### A Longitudinal Study of the

**[Vocational Rehabilitation Service Program]{.smallcaps}**

**Third Interim Report:**

**Characteristics and Outcomes**

**of Former VR Consumers**

**with an Employment Outcome**

**August 1998**

**Submitted by**

**Research Triangle Institute**

**Submitted to**

**Rehabilitation Services Administration**

**U.S. Department of Education**

**in partial fulfillment of requirements under**

**ED Contract No. HR92-022-001**

**[A Longitudinal Study of the]{.smallcaps}**

**[Vocational Rehabilitation Service Program]{.smallcaps}**

**[Third Interim Report:]{.smallcaps}**

**[Characteristics and Outcomes]{.smallcaps}**

**[of Former VR Consumers]{.smallcaps}**

**[with an Employment Outcome]{.smallcaps}**

**[Becky J. Hayward, Project Director]{.smallcaps}**

**August 1998**

**Submitted by**

**Research Triangle Institute**

**Submitted to**

**Rehabilitation Services Administration**

**U.S. Department of Education**

**in partial fulfillment of requirements under**

**ED Contract No. HR92-022-001**

**[Table of Contents]{.smallcaps}**

**Chapter 1 Introduction**

The Study's Information Goals and Reporting Schedule 2

Data Collection Design 3

Current Status of Data Collection 6

**Chapter 2 Characteristics of Consumers who Achieved an Employment
Outcome**

Disability and Demographic Characteristics 9

Labor Force Participation at Entry to VR 12

Overview of Services Received 18

Summary 21

**Chapter 3 Employment Experiences of Former Consumers with a
Competitive Employment Outcome**

Jobs Obtained Through VR Services 23

Retention of Employment and Earnings 27

Summary 34

References 36

**[List of Tables]{.smallcaps}**

Table 1 Disability Characteristics of Former VR Consumers who Achieved
an Employment Outcome 10

Table 2 Demographic Characteristics of Former VR Consumers with an
Employment Outcome 11

Table 3 Educational Characteristics at Application of Former VR
Consumers who Achieved an Employment Outcome 13

Table 4 Work History of Former VR Consumers who Achieved an Employment
Outcome 15

Table 5 Characteristics of Job at Application for Former VR Consumers
with an Employment Outcome who were Working at Application 17

Table 6 Services Received by Former VR Consumers with an Employment
Outcome 20

Table 7 Characteristics of Job at Closure, for Former VR Consumers who
Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR 24

Table 8 Distribution of Earnings Levels for Job at Closure by Selected
Consumer Characteristics, for Former VR Consumers who Obtained a
Competitive Job Through VR 26

Table 9 Employment Status at One-Year Follow up, for Former VR Consumers
who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR 29

Table 10 Selected Characteristics of Jobs Held at One-Year Follow up for
Consumers Who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR 31

Table 11 Occupational Types of Jobs at Closure and Jobs at One-Year
Follow Up for Consumers Who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR 33

Table 12 Consumers' Satisfaction with Selected Characteristics of Jobs
Held at One-Year Follow-up, for Persons who Obtained a Competitive Job
Through VR 34

**[List of Figures]{.smallcaps}**

Figure 1 Location of Offices Participating in the Longitudinal Study 5

Figure 2 Data Collection Instruments, with Method and Frequency of
Administration 6

Figure 3 Average Educational Status of Former Consumers with an
Employment Outcome 14

Figure 4 Work History of Former VR Consumers who Achieved an Employment
Outcome 15

Figure 5 Receipt of Medical Benefits Through the Jobs, by Ranges in
Hourly Earnings 25

Figure 6 Employment Status One Year After Exit from VR 30

# CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Initiated in fall 1992, the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) Services Program will address key questions of
interest to Congress, the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA),
state VR agencies, and consumers about the performance of the
state-federal VR program. The study\'s design, reflecting the typical
service patterns of VR program participants, calls for repeated contacts
with individuals over a three-year period to obtain comprehensive
information to support judgments about the benefits to consumers and to
society of the VR system as it currently operates.

Because of the longitudinal nature of the study, RSA in designing it
called for a number of interim reports that would, in an incremental
fashion, begin making study findings available to policy makers and
practitioners as the study proceeded over a six-year period. This report
is the third of four interim reports that, along with the study\'s final
report, will answer the study's questions about the program\'s impacts
on participants. To orient readers to the study, this chapter of the
report provides an overview of the study\'s information goals and
reporting schedule, data collection design and activities, and current
status.

This report contains selected preliminary findings on the
characteristics and outcomes of VR consumers who achieved an employment
outcome as a result of VR services. While these findings are preliminary
and may change somewhat following completion of the study's data
collection activities in fall 1999, they are generalizable to the
population of individuals with disabilities who received VR services and
achieved a competitive or other type of employment outcome. To begin to
address questions regarding the benefits of VR services to consumers, we
have focused the analyses for this report primarily on persons who
achieved competitive employment. We also report information on
characteristics and experiences of persons whose employment outcome was
not competitive, when such comparisons help to shed light on factors
that may be associated with different types of outcomes.

The remainder of the report contains the following chapters. Chapter 2
includes a profile of former VR consumers who achieved an employment
outcome: topics include (1) disability and demographic characteristics,
(2) history of labor force participation, and (3) an overview of
services received under an Individualized Written Rehabilitation Program
(IWRP). Chapter 3 presents findings on the employment and earnings of
persons who achieved competitive employment at closure from VR and at
one-year follow up. It includes the following sections: (1) type of job,
hours worked, and hourly earnings for job at closure; (2) descriptive
information on earnings by various characteristics (e.g., severity of
disability, educational attainment and achievement levels); and (3)
employment and earnings status of these persons one year after exit from
VR services.

The findings contained in these chapters come from three primary
sources. First is information abstracted from VR case files. Second is a
detailed work history interview administered to all study participants
at the time of their entry into the study. The third is a follow-up
interview administered one year after the participant's exit from VR
services. The interview collects information on current employment and
earnings status, including changes since exit from VR, receipt of
services or benefits, and community integration.

Remaining sections of this chapter review the longitudinal study\'s
reporting schedule, data collection design, and current status, for the
convenience of readers who may be unfamiliar with the study\'s
activities.

## The Study\'s Information Goals and Reporting Schedule

Commissioned by RSA and mandated by the Congress in the 1992
Rehabilitation Act Amendments, the VR longitudinal study has been
designed to answer the following questions:

-   What short- and long-term economic and noneconomic (e.g.,
    independent living, community integration) outcomes do VR applicants
    and consumers achieve as a result of their participation in VR?

-   What characteristics of individuals with disabilities affect
    their (1) access to and receipt of VR services and (2) short- and
    long-term outcomes?

-   To what extent does receipt of specific VR services contribute to
    successful consumer outcomes?

-   In what ways and to what extent do local environmental factors
    influence VR consumers\' services and outcomes?

-   In what ways and to what extent do the operations, resources, and
    organizational climate of VR agencies influence consumers\' services
    and outcomes?

-   What is the return on the VR program\'s investment?

