Disability Research
Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) for federal region VI
SEDL received funding from The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research to partner with the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) for federal region VI (or "Southwest DBTAC") www.dlrp.org. The Southwest DBTAC, one of 10 regional disability and training assistance centers supporting the Americans with Disabilities Act is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, and serves Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. SEDL's staff will direct three research studies for the Southwest DBTAC, all of them focusing on disability and employment outcomes. Findings from the studies will benefit employers and individuals with disabilities and their family members.
SEDL is partnering with the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center for federal region VI (or "Southwest DBTAC" www.dlrp.org.). SEDL staff will direct three new research studies for the Southwest DBTAC. The studies will run from October 2006 through September 2011 and pertain to the employment of people with disabilities.
The first study focuses on the employment status of the Southwest DBTAC clientele. Its findings will help DBTAC tailor services for those audiences, and potentially strengthen connections between employers and individuals with disabilities who might otherwise not be recruited, hired, or retained. SEDL will also conduct case studies profiling careers of people with disabilities who work in the health care industry. This research will position the DBTAC to inform the public about how better to recruit, hire and retain people with disabilities in this high-growth industry. A third study will assess knowledge of employment-related provisions of the ADA, which can then be used to find out if there is a relationship between the employment status of people with disabilities and what they know about their rights under this law. Findings can be helpful in refining the Southwest-DBTAC training programs.
The Southwest DBTAC is one of ten DBTACs funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. It is a component of the Independent Living Research Utilization program at Memorial Hermann Hospital and The Institute for Rehabilitation Research in Houston, Texas, which are affiliated with the Baylor College of Medicine.