Striking while the iron is hot: The effect of vocational rehabilitation service wait times on employment outcomes for applicants receiving Social Security disability benefits

摘要

State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies play a significant role in supporting the employment goals of people with disabilities, but delays in the receipt of vocational services could adversely affect employment outcomes of applicants for services. In some instances, agencies are limited in their ability to provide services to everyone who seeks vocational assistance and are forced to place applicants on wait lists, a process referred to as order of selection (OOS). In other cases, delays in service receipt may be due to individual factors (for example, motivation or health complications) or agency processes (such as the time and effort involved in conducting vocational assessments and engaging applicants in goal setting).