Definitive findings that address these study questions will require
completion of the study's longitudinal data collection activities,
scheduled for fall 1999. Over the study period, the study's design has
permitted us to prepare interim findings on topics selected in
consultation with RSA officials. The first interim report, completed in
October 1995, contained profiles of the local offices and their
environments, based primarily on analyses from the 1990 decennial census
and a mail survey of each of the 40 local VR offices participating in
the study. The second interim report, completed in December 1996,
described (1) characteristics of current and former VR consumers; (2)
history of labor force participation among VR consumers; and (3)
consumers' perspectives of their VR services, service providers, and
other aspects of their involvement with the VR program. As noted
previously, this third interim report contains descriptive findings on
characteristics of persons who achieved an employment outcome, including
work history and details of their post-VR employment and earnings
status. A subsequent interim report is scheduled for spring 1999, with
the final report and public-use data files scheduled for release in late
1999.

## Data Collection Design

Collection of information required to address the evaluation\'s
questions, which began in November 1994, is continuing. We are
implementing a multistage design that initially involved selection of a
random sample of 40 local VR offices (in 32 state agencies located in a
total of 30 states) and a sample of 8,500 current and former consumers
of VR services. Owing to difficulties in employing and retaining
qualified individuals to serve as field data collectors, we have
experienced some attrition, and at present, data collection continues in
37 of the original 40 offices selected for study. Figure 1 indicates the
states in which the participating offices operate.

Additionally, the original intent was to include a sample of 10,000
consumers, to enter the study over a 12 to 18-month period. The
complexity of the data collection design, along with attrition and a
variety of logistical changes in local office operations around the
country, meant that sample acquisition extended over 24 months, rather
than the time originally intended. The period of sample acquisition,
which has paralleled a period of numerous changes in VR program
operations and activities (resulting from changes in the 1992 Amendments
and a variety of other factors), led us to modify the sample design by
reducing the total number of target participants while not sacrificing
precision necessary to address the study's broad research questions.

In order to assess the longer-term outcomes of VR participation, the
study is implementing a cohort design that entails random selection of
individuals at one of three stages of involvement with VR. We selected
25 percent of the total sample (approximately 2,125 persons) when they
were in the application stage; the larger cohort, 50 percent of the
sample (4,250 persons), entered the study while they were receiving VR
services. The third cohort, 25 percent of the sample (2,125 persons),
entered the study at or after VR case closure.

We follow each individual for a total of three years; some will still be
receiving VR services at the end of the three-year period, although most
will have left VR and be working, receiving other services, or engaging
in a variety of other activities. Following baseline data collection, we
conduct an annual interview with each study participant, the topics of
which depend on the individual's current circumstances in regard to VR
services. This design accommodates the average length of stay in VR
(nearly two years) while at the same time permitting us to track the
post-VR earnings, employment, and community integration of individuals
following exit from VR as either \"successful\" or \"unsuccessful\"
closures.

**Figure 1. Location of Offices Participating in the Longitudinal
Study**

![](media/image1.wmf){width="6.496527777777778in"
height="4.032638888888889in"} • participating VR offices

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Figure 2 summarizes the data collection instruments and administration
schedules for the study. As noted, the study\'s field data collectors
are gathering detailed information through baseline and annual
interviews with study participants as well as through abstraction of
case file information. Additionally, we are obtaining information from
local office managers, rehabilitation counselors, and other office
staff, along with information from state VR agencies on policies and
procedures that affect the delivery and outcomes of services. For active
consumers, file data collection occurs quarterly until closure.

**Figure 2. Data Collection Instruments, with Method and Frequency of
Administration.**

  -------------------------- ------------------------ ----------------------
                                                      

  ***INSTRUMENT***           ***METHOD***             ***FREQUENCY***

                                                      

  **Consumer interviews**                             

                                                      

  Work history               Personal/telephone       Baseline
                             interview                

  Functional status          Personal/telephone       Baseline and case
                             interview                closure

  Satisfaction               Personal/telephone       Baseline and annually
                             interview                to closure

  Annual follow up           Telephone interview      Annually from closure
                                                      of case file

                                                      

                                                      

  **Consumer records**                                

                                                      

  Consumer characteristics   Records abstraction      Baseline with
                                                      quarterly updates

  Services                   Records abstraction      Baseline and quarterly

                                                      

                                                      

  **Agency instruments**                              

                                                      

  State policies and         Mail/self-administered   Baseline with annual
  procedures form                                     updates

  Local office manager       Mail/self-administered   Baseline with annual
  questionnaire                                       updates

  Other office staff         Mail/self-administered   Baseline and end of
  questionnaire                                       data collection

  VR counselor questionnaire Mail/self-administered   Baseline and end of
                                                      data collection

                                                      
  -------------------------- ------------------------ ----------------------

## Current Status of Data Collection

As noted earlier, sample acquisition and baseline data collection,
including extensive interviews with study participants and abstraction
of detailed information from case files, began in November 1994 and
extended through November 1996. By January 1998, approximately
two-thirds of these study participants had exited VR services. For these
individuals, ongoing data collection comprises annual follow-up
interviews for a total of three years. For the one-third of study
participants who are still receiving VR services, data collection
includes quarterly review of case files to collect information on any
changes since the prior update (e.g., change in vocational goal on the
IWRP or receipt of an additional service) and an annual interview to
obtain the consumer's perspectives of the VR experience. At the end of
the overall data collection period, we will readminister mail surveys of
staff working in the participating offices. Additionally, we
periodically collect updated information on the offices and on state
policies and procedures that may affect program operations. Finally, we
are analyzing data from large national data sets on local economic
conditions that may affect employment outcomes for consumers in the
localities around the country in which VR offices are participating in
the study.

# CHAPTER 2: CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSUMERS WHO ACHIEVED AN EMPLOYMENT OUTCOME

Findings reported in this and the subsequent chapter are generalizable
to all persons nationally who achieved an employment outcome following
VR services between approximately January 1995 and January 1998. As
noted earlier, for some of the analyses conducted for this report, we
present findings separately for individuals whose employment outcome was
in a competitive job and for individuals whose employment outcome was
not competitive, in order to examine factors that may help to explain
differing outcomes among former VR consumers. Among persons with any
type of employment outcome, 76 percent obtained competitive employment,
while 24 percent obtained an outcome that was not a competitive job.
Because data collection is continuing, findings presented in this report
are subject to some modification once we have completed all data
collection for all study participants. For that reason, we have not
attempted in this interim report to examine the causes underlying
differing employment outcomes. Rather, we present descriptive analyses
that provide a picture of what former consumers have achieved in terms
of employment and earnings and can serve as a basis for future analyses
of the relationships between VR services and consumer outcomes.

Subsequent sections of this chapter contain descriptive analyses of
characteristics of persons with differing employment outcomes, as well
as findings from a detailed work history interview that examined prior
work history and the employment and earnings status of persons when they
applied to VR for services. Some of the findings reported here (e.g.,
type and severity of disability, educational status) are available
through RSA's national reporting system; the longitudinal study also
collects these data in order to permit analyses of the population along
these dimensions and to explore associations among consumer
characteristics, services, and outcomes once the study's data collection
ends.

Other data reported in this chapter are not available through RSA's data
system; these findings are available for the first time on the
population of VR consumers who achieved an employment outcome. Included
in this category are descriptions of onset of disability, data on

academic achievement levels, types of services provided, and the nature
of VR consumers' labor force participation prior to their entry into the
VR system.

