System-level changes that foster innovative practices.

VR Organizational Practices

Facilitate employment outcomes at multiple levels, across agencies and employers through the use of partnerships, certifications, and trainings. Most state WIOA plans reference service delivery practices.

VR Promising Service Delivery Practices

- Organizational practices
- Promising service delivery practices

Tulane University

Assists people with disabilities who require support in finding and maintaining work.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Programs

State-specific WIOA plans differ in the degree to which they characterize individuals on the autism spectrum as an underserved group, and in the strategies they implement to improve vocational rehabilitation programs for these individuals.

Individuals on the Autism Spectrum as an Underserved Group in State WIOA Plans

Roux, A. M., Garfield, T., Shattuck, P. T. (2019). Employment policy and autism: Analysis of state workforce innovation and opportunity act (WIOA) implementation plans. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 51(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.3233/jvr-191046 

Employment policy and autism: Analysis of state Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) implementation plans

- About 50-60% of transition-age youth and adults with autism spectrum disorder obtain work opportunities following participation in vocational rehabilitation programs, mainly working part-time and for low wages
- Programs primarily focus on modifying behavior as opposed to modifying work environments and practices
- The structures of VR programs, availability of services, eligibility criteria, and funding differ greatly by state, as well as how tailored they are to individuals with ASD
- A shift to a knowledge-based economy makes VR services for individuals on the autism spectrum a necessity

Vocational Rehabilitation for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum

- State-federal VR programs
- Private sector rehabilitation
- Community-based rehabilitation

Types of Vocational Rehabilitation Programs

- Assessment
- Counseling
- Job development
- Job placement
- Case management

Services Provided by Vocational Rehabilitation Programs

- Autism was coded as an underserved group if it was referred to in a state's plan under a section discussing the needs of underserved groups, or if autism was referred to as an underserved group in the goals/priorities section
- Autism-specific services and programs are defined as those created to meet the needs of individuals with autism or that include those with autism as a targeted population
- Plans are defined as comprehensive if they identified autism as an underserved group, defined strategies for addressing the vocational needs of those with autism, and connected such strategies to a defined goal

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