After five years of working to improve employment for people with disabilities, we’ve learned a lot — and we’re not done.
While the TACQE project officially ends on September 30, 2025, our commitment doesn’t stop there. Personally and professionally, we’ll keep moving forward — strengthening employment systems, sharing practical tools, and supporting the professionals who make this work possible every day.
These five lessons will keep guiding us as we support professionals; share tools; and identify and implement strategies that work.
Use What Works
When VR services use proven practices, like Supported or Customized Employment, they get better results. Paid work experiences, internships, and self-employment support help both job seekers and counselors.
Lesson:
Evidence-based practices lead to better outcomes, but only when supported, measured, and adapted to local needs.
Stay Grounded in Local Needs
Every community is different. What works in one place may fall flat in another. The best results came when states listened to their data and adjusted their services.
Lesson:
Support should reflect each community's unique challenges, voices, and frontline experience.
Work Together for Bigger Impact
We made the most progress when we worked with others including agencies, researchers, employers, advocates, and people with disabilities. These partnerships made tools and ideas stronger.
Lesson:
Collaboration across systems, sectors, and roles creates smarter, stronger, and more lasting solutions.
Make Research Usable
Research is only helpful when people can actually use it. Breaking it down into plain language and practical tools helped professionals make real changes.
Lesson:
Turn knowledge into action. Simplify it, share it, and support people to apply it in real life.
Keep Learning: Reflect, Improve, and Adapt
The field of vocational rehabilitation keeps changing, and so should we. Looking at what’s working (and what’s not) helped us improve, adjust, and move forward.
Lesson:
Ongoing learning is key to creating high-quality employment systems.
Beyond the Project: A Lasting Commitment
The TACQE project wraps up in September 2025, but the people behind it are still here. Each of us remains committed to advancing quality employment for people with disabilities through continued partnerships, practical tools, and systems change.
The project may be ending, but our work isn’t. We’ll keep showing up, sharing what we’ve learned, and supporting the field wherever we can.