## Disability and Demographic Characteristics

Table 1 reports disability-related characteristics of former VR
consumers who achieved an employment outcome. As shown, the distribution
of type of disability among persons whose employment outcome was or was
not competitive differed noticeably. In comparison with former consumers
whose job at closure was noncompetitive, persons who obtained
competitive jobs more often had orthopedic impairments (28 versus 18
percent), hearing impairments (12 versus 5 percent), or learning
disabilities (8 versus 2 percent). Persons whose jobs were
noncompetitive more often had mental retardation (22 versus 8 percent)
or visual impairments (27 versus 4 percent). The latter difference
results in part from a relatively large number of homemaker closures
among persons with visual impairments.

The two groups also differed somewhat in severity of disability. Persons
whose job was noncompetitive more often had a most severe (34 versus 25
percent) or severe (58 versus 51 percent) disability than did persons
who obtained a competitive job, almost one-fourth of whom had a
nonsevere disability. Noncompetitively employed former consumers were
also slightly more likely than others to have a congenital versus
acquired disability (33 versus 29 percent).

While the majority of consumers with competitive jobs were male (53
percent), the reverse was true for noncompetitively employed persons, 46
percent of whom were male (Table 2). In terms of age ranges, those with
competitive jobs tended to be younger: 78 percent were under 50,
compared with 54 percent of those with noncompetitive employment
outcomes. Among the latter, nearly one-quarter were beyond normal
working age (over 64). The mean age for persons who achieved a
competitive outcome was 39.6 years (median of 39), while the mean for
the other group was 50.6 years (median of 48.5). The two groups were
approximately comparable in terms of race, although persons who obtained
competitive jobs were more often Hispanic than were those whose jobs
were noncompetitive (12 versus 6 percent).

**Table 1. Disability Characteristics of Former VR Consumers Who
Achieved an Employment Outcome**

  ---------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------
  **Characteristic**           **Competitive          **Other employment
                               employment outcome**   Outcomes**

                                                      

  ***Type of disability***     ***Percentage***       ***Percentage***

                                                      

  Orthopedic, including        28.3                   18.3
  amputation                                          

  Mental illness               17.8                   12.9

  Nonorthopedic physical       12.5                   9.4

  Mental retardation           7.8                    21.9

  Learning disability          8.3                    1.8

  Hearing impairment           12.7                   5.3

  Vision impairment            4.2                    26.9

  Substance abuse              6.0                    1.6

  Traumatic brain injury       1.4                    1.1

  All other conditions         1.0                    0.8

                                                      

  Total                        100.0                  100.0

                                                      

                                                      

  ***Severity of disability*** ***Percentage***       ***Percentage***

                                                      

  Most severe                  25.2                   34.2

  Severe                       51.3                   58.3

  Nonsevere                    23.5                   7.5

  Missing                      0.0                    0.0

                                                      

  Total                        100.0                  100.0

                                                      

                                                      

  ***Onset of disability***    ***Percentage***       ***Percentage***

                                                      

  Congenital                   29.4                   33.0

  Acquired                     70.6                   64.5

  Missing                      0.0                    2.5

                                                      

  Total                        100.0                  100.0

                                                      

                                                      

  Source: VR Longitudinal                             
  Study, January 1998                                 

  Preliminary findings: data                          
  collection is ongoing                               
  ---------------------------- ---------------------- -------------------

**Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Former VR Consumers With an
Employment Outcome**

+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| **Characteristic**      | **Competitive         | **Other employment |
|                         | employment outcome**  | outcomes**         |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| ***Gender***            | ***Percentage***      | ***Percentage***   |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Male                  | 53.3                  | 46.0               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Female                | 46.7                  | 54.0               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Total                 | 100.0                 | 100.0              |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| ***Age***               | ***Percentage***      | ***Percentage***   |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > \<=21                 | 2.4                   | 1.5                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > 22 -- 29              | 22.3                  | 17.3               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > 30 -- 39              | 26.8                  | 15.7               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > 40 -- 49              | 26.9                  | 19.8               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > 50 - 59               | 15.4                  | 14.6               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > 60 -- 64              | 3.9                   | 7.3                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > \>64                  | 2.3                   | 23.8               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Total                 | 100.0                 | 100.0              |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| ***Race/ethnicity***    | ***Percentage***      | ***Percentage***   |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > White                 | 85.7                  | 89.1               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > African-American      | 12.7                  | 9.8                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Alaska Native or      | 0.8                   | 0.1                |
| > American Indian       |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Asian or Pacific      | 0.8                   | 1.0                |
| > Islander              |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Total                 | 100.0                 | 100.0              |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Of Hispanic origin    | 11.6                  | 5.6                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| ***Marital status***    | ***Percentage***      | ***Percentage***   |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Married               | 32.7                  | 30.0               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Widowed               | 2.2                   | 15.3               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Divorced              | 15.2                  | 11.4               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Separated             | 5.9                   | 3.6                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Never married         | 44.0                  | 39.7               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Total                 | 100.0                 | 100.0              |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| ***Number of            |                       |                    |
| dependents***           |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Average               | 2.0                   | 1.9                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Minimum               | 1.0                   | 1.0                |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| > Maximum               | 8.0                   | 11.0               |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
|                         |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal |                       |                    |
| Study, January 1998     |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+
| Preliminary findings:   |                       |                    |
| data collection is      |                       |                    |
| ongoing                 |                       |                    |
+-------------------------+-----------------------+--------------------+

About 75 percent of both groups had completed high school, and the
substantial majority of persons in both groups had a high school diploma
or GED as the highest degree obtained (Table 3). Persons with
noncompetitive jobs more frequently received special education services
in high school (33 versus 23 percent). The most noteworthy difference
between the two groups, however, was the difference in reading and
mathematics achievement levels. While persons who obtained competitive
employment averaged 8.5 grade level achievement in reading (9.0 median),
those with a noncompetitive job averaged a 6.9 grade level (5.3 median).
In mathematics, the levels were 7.8 (median 7.0) for persons who
obtained a competitive job, compared with 6.5 (5.0 median) for those
with a noncompetitive employment outcome. (Figure 3 contains a graphic
representation of these data.) As we discuss in Chapter 3 of this
report, these differences are important in that even among people with
competitive jobs, higher achievement levels are associated with higher
average hourly earnings.

## Labor Force Participation at Entry to VR

Information on labor force status among former VR consumers with an
employment outcome comes from a work history interview we administered
to all study participants at entry into the study. The interview asks
consumers to report the type of occupation, wages earned, hours worked,
receipt of employment-related benefits, and level of satisfaction, for
each job held in the two years prior to their application for VR
services, and for their longest uninterrupted period of employment.
General findings from these interviews appeared in the study's second
interim report (Hayward and Tashjian, December 1996). For this report,
we have analyzed former consumers' general labor force participation \--
that is, whether they had ever worked, and if so, how recently. Then,
for persons who were working at the time they applied for VR services,
we describe their wages and hours worked, as well as the type of job
they held at application and the type of occupation they were working
in.

