Working with Randolph-Sheppard Entrepreneurs Who Are Deafblind: A Qualitative Analysis

Created in 1936, the Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program (BEP) provides competitive work experience for legally blind individuals across the United States. The Randolph-Sheppard Act (20 U.S.C. [section]107 et seq.) granted blind individuals priority in the operation of all food service facilities on federal property. Since that time, many states have adopted similar laws that include state, county, municipal, and some private facilities in the program. Through the Randolph-Sheppard program, legally blind individuals (referred to as "entrepreneurs," "operators," or "vendors") own and operate facilities that range from vending machine routes to full-service cafeterias. State licensing agencies have responsibility for recruiting new entrepreneurs, equipping them with training and licensing, and placing them in facilities in need of an operator. BEP facilities employ 2,319 legally blind entrepreneurs to run facilities across 49 states and three U.S. territories (Rehabilitation Services Administration, 2010). As the BEP matured, it expanded from small vendor-managed kiosks and concession stands to encompass large food service facilities, full restaurants, and laundry services. Entrepreneurs are responsible for day-to-day operations, including customer service, inventory, accounting, and cleanliness. In order to assist them, Randolph-Sheppard entrepreneurs employ over 12,000 staff members in support roles, of whom about 400 are also blind and over 1,000 of whom have some other disability. In fiscal year 2010, gross annual sales for the BEP totaled nearly $800 million, with individual entrepreneurs earning an average annual salary of about $56,000, well above the national median household income for that year. By definition, all BEP vendors are legally blind. However, blindness is not the only disability an entrepreneur in the BEP may encounter. It is estimated that there are 1.54 million U.S. adults who have both a hearing and a vision impairment, the majority of whom are over age 70 years (Swenor, Ramulu, Willis, Friedman, & Lin, 2013). For individuals below age 70 years, the prevalence of dual sensory loss was less than 1%. Although the BEP does not collect data on the number of entrepreneurs who experience hearing loss in addition to their vision loss, in a survey of 44 state BEP directors, 48% (n = 21) reported encountering entrepreneurs with deafblindness in their state program (Bybee, 2012). In order to qualify for participation in the BEP, individuals must be legally blind, meaning they have a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with best correction or a visual field of 20 degrees or less, or both. In order to be considered deafblind, an individual must be both legally blind and have chronic hearing impairment so severe that most speech cannot be understood with optimum amplification (Huebner, 1995). Securing employment is a challenge for individuals who are deafblind. However, few studies have examined employment outcomes for this population. According to data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2, among young adults (aged 21-25) with deafblindness the employment rate was 30% at the time they were interviewed (Newman et al., 2011). Research demonstrates that individuals who experience dual sensory loss such as deafblindness often withdraw from activities and productive roles (Brennan, Horowitz, & Su, 2005; McDonnall, 2009). No employment data are available for adults who are deafblind. When individuals with deafblindness manage to secure employment, they face unique challenges in the workplace. One of the largest obstacles is effective communication (Brabyn, Schneck, Haegerstrom-Portnoy, & Lott, 2007). Individuals who are deafblind use a number of technologies and strategies, most of which are based on the sense of touch, to communicate effectively. These adaptations include using tactile communication, such as braille and fingerspelling, to interact with customers and employees. …