HOW TO IMPLEMENT A VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP
FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION COUNSELORS: A TRAINING VIDEO
A Project
Presented to the faculty of the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
Counseling
(Vocational Rehabilitation)
by
Pamela Jeanne Buck
SPRING
2012
© 2012
Pamela Jeanne Buck
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ii
HOW TO IMPLEMENT A VOCATIONAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP
FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION COUNSELORS: A TRAINING VIDEO
A Project
by
Pamela Jeanne Buck
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Guy E. Deaner, Ph. D.
____________________________
Date
iii
Student: Pamela Jeanne Buck
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the project.
__________________________, Department Chair
Bruce Ostertag, Ed. D.
Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation
School Psychology, and Deaf Studies
iv
___________________
Date
Abstract
of
HOW TO IMPLEMENT A VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION WORKSHOP
FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION COUNSELORS: A TRAINING VIDEO
by
Pamela Jeanne Buck
Statement of Problem
The purpose of this project was to develop a training video for Vocational
Rehabilitation Counselors [VR Counselors] on how to implement and conduct a
Vocational Assessment Workshop [VAW] for assessment of academic aptitudes and
career exploration of consumers seeking vocational rehabilitation services. With one in
five Americans affected by disability at some point in their lives, each of us has about a
20 % chance of becoming disabled (National Organization on Disability, 2006, 2008).
Effective measurement of pre-employment skills levels and assessment of academic
aptitude is a crucial part of a VR Counselor’s counseling and guidance process when
establishing a client’s work readiness level. Currently, VR Counselors outsource for a
v
client vocational evaluation with a private occupational evaluation service at substantial
cost one client at a time. VR Counselors utilizing this VAW training program would
benefit greatly by personally testing and assessing their client in a group setting,
providing tools to clients to conduct their own job search, as well as demonstrate
effective job interview methods and resume writing techniques. The VAW can be
administered to several clients at the same time, equating to economies of counselor
guidance, resources and testing materials. Finally, the Vocational Assessment Workshop
provides the opportunity for clients to engage in group participation encouraging an
exchange of ideas, an affinity of support, and shared experiences. The vocational
exploration also fosters client informed consent by encouraging participation in their
career choice.
Clients experience a sense of community and support by participating in the
Vocational Assessment Workshop that can engender feelings of empowerment, selfsufficiency, and self-determination. The workshop setting is communal and therefore
encourages an open exchange of personal experiences, ideas, and creative solutions
between the counselor and the client. The workshop allows the client to inventory his or
her skills, capacities, strengths and interests, and how to prioritize them. They can take
these identified skills and make an informed judgment as to how the client will fit in the
labor market. Throughout this process, the search is ongoing and continuously refined.
The Vocational Assessment Workshop folder included in the project is designed
as a companion guide by providing examples of suggested tests and assessments to
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administer during the workshop specifically relevant to vocational rehabilitation
consumers throughout California.
Sources of Data
Data for this project was obtained through professional journals, library resources,
EBSCO host, interviews of vocational rehabilitation specialists and counselors,
vocational assessment materials utilized by Auburn Branch of the Department of
Rehabilitation, and variety of other internet resources. The data includes peer reviewed
journal articles, textbooks, information from relevant websites, manuals, power point
presentations that provide information on career and interest assessments, and testing of
VR consumers. Results of Client Satisfaction Surveys completed after attendance at a
Vocational Assessment Workshop are also included.
Conclusions Reached
A training video instructing VR counselors how to implement and conduct
vocational assessments and testing for VR Counselors was developed. The training video
includes materials and resources for clients to conduct career exploration, for counselors
to administer the Holland Self-Directed Search, Values Survey, determine client
transferable skills, Pearson Career Interest Inventory, EUREKA Career Search, Keirsey
Temperament Sorter II, resume writing techniques, BETA III and Basic Achievement
vii
Skills Inventory [BASI], and suggested internet job search web sites. In addition, the
workshop presentation also includes teaching clients successful career networking
techniques, informational interviewing, effective resume writing and useful job search
websites in the internet.
_____________________________________, Committee Chair
Guy E. Deaner, Ph.D.
__________________________________
Date
viii
DEDICATION
This Project is dedicated to the memory of my father, David; my son, Austin;
Marg and Fred Schmidt; and all of my loved one who have departed this life.
