Affiliations: [a] Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| [b] Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
| [c] Department of Public Health Sciences, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
| [d] Department of Counseling, Special Education, and Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Address for correspondence: Yazmin Castruita Rios, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, 461 Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall, Madison 53706, WI, USA. E-mail: castruita@wisc.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Prior research has examined the associations between demographic variables and employment outcomes in transition-age youth with disabilities, yet little is known about the supports and services that provide pathways to employment among transition-age Hispanic youth with disabilities. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the study was to identify variables associated with employment for transition-age Hispanic youth VR participants. Among them, demographic factors, barriers to employment, services associated with exiting in competitive integrated employment and associated weekly earnings. METHODS:We used descriptive analysis to examine the demographic characteristics of the study’s sample. Variables were then dichotomized, except for age at application, to be analyzed via logistic regression and a stepwise forward regression analysis was performed to assess the association between different levels of independent variables and selected dependent variables. RESULTS:Findings were consistent with previous findings examining the relationships between sociodemographic variables, vocational rehabilitation (VR) related variables, and employment outcomes in transition-age youth with disabilities. Our findings revealed that there are several positive and negative sociodemographic and VR-related variables associated with employment and weekly earnings for transition-age Hispanic youth VR participants. CONCLUSION:Besides supporting transition-age Hispanic youth with disabilities, understanding familial perspectives and needs would also be critical in facilitating a successful employment experience.
