Status overview of vocational rehabilitation services for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with disabilities

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Kim-Rupnow, Weol Soon | Park, Hee Chan | Starbuck, David E.

Affiliations: University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA | Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea

Note: [] Address for correspondence: Weol Soon Kim-Rupnow, Ph.D., Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1776 University Avenue, UA4-6 Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. Tel.: +1 808 956 5712; Fax: +1 808 956 5713; E-mail: kimrupno@hawaii.edu

Abstract: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) with disabilities have been under-served in the Rehabilitation Services System for decades and little research has been published with specific data depicting their overall status. The purpose of this study is to investigate the status of rehabilitation services provided to this target population. Utilizing the 1999–2000 RSA-911 database, the percentages of AAPI with disabilities served by vocational rehabilitation system are compared with the percentages of AAPI in the general population of each state in the US. Then, three elements of rehabilitation services (sources of referral, type of closures, and work status at rehabilitated closure) are used to describe the delivery of rehabilitation services in the top five states ranked by total AAPI population. Study results are discussed and recommendations presented.

Journal: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 21-32, 2005