Affiliations: Brown University, Department of Sociology/Population
Studies and Training Center, Providence, RI, USA
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Carrie L. Shandra, Department of
Sociology, Brown University, Box 1916, 112 George Street, Providence, RI 02912,
USA. Tel.: +1 508 344 4483; Fax: +1 401 863 3213; E-mail:
Carrie_Shandra@brown.edu
Abstract: Previous research on the education-to-employment transition for
students with disabilities has suggested that participation in school-to-work
programs is positively associated with post-high school success. This article
utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) to
extend these findings in several ways. First, we assess the efficacy of
specific types of school-based and work-based initiatives, including job
shadowing, mentoring, cooperative education, school-sponsored enterprise,
technical preparation, internships, and career major. Next, we extend the usual
focus on the employment outcomes of work status and financial compensation to
consider job-specific information on the receipt of fringe benefits. Overall,
results from longitudinal multivariate analyses suggest that transition
initiatives are effective in facilitating vocational success for this
population; however, different aspects of school-to-work programs are
beneficial for different aspects of employment. School-based programs are
positively associated with stable employment and full-time work while
work-based programs most consistently increase the likelihood that youth with
disabilities will be employed in jobs that provide fringe benefits. Analyses
also indicate that – once individuals with disabilities are stably employed –
they can be employed in "good" jobs that provide employee benefits.
Keywords: School to work, youth with disabilities, adolescence, transition to adulthood, program participation, employment