**Table 3. Educational Characteristics at Application of Former VR
Consumers Who Achieved an Employment Outcome**

+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| **Characteristic**    | **Competitive   |      | **Other    |      |
|                       | employment**    |      | em         |      |
|                       |                 |      | ployment** |      |
|                       | **outcome**     |      |            |      |
|                       |                 |      | **         |      |
|                       |                 |      | outcomes** |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| ***Highest degree     | *               |      | ***Per     |      |
| obtained\****         | **Percentage*** |      | centage*** |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| High school/GED       | 82.0            |      | 85.0       |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Two-year associate\'s | 6.9             |      | 4.6        |      |
| degree                |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Four-year bachelor\'s | 8.4             |      | 7.4        |      |
| degree                |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Master\'s degree      | 2.4             |      | 2.9        |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Doctoral degree       | 0.3             |      | 0.2        |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Total                 | 100.0           |      | 100.1      |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       | *               |      | ***Per     |      |
|                       | **Percentage*** |      | centage*** |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| ***Did not complete   | 24.1            |      | 24.9       |      |
| high school***        |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       | *Percentage*    |      | *P         |      |
|                       |                 |      | ercentage* |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| ***Received special   |                 |      |            |      |
| education***          |                 |      |            |      |
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
| ***services in high   |                 |      |            |      |
| school***             |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       | 23.4            |      | 32.9       |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       | ***Mean***      | ***M | ***Mean*** | ***M |
|                       |                 | edia |            | edia |
|                       |                 | n*** |            | n*** |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| ***Years of education | 12.3            | 12.0 | 11.8       | 12.0 |
| completed***          |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       | ***Mean***      | ***M | ***Mean*** | ***M |
|                       |                 | edia |            | edia |
|                       |                 | n*** |            | n*** |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| ***Reading            | 8.5             | 9.0  | 6.9        | 5.3  |
| achievement level***  |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| ***Mathematics        | 7.8             | 7.0  | 6.5        | 5.0  |
| achievement level***  |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
|                       |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| \* Percentages        |                 |      |            |      |
| reflect persons who   |                 |      |            |      |
| achieved at least a   |                 |      |            |      |
| high school diploma   |                 |      |            |      |
| or GED. As noted in   |                 |      |            |      |
| the table, one-fourth |                 |      |            |      |
| of persons who        |                 |      |            |      |
| achieved an           |                 |      |            |      |
| employment outcome    |                 |      |            |      |
| did not complete high |                 |      |            |      |
| school.               |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Source: VR            |                 |      |            |      |
| Longitudinal Study,   |                 |      |            |      |
| January 1998          |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+
| Preliminary findings: |                 |      |            |      |
| data collection is    |                 |      |            |      |
| ongoing               |                 |      |            |      |
+-----------------------+-----------------+------+------------+------+

> **Figure 3. Average Educational Status of Former Consumers With an
> Employment Outcome**

![](media/image2.wmf){width="5.701388888888889in"
height="4.279861111111111in"}

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Table 4 (and Figure 4) describes the general work history of former
consumers who achieved an employment outcome. As shown, most of these
persons had worked at some point in their lives, although proportionally
more persons with a noncompetitive outcome had never worked (9 percent,
versus 3 percent of persons with a competitive job at closure).
Noncompetitively employed former consumers with some work experience
were twice as likely not to have worked in the two years prior to their
application for VR services (45 percent versus 22 percent) and were
considerably more likely to fall in to the category of having worked in
the two years prior to application, but not to be working at application
(25 versus 38 percent). Finally, while only one-fifth of
noncompetitively employed former consumers were working at the time of
application, nearly two-fifths, or 37 percent, of those who eventually
got a competitive job were working at application.

Table 4. Work History of Former VR Consumers Who Achieved an Employment
Outcome

+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| **Characteristic**                     | **Competitive  | **Other    |
|                                        | employment**   | em         |
|                                        |                | ployment** |
|                                        | **Outcome**    |            |
|                                        |                | **         |
|                                        |                | outcomes** |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| ***General work history***             | **             | ***Per     |
|                                        | *Percentage*** | centage*** |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| > Never worked for two consecutive     | 3.6            | 9.1        |
| > weeks                                |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| > Have worked, but not in 2 years      | 21.7           | 44.8       |
| > prior to application to VR           |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| > Have worked in two years prior to VR |                |            |
| > entry, but not working at            |                |            |
| > application to VR                    |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        | 37.8           | 25.1       |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| > Working at application to VR         | 36.9           | 21.0       |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| > Total                                | 100.0          | 100.0      |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
|                                        |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal Study, January |                |            |
| 1998                                   |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+
| Preliminary findings: data collection  |                |            |
| is ongoing                             |                |            |
+----------------------------------------+----------------+------------+

> \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

**Figure 4. Work History of Former VR Consumers Who Achieved an
Employment Outcome**

![](media/image3.wmf){width="6.052083333333333in"
height="3.4069444444444446in"}

In comparison with all who achieved an employment outcome, persons who
were working at application more often had disabilities classified as
nonsevere (27.4 versus 23.5 percent), more often had received a
bachelor's degree (11 versus 8 percent), and on average earned more per
hour in their job at closure than did all persons with an employment
outcome. They somewhat more often had hearing impairments and less often
had orthopedic impairments.

As shown in Table 5, former consumers who were working at application to
VR and who obtained a competitive job following VR services were twice
as likely to have been working at a competitive job at application as
those whose employment outcome was noncompetitive. Ninety-one percent of
those working at application who later got a competitive job were
working at a competitive job when they applied to VR, compared to 46
percent of those whose later employment outcome was noncompetitive. The
employment of these latter persons at application was more often in
sheltered work (22 percent versus 2 percent), self-employment (14 versus
4 percent), or supported employment (11 versus 1 percent, respectively).
Additionally, their work generally paid less (mean of \$5.92 versus
\$8.14; median of \$4.80 versus \$6.30), and they worked fewer hours
(30.6 versus 33.7 hours per week, on average). Finally, noncompetitively
employed former consumers less frequently worked in professional,
managerial, or technical jobs (16 versus 22 percent) or in
clerical/sales positions (18 versus 25 percent) at application to VR.

**Table 5. Characteristics of Job at Application for Former VR Consumers
with an Employment Outcome Who Were Working at Application**

