Timeframe from Application to Closure in Integrated Employment for Vocational Rehabilitation Customers with Developmental Disabilities

Data Note 14, 2008

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By Alberto Migliore and Frank A. Smith.

Getting a job promptly after applying for vocational rehabilitation (VR) services is important for a successful career. Rapid placement boosts self-confidence and prevents applicants from losing work skills as a consequence of inactivity. Moreover, employers may prefer candidates whose work history shows limited gaps in employment.

This data note describes the integrated employment timeframe from application to closure for people with developmental disabilities (i.e., mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism) whose cases were closed by VR in 2006 (N = 27,579). VR typically closes cases when applicants have been in employment for at least 90 days.

The table below, divided by state, shows the percentages of cases closed within one year of application, between one and three years from application, and more than three years from application. Across all states, 33 percent of closures took place within one year of application, 49 percent between one and three years, and 18 percent more than three years after application. The highest percentage of cases closed within one year from application was 56, in both Vermont and Nevada. The highest percentages of cases closed more than three years from application was 42, in Oklahoma.

It is noteworthy that the time elapsed between application and closure is not necessarily a measure of individual success in employment outcomes. Applicants who are students may delay looking for employment until after completing secondary or postsecondary education. Moreover, some applicants may receive services beyond the 90th day of employment, extending the date of case closure in comparison to job entry. RSA 911 data do not provide the date of job entry.

Table: Timeframe from application to closure in integrated employment*

State	Number of Closures	Closed in one year or less (%)	Closed between 1 and 3 years (%)	Closed after more than 3 years (%)
AK	62	34	52	15
AL	1,343	30	43	27
AR	195	25	46	30
AZ	293	34	51	15
CA	2,693	36	48	17
CO	344	37	47	17
CT	133	27	55	18
DC	27	41	44	15
DE	121	47	43	10
FL	889	31	57	13
GA	1,137	29	50	22
HI	79	28	35	37
IA	477	16	53	31
ID	259	49	42	9
IL	950	32	40	28
IN	1,029	29	62	10
KS	296	33	53	14
KY	557	24	50	26
LA	219	6	71	23
MA	397	24	54	22
MD	421	40	45	14
ME	127	1	58	41
MI	969	46	40	14
MN	483	17	52	31
MO	827	31	60	9
MS	265	29	55	17
MT	116	39	47	14
NC	1,669	29	53	18
ND	89	29	53	18
NE	191	46	45	9
NH	144	43	47	10
NJ	425	41	51	8
NM	189	46	48	6
NV	75	56	37	7
NY	1,759	36	51	13
OH	1,153	51	42	7
OK	219	19	39	42
OR	477	52	42	6
PA	1,263	30	49	21
RI	113	29	39	32
SC	356	41	40	19
SD	215	50	32	18
TN	686	24	45	31
TX	1,029	31	52	18
UT	268	26	43	31
VA	950	37	44	19
VT	233	56	31	12
WA	561	25	60	15
WI	460	13	62	25
WV	273	33	44	23
WY	74	51	36	12
U.S. Total	27,579	33	49	18

*Totals not equal to 100 are due to rounding error.

Source RSA-911, FY2006.

Suggested Citation

Migliore, A. & Smith, F.A., 2007. Timeframe from Application to Closure in Integrated Employment for Vocational Rehabilitation Customers with Developmental Disabilities . DataNote Series, Data Note XIV. Boston, MA: Institute for Community Inclusion.

This is a publication of StateData.info, funded in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (#90DN0216). This Data Note was written by Alberto Migliore and Frank A. Smith.

The recommended citation for these charts and data is: Institute for Community Inclusion. (n.d.) StateData.info. Retrieved [today's date] from http://www.statedata.info.

 

This is a project of the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston supported in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under cooperative agreement #90DN0126 with additional support from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education under grant #H133A021503. The opinions contained in this website are those of the grantee and do not necessarily reflect those of the funders.