This Project is also dedicated to my mother, Lee; my daughter, Justine;
Chansonette, Curt, Karla, Lisa, Gloria, Joan, Ellen and Nelda, and all of my family and
friends who gave their support and encouragement. I love them dearly.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Dedication .......................................................................................................................... ix
INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................ 3
Definition of Terms................................................................................................. 4
Limitations of the Project...................................................................................... 12
Organization of the Project ................................................................................... 13
LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................15
Introduction ........................................................................................................... 15
Historical Perspective on the Evolution of Vocational Assessments ................... 15
Historical Development of Vocational Assessments in the U.S. Military............ 18
Early Vocational Assessments .............................................................................. 20
Informed Choice, Client Self-Determination, and Empowerment ....................... 23
Successful Rehabilitation Outcomes and Client Locus of Control ....................... 30
Role and Function of Rehabilitation Counselor Using Vocational Assessments . 33
Vocational Assessment in the VR Process ........................................................... 36
Individual Vocational Assessment ........................................................................ 39
Conducting Group Vocational Assessments ......................................................... 40
Summary ............................................................................................................... 42
METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................44
Method .................................................................................................................. 44
Review of Sources ................................................................................................ 45
Design and Content of the Workshop ................................................................... 46
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................................................................48
Summary ............................................................................................................... 48
Recommendations ................................................................................................. 50
x
Appendix A Video Transcript ............................................................................................51
Appendix B VAW Power Point Slides ..............................................................................66
Appendix C VAW Tests and Assessments ......................................................................107
Appendix D Client Release, December 2011 ..................................................................116
Appendix E Client Release March, 2012 .........................................................................118
Appendix F Human Subjects Committee Approval ........................................................120
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................122
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1
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The inspiration for this project began when the author started her internship in
May 2010 at the State of California Department of Rehabilitation [DOR] in Auburn
California, as a Graduate Student Assistant. After working with DOR clients, it became
clear that there was no formal established method for obtaining comprehensive
assessment of the clients’ academic aptitude, transferable skills, and job readiness
knowledge or abilities in a group setting. In May 2010, the author was invited to
participate in the Vocational Assessment Workshop [VAW] created by the Senior
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors [SVRC] at the DOR Auburn Branch, held at the
end of each month.
VAW Client Satisfaction Surveys (N. Grimes, personal communication, August
5, 2011) completed by clients who participated in the workshop indicate that they regard
the VAW as informative and helpful to their career search. VAW provides rehabilitation
counselors with a strategy to promote client involvement in the service process and
encourages clients to enact choices, set goals, make informed decisions, and become
more fully involved with executing their individual plans for employment in a group
setting. Vocational assessments are major components of work functions of
rehabilitation counselors in the private sector (T. Drennan, personal communication
August10, 2011). Proper and appropriate vocational assessments increase the probability
2
that a client’s rehabilitation plan will result in successful employment (Hagner, 2010).
Appropriate client testing is conducted to measure areas such as intelligence, aptitude,
achievement, personality, and vocational interests (A. Ham, personal communication,
August 4, 2011).
During the workshop, counselors demonstrate methods used to obtain a valuable
baseline of a client’s academic aptitude, transferable skills, and career interest
information. This information is organized in such a fashion so that the client can create
a personal record of his or her personal strengths, values, personality traits, and career
interests. Each client is provided a Vocational Assessment Workshop folder taking them
step by step to find their personality traits, personal strengths and values, transferable
skills, and top three occupational choices. These exercises are used strategically
throughout the workshop. The client’s Vocational Assessment Results sheet steers the
client toward occupational choices, which they will eventually research for his or her
chosen career (A. Ham, personal communication, August 4, 2011).
By conducting in-house Vocational Assessment Workshops in a group setting,
rehabilitation counselors may realize substantial cost savings benefit to their employer
(D. Luke, personal communication, August 15,2011). An outsourced occupational
evaluation assessment of a consumer by a private vocational evaluator can run in the
range of $900.00 (T. Drennan, personal communication, July 30, 2011); (A. Penafiel,
personal communication, September 5, 2011). The VAW is administered and conducted
by VR counselors as part of their regular counselor duties and work assignment while
3
serving several clients at once. In comparison, costs run approximately $300.00 to
$400.00 per client for a week of vocational assessment (D. Luke, personal
communication, August 13, 2011).
The challenge for VR counselors in mapping out an appropriate and viable career
path for a client lies in accurate assessment of a client’s transferable skills and academic
abilities. A counselor’s mandate is to ensure clients make informed decisions about their
new career in a timely manner (Hagner, 2010). An outsourced vocational evaluation can
take up to 5 days. The formal report prepared by the evaluator can take another 2 weeks
before it reaches the counselor (A. Penafiel, personal communication, September 5,
2011). Implementing a training program for VR counselors to conduct group vocational
assessment workshops at their own place of employment would provide greater
accessibility to several clients at once, cost savings to the counseling agency and faster
compilation of test results.
Statement of the Problem
After consulting with counselors at other vocational rehabilitation offices,
(Nathanial Bair, RC, DOR Grass Valley Branch, Jessica Rose, RC, DOR South Lake
Tahoe), it became clear the VAW is the only workshop of its kind used in this
geographical area. Further investigation revealed a larger problem: Counselors starting to
work in the rehabilitation field do not receive formal training to conduct VAWs for
groups of clients, neither through an academic setting nor through on-the-job training (D.
Luke, personal communication, August 13, 2011) (T. Koch, Ph.D., personal
4
communication, September, 20, 2011). Therefore, an instructional video to train
vocational rehabilitation counselors to conduct a vocational assessment workshop for a
group of clients within any vocational rehabilitation services setting is needed.
