This two-part course, based on research findings of Dr. J. Martin Giesen, focuses on the demographic and socio-economic factors that are associated with competitive employment outcomes for SSDI beneficiaries. The second part of the course is a round table discussion with rehabilitation practitioners, led by BJ LeJeune from the NRTC.  These counselors and field supervisors discuss issues they have experienced with this population and consider how these research findings might be put into practice to help improve employment outcomes. 

This course is available for CRC, ACVREP, and NBPCB credit.

Course Objectives:

1. Understand factors that affect competitive employment outcomes
2. Learn practice and policy recommendations to improve competitive outcomes
3. Understand how demographic and socioeconomic factors and how these types of factors will affect competitive employment outcomes for VR consumers

The following are recommended screen reader and browser combinations.

Mac: Voiceover with the latest version of Safari,

PC: JAWS or NVDA with Firefox.

Note that currently, course quizzes are not functioning properly for Microsoft screen reader users with Chrome or Edge.

The course shows a start date, but this is simply the date the course was made available to the public. They are self-paced. So, there is not an end date. You can enroll at any time.

This course was developed by the National Research & Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University. We are the only national center funded to conduct research related to employment for people with blindness or low vision, and training and technical assistance for the federal Older Individuals who are Blind program. As a national center of excellence, we offer resources on a variety of topics for service providers, businesses, and persons with vision loss on our websites:

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