RRTC: Advancing Employment - Langston University (LU), in partnership with the University of Massachusetts Boston, the University of Kansas, In the Beginning Business Incubator and Fund Company, Gallaudet University, University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Montana, Kessler Foundation, Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City and affiliates, Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, and other research and community based organizations are proposing the RRTC on Advancing Employment for People with Disabilities. The collaborative research, training, technical assistance and dissemination project is to be funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The project will generate new knowledge leading to advancement in employment outcomes among people with disabilities (i.e., developmental, cognitive, sensory, psychiatric, physical, and multiple disabilities). The Center will conduct five major studies and related linked activities that address the following themes: (1)Conduct a proof-of-concept study to develop a new framework for advancing employment among people with disabilities that will help guide, monitor and evaluate the Center’s linked research, research-based training, technical assistance and dissemination activities; (2)Explore U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey and National Survey on Health and Disability (NHSD) data to provide detailed information about the employment experience of people with disabilities; (3)Test a new innovative proof-of-concept prototype for a small business incubator model and trains and peer-mentors entrepreneurs with disabilities to birth small businesses that help close the wealth gap; (4) Conduct a community-driven exploratory study to document how communities define employment solutions for members harmed by the opioid epidemic, identify strategies for implementing solutions, pilot a disability employment solution, and identify model components.
