RRTC Project Updates

Project 1: Partnership Employment Project (PEP)
This quarter we have been working to recruit participants into the project. Currently there are 54 participants across the five sites. A significant amount of our time has been dedicated to providing technical assistance in the area of building authentic public -private partnership with trusting and open communication. Also, this quarter we added the New York site where we are working with YIA National Institute for People with Disabilities and 7 Manpower offices in the New York City area. This site will begin to make referrals to the project in February. Also in February we will be meeting with partners in Minneapolis, Minnesota to initiate the involvement of the finial site for the project.

Project 2: Business Mentor Program
Through collaboration with the VA Business Leadership Network, 20 mentors have been recruited for participation in VCU Mentoring Matters. Examples of mentor businesses include Anthem, VA Museum of Fine Arts, Hanover High School, VA Department of Environmental Quality, and the Henrico Juvenile Probation Office. Fifteen students were recruited and are actively participating in the program. Most of these students have been matched to a mentor and have or are in the process of conducting their first meeting. An online organization management system has been developed to enhance communication and disseminate information to the participants. Recruitment of students will continue.

Project 3: Disability Management Practices & Successful Job Retention
Site visits for the second targeted organization, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), were conducted in October and November 2005. The first of these visits yielded a total of 14 interviews with general management, HR, operations, and key program leaders, utilizing the newly modified instruments. The second visit was devoted to 11 interviews targeting five employees with disabilities, their supervisors, and a key support person. Reports from all completed site visits at both CCHMC and UCSF are being prepared for qualitative analysis using NVivo. Both organizations will be revisited approximately one year from the initial site visits for follow-up interviews with case study level participants. In addition, initial site visits are currently being set up for the next two targeted organizations of study, Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan and General Electric.