+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          | **Competitive  |     | **Other    |      |
|                          | employment**   |     | em         |      |
|                          |                |     | ployment** |      |
|                          | **outcome**    |     |            |      |
|                          |                |     | **         |      |
|                          |                |     | outcomes** |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| ***Type of job at        | **             |     | ***Per     |      |
| application***           | *Percentage*** |     | centage*** |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Competitive labor      | 90.6           |     | 45.7       |      |
| > market                 |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Sheltered work         | 2.4            |     | 21.6       |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Self-employment        | 3.8            |     | 14.2       |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Supported employment   | 0.9            |     | 11.3       |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Homemaker              | 0.0            |     | 0.9        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Unpaid family worker   | 0.4            |     | 0.9        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Other                  | 1.9            |     | 5.4        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| Total                    | 100.0          |     | 100.0      |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| ***Type of occupation at | **             |     | ***Per     |      |
| application***           | *Percentage*** |     | centage*** |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Professional,          | 22.1           |     | 15.7       |      |
| > managerial, or         |                |     |            |      |
| > technical              |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Clerical/sales         | 25.3           |     | 18.1       |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Service                | 28.3           |     | 25.7       |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Agricultural, fishery, | 2.7            |     | 2.6        |      |
| > forestry               |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Processing             | 1.5            |     | 1.3        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Machine trades         | 4.5            |     | 1.1        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Benchwork              | 3.8            |     | 8.4        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Structural work        | 5.8            |     | 3.1        |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Miscellaneous          | 6.0            |     | 24.0       |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| Total                    | 100.0          |     | 100.0      |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| ***For persons working   | ***Mean***     | *** | ***Mean*** | ***M |
| at application,***       |                | Med |            | edia |
|                          |                | ian |            | n*** |
| ***hours worked and      |                | *** |            |      |
| hourly wages***          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Hours worked per week  | 33.7           | 4   | 30.6       | 30.0 |
|                          |                | 0.0 |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| > Hourly wages           | \$8.14         | \$6 | \$5.92     | \$   |
|                          |                | .30 |            | 4.80 |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
|                          |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal  |                |     |            |      |
| Study, January 1998      |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+
| Preliminary findings:    |                |     |            |      |
| data collection is       |                |     |            |      |
| ongoing                  |                |     |            |      |
+--------------------------+----------------+-----+------------+------+

## Overview of Services Received

RSA has traditionally tracked services that VR agencies purchase,
provide directly, or arrange through comparable benefits for consumers
through the RSA data system. The system aggregates services into the
following categories:

-   Diagnostic and evaluation services,

-   Restoration,

-   College/university training,

-   Business/vocational training,

-   Adjustment training,

-   On-job training,

-   Miscellaneous training,

-   Counseling and guidance,

-   Job referral,

-   Job placement,

-   Transportation,

-   Maintenance, and

-   Other.

Because one of the key questions of interest to RSA and Congress
regarding the operations and effects of the VR program is the
relationship between services received and consumer outcomes in terms of
employment, earnings, and other benefits, the VR longitudinal study is
collecting a great deal of detail on the services provided to consumers.
Within the RSA categories noted above, for example, the study collects
detailed information on a total of 58 different services. For example,
the category "diagnostic and evaluation" comprises 15 different
services, including evaluation of: medical status, dental needs,
neuropsychological functioning, psychological/psychiatric function,
educational status, social adjustment, assistive technology needs,
hearing and vision functioning, communication status,
orientation/mobility needs, independent living skills, driving skills,
and vocational abilities, needs, and goals. Information collected for
each of these 58 services includes:

-   Source of service (whether provided, purchased, arranged, including
    name of vendor for purchased services);

-   Dates, duration, frequency, and intensity of service;

-   Costs of service (costs to VR if purchased, source and amount of
    comparable benefits, costs of services provided by agency-employed
    staff);

-   For educational services, area of study; and

-   Result of service (i.e., what decisions or next steps in the VR
    process occurred as a result of the service).

Thus, this study provides substantially more detailed information on
services, delivery arrangements, and particularly the role that
individual services play in the consumer's progress than has been
available previously.

Because of the way we have classified these services, our findings
regarding average number of services received and proportion of services
in each category may not be directly comparable to the data on services
available through the RSA-911. For example, each of the study's
participants who received VR services will have received IWRP
development services, a level of specificity not reflected in the way
RSA "counts" services but an important aspect in the development and
implementation of service configurations for each consumer and
consequently an important component of the study's data collection and
analysis activities. In this section we provide a brief overview of the
number and types of VR services that former consumers with an employment
outcome received; detailed analysis of services received and the effects
of those services will be the subject of future reports.

As shown in Table 6, consumers who obtained competitive employment
received an average of 9.7 VR services, compared with 9.2 for consumers
whose employment outcome was noncompetitive. While the percentage of
these services in various categories did not differ greatly, persons
with a competitive outcome received slightly more education and
training; counseling, guidance, and placement; and transportation,
housing, and maintenance services.

**Table 6. Services Received by Former VR Consumers With an Employment
Outcome**

  ------------------------------- ------------------- -------------------
  **Services**                    **Competitive       **Other employment
                                  employment          outcomes**
                                  outcome**           

                                                      

  ***Number of services                               
  received***                                         

  Mean                            9.7                 9.2

  Median                          8                   8

  Minimum                         1                   1

  Maximum                         161                 102

                                                      

                                                      

  ***Provider arrangements***     ***Percentage***    ***Percentage***

  Purchased                       51.6                51.9

  Provided by the agency          38.5                37.0

  Arranged by the agency          1.6                 1.7

  Other                           8.4                 9.5

                                                      

  Total                           100.0               100.0

                                                      

                                                      

  ***Types of services***                             

  Diagnostic and evaluation       25.3                27.4

  Education and training          12.9                10.7

  Physical/mental restoration     11.4                16.7

  Counseling, guidance, and       33.8                28.7
  placement                                           

  Transportation, housing, and    12.1                9.7
  maintenance                                         

  Other (e.g., licenses, personal 4.5                 6.9
  assistance)                                         

                                                      

  Total                           100.0               100.0

                                                      

                                                      

  Source: VR Longitudinal Study,                      
  January 1998                                        

  Preliminary findings: data                          
  collection is ongoing                               
  ------------------------------- ------------------- -------------------

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

Persons with a noncompetitive outcome received slightly more diagnostic
and evaluation, and physical or mental restoration, services than did
their competitively employed peers. Providers of these services did not
differ much across the two groups: slightly over half of all services
were purchased from vendors, while over one-third were provided directly
by agency-employed staff.

Very few services were delivered under comparable benefits arrangements
(only about 2 percent).

## Summary 

In comparison with former consumers who obtained a noncompetitive
employment outcome, persons whose outcome was a competitive job more
often had a disability classified as nonsevere and less often had a
disability classified as most severe. They were comparatively more often
orthopedically or hearing impaired and less often had a vision
impairment or mental retardation. Persons who achieved competitive
employment were more often male and younger. They had substantially
higher reading and mathematics achievement levels. They more often had a
work history that included having worked in the two years prior to VR
and to be working at application. The jobs they held at application were
much more often competitive, and their hourly earnings were considerably
higher than those of the persons working at application whose later
employment outcome was noncompetitive. Finally, in terms of services,
persons who achieved a competitive outcome received slightly more
services, on average, during VR and somewhat more often received
education and training and guidance, counseling, and placement services
than did former consumers whose employment outcome was noncompetitive.

# CHAPTER 3: EMPLOYMENT EXPERIENCES OF FORMER CONSUMERS WITH A COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT OUTCOME

As noted in the previous chapter, three-fourths of the persons who
achieved an employment outcome through receipt of VR services entered
competitive employment. Of particular interest to policy makers and
practitioners are the benefits to participants of involvement in VR,
especially in terms of improvements in employment and earnings status
and prospects. In this chapter, we present findings on some of these
issues. Included are analyses of the characteristics of competitive jobs
that former VR consumers entered following VR services, distribution of
earnings levels associated with these jobs by selected consumer
characteristics, and employment and earnings status of these former
consumers one year after their exit from the VR system. The latter
section also presents findings on consumers' relative satisfaction with
the jobs they held one year after leaving VR. Because a major focus of
the chapter is earnings outcomes, we have limited the analyses to
persons who obtained a competitive job as a result of VR services. Later
reports will address the post-VR experiences of persons whose employment
outcomes did not include a competitive job.

