Employment, Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Ticket to Work Program: Perspectives of Latinos with Disabilities

A Quick Look

Vocational rehabilitation agencies can find it difficult to serve rural clients due to smaller caseload volume, the physical distance between cases and fewer employment opportunities for clients. However, vocational rehabilitation for rural clients can be improved by establishing practices with front-end milestone compensation, the hiring of local contractors to serve more isolated rural communities and granting rural providers the option to choose between hourly fee-for-service and results-based funding models.

Key Findings

Barriers to rural vocational rehabilitation include:

Large service areas with limited cases
Travel costs for clients and providers
Low number of caseloads in rural areas as compared to higher density communities
Fewer job openings for clients in rural areas
Difficulty in connecting a provider with multiple, geographically dispersed communities
Difficulties with results-based compensation in areas with low caseloads

Strategies to mitigate rural vocational rehabilitation barriers:

Hire limited use providers from within local communities, including teachers and retirees
Cover travel costs for providers
Make connections with local chambers of commerce and business leaders to maintain listings of local employment opportunities
Provide temporary travel cost support for clients who have recently received employment
Allow options for rural providers to receive compensation by hourly rates or through front-end milestones
Waive provider accreditations for heavily underserved areas
Agency finances required training for rural providers

Putting It Into Practice

Vocational rehabilitation practitioners can expand services into rural communities by:

Hiring a contractor from within the underserved community
Adapting compensation schedules for rural clients, including hourly fees that do not include travel time
Developing front-end milestones for effective, low volume, results-based compensation in combination with fee-for-service
Making connections with local community organizations

Learn More

The recommendations in this study are based on responses from 40 vocational rehabilitation administrators from 35 states. Investigators Catherine Ipsen and Stacey Bliss are at the University of Montana, Missoula, Montana. Rebecca Goe is from Partnership Health Center, Missoula, Montana.
Landon, T., Connor, A., McKnight-Lizotte, M., & Peña, J. (2019). Rehabilitation Counseling in Rural Settings: A Phenomenological Study on Barriers and Supports. Journal of Rehabilitation, 85(2), 47–57.
Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities, Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities, University of Montana. (2019).