The relationship between vocational rehabilitation client outcomes and rehabilitation counselor multicultural counseling competencies

Multicultural issues in rehabilitation counseling continue to be a focus of practice and research because of the rapidly changing racial and ethnic profiles of persons with disabilities seeking services in the United States. This study investigated the relationship between vocational rehabilitation client outcomes and the rehabilitation counselor multicultural counseling competencies of 118 rehabilitation counselors working in a large midwestern vocational rehabilitation agency. The results of this study, which used hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), suggest that the characteristics the client brings to the counseling relationship are the primary variables in explaining differences in client outcomes. Counselor multicultural competencies were not found to be significant in explaining differences in client outcomes. The findings of this study are discussed in relation to previous studies and implications for future research.