Undergraduate Rehabilitation Education and Accreditation: The Importance of Being Persistent

This article presents an overview of undergraduate rehabilitation education (URE) and the movement toward accreditation. Tracing the history of URE from the earliest days of rehabilitation education programs up to the present, this review discusses the purposes of URE, traditional URE program curricula, where URE graduates have been (and are being) employed, and the relationship between UREs and graduate rehabilitation counseling programs. The article also explains the development of URE curriculum and program standards, the development of a registry of qualified URE programs, and the transition to accreditation of URE programs in the United States. The purposes of accreditation are described, along with the advantages that accreditation offers to URE programs, their students, and to persons with disabilities

Rehabilitation Counseling and Social Justice Implications for Workingwith Individuals who Practice Santería

As the U.S. and Cuban relations work towards normalization, the cultural exchanges willlikely increase the visibility of Santería practice, a highly prevalent globalizing religion. Although seldomthe focus of rehabilitation counseling literature, religion and spirituality have demonstrated a positiveimpact on clients with various disablingconditions and should be considered in the rehabilitation process.Viewed through a strengths-based approach, spirituality and religious practices can foster positive copingstrategies, collectivistic attitudes, perceptions of well-being, pain management,adjustment to disability,social support systems, and decreased substance abuse. More specifically to rehabilitation services,research demonstrates a positive correlation between spirituality in the workplace and productivity, jobsatisfaction, and job involvement. For these reasons, it will be helpful for rehabilitation practitionersto understand the basic framework and tenets of the religion in order to provide ethical, culturallyappropriate services to future clients who practice this Cuban religion of African descent. This articleprovides a general understanding of the beliefs of Santería and its potential impact on serving this specificcommunity as clients

A National Profile of SSDI Recipients and Applicants:Implications for Early Intervention

Less than one half of 1% of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries currently return to work. The 1999 Ticket-to-Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) charged the Social Security Administration with investigating early intervention strategies to divert some of the persons applying for benefits into work support programs before they enroll in SSDI. Any early intervention programming will require greater understanding of the claimant population. This analysis used data from the 1994 and 1995 National Health Interview Surveys to compare the estimated 3.3 million working-age SSDI claimants to the estimated 3.6 million beneficiaries. These comparisons showed substantial heterogeneity in both groups but found that claimants were less disabled, in better health, and more likely to be employed than beneficiaries. Both groups tended to have low incomes, and nearly 20% of claimants lacked health insurance. Approximately 70% of applicants (2.3 million) and beneficiaries (2.6 million) have not received vocational support services and do not believe that they need such services. These findings suggest that demand for vocational services vouchers may be low. © 2004, Sage Publications. All rights reserved

Rehabilitation Counseling and Social Justice Implications for Workingwith Individuals who Practice Santería

As the U.S. and Cuban relations work towards normalization, the cultural exchanges willlikely increase the visibility of Santería practice, a highly prevalent globalizing religion. Although seldomthe focus of rehabilitation counseling literature, religion and spirituality have demonstrated a positiveimpact on clients with various disablingconditions and should be considered in the rehabilitation process.Viewed through a strengths-based approach, spirituality and religious practices can foster positive copingstrategies, collectivistic attitudes, perceptions of well-being, pain management,adjustment to disability,social support systems, and decreased substance abuse. More specifically to rehabilitation services,research demonstrates a positive correlation between spirituality in the workplace and productivity, jobsatisfaction, and job involvement. For these reasons, it will be helpful for rehabilitation practitionersto understand the basic framework and tenets of the religion in order to provide ethical, culturallyappropriate services to future clients who practice this Cuban religion of African descent. This articleprovides a general understanding of the beliefs of Santería and its potential impact on serving this specificcommunity as clients

Long‐Term Disabilities and College Education

This study focuses on the labor market consequences of long-term disability status for persons who have had the opportunity to receive both a university education and rehabilitation services. The sample matches persons with func-tional limitations with a similar sample of university graduates without these limitations. Our results indicate a small salary gap that appears to be correlated with the negative opinions held by the general population about persons with these disabilities

