Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to examine the impact of the Post-Secondary Education and Rehabilitation Transition (PERT) program on employment and earnings outcomes.
- The study used a nonexperimental design to assess the impact of the PERT program on employment and quarterly earnings. Study authors used administrative data from the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services and the Virginia Employment Commission.
- The study found that PERT program participation was significantly related to increased employment and higher quarterly earnings.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the PERT Program, but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Post-Secondary Education and Rehabilitation Transition (PERT) Program
Features of the Intervention
The Post-Secondary Education and Rehabilitation Transition (PERT) Program was created in the 1980s and funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. It was later administered and funded by the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). The PERT Program served youth with significant disabilities who were at least 16 years of age or within 2.5 years of graduating high school. The program was a two-week summer residential program that provided assessments in career vocational areas, independent living, residential life, recreation, and social skills. After the two-week program ended, PERT provided each youth with a career plan tailored to their needs and abilities. The PERT Program continued throughout the youth’s school/employment transition period to provide monitoring, technical assistance, supplemental evaluation services, and vocational trainings. Youth who joined PERT were required to have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) and had to be recommended to the program by their school system.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to assess the impact of the PERT Program on obtaining employment and having quarterly earnings. Study authors obtained data on employment and earnings from DARS and the Virginia Employment Commission. The study examined a sample of 3,073 youth, of which 394 received PERT services and 2,679 did not receive PERT services in Virginia. Youth who participated in the PERT program were mostly male (62%), White (65%), had a learning disability (53%) or intellectual disability (35%), and the disability was described as significant (67%). Youth who did not participate in the PERT Program were mostly males (60%), White (68%), had a learning disability (43%) or mental illness (29%), and the disability was described as significant (59%). The study authors compared the outcomes of the PERT participants to youth who applied for vocational rehabilitation services but were not placed into PERT.
Findings
Employment
- The study found that PERT Program participation was significantly associated with increased employment.
Earnings and Wages
- The study found that PERT Program participation was significantly related to higher quarterly earnings.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this study is moderate because it was based on a well-implemented nonexperimental design. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the PERT Program, but other factors may also have contributed.