Urban Youth With Disabilities

Abstract

Although postsecondary employment outcomes for transition-age youth with disabilities have improved over the past decade, minority youth with disabilities continue to lag behind their peers in achieving a job. This study of predominantly minority youth participating in the Marriott Foundation's Bridges From School to Work Program from 2000 to 2005 analyzed data for 4,571 urban youth to determine what factors are associated with securing employment, and the nature of the jobs that are secured. Findings indicated that 68% of the youth in the program secured a job, a rate considerably higher than the national average. Results of the study also indicate that gender, previous vocational experience, and receipt of Social Security benefits were among the significant factors predicting employment.

Impacts of School Structural Factors and Student Factors on Employment Outcomes for Youth With Disabilities in Transition

“…Successful job placement is defined as obtaining a job either part-or full-time during the participants' tenure at Bridges Program. In this sample, 76.6% of students secured a job, a rate consistent with prior studies of the Bridges database (Fabian, 2007;Gold et al, 2013). The highest job placement rate was Dallas (83.1%), and the lowest rate was Los Angeles (67.8%).…”

“…Not surprisingly, these variables have emerged in the majority of studies examining employment outcomes for transitioning youth. For example, Fabian (2007), and Gold et al (2013) consistently found that women participating in the Bridges Program were less likely to secure a job than young men, as did Newman et al (2009) in their analyses of NLTS-2 data. In their analysis, men earned significantly more per hour than did women, as did those with less significant disabilities, similar to the findings of the current study.…”

Job Acquisition by Urban Youth With Disabilities Transitioning From School to Work

“…Other studies of the Bridges Program (Fabian, 2007;Luecking & Fabian, 2000) found that having a paid competitive job during high school was the strongest predictor of postschool jobs for this population. The current study, with its evidence of the high probability of predominantly minority youth being able to secure jobs with assistance, solidifies the basis for persuading school systems to apply resources to support "real" jobs in the community for youth with disabilities.…”

“…Table 2 presents job placement rates as a function of site, and the a priori selected predictors. Aggregated across the seven sites and the six program years (2006 through 2011), participants' overall job placement rate is 77.2% (n = 4,511 of 5,847), a proportion considerably higher compared with the 68% rate reported by Fabian (2007) for program participants aggregated across the 5 years prior to the period of this study (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005). Job placement rates exceeded 70% at all seven sites, ranging from a low at Chicago (71.6%) to a high at Dallas (85.5%).…”

“…Analysis of job placement rates for Bridges participants between 2000 and 2005 found that, overall, young men more likely secured a job compared with young women, and Latina women less likely secured a job placement compared with any and all other groups (Fabian, 2007). Previous paid-employment experience most strongly predicted working during Bridges participation.…”