Supported Employment and Systems Change: Findings from a National Survey of State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

This paper presents findings from a national survey of state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies regarding systems change in supported employment. Respondents from the 50 states and the District of Columbia assessed the impact of state systems change activities and policy implementation efforts on supported employment. Activities perceived to be most important to the implementation and expansion of state supported employment programs were training, technical assistance, capacity building, and policy and funding initiatives. While respondents reported that significant efforts were devoted to conversion during state Title III supported employment system change projects, they reported a lower level of sustained effort following the conclusion of these projects. Respondents from 26 states reported that fiscal incentives exist to provide supported employment services over segregated services. Fiscal disincentives were also reported. Federal and state policies and practices were perceived to influence the administration and operation of state supported employment programs

River salinity variations in response to discharge: examples from the western United States during the early 1900s

Major controls on river salinity (total dissolved solids) in the western United States are climate, geology, and human activity. Climate, in general, influences soil-river salinity via salt-balance variations. When climate becomes wetter, river discharge increases and soil-river salinity decreases; when climate becomes drier river discharge decreases and soil-river salinity increases. This study characterizes the river salinity response to discharge using statistical-dynamic methods. An exploratory analysis of river salinity, using early 1900s water quality surveys in the western United States, shows much river salinity variability is in response to storm and annual discharge. Presumably this is because river discharge is largely supported by surface flow