Continuous improvement in state vocational rehabilitation: A demonstration and call to action

Background: State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies (SVRAs) are the leading provider of employment services for disabled adults in the United States, with achievement of competitive integrated employment as their main outcome. Objective: Current data collection policies and practices require counselors to record extensive information for case documentation purposes, however, these data offer limited utility for service planning or for determinations of whether services are having the intended impact. Available data is not structured to support continuous improvement for individual providers or to establish evidence of best practices in day-to-day service provision. Method: In this article, we present the many potential benefits of including pre-post assessment of services in measuring the impact of SVRA services. Results: The Transition Readiness Toolkit offers a concrete example of the advantages associated with pre-post assessment and continuous use of data to guide services and quality improvement in SVRAs. Conclusion: Recommendations and implications for implementing pre-post assessment for other SVRA services are provided.