Findings for jobs at closure come from information collected from
consumers' VR case files. Findings regarding consumers' employment
status one year following their exit from VR come from a follow-up
interview that asked detailed questions regarding the person's current
earnings and employment status, current receipt of services, and
participation in a variety of community-based activities. Future interim
and final reports will contain more detailed analyses from the one-year
and subsequent follow-up interviews with study participants.

## Jobs Obtained Through VR Services

Persons who obtained a competitive job as their employment outcome
worked an average of 35 (median of 40) hours per week, with average
hourly earnings of \$7.35 (median of \$6.00). [^1] This hourly wage
translates into approximately \$290 per week (median \$240). Comparable
figures for the adult education target population [^2] are \$272 (median
\$207) and for the adult working population overall are \$410 (median
\$305) (National Adult Literacy Survey, 1992). These findings are
consistent with other research (e.g., Hayward and Tashjian, 1996)
suggesting that persons with disabilities who achieve a competitive
employment outcome earn about the same amount as persons who are members
of other groups who receive employment-related services from publicly
funded programs; these wages are a little more than two-thirds of the
national average.

As noted in Table 7, a substantial proportion of the jobs former
consumers obtained were in the lower ranges of average hourly wage:
nearly a third were below \$5.00 per hour (data collection for most
consumers occurred before the minimum wage increased to \$5.15 per
hour), and another third earned wages ranging from \$5.00 to \$7.00 per
hour. About 20 percent obtained jobs whose wage levels were greater than
\$9.00 per hour. As the table also shows, jobs at the lower wage levels
were less likely than those at higher levels to offer medical benefits
to employees: only 13 percent of jobs at less than \$5.00 per hour and
only 35 percent of those between \$5.00 and \$7.00 provided such
benefits (see also Figure 5). Conversely, 65 percent of those earning
more than \$11.00 per hour received medical benefits. Overall, 36
percent of jobs obtained by former consumers provided these benefits.
(In comparison, Hayward and Tashjian

**Table 7. Characteristics of Job at Closure, for Former VR Consumers
Who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR**

+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| **Characteristic**                  | **Competitive       |          |
|                                     | employment          |          |
|                                     | outcome**           |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| ***Wages and hours***               | ***Mean***          | ***M     |
|                                     |                     | edian*** |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Hours worked per week             | 34.9                | 40.0     |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Hourly wages                      | \$7.35              | \$6.00   |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| ***Range in hourly earnings***      | ***Percentage in    |          |
|                                     | each range***       |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \<= \$5.00 per hour               | 31.5                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$5.00 -\$7.00 per hour           | 31.0                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$7.01 - \$9.00 per hour          | 16.6                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$9.01 - \$11.00 per hour         | 8.8                 |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$\>= \$11.01 per hour            | 12.1                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Total                             | 100.0               |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| Receipt of medical benefits with    | Percentage with     |          |
| job, by wage ranges                 | medical benefits    |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \<= \$5.00 per hour               | 13.0                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$5.00 -\$7.00 per hour           | 35.0                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$7.01 - \$9.00 per hour          | 52.1                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$9.01 - \$11.00 per hour         | 54.9                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > \$\>= \$11.01 per hour            | 65.0                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > All jobs                          | 36.2                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Type of occupation for job at     | Percentage          |          |
| > closure                           |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Professional, managerial,         | 23.6                |          |
| > technical                         |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Clerical/sales                    | 21.8                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Service                           | 23.0                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Agriculture, fishery, forestry    | 1.2                 |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Processing                        | 1.2                 |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Machine trades                    | 4.7                 |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Benchwork                         | 5.5                 |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Structural work                   | 2.7                 |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Miscellaneous                     | 16.4                |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| > Total                             | 100.0               |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
|                                     |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal Study,      |                     |          |
| January 1998                        |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+
| Preliminary findings: data          |                     |          |
| collection is ongoing               |                     |          |
+-------------------------------------+---------------------+----------+

> **Figure 5. Receipt of Medical Benefits Through the Job, by Ranges in
> Hourly Earnings**

![](media/image4.wmf){width="5.001388888888889in"
height="3.7534722222222223in"}

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

\[1996\] reported that in 1993, approximately 52 percent of all wage and
salary workers in the United States were covered by a group health plan
provided by their employer.)

Types of occupations in which consumers obtained jobs included
professional, managerial, and technical (24 percent of jobs), service
(23 percent), and clerical/sales occupations (22 percent). Very few
consumers obtained jobs in processing, structural work, or agriculture.

Table 8 presents the distribution of hourly earnings by selected
consumer characteristics, including severity of disability, years of
education, and academic achievement levels. Research in disability and
other fields has documented the association between these
characteristics and hourly earnings. McNeil (1997), for example, reports
that persons with severe disabilities earn significantly less than
persons whose disabilities are nonsevere. Barton and Jenkins (1995)
among others have documented the relationship between educational
attainment and achievement and earnings. As shown in the table,
competitively employed persons whose disability was

**Table 8. Distribution of Earnings Levels for Job at Closure by
Selected Consumer Characteristics, for Former VR Consumers Who Obtained
a Competitive Job Through VR**

+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| **Characteristic**                     | **Competitive    |          |
|                                        | employment**     |          |
|                                        |                  |          |
|                                        | **outcome**      |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| ***Mean and median hourly wage, by     | ***Mean***       | ***M     |
| severity of disability***              |                  | edian*** |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| Most severe                            | \$7.08           | \$6.00   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| Severe                                 | \$7.31           | \$6.03   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| Nonsevere                              | \$7.74           | \$6.38   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| ***Hourly earnings by years of         | ***Mean***       | ***M     |
| education, for persons with            |                  | edian*** |
| competitive jobs***                    |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| ***Years of education***               |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| \< high school                         | \$6.30           | \$5.50   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| high school                            | \$7.05           | \$6.00   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| \> high school                         | \$9.07           | \$7.61   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| ***Hourly earnings by achievement      | ***Mean***       | ***M     |
| level, for persons with competitive    |                  | edian*** |
| jobs***                                |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| ***Reading achievement level***        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| \<= 4th grade                          | \$5.51           | \$5.00   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| 5th to 8th grade                       | \$6.49           | \$5.50   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| 9th to 12th grade                      | \$7.24           | \$6.25   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| \> 12th grade                          | \$7.52           | \$6.92   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| ***Mathematics achievement level***    |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| \<= 4th grade                          | \$5.56           | \$5.00   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| 5th to 8th grade                       | \$6.31           | \$5.48   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| 9th to 12th grade                      | \$7.48           | \$6.37   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| \> 12th grade                          | \$8.54           | \$7.50   |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
|                                        |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal Study, January |                  |          |
| 1998                                   |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+
| Preliminary findings: data collection  |                  |          |
| is ongoing                             |                  |          |
+----------------------------------------+------------------+----------+

classified as most severe earned \$7.08 per hour (median \$6.00), while
those whose disability was nonsevere earned an average of \$7.74 (median
\$6.38). Similarly, former consumers with less than a high school
diploma (about 25 percent of competitively employed former consumers)
earned about \$6.30 per hour (\$5.50), compared with \$9.07 (\$7.61) for
those with more than a high school education.