An exhaustive national search including University of Wisconsin-Stout’s
Vocational Rehabilitation Graduate Program, National Clearing House of Rehabilitation
Training Materials, West Virginia’s Rehabilitation Research Training Center, and the
Public Information Training Library of California DOR. in Sacramento, revealed that a
video for training VR counselors on how to conduct a Vocational Assessment Workshop
for a group of VR clients does not exist.
Definition of Terms
Barriers to employment
Characteristics that may hinder an individual’s hiring, promotion or participation
in the labor force. These barriers will vary by location and labor market. Some examples
of individuals who may face barriers to employment include women; youth; older
workers; individuals with limited English speaking ability or who have a criminal record;
individuals who lack education or work experience; displaced homemaker; teenage
parents; public assistance recipients; certain veterans; ethnic minorities; and individuals
who lack child care coverage; transportation, permanent housing, or alternative working
patterns (U.S. Department of Labor [USDOL], 2011d).
Basic Achievement Skills Inventory[BASI] – Survey Math and Verbal Skills
A multi-level, norm-referenced achievement test that helps measure math,
5
reading, and language skills for children and adults. It provides a complete evaluation of
academic skills. Developed by Achilles N. Bardos, Ph.D., the BASI series comprises
multi-level, norm-referenced achievement tests for children and adults that may be groupor self-administered. The test yields standard scores, national percentile rankings, grade
equivalency, age equivalency, and performance classification by learning objective,
without requiring individual administration or lengthy testing (Pearson Assessments,
(2004).
BETA III Examination
The Revised BETA Examination is designed as a group test developed by C.E.
Kellog and N. W. Morton. The BETA III is designed to be used as nonverbal measure of
general intellectual ability that is highly correlated with the performance subtests of
WAIS-III. It is designed for use for adults aged 16 to 89 years who may have literacy
problems or other language difficulties. The Beta III contains five subtests: Coding,
Picture Completion, Clerical Checking, Picture Absurdities, and Matrix Reasoning. The
score provides a quick assessment of an adult’s nonverbal intellectual abilities (Kellog, &
Morton, 1999; Rubin & Roessler, 2006).
Department of Rehabilitation, State of California
The California Department of Rehabilitation [DOR] works in partnership with
consumers and other stakeholders to provide services and advocacy resulting in
employment, independent living, and equality for individuals with disabilities (State of
California, Health and Human Services Agency, Dept. of Rehabilitation,
6
2007)(www.dor.ca.gov/aboutdr.htm).
EUREKA Online Career Search
EUREKA Online is a computerized career information system. EUREKA
provides detailed description on more than 800 career options and references more than
1,500 career specialties. EUREKA Online is one of the main career search sites which
clients are encouraged to use during the vocational assessment workshop.
(www.EUREKA.org).
Holland Codes
Psychologist John Holland (1994) developed a set of personality types described
in a theory of careers and vocational choices. As Holland’s theory is applied in interest
inventories and job classifications, the three most dominant codes are used for vocational
guidance. Holland’s theory revolved around the idea that individuals are not defined by
just one personality type. Holland offered the theory that people in general have threepreferred people-environments, among six principals. He believed. there are six
personality types in the world: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and
Conventional. The letters chosen for a person’s three preferred people-environments
gives them a specific Holland code. The code helps a person determine what type of
work or career he or she would most enjoy and find fulfilling. People most often tend to
be instinctively drawn towards the work environments they find appealing and validating
(Bolles, 2011).
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Holland Self-directed Search
Represents a set of personality types described in a theory of careers and
vocational choice formulated by psychologist John Holland (1994). Holland believed
that the choice of vocation involves an expression of personality. He developed the
Vocational Preference Inventory and the Self-directed Search which are made up of six
types of interpretive structures for a number of different vocational interest surveys .
Individual Plan for Employment
The Individual Plan for Employment [IPE] is a client’s individualized written
plan that lists his or her job objective. The IPE guides a client through a set of particular
steps to reach his or her career goal and lists the services the client will receive in order to
find and maintain employment. The IPE is developed with the guidance and assistance
of the VR counselor, providing the client meaningful choices along with results of
assessment of the client’s vocational interests, academic aptitudes, transferable skills,
personal strengths and values, and work history, which define a vocational or
employment goal. The VR counselor and the client discuss the client’s unique strengths,
resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, and informed choice as the
plan develops. The IPE will detail a description of the employment goal, a timeline to
achieve the employment goal, description of the services and service providers the client
will need, a timeline to begin services, description of methods to get services, criteria
used to evaluate client’s progress, responsibilities of the counselor, the clients and others
involved in the IPE, outline of client participation in paying for part of the plan, and
8
identification of comparable benefits (California DOR, 2008).
Individual with a disability
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
defined an individual with a disability as “. . . a person with a disability who, with or
without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of an
employment position that such a person holds or desires” (West, 1991).
