract = "Using mixed methods, this study examined vocational rehabilitation (VR) access for foster youth with disabilities through child welfare agencies in Illinois. First, one agency completed a process mapping exercise to document VR referral practices. Second, agencies (N = 26) across the state completed surveys about knowledge and use of VR. Only 50% of agencies assessed employment needs at intake, and although 71% of agencies were familiar with the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS)-funded VR, only 39% made referrals. Increased collaboration across child welfare agencies and DRS is needed to ensure vulnerable youth are effectively connected to disability-specific employment services supporting economic stability into adulthood.",

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AB - Using mixed methods, this study examined vocational rehabilitation (VR) access for foster youth with disabilities through child welfare agencies in Illinois. First, one agency completed a process mapping exercise to document VR referral practices. Second, agencies (N = 26) across the state completed surveys about knowledge and use of VR. Only 50% of agencies assessed employment needs at intake, and although 71% of agencies were familiar with the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS)-funded VR, only 39% made referrals. Increased collaboration across child welfare agencies and DRS is needed to ensure vulnerable youth are effectively connected to disability-specific employment services supporting economic stability into adulthood.

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Understanding vocational rehabilitation service access among adolescents and young adults in foster care

Abstract

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Keywords

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