SVRI has an established history of conducting independent and collaborative applied research in the areas of disability and employment. Current studies focus on knowledge translation (i.e. "research-to-practice"), health and employment, vocational rehabilitation systems, youth in transition, benefits counseling, asset development and poverty, and employment issues experienced by individuals with significant disabilities.
Project E3 is the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Targeted Communities. We work with state vocational rehabilitation agencies and their partners across the United States to help people with disabilities from underserved communities achieve their independent living and employment goals.
Project E3 is designed to improve employment outcomes of persons with disabilities from traditionally marginalized communities.
The Project E3 Team will provide intensive and focused technical assistance to all 80 State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and 20 targeted communities across the U.S. and its territories.
The anticipated outcome will increase vocational rehabilitation participation of persons with disabilities from these targeted communities leading to greater quality employment outcomes.
This national project is a collaboration of Southern University Baton Rouge, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-Stout, University of Kentucky, George Washington University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Employment Resources, Inc. (ERI) and the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR). More about this collaboration.
www.peqatac.org
The Technical Assistance Center for Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Program Evaluation and Quality Assurance (SVRI-PEQA) is housed in University of Wisconsin-Stout Vocational Rehabilitation Institute (SVRI), in Menomonie, Wisconsin.
Program Collaborators
The SVRI-PEQA is directed by Dr. Cayte Anderson (Principal Investigator), Mary McManus (Co-PI); and involves key partners including Drs. Fong Chan and Tim Tansey (UW-Madison); Drs. Mike Leahy and Su Pi (Michigan State University), CSAVR, and the Summit Group.
Project Goals
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Improve - Define and develop initiatives that will improve the quality of employment outcomes for people with disabilities.
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Innovate - Adopt organizational innovations.
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Integrate - Evidence-based Practice (EBP) and program evaluation methods
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Identify - Harness advances in IT and communication technologies.
Outcomes & Impacts
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Community of Practice - Successful development and implementation of a state VR evaluator driven CoP PEQA to improve communication, information exchange, and training for program evaluators.
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Training & Technical Assistance - Provide ample specialized training opportunities based on expressed needs of state VR.
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Collaborations - Successfully develop inter-agency collaboration networks and work teams committed to the improvement of quality assurance systems and tools.
Achieving the goals and objectives of the SVRI-PEQA will increase the capacity and sophistication of state VR program evaluators to provide timely and relevant program evaluation data.
This data will help state VR agencies develop new competencies capable of responding in new and different ways to create and deliver outcomes in a challenging economy.
Wisconsin PROMISE - Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income)
Wisconsin is one of six sites participating in the U.S. Department of Education's demonstration of a promising path to success for youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), funded by a $32.5 million grand for 5 year demonstration. PROMISE is a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The goals of PROMISE are to improve the provision and coordination of services and supports for youth receiving SSI and their families. The services help youth recipients achieve better outcomes, including graduating from high school ready for college and a career, completing post-secondary education and job training, and obtaining competitive employment in an integrated setting. SVRI will help recruit participants and help them enroll in DVR services. Services will include career exploration, community work experience, financial literacy training, social and soft skills training, and family training on employment expectations.
- RRTC - EBP VR - Rehabilitation Research & Training Center for Evidence Based Practice in Vocational Rehabilitation
- Rehabilitation Counselors' Perceived Value of Vocational Evaluation Information
- Graduate Rehabilitation Students' Perceptions of Evidence-Based Practices: Implications for Education and Practice
- Secondary Teachers Perceptions of Soft Skills Training & Employment Outcomes in Wisconsin
- Effective Vocational Rehabilitation Service Delivery Practices: An Exploratory Case Study
- Engaging Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors in Knowledge Translation Processes: A Participatory Action Approach
- Experience of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) in Western Wisconsin
- Health Promotion and Disability
- Motivational Interviewing and Vocational Rehabilitation
- National Practice Analysis of Disability Benefits Specialists
- Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors' Perspectives on Work Incentives Benefits Counseling
- Secondary Teachers' Perceptions of Soft Skills Training and Employment Outcomes in Wisconsin
- Evidence-Based Best Practices in the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program that Lead to Employment Outcomes
- Methodological Application of Multiple Case Study Design Using Modified Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) Analysis to Identify Best Practices and Organizational Factors in the Public Rehabilitation Program
- Promising Best Practices that Lead to Employment in Vocational Rehabilitation: Findings From a Four-State Multiple Case Study
- Organizational and Cultural Factors that Promote Creative Best Practices in the Public Rehabilitation Program: Findings From a Four-State Multiple Case Study
- Social-Cognitive Predictors of Readiness to use Evidence-Based Practice: A Survey of State Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors
- Knowledge Translation Strategies to Improve the Resources for Rehabilitation Counselors to Employ Best Practices in the Delivery of Vocational Rehabilitation Services
- An Analysis of Evidence-Based Best Practices in the Public Vocational Rehabilitation Program: Gaps, Future Directions, and Recommended Steps to Move Forward
- Consumer Evaluations
- Needs Assessments
- Program Evaluation