Keirsey Temperment Sorter II [KTS-II)
Personality measurement instrument used to assessment personality type. There
are four basic temperament groups that describe human behavior and character types:
Artisans, Guardians, Rationalists, and Idealists. This personality measurement is used
during the Vocational Assessment Workshop to assist clients in making them aware of
their own character traits and how those traits best fit the career in which they will most
likely succeed ( Keirsey, 1998).
O*NET OnLine
The O*NET system serves as the nation’s primary source of occupational
information, providing comprehensive information on key attributes and characteristics
of workers and occupations. The O*NET database houses this data and O*NET OnLine
provides easy access to that information. O*NET OnLine is a valuable tool for VR clients
to identify and research occupations during their vocational career search (U.S.
Department of Labor, [USDOL], 2011).
9
Personal strengths
Personal strengths include characteristics or traits that a person has used to
enhance their job specific skills. Personal strengths are indicative of an individual’s
natural traits and abilities and can be viewed as a competitive attribute that can be applied
to future vocations (A. Ham, personal communication, October 2, 2011).
Transferable skills
Transferable skills are skills that a client has acquired and used in his or her past
work history. A counselor can determine transferable skills by considering a client’s
work experience, skills, knowledge acquisition specific to job functions, ability to use
personal judgment, use of tools or complex equipment, or ability to work with people at
high levels of involvement (Brodwin & Brodwin, 2002; Weed & Field, 2004). The more
skilled the individual, the easier the task for the VR counselor to locate comparable work.
This would include reasonably developed skills, knowledge, and abilities attained
through on -the -job training experience relating to current employment opportunities in
the labor market. Using transferable skills helps the client maintain his or her salary level,
a critical factor to those clients who have lengthy work histories, high earnings and high
financial obligations (Rubin & Roessler, 2008).
Vocational Assessment Workshop [VAW]
This is a workshop that assists a VR client to find a potential employment goal
that will fit his or her interests, core values, and transferable skill sets. A client’s
rehabilitation plan requires collaboration between VR client and his or her counselor to
10
tailor an employment plan to the client’s particular goals. The VAW is geared towards
potential VR applicants who are undecided about an employment goal. During
participation in the VAW, a client learns effective methods that help decide an
appropriate career path which will not encounter potential barrier to employment. A
client’s participation in VAW usually occurs after the initial intake interview is
conducted and before a client is determined eligible to receive VR services. The 4 day
workshop is conducted in a group setting with two to five clients and is held once a
month. The group setting allows the clients to interact, support, and assist each other
through the vocational assessment process. The workshop also provides an opportunity
for a counselor to assess clients’ academic aptitudes, determine their interests,
transferable skills, personal values, and to teach clients useful vocational exploration
techniques to decide on the best successful career choice (D. Luke, personal
communication, September.2, 2011).
Vocational Assessment Workshop folder
This is a client’s VAW working folder, handed out the first day of the workshop,
which is filled with instructions, information, and activities they will need to complete
tests and homework assignments each night. The folder contains several pages of test
scoring sheets, articles referencing the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook
Handbook to assist with job search, U.S. Department of Labor website, Five Job Zones,
The Holland Career Hexagon, Values Survey Homework, My Personal Strengths, Career
Interest Inventory , transferable skills checklist, labor market survey, job specific skills
11
checklist, Fastest Growing Occupations in Monthly Labor Review, Employment
Development Department, instruction on effective informational interview techniques,
job interview techniques, dress for success tips, client’s values and transferable skills
sheet, career search web sites, and so forth (D. Luke, personal communication, August 9,
2011, A. Ham, personal communication, August,12, 2011).
Vocational exploration
Through assessments such as interest inventories and/or counseling, a process of
identifying occupations or occupational areas in which a person may find satisfaction and
potential, and for which a client’s aptitudes and other qualifications may be appropriate
(USDOL, 2011).
Vocational Rehabilitation client
An individual who has applied and is receiving vocational rehabilitation services
in the form of counseling and guidance, vocational training and/or job development or
supported employment. As a requirement to receive VR services, a consumer must
attend and fully participate in training programs and classes, and fully participate in his or
her job search and job placement activities. Clients who request rehabilitation services
for themselves are typically eager to be employed and display a motivated, positive
attitude that is conducive to involvement in vocational assessment (California DOR,
2008; Power, 2006).
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor [VRC]
A Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor is a professional employee or independent
12
contractor who provides or coordinates a wide range of rehabilitation services which
might include guidance counseling, client representation and training, rehabilitation, and
employment services. To fulfill the responsibilities of their job role, VRCs must carry
out client intake, case management and findings, diagnosis, eligibility determination,
vocational evaluation, plan development and completion, service provision, placement,
and follow-up and post-employment services (Garner, 1985; Roessler & Rubin, 2006)
Chubon (1992) stressed that rehabilitation counselors should seek to help people with
disabilities achieve “the best fit” with their environments. Through their counseling
function, rehabilitation counselors enable people with disabilities to re-examine and
reconstitute their self-concepts and personal goals (Hershenson, 1998).
