The CERT conducts research to identify, document, and analyze models of rehabilitation and assistive technology (RT/AT) service delivery shown to be effective in promoting successful employment outcomes.
Recent reports
Business Roundtable on Reasonable Accommodations and Assistive Technology in the Workplace
Research Activities
PROJECT 1
- Baseline Survey: A baseline survey of vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies (including RT Support Units), State AT Act programs, and Centers for Independent Living (CILs) to assess and establish the current state-of-practice in RT/AT service delivery. Data collection is still ongoing.
Quality Indicators: Development and validation of a framework of quality indicators of effective RT/AT service delivery. One of the intended deliverables of the project is a quality indicators self-assessment check list for different service delivery programs including vocational rehabilitation agencies, State AT Act Programs, Centers for Independent Living, employers, and other public and private programs. Building on the literature of creating and using AT and other quality frameworks, CERT will establish a common evaluation framework with quality indicators that can be applied across the various models to understand how different models compare with each other. - In-depth Case Studies: The Center’s research activities will primarily focus on in-depth mixed methods case studies of different RT/AT service delivery programs, including State VR Agencies. The objective of the case studies is to conduct a comprehensive meta-review of service delivery models that have generated successful employment outcomes, to understand which processes, methods, and strategies demonstrate sustainable and replicable employment outcomes, identify the facilitators and barriers that impact the utilization of service delivery models proposed in literature, and document the strategies used by program personnel to overcome challenges.
PROJECT 2
- Develop a new prototype measure specific to devices used to enhance job skills and employment for persons with disabilities and their VRCs and determine the means of administration (e.g., paper-and-pencil, computerized, interview). Different people will need different formats. In addition, each item needs to be mapped to the ICF and open source coded for input into the RSA-911 database.
- Develop prototype computerized scoring and interpretations for the new measurespecifically to improve usefulness of the data and information from the results.
- Develop a pre- and in-service prototype interactive training program specific to AT and RT information as well as utilization of the new measure by VR professionals.
- Test the new measure, scoring and interpretations, and interactive training program with (a) seasoned and (b) novice VR professionals who serve persons with disabilities from a variety of cultural backgrounds.
- Validate the effectiveness of the new measure, scoring and interpretations, and interactive training program, and assess their effect on the extent persons with disabilities use their AT/RT and are satisfied with use at 3-month follow-up. Also, access the association of use with employability (realization of benefit); finalize open source coded input into the RSA-911 database and evaluate usefulness.
Publications
Scherer, M., Adya, M., Samant, D., Babirad, J., Killeen, M., & Bailey, N. (2011). Effective RT/AT service delivery: State of practice, quality indicators and ROI in the workplace. In RESNA (Ed.), RESNA 34th Annual Conference, June 6-8, Toronto, Canada. [CD-ROM] (pp. 1-4). Virginia: RESNA.
Samant, D., Adya, M., Babirad, J., & Scherer, M. (2011). A Quality Indicators Framework for effective AT service delivery. Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe, 2011.
Adya, M., Samant, D., & Scherer, M. (2011). Assistive/Rehabilitation Technology, Disability, & Service Delivery Models: A Review and Suggested Framework for Understanding and Improving the Evidence-Base. Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe, 2011.
Adya, M., Scherer, M., & Samant, D. (2011). Theoretical Approaches Guiding Disability Research: Old Models, New Models, and Keeping Room for Evolutions of Models. Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe, 2011.
Milchus, K., Adya, M., & Samant, D. (2010). Costs and benefits of workplace accommodations: Findings from company case studies. In RESNA (Ed.), RESNA 33rd Annual Conference, June 26 30, Las Vegas, Nevada. Virginia: RESNA.
Conference Presentations
Scherer, M., Adya, M., Samant, D., Babirad, J., Killeen, M., & Bailey, N. (2011). Effective RT/AT service delivery: State of practice, quality indicators and ROI in the workplace. Presented at the 34th Annual Conference of the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America, June 6-8, Toronto, Canada.
Scherer, M.J., Samant, D., Adya, M., & Killeen, M. (2011). Rehabilitation/Assistive Technology facilitating employment outcomes: State of practice, state of art, & return-on-investment. Presentation at the Annual Conference of the National Association of Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers, April 27-28, 2011, Bethesda, MA.
Scherer, M.J., Samant, D., & Adya, M. (2011). RT/AT service delivery – Findings from a baseline survey of current practice and development of quality indicators. Paper presented at the Assistive Technology Industry Association 2011 Orlando conference, January 26-29, 2011, Orlando, FL.
Samant, D., Scherer, M.J., & Adya, M. (2010). Examining the state of practice in RT/AT service delivery. Paper presented at the ATIA 2010 Chicago conference, October 27-30, 2010, Chicago, IL.
Babirad, J., Scherer, M., Samant, D., Adya, M., Mendelsohn, S., Weber, A., Bailey, N., & McLane, B. (2010). A comparison and contrast of leading taxonomies of assistive technology services and devices in use by state vocational rehabilitation agencies. Poster presented at the RESNA 2010 Annual Conference, June 26-30, 2010, Las Vegas.