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SWTCIE Illinois Evaluation Dissemination and Utilization Brief (SIEDUB)
Developed by the SWTCIE Illinois evaluation team, the SIEDUB disseminates monthly evaluation findings of the SWTCIE Illinois project, addressing each of the six constructs of focus (Quality of Life, Interagency Collaboration, Vocational Rehabilitation Services, Implementation, Knowledge Translation, and Sustainability).
All Results

blog posts

  • Importance, trust, and Challenges for Effective Interagency Collaboration: Illinois Disability Service Provider Perspectives

    Dec 17, 2024 12:30 pm12 views

    High-quality interagency collaboration is supported by research as a mechanism to improve post-secondary outcomes, including employment, for people with disabilities (Flowers et al., 2017; Kohler et al., 2016; Luecking & Luecking, 2015; Mazzotti et al., 2021; Povenmire-Kirk et al., 2015; Trach, 2012). To better understand the interaction and relationships among Illinois disability service partners and their current level of collaboration with each other, the SWTCIE Illinois evaluation team developed and administered an online survey to Illinois disability service providers. The guiding evaluation question of the survey was: What are the linkages and relationships among SWTCIE Illinois Partners?  

    These findings provide additional details to the October SIEDUB about linkages and relationships between Illinois disability service providers in Illinois. These findings are based on the three open-ended questions that were analyzed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006; 2022). The three open-ended questions were: (1) Why is interagency collaboration important to your organization effectively serving people with disabilities? (2) How does your organization build trust with other organizations that serve people with disabilities? and (3) What are the challenges that your organization experiences when collaborating as a partner in serving people with disabilities? 

  • Training and Development, Technical Assistance, and Outreach (TDTAO): Community Research Specialist (CRS) Activity Log Report for Quarter 3 (Q3: April-June 2024); and Employment Specialist Roundtable Event Exit Survey Report

    Nov 18, 2024 12:30 pm24 views

    Training and Development, Technical Assistance, and Outreach (TDTAO) is a key subconstruct of focus for SWTCIE evaluation, falling under the primary constructs of Interagency Collaboration and Implementation. This SIEDUB includes two reports of significant TDTAO endeavors under SWTCIE, highlighting and providing implications for interagency collaboration and implementation. Read on for the community research specialists’ (CRS) activity log report for quarter 3 (April-June 2024) and the results of the exit survey from the employment specialist roundtable event held in Champaign on August 29-30, 2024.

  • Interagency Collaboration Survey: Linkages and Relationships among Illinois Disability Service Providers

    Oct 15, 2024 12:30 pm32 views

    High-quality interagency collaboration is supported by research as a mechanism to improve post-secondary outcomes, including employment, for people with disabilities (Flowers et al., 2017; Kohler et al., 2016; Luecking & Luecking, 2015; Mazzotti et al., 2021; Povenmire-Kirk et al., 2015; Trach, 2012). The need to collaborate is important for effective comprehensive service provision for both adults and youth with disabilities, but much of the collaboration research has been focused on young adults with disabilities transitioning out of high schools and into adult services (Carter et al., 2020; Mazzotti et al. 2021; & Saleh et al., 2019). To better understand the interaction and relationships among Illinois disability service partners and their current level of collaboration with each other, the SWTCIE Illinois evaluation team developed and administered an online survey to Illinois disability service providers. The guiding evaluation question of the survey was: What are the linkages and relationships among SWTCIE Illinois Partners?  

  • Vocational Rehabilitation Services: Competitive Integrated Employment Trends for Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services Customers with Intellectual Disabilities

    Sep 17, 2024 12:30 pm62 views

    The number of people with disabilities working in subminimum wage employment has continued to diminish over time. At least 13 states have enacted laws that no longer allow employers to hold a 14(c) certificate, necessary to pay U.S. citizens less than minimum wage. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, as of September 1, 2024, there are 62 Illinois employers that are 14(c) certificate holders or have certificates that are pending and 2,954 Illinois workers with disabilities employed in subminimum wage jobs.

  • Hello and welcome to the inaugural issue of SIEDUB!

    Aug 16, 2024 12:30 pm62 views

    This is the first of many publications to document progress of SWTCIE Illinois (IL) that is finishing up the pilot year, Year 2, of the project. 

    In this initial issue we:

    1. Articulate the programmatic goals and activities of SWTCIE IL, 
    2. Lay out the SWTCIE IL Evaluation Framework (SIEF) and its importance in relation to assessing key outcomes, and 
    3. Describe how each issue of SIEDUB can be used to inform and improve SWTCIE IL competitive integrated employment (CIE) practices and strategies.