Limitations of the Project
The primary audience for this project is VR Counselors who work in the
vocational rehabilitation field throughout California. This project is limited because
certain offices may not have the available staff and time to devote an entire week to the
workshop. Certain offices have heavier caseloads than others, and a counselor’s time and
resources may be deeply impacted. The bulk of the VAW client folder inserts and
materials was initially compiled in 1998 and was recently edited in 2009. The literature
review and the making of the video for this project was compiled between July 2011 and
March 2012. Since vocational assessments and career search tools are constantly
changing and upgrading today’s information and resources can be deemed outdated and
obsolete tomorrow. Vocational assessments and career search tactics and techniques
13
continue to evolve, and therefore, new approaches and strategies must keep pace with
demands of a highly competitive job market.
Another limiting factor is the rapid pace of current career computer search
technology and information. The workshop materials are what is currently available but
should be periodically updated.
In addition, this project is limited in use because it is designed to train counselors
in the Placer County area, but can be tailored and adapted to fit other metropolitan areas.
The vocational resources used in the project reflect the labor market information for the
Placer County metropolitan area only. Furthermore, this project is limited in use by this
author’s views on counseling, theoretical perspectives, and personal experiences as well
as vocational assessment training biases. Selection, review, and analysis of literature and
other resources used in the development of this project is limited to this author’s
interpretations. This author believes that this VAW is the most comprehensive group
workshop currently in Northern California and favors the success of this particular
method of conducting vocational assessments of VR clients over other occupational
evaluation programs conducted in the same geographic area.
Organization of the Project
An Introduction, statement of the problem, definition of terms, limitations of the
project and organization of the project comprise Chapter 1. A review of the history of
vocational rehabilitation legislation, vocational rehabilitation service providers,
vocational rehabilitation assessments and methods, and rehabilitation services for
14
consumers is included in Chapter 2. There is also a review of books, articles, manuals,
videos, and other workshop materials that provide pre-employment job search training for
consumers in Chapter 2. Finally, a review of peer-reviewed journal articles related to
vocational assessments endorsed by VR counselors, and factors that impact vocational
assessments and testing will finish Chapter 2.
The methodology used to research the literature for substantive and structural
information to develop the Vocational Assessment Workshop training video is included
in Chapter 3. A summary of the project undertaken and recommendations are presented
in Chapter 4. The transcript outline of the VAW training video is included in Appendix
A. The VAW Training power point slides are included as Appendix B. The tests and
assessments included in the client VAW folder are included in Appendix C. The client
release used for videotaping for the December 2011 session are included as Appendix D.
Client Releases for the March 2012 videotaping of the VAW are included in Appendix E.
And, finally, the approval page from the Human Subjects Committee Chair confirming
the videotaping of the VAW sessions posed “no risk” to clients is attached as Appendix
F. Finally, a list of references concludes the project.
15
Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The literature review consists of five sections. First, a historical perspective on
vocational assessments is presented, examining the impact of vocational advocates in the
early 20th century, credited with creating the first system of career guidance theory and its
significance, to help individuals select an appropriate career goal; and then subsequent
key federal legislative initiatives supporting the need for proper assessment for
individuals with disabilities on a national level is discussed. Secondly, a review of the
historical development of vocational assessments in the U.S. Military is presented. Next,
a historical review of early vocational assessments developed in the first part of the 20th
century is examined. A discussion regarding the renewed emphasis on informed choice,
empowerment, and client self-determination during the career exploration process is
presented. Employment outcomes and client locus of control follows, explaining the
importance of internality of control for a client’s successful vocational placement. The
next topic explores the importance of the role and function of the rehabilitation counselor
administering vocational assessments in the rehabilitation process. Finally, special focus
is directed to the difference in conducting individual assessments versus group
assessments.
Historical Perspective on the Evolution of Vocational Assessments
Origins of vocational assessment can be traced back to the early 1900s in
16
America. Career guidance was a catalyst from which vocational guidance first emerged.
Prior to the 1900’s there was no formal process or system for an individual interested in
finding about or planning for a viable career -- one’s opportunities were limited to
contact from friends, family, church, community, and level of education. In the early
1900s, the rise of urban populations migrating from rural farming communities, coupled
with the demands of the industrial revolution, increased emphasis on developing social
reforms to improve living conditions for industrial workers. Social programs to improve
living conditions for industrial workers to eliminate poverty and foster attention towards
a vocational guidance movement were introduced. In the early 1900s the federal
government mandated the elimination of the vagaries of poverty and placed emphasis on
developing a vocational guidance movement. At the turn of the 20th century,
psychologists practicing in the emerging fields of vocational guidance and industrial
psychology started to emphasize the challenges individuals faced in making and
implementing career decisions (Phillips, Christopher-Sisk, & Gravino, 2001).
