Predictors of employment and post-secondary education outcomes among transition age youth with learning disabilities who accessed vocational rehabilitation services

This study examined the relationships between consumer demographic/VR service variables and employment outcomes/weekly earnings/level of education for 25,218 individuals ranging from 15 to 18 years old with learning disabilities from the Rehabilitation Services Administration data in 2012. To explore predictors of employment outcomes and the level of education, the participants were randomly split for cross-validation purposes into Sample 1 and Sample 2. A separate logistic regression was run for each sample, and variables (e.g. African American, job placement, college training, and occupational training) were statistically significant in predicting successful employment outcomes. In addition, service variables including African American status, college training, and occupational training were found to be statistically significantly to predict the level of education for transition-aged youth with learning disabilities. Weekly earnings for White males and females combined were statistically higher than African American males and females combined. Suggested hypotheses and implications for practice and future research are provided.