Finally, data on reading and mathematics achievement level reflect
findings in such other fields as adult literacy and vocational
education. As shown in Table 8, persons with less than a fourth grade
reading level averaged \$5.51 (median \$5.00) per hour, while those
reading at above twelfth grade averaged two dollars more per hour
(\$7.52; median \$6.92). Comparable figures for mathematics achievement
levels were, for those performing at less than fourth grade, \$5.56 per
hour (median \$5.00); for those performing above twelfth grade level,
average hourly wage was \$8.54 (median \$7.50). Given the consistency
across disciplines regarding the relationship between earnings and
educational levels (see, e.g., Boesel, 1998), policy makers and
practitioners may wish to examine strategies for improving the
educational status of VR consumers as one mechanism for improving their
post-VR economic status.

## Retention of Employment and Earnings 

As noted earlier, the VR longitudinal study follows study participants
for a total of three years. Groups of participants will have reached
various stages at the end of that follow-up period. At this point in the
study, data are sufficient to support preliminary findings about the
retention of earnings and employment among competitively employed former
consumers one year after they exited the VR program. However, given the
longitudinal nature of the study, these findings, as others, are subject
to modification over the next two years as data collection continues and
as other study participants enter this group through achieving
employment outcomes.

As Table 9 shows, one year after exit from VR services, a total of 85
percent of former consumers who obtained competitive employment were
still employed. [^3] Sixty-four percent were still working at the job
they obtained through VR, while 21 percent had changed jobs but
continued to be employed (see also Figure 6). Average hourly wage for
persons working one year after VR was \$7.94 (median of \$6.67), and
average hours worked per week were 36 (median of 40). Thus, most persons
were working full time, and, as the table shows, 94 percent of them
continued in the competitive labor market. An additional 4 percent
reported that they were self-employed, an employment arrangement that
many persons have increasingly selected in recent years.

**Table 9. Employment Status at One-Year Follow up, for Former VR
Consumers** **Who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR**

+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| **Characteristic**                  | **Competitive     |            |
|                                     | employment**      |            |
|                                     |                   |            |
|                                     | **outcome**       |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| ***Employment status at follow      | ***Percentage***  |            |
| up***                               |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Still working at job obtained       | 64.2              |            |
| through VR                          |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Still working, but at another job   | 20.8              |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Not working, but looking for work   | 9.9               |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Not working, and not looking for    | 5.9               |            |
| work                                |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Total                               | 100.8             |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| ***Percentage working at one-year   | 85.0              |            |
| follow up***                        |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| ***Hours worked and hourly wages    | ***Mean***        | **         |
| for job at***                       |                   | *Median*** |
|                                     |                   |            |
| ***one-year follow up***            |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Hours worked per week               | 35.7              | 40.0       |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Hourly wages                        | \$7.94            | \$6.67     |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| ***Type of job for job at one-year  | ***Percentage***  |            |
| follow up***                        |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Competitive labor market            | 93.8              |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Sheltered work                      | 1.2               |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Self-employed                       | 3.8               |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Supported employment                | 1.2               |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Total                               | 100.0             |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
|                                     |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal Study,      |                   |            |
| January 1998                        |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+
| Preliminary findings: data          |                   |            |
| collection is ongoing               |                   |            |
+-------------------------------------+-------------------+------------+

**Figure 6. Employment Status One Year After Exit from VR**

![](media/image5.wmf){width="5.191666666666666in"
height="3.9340277777777777in"}

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

The types of occupations in which former consumers with a competitive
employment outcome worked at one year after VR had changed somewhat from
those at closure (Table 10; see Table 7 for comparison). Nearly
one-third (32 percent) were working in a professional, managerial, or
technical field, while 22 percent were in service occupations and 20
percent were in clerical/sales positions. According to interviews with
these study participants, nearly one-half (48 percent) were receiving
medical benefits from their employer, an increase of 12 percent over the
jobs they held at closure. Sixty percent reported receipt of vacation
leave, and half received sick leave. Other benefits included life
insurance (38 percent), retirement plans (34 percent), and dental
coverage (33 percent). These findings suggest a general improvement in
the employment and earnings status of former consumers with a
competitive employment outcome: they were making more money, working
more hours, and more frequently receiving health benefits one year after
their entry into the competitive labor market than was the case with
their initial jobs.

**Table 10. Selected Characteristics of Jobs Held at One-Year Follow up
for Consumers Who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR**

+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| **Characteristic**                              | **Competitive      |
|                                                 | employment**       |
|                                                 |                    |
|                                                 | **outcome**        |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| ***Type of occupation for job at one-year       | ***Percentage***   |
| follow up***                                    |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Professional, managerial, technical             | 30.5               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Clerical/sales                                  | 19.7               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Service                                         | 21.7               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Agriculture, fishery, forestry                  | 1.2                |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Processing                                      | 2.4                |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Machine trades                                  | 3.9                |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Benchwork                                       | 4.6                |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Structural work                                 | 2.1                |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Miscellaneous                                   | 13.9               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Total                                           | 100.0              |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| ***Types of benefits provided through job held  | ***Percentage with |
| at one-year follow up***                        | benefit***         |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Health insurance                                | 48.4               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Vacation leave                                  | 60.0               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Sick leave                                      | 49.9               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Life insurance                                  | 37.9               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Retirement/pension plan                         | 34.4               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Dental insurance                                | 32.6               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Other benefits                                  | 15.6               |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
|                                                 |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal Study, January 1998     |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+
| Preliminary findings: data collection is        |                    |
| ongoing                                         |                    |
+-------------------------------------------------+--------------------+

Table 11 provides additional details on type of occupation for the jobs
held by former consumers at one-year follow up. The table provides
information for three subgroups: persons who retained same job over the
period; those who changed jobs between their exit from VR and one year
later; and persons who were no longer working one year later. As shown,
among persons who changed jobs over the year, many moved into a
professional, managerial, or technical position. Within this group, 17
percent held such a job at exit from VR; and one year later, 28 percent
held a job of this type, for an 11 percent increase. Persons no longer
working one year later, on the other hand, were much more likely to have
held a job in a service occupation (30 percent) than in the
professional, managerial, or technical category (14 percent). Finally,
persons working in the same job at both time periods most often held a
job in professional, managerial, or technical occupations (32 percent),
followed by service (23 percent), and clerical/sales positions (22
percent).

Finally, we asked these study participants how satisfied they were with
the jobs they held at one year after exit from the VR program. As shown
in Table 12, consumers were satisfied with their integration in the
workplace (defined as "the sense of belonging and extent of involvement
you have experienced at work"). A total of 88 percent reported being
satisfied (54 percent) or very satisfied (34 percent) with their
involvement and sense of belonging. [^4] Eighty-four percent were
satisfied with their employer's support (defined as "any help your
employer gives you to make sure you can stay on the job"): 51 percent
reported being satisfied, and 33 percent reported being very satisfied,
with this support.