An early advocate for workers’ rights in the 1890s was John Dewey, a labor
activist who lobbied for social reform in education to lead to individual motivations, selfinterests, and development. The first person to use the term “vocational guidance,”
however, was Frank Parsons. Parsons, a professor who taught math, history and French at
Kansas State University, is credited with creating the first system of career guidance in
1907. Parsons later taught at Boston University and turned his focus on reforming
industry so that it could help reform the needs of the working individual. Often referred
17
to as “the founding father of vocational guidance,” Parsons opened the Vocational
Bureau of Boston in 1908. The Bureau’s sole purpose was to help individuals learn of
different careers and provide guidance in the areas of occupational adjustments of youth
and adults. Parsons believed that with the help of a vocational counselor, a person could
make rational and free decisions about the work for which he or she was best suited, and
the most appropriate education required for that work.
Parsons’ book, Choosing A
Vocation” was the first of its kind. The book described Parsons’ scientific procedure for
assisting individuals with choosing a vocation by helping them become more aware of
their needs, aptitudes, and demands of certain occupations. Parsons found that people
were greatly interested in seeking advice on guidance by vocational counselors. Parsons’
method encouraged rational and free decision making about the type of work for which a
person was best suited and the required education. Parsons’ believed that this approach
ensured efficiency for the factory and the individual, thus improving society on the
whole. Parsons developed three points which he believed were necessary to vocational
determination: (a) Awareness of self and personal strengths and weaknesses, (b)
awareness of the requirements of different kinds of jobs and occupations, and (c) making
informed choices which requires matching the person to the appropriate occupation in the
world of work (Whiston, 2009).
Zytkowski and Swanson (2000) emphasized that Parsons three-part prescription
for effective vocational planning -- self-knowledge, occupational information, and quality
decision making, is still fundamental in career counseling theory after eight decades.
18
They found Parsons’ approach to the first component--self-knowledge--remarkable in
that it is strikingly consistent with the contemporary practice of vocational assessment.
Parsons’ three points remain unchanged today in the contemporary definition of
vocational guidance and assessment (Whiston, 2009).
Historical Development of Vocational Assessments in the U.S. Military
The practice of assessment started to play a significant role in U.S. military
recruiting methods to determine an enlisted man’s combat readiness when America
became embroiled in the Great War and World War II.
The U.S. military became interested in group testing in April 1917 for purposes of
properly classifying enlisted men. In 1917 the U.S. government requested a group of
psychologists, Robert Yerkes, Lewis Terman, Henry Goddard, and Walter Bingham, to
lead in the development of a group intelligence test to administer to enlisting soldiers.
This committee developed the Army Alpha and Beta tests; the Alpha test was a written
test while the Beta test was administered orally in cases when an enlisting soldier could
not read. These tests were administered to over two million soldiers in an effort to help
the U.S. Army determine which men were well suited for specific positions of leadership
(Whiston, 2009). These intelligence tests were not only indicative of a measurement of
an individual’s intelligence, but they were also used by eugenicists whose sole intent,
unfortunately, was to advocate for harsher immigration laws, as immigrants tended to
score lower.
19
The first U.S. federal program for vocational rehabilitation of individuals with
disabilities was initiated in 1918, when government officials realized that a person with a
disability could be vocationally rehabilitated by training around the impairment (Rubin
and Roessler, 2008). At the end of World War I the U.S. Army wanted to develop a
prototype group test, called Woodworth’s Personal Data Sheet, the first modern
personality assessment in 1919. This particular test was designed to help the U.S. Army
screen out recruits who might be susceptible to shell shock (Whiston, 2009).
World War I disabled veterans received significant assistance for vocational
testing, counseling, training, and rehabilitation when Congress passed the Smith-Hughes
Act (Public Law 347, 64th Congress) in 1920, providing for the promotion of vocational
education in concert with the states, for the promotion of education in agriculture, the
trades, and industries. There was growing belief that neglecting development of latent
and potentially productive skills of disabled servicemen would be personally damaging
and would place a great economic burden on the country as a whole (Beveridge and
Fabien, 2007; Rubin and Roessler, 2008).
America was drawn into World War II in 1941. The U.S. Employment Service
developed the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) between 1942 and 1947 which was
used by the military as an assessment for both job screening and career guidance for
enlisted men. Within 3 hours a soldier could be processed through factor analysis of 11
paper and pencil tests, and 4 apparatus tests were selected as the best measures of 10
factors and abilities. Starting in 1945, the GATB was used as the standard experimental
20
battery in every aptitude study which was undertaken for the development of
occupational norms. Due to its extensive research base, the GATB was recognized as
the best validated multiple aptitude test battery for use in vocational guidance (USDOL,
1970).
One of the first attempts to use situational assessments in a systematic fashion
during World War II was utilized by a group psychologists and psychiatrists to select
individuals for critical underground activities overseas. Commissioned by the Office of
Strategic Services in 1948 (precursor to the CIA), this group of evaluators selected
enlisted men and women to undergo specific psychological assessments to determine if
they were suitable candidates to act as spies, saboteurs and resistance organizers overseas
(U.S. Office of Strategic Services,[USOSS], 1948).
