Predictors of employment among individuals with disabilities: A Bayesian analysis of the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program

The Rehabilitation Services Administration commissioned the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program (LSVRSP) to study the effectiveness of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs in the U.S. The purpose of this exploratory research was to examine the LSVRSP data by using Bayesian Network (BN) analysis, in order to determine the most effective predictors of employment among individuals with disabilities who had a case-closed status in the U.S.' s VR system. The results indicated that of the person-related variables that were studied, three demographic and disability-related variables (age, age of disability-onset, and type of disability) and two employment-related variables (employed at the time of applying for VR services and number of jobs since onset of disability) were strong predictors of employment at case closure. In view that work experience improves the accuracy of predicting employment among this sample and is a factor that can be modified, implications of the findings are briefly proposed for rehabilitation counselors.