An analysis of trends for people with MR, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy receiving services from state VR agencies: Ten years of progress. Rehabilitation Counseling

This article presents the results of a secondary analysis of the RSA-911 database from the Rehabilitation Services Administration. All successful vocational rehabilitation (VR) closures for individuals with mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy for five data points between 1985 and 1995 were investigated. Trends in the use of com-petitive employment versus sheltered workshops and employment outcomes (hours and earnings) are examined. The use of supported employment in the VR system and its out-comes are also discussed. An additional analysis of the impact of the 1992 Rehabilita-tion Act amendments is included. Findings include increased incidence of competitive employment and supported employment services but a decrease in real earnings. he Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) t is an agency within the U.S. Department of Edu-cation and maintains the legislative mandate to provide job placement and job training to all eligible per-sons with disabilities. This office allocates resources to vocational rehabilitation (VR) offices in each state. Th