Assessments of simulated experiential tasks were developed by Air Force
psychologists, such as the Complex Coordination Test, the Rotary Pursuit Test, the Twohand Coordination Test, the Pursuit Confusion Test, and the Rudder Control test, where
all commonly used to assist in the selection of pilots during World War II. These early
experiential work-related tests were developed for use in specific settings, and therefore,
had limited application. (Cronbach, 1960).
Early Vocational Assessments
The oldest and most utilized test to measure the intelligence quotient of an
individual was developed by Alfred Binet, French psychologist, in 1905. At the request
of the French government, Binet was commissioned to develop a test to be given to
21
school-aged children to measure four cognitive areas: Verbal reasoning, abstract/visual
reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and short-term memory. Originally derived from the
Binet-Simon scales, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test is widely used today and
regarded as a highly reliable test for the diagnosis of mental retardation and prediction of
academic achievement (Binet, 1905).
As American private industry in the 1920s began to see that tests could be used
for selecting and classifying industrial personnel, special aptitude tests were developed,
primarily for use in clerical and mechanical areas of work. Vocational counseling
instruments as early as 1927 were developed, such as the Strong Vocational Interest
Blank by E.K. Strong, which matched an individual’s interests with an appropriate career
choice. Over the years, the assessment was revised and strengthened by psychologists
David Campbell and Jo-Ida Hansen into the Campbell Interest and Skills Survey [CISS]
(Whiston, 2009). The revised inventory consists of 291 items and requires 25 minutes for
completion. The CISS is an effective assessment tool to help an individual understand
which career would be an appropriate. The CISS compares the individual results with
others employed in the same occupations of similar interest.
G. Frederic Kuder was another individual active in the development of interest
inventories for vocational counseling. Kuder published the Kuder Preference RecordVocational in 1932 (Whiston, 2009). This interest inventory test has been revised into
the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey [KOIS] and is based on the idea that people in
various occupations usually have characteristic preferences that distinguish them from
22
people in other occupations. The KOIS is appropriate for adults and helps increase selfunderstanding and identifies alternatives an individual may want to investigate further
(Using Assessment Tools , 2008).
The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale [WAIS] was developed in 1939
specifically for testing adult populations. The WAIS is similar to the Standford- Binet
Intelligence Test in many ways. Individuals after taking this test receive a Verbal IQ
score, a Performance Score, and Full Scale IQ score. Revised versions of the test
appeared in the 1980s including specific versions designed for elementary and pre-school
children. The Wechsler family of tests are well standardized and are highly regarded by
psychologists to cover a full range of age levels (Using Assessment Tools, 2008).
It was not until the 1940s, with a refinement of statistical technique of factor
analysis, that most of the multiple aptitude tests were developed which could indicate at
what level lay an individual’s strengths and limitations. In the 1940s the prominent
personality test (still used today), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory [MMPI]
was developed by Hathaway and McKinely. The MMPI has been regarded as one of the
most accurate assessment instruments used to incorporate validity scales assessing the
degree individuals portrayed themselves in an overly positive or negative way (Whiston,
2009).
Since the 1950s several applied tests involve application of knowledge or skill
required in specific occupations for determining levels of proficiency in the areas of
computer programming, computer operating, musical talent, artistic ability, typing skills
23
and related occupational knowledge or skill. An experiential trend in vocational
assessment was initiated by the Institute for the Crippled and Disabled when it published
the Testing, Orientation and Work Evaluation in Rehabilitation [“TOWER”] System in
1957. Ten years after the TOWER System emerged as an experiential extension of the
vocational assessment movement, a new approach to vocational assessment relied on the
systematic application of practical work experiences to assess vocational potential
(Institute for the Crippled and Disabled, 1957).
Informed Choice, Client Self-Determination, and Empowerment
The Post World War II era brought sweeping changes to the American workforce
increasing focus on providing vocational rehabilitation for disabled individuals. As a
result, the disability community demanded equal participation in the process of consumer
choice (Capella, 2002). Increased emphasis on informed consent mandated by federal
legislation emphasized consumer choice and participation in the VR process.
Informed Choice and Client Self-determination
The importance of informed consent and choice was underscored in the 1973
Rehabilitation Act requiring states to prioritize services to individuals with the most
severe disabilities (Beveridge & Fabien (2007). Planning for change calls upon the client
to make choices on personal values. It might be the first time a client takes full
responsibility for important choices. Part of the counselor’s function is to bring client
awareness into considering what kind of activities they view as important, how do they
want to use their time and what they would like to accomplish (Colling, 2005).
24
It was not until the 1990s when federal legislation mandated consumer choice and
self-determination in the vocational rehabilitation process (Beveridge & Fabien, (2007).
Consumer choice in vocational goals and services emerged as an important component of
the vocational rehabilitation process. Enabling individuals with disabilities to become
active participants in the service process was acknowledged as a fundamental principal
for delivering effective rehabilitation (ADA, 1990).
Federal legislation in the late 1990s confirmed a sustained and growing
emphasis on client empowerment as a function of informed choice and self-determination
through active personal agency. The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998
specifically state “. . . individuals who are applicants for such programs or are eligible to
participate . . .must be active and full partners in the vocational rehabilitation process,
making meaningful and informed choices” (Rehabilitation Act Amendment, 1998).
