Ten years ago, the United States passed into federal law the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), broadening the mandate of state vocational rehabilitation agencies to facilitate successful school-to-work transitions for student populations. Among its many provisions, the measure provided an unparalleled opportunity to expand the scope of available experiences and training to help students with disabilities prepare for competitive integrated employment.
A special issue of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation (JVR) examines the achievements, continuing challenges, and future of pre-employment transition services. It highlights promising innovations evolving within the field and provides recommendations for policymakers, state leaders, researchers, and practitioners. Its purpose is to level the persistently disproportionate rate of unemployment among people with disabilities.
The special issue is openly available for 90 days after publication. Featured articles will be permanently open access. The articles listed below were contributed by TACQE leaders and partners.
JVR’s Special Issue Articles
Introduction to the Special Issue: Examining the Impact of Pre-Employment Transition Services
Joshua P. Taylor and Holly N. Whittenburg
An introduction to a series of articles representing a comprehensive set of insights into a system in flux, as well as offering best practices in refining and guiding effective Pre-ETS delivery.
Featured Articles
Joshua P. Taylor and Holly N. Whittenburg
A description of the promise of WIOA and Pre-ETS, as well as many of these ongoing challenges related to its implementation. This article also provides recommendations for how federal and state leaders can build on the innovation occurring within Pre-ETS implementation to improve outcomes and achieve the promise WIOA set forth.
Holly N. Whittenburg, Lauren Avellone, Joshua P. Taylor, Sara Park, Marcus Poppen, Yazmin Castruita Rios, and Tim Tansey
Results of a study to examine state-level provision of Pre-ETS across the United States to better understand how state VR agencies are delivering Pre-ETS to students with disabilities in practice.
Paul Wehman, Tim Tansey, Joshua P. Taylor, Wendy Parent-Johnson, Holly N. Whittenburg, and Judy Averill
This article describes how Pre-ETS can be used to get youth with disabilities into competitive and integrated employment, while also outlining many of the systems challenges related to these efforts— specifically for VR and schools. It also provide recommendations for the future to improve outcomes by making Pre-ETS work more effectively.