Content provided in partnership with

Health Care Industry

One-Stop career centers and job seekers with disabilities: insights from Kansas

Journal of Rehabilitation, Oct-Dec, 2005 by Jean P. Hall, Kathy Parker

<< Page 1 Continued from page 6. Previous | Next

Services. We examined the services provided to focus group members through many lenses. One aspect of service delivery that we considered was consumer directedness. As defined by Timmons et al. (2001), consumer directedness encompasses active involvement of the consumer in the job search process, their choice-making ability about services, and the provision of individualized services based on the needs of the job seeker. Only in the sense that customers at the Kansas One-Stops seem to be expected to conduct their own job searches with minimal staff assistance are the Centers' services consumer directed. Most often focus group participants related stories of being pointed to computers and left to fend for themselves. One person said, "You sit there and post a resume with the Kansas Job Link [the on-line job service system] and I've never gotten one answer back on Job Link, never."

Most Popular Articles in Health: Fuel your workout: exercisers who eat before they work out have more energy ...; Soothe a dry, itchy scalp: 5 easy expert solutions; Cocktails and calories: Beer, wine and liquor calories can really add up. ...; The sour truth about apple cider vinegar - evaluation of therapeutic use; The, six best supplements you've never heard of: these secret weapons can ...; More »

When asked to identify ways that the One-Stops could become more consumer directed, many participants expressed a need for counseling services. Several different roles for the counseling were identified, including help to "put you in the right frame of mind so you can be productive," to identify "your issues in a confidential way," "skills counseling," and, particularly, understanding of or at least familiarity with the myriad issues encountered by people with disabilities who are attempting to find and maintain employment. Even for those who did not identify a need for counseling services, the availability of a staff person who could work one-on-one with customers was rated as very important.

Under WIA (20 CFR 663.200), adults who have used at least one core service (such as computer job search) and are unable to obtain employment are eligible for intensive services such as assessments, counseling and career planning, and interview skills training. The experience of most of the focus group participants who had used One-Stop services was that, even if they had been unable to find a job using core services, they were not informed of other options nor given the opportunity to pursue them. When we asked a One-Stop staff person how she knew if a person was being unsuccessful using the job search services, she replied, "we notice if someone keeps coming back." Other than this, no formal method was related for identifying persons who might be eligible for intensive services. Given these experiences, customers with disabilities did not have access to the resources potentially available to them.

Focus group participants were not specifically asked about their experiences regarding coordination of services between the One-Stops and partner or community service providers. Some expressed a desire, however, that the One-Stop staff act as a liaison with employers to assist job seekers in instances where job accommodations might be needed. Others noted that the One-Stops did not seem to have relationships with the employers in their communities, and therefore could not provide advice about which ones might be more "disability-friendly."

Health Care Industry

One-Stop career centers and job seekers with disabilities: insights from Kansas

Journal of Rehabilitation, Oct-Dec, 2005 by Jean P. Hall, Kathy Parker

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Sports

Most Popular Articles in Health

Most Popular Publications in Health