Informed choice and self-determination, as indicated by Kosciulek and
Wheaton,(2003) in concert with an effective counselor-consumer working alliance, are
necessary components of increased consumer empowerment (Breeding, 2008).
Consumer self-determination, Breeding insists, by definition, requires active
involvement and a belief that personal action will result in personal accomplishment.
Informed choice, according to Kosciulek (2007), is a process during which a
person sets goals, gathers information, considers a range of options, and then takes
responsibility for selecting the option that best meets his or her criteria. Informed choice,
Kosciulek explains, refers to a person’s ability to understand and use programs
25
successfully, because programs and services are designed to enable consumers to
navigate competently without fear of reprisal. Informed choice, Kosciulek continues, in
direct relation to vocational rehabilitation is a process by which individuals participating
in VR programs make meaningful decisions about their vocational goals, the services,
and service providers needed to reach those goals (Rehabilitation Services
Administration, [RSA] 2001). A client’s skill in exercising informed choice, Kosciulek
(2007) concludes, could grow in a parallel fashion along with specific vocational and
employment skills, enabling an individual to continue to make important life decisions
following the completion of rehabilitation services.
Informed choice, Kosciulek (2004a) explains, is the process by which individuals
participating in the vocational rehabilitation program make decisions about their
assessment services, vocational goals, the services and service providers that are
necessary to reach those goals and how those services will be procured. The informed
choice process begins with the individual’s values, interests, and characteristics which
lead to an evaluation and assessment by the counselor. Implementing informed choice
requires a VR counselor listen carefully, communicate clearly, as well as gather and
analyze information without bias. A VR counselor works with the consumer to make
choices and to evaluate their impact. Finally, Kosciulek concludes, in an informed choice
model of VR, the counselor supports the individual in setting goals, making plans, and
following through with decisions with the aim of achieving meaningful employment
(Kosciulek, 2004 b).
26
Informed choice, according to Breeding (2008), in rehabilitation counseling refers
to the process by which consumers make insightful decisions about personal goals and
necessary services. Breeding points out that, according to Kosciulek and Wheaton, “ . . .
the informed choice process begins with the individual’s values, interests, characteristics,
and proceeds to an evaluation of availability of resources and alternatives.” Lastly,
Breeding concludes that in addition to the working knowledge of opportunities present in
the contextual rehabilitation environment, any conceptualization of informed choice in
the rehabilitation process must include adequate self-understanding on the part of the
consumer .
Informed choice is a crucial component of the vocational evaluation process and
requires a productive evaluator-consumer relationship. Choice and decision making are
important components of self-determined behavior. The rehabilitation counselor should
explain to the client that their ultimate career choice is reached through shared
responsibility of both parties by planning and outcome. Informed choice, Rubin and
Roessler (2008) explained, embodies a component of empowerment demonstrated
through self-directed evaluation approach of “know thyself,” enabling people with
disabilities to interpret their own evaluation of the data and apply that knowledge in the
selection of feasible vocational objectives.
Specific trends emerged which influenced the way assessments were conducted
one of which emphasized the affirmation of dignity for all people and, in particular, that
rehabilitation emphasis is focused on client empowerment, an important component when
27
planning an effective vocational assessment approach (Power, 2006). The most
significant federal legislation promoting a philosophy of client choice and empowerment
and resulting in significant practical implications came in the passage of the
Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992 during the President Bush’s Administration.
(Rubin & Roessler, 2008).
The 1992 Rehabilitation Act Amendment promoted client involvement in several
ways, but especially emphasized the vocational rehabilitation services must “. . .describe
the manner in which individuals with disabilities be given choice and increased control
over their vocational rehabilitation objectives” (1992 Rehabilitation Act Amendment).
Additionally, Section 102 of the 1992 Amendment advanced the cause of consumer
empowerment by increasing client choice of employment objectives, client involvement
of their own career goals with a statement by the consumer within their own written
rehabilitation program (Parker, Szymanski, & Peterson, 2005). Rubin and Roessler
(2008) point out in Section 102 of the 1992 Amendment it specifically states that
elements of the Individual Plan for Employment must include “. . . a statement of the
long term rehabilitation goals based on the assessment for determining eligibility and
vocational rehabilitation needs … including an assessment of career interests, for the
individual, which goals shall… include placement in integrated settings…”.
An empowerment approach, Kosciulek and Wheaton (2003) concluded, to form
an effective vocational rehabilitation counselor-consumer working alliance includes
elements clients and consumers bring to the relationship. To achieve effective
28
empowerment, a client needs the support and guidance of the counselor, according to
Inge (2008). Consumers taking responsibility for their own decision making well as the
consequences is a primary element in the empowerment process. Inge’s study regarding
consumer choice affirmed that community rehabilitation providers should work towards
empowering individuals with disabilities to make informed choices and promote active
participation in the decision making process.
Client