On the other hand, former consumers with a competitive employment
outcome were much less often satisfied with their earnings (only about
two-thirds were satisfied with this aspect of their job, and only 13
percent were "very satisfied"), fringe benefits (61 percent reported
satisfaction, with only 17 percent reporting being "very satisfied") or
opportunity for advancement (67 percent, with 16 percent "very
satisfied").

**Table 11. Occupational Types of Jobs at Closure and Jobs at One-Year
Follow\
Up for Consumers Who Obtained a Competitive Job Through VR**

  ---------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------
  **Characteristic**                                          **Competitive
                                                              employment
                                                              outcome**

  ***Type of occupation of job at closure                     ***Percentage***
  and at one-year*** ***follow up: persons                    
  who retained the same job***                                

  Professional, managerial, technical                         31.9

  Clerical/sales                                              22.0

  Service                                                     22.9

  Agriculture, fishery, forestry                              0.7

  Processing                                                  1.3

  Machine trades                                              3.9

  Benchwork                                                   4.4

  Structural work                                             1.5

  Miscellaneous                                               11.4

  **Total**                                                   **100.0**

                                                              

  ***Type of occupation of job at closure  ***Job at          ***Job at follow
  and at one-year*** ***follow up: persons closure***         up***
  who changed jobs between closure and***                     
  ***follow up***                                             

                                           ***Percentage***   ***Percentage***

  Professional, managerial, technical      16.5               28.3

  Clerical/sales                           23.9               16.1

  Service                                  16.2               19.8

  Agriculture, fishery, forestry           2.3                1.9

  Processing                               1.3                4.3

  Machine trades                           5.7                4.0

  Benchwork                                6.5                4.7

  Structural work                          3.8                3.1

  Miscellaneous                            23.8               17.8

  Total                                    100.0              100.0

                                                              

  ***Type of occupation of job at closure                     ***Percentage***
  for persons who*** ***were not working                      
  at one-year follow up***                                    

  Professional, managerial, technical                         14.4

  Clerical/sales                                              19.3

  Service                                                     30.0

  Agriculture, fishery, forestry                              1.7

  Processing                                                  1.5

  Machine trades                                              2.7

  Benchwork                                                   8.8

  Structural work                                             2.6

  Miscellaneous                                               19.0

  Total                                                       100.0

                                                              

  Source: VR Longitudinal Study, January                      
  1998                                                        

  Preliminary findings: data collection is                    
  ongoing                                                     
  ---------------------------------------- ------------------ ------------------

**Table 12. Consumers\' Satisfaction with Selected Characteristics of
Jobs Held at** **One-Year Follow Up, for Persons Who Obtained a
Competitive Job Through VR**

+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
|                                  |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| **Characteristic**               | **Competitive |        |         |
|                                  | employment**  |        |         |
|                                  |               |        |         |
|                                  | **outcome**   |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
|                                  |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
|                                  |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| ***Selected job characteristics, | ***Very       | ***    | ***Not  |
| for job at follow up***          | satisfied***  | Satisf | satis   |
|                                  |               | ied*** | fied*** |
|                                  | **            |        |         |
|                                  | *(percent)*** | ***    | *       |
|                                  |               | (perce | **(perc |
|                                  |               | nt)*** | ent)*** |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
|                                  |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Earnings                         | 13.3          | 54.3   | 32.4    |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Fringe benefits                  | 17.3          | 44.2   | 38.6    |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Integration in the workplace     | 34.0          | 53.7   | 12.3    |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Opportunity for advancement      | 16.4          | 50.7   | 32.9    |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Employer support                 | 33.1          | 51.3   | 15.6    |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
|                                  |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
|                                  |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Source: VR Longitudinal Study,   |               |        |         |
| January 1998                     |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+
| Preliminary findings: data       |               |        |         |
| collection is ongoing            |               |        |         |
+----------------------------------+---------------+--------+---------+

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

## Summary

Persons who obtained a competitive job through VR services worked an
average of 35 hours per week (essentially full time) and earned \$7.35
per hour. Most, however, fell into the lower ranges of earnings: over 60
percent made \$7.00 or less per hour, in jobs that were less likely to
provide medical benefits, an important issue for many persons with
disabilities in terms of their employment decisions. Persons with
relatively more education earned higher salaries. For example, persons
without a high school diploma/GED earned about \$6.30 per hour (median
of \$5.50), while those with more than a high school education earned an
average of \$9.07 (median of \$7.61). More strikingly, persons with low
reading and mathematics achievement levels suffered in terms of hourly
wages. Those reading or computing at less than fourth grade level made
two or three dollars less per hour than those achieving above the
twelfth grade level.

One year after completing VR services, a high proportion of consumers
who had achieved a competitive job through VR were still working: fully
85 percent were working, 64 percent in the job they obtained through VR.
Their earnings and benefits status had improved over the year. Average
hourly wages had increased to \$7.94 (median of \$6.67), and they worked
on average an hour more per week. Further, nearly half reported receipt
of medical benefits (versus 36 percent in their job at closure), along
with receipt of other benefits (60 percent received vacation leave and
50 percent received sick leave). Finally, a high proportion were
satisfied with their sense of belonging in their workplace (88 percent
of consumers) and with the support they received from their employer
that facilitated retention of employment (84 percent). Somewhat fewer
were satisfied with their earnings, benefits, or opportunity for
advancement, although well over half were satisfied with these
dimensions of their jobs as well.

**References**

Barton, P., and L. Jenkins. (1995). Literacy and dependency: the
literacy skills of welfare recipients in the United States. Princeton,
NJ: Educational Testing Service.

Curtin, T. (1998, in draft). *Synthesis of adult education statistics:
secondary analyses of national adult education and literacy data*.
Report prepared under Contract Number EA96-009-001 for the Office of the
Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education. Research Triangle Park,
NC: Research Triangle Institute.

Firebaugh, G., and B. Harley (1995). Trends in job satisfaction in the
United States by race, gender, and type of occupation. *Research in the
Sociology of Work*, 5, 87-104.

Hayward, B., and M. Tashjian. (December 1996). *A longitudinal study of
the vocational rehabilitation service program. Second interim report:
Characteristics and perspectives of VR consumers.* Report prepared under
Contract Number HR92-022-001 for the Rehabilitation Services
Administration, U.S. Department of Education. Research Triangle Park,
NC: Research Triangle Institute.

McNeil, J. (1997). *Americans with disabilities: 1994-1995*. Current
population reports, #70-61. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.

[^1]: In general, economists prefer to report earnings as medians, which
    are less sensitive to outliers whose earnings are very high or very
    low.

[^2]: Defined as "persons 16 or older who have not completed high school
    and are not currently enrolled or required to be enrolled in high
    school."

[^3]: In comparison, persons who obtained a job following services in
    JTPA-funded programs were employed at a much lower rate at 13-week
    follow up, the follow-up period that the Department of Labor uses to
    assess retention of employment and earnings. Among this group, 62
    percent reported that they were still working 13 weeks after exit
    from the program (personal communication with U.S. Department of
    Labor, Employment Training Administration, May 13, 1998).

[^4]: A recent study of US workers overall reported similar findings. In
    that study, 6 in 7 workers (or 86 percent) reported being "very" or
    "moderately" satisfied with their job, a finding that has remained
    steady over the past 20 years (Firebaugh and Harley, 1995).