Long-term disabilities and college education

This study focuses on the labor market consequences of long-term disability status for persons who have had the opportunity to receive both a university education and rehabilitation services. The sample matches persons with func-tional limitations with a similar sample of university graduates without these limitations. Our results indicate a small salary gap that appears to be correlated with the negative opinions held by the general population about persons with these disabilities

Coordination of postsecondary transition services for students with disabilities

There are 6,500 postsecondary institutions in the U.S. that enroll about 16 million full- and part-time students, i.e., 14 million undergraduates and 2 million graduates. Only 9% of these students have a documented disability, i.e., the participation of the target population is low. The current study was an effort to identify alterable issues (for example, empowerment, advocacy, accessibility, faculty awareness, and quality of services) affecting university-based service delivery rather than unalterable status or demographic variables from the perspective of students with disabilities and administrators of Office of Disability Services (ODS). The participants were 445 students with disabilities and four ODS Directors/Coordinators at two universities in a southern and two universities in a mid-western state. The respondents reported that there existed a crucial need for collaborative service provision to eliminate duplication of efforts, campus-wide assistive technology laboratories, and assistance to minimize employment barriers. The findings, if implemented with the existing financial resources, hold promise to: (1) change the trajectory leading to low enrollment and high dropout rates and (2) generate a more inclusive provision of transition services and accessible campus ambiance

The financial costs of severe mental illness

A review of recent literature demonstrates the extraordinary high cost of severe mental illness to American society. Based on 1990 estimates, direct and indirect costs totaled nearly $150 billion. The purpose of this article is to bring greater attention to these costs and related fiscal expenditure policies and dilemmas. A special focus will be on the merits of case management as a cost effective measure

Closure rates and counselor education: An exploration of why counselors with MRC degrees do not have better client outcomes than other master\u27s-level counselors

Background: Research shows counselors with a master\u27s degree in rehabilitation counseling (MRC) do not have different closure rates than counselors with other master\u27s (OM) degrees that are in rehabilitation-related disciplines. Objective: To explore reasons for the lack of differences by comparing MRC and OM counselors on amount of pre-service training in job-related areas (Aim 1), perceptions of preparedness for work (Aim 2), time spent performing job-related activities (Aim 3), and through open-ended responses regarding education and work environment (Aim 4). Methods: Counselors (53 MRC, 27 OM) completed an online survey assessing pre-service training, perceptions of preparedness, and time spent preforming job-related activities. Results: Aim 1: MRC counselors reported more training in five areas (p-values\u3c0.001), but not in nine others. Aim 2: MRC counselors felt more prepared for their jobs (p = 0.001). Aim 3: No differences were found regarding time spent performing job-related activities. Aim 4: Responses suggested similar closure rates might stem from high administrative work strain, low client motivation, unavailability of jobs, impact of on-the-job experience, and closure quota demands. CONCLUSIONS: MRC-OM closure rate similarities are not due to inadequate MRC training, low feelings of preparedness for work, or MRC-OM differences in job-related activities; in fact, they may be due to factors unrelated to a counselor\u27s education

Rehabilitation Counselor Degree Type as a Predictor of Client Outcomes: A Comparison of Quantity Versus Quality in Closure Rates

Closure rates (CR) of counselors with a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling (MRC) and master’s degrees in related disciplines (RM) were compared. High-quality closure rates (HQCR) were also compared, defined as CR for full-time jobs that paid a living wage. Analyses examined all counselors and, separately, only those with 6 or fewer years of experience. Last, analyses examined if disability severity predicts HQCR. Eighty-nine counselors completed a survey assessing their educational background. These data were linked to outcomes of 13,460 clients. CR of MRC and RM counselors did not differ. However, MRC counselors had higher HQCR (p =.034), higher living-wage closure rate (LWCR; p =.025), and almost higher full-time job closure rate (FTCR; p =.066). MRC-RM comparisons using only counselors with 6 or fewer years of experience were also significant (all ps \u3c.05) and, importantly, showed even stronger effects. Also, although clients with most-severe disabilities had lower CR (p =.029), they had much lower HQCR, LWCR, and FTCR (all ps \u3c.001). Although CR does not differ between MRC and RM counselors, MRC counselors are more likely to secure high-quality jobs for clients. Also, clients with most-severe disabilities are more likely to be placed in lower quality jobs. Implications for hiring rehabilitation counselors are discussed