Despite increased attention by policymakers to improve postsecondary employment outcomes, rates of entry into the competitive workforce for transition-age youth with disabilities continue to lag behind those of their peers without disabilities. The passing of the U.S. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 provided increased…

Aftercare seeks to address challenges juveniles face when re-entering the community after residential placement. This study compares changes in recidivism in five Pennsylvania counties that piloted aftercare reforms in 2005 to 2010 as part of Models for Change to recidivism in counties that did not. The sample includes 3,107 referrals to court in…

Employment has historically provided a person with value and the ability to live a self-determined and independent life. Interagency collaborations have been found to play a key role in promoting employment for those with special needs. However, there is little research on identifying the needs of the field for collaborations between vocational…

Justice-involved youth have a high risk of reoffending after release, indicating the need for evidence-based reentry programming. This paper presents the results of a two-year post-release non-randomized comparison study. The study examined the impact of enhanced transition programming, delivered through Reentry Intervention and Support for…

Previous research has shown that conversational language predicts vocational independence and friendship development. This study investigated the efficacy of the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®) for School-Based Professionals delivered via Zoom as a pre-employment transition service on the social competence of…

This study examines associations between recidivism rates and groups/programs for legally mandated education, behavioral, and mental health services that court-ordered juvenile youth ("juveniles") with identified emotional disturbance or related conditions receive in secure-care juvenile facilities. Using statewide agency data in…

Many youth with disabilities experience persistently low rates of competitive integrated employment (CIE) and participation in higher education. In 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) established a policy focus on CIE as the goal of vocational services for youth and individuals with disabilities. In addition, WIOA created…

Purpose: The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 mandates vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors play a greater role in providing transition-related services for students and youth with disabilities, such as pre-employment activities and increased collaborative efforts with state and local education agencies and American Jobs…

Background: Over the past 25 years, research has demonstrated the value of the demand-side placement model in increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Objective: The demand-side model is focused on working with businesses (the demand-side) to create systemic change within companies to pull-in consumers, in contrast to a…

Transition-age youth with autism (TAY-ASD) experience poor employment outcomes and gaps in services that could assist them in securing jobs. Vocational rehabilitation (VR) is a source of public assistance for people with disabilities seeking employment and TAY-ASD are a growing segment of VR service users. Postsecondary education (PSE) is…

Background: Planning the transition to adulthood of youth with severe to profound intellectual disability (ID) requires professionals from different institutions to work together. However, there are few studies in the literature that focus on professionals involved in this transition. Method: This study documented factors impacting the transition…

Purpose: This exploratory study advances personnel preparation research through the investigation of the transition content found on the institutional websites of U.S. universities with Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Master's Level Personnel Preparation grants for transition planning and services (OSEP, 2015) or master's-level Council…

Youth with disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the juvenile justice system, yet they are generally less successful post-release in the domains of recidivism, school completion, and employment as compared to their nondisabled peers. The purpose of this literature review is to identify empirical transition practices that benefit youth…

The purpose of this study was to draw from self-determination and self-efficacy theories to evaluate psychological constructs (autonomous motivation, competency, and outcome expectancy) as mediators of the relationship between working alliance and engagement in transition-vocational rehabilitation (VR) services among African American students with…

Transfer students face an array of difficulties upon entering colleges and universities. As a result, many institutions have begun creating learning communities in order to help transfer students integrate and cope with the changes that come with the transfer process associated with enrolling in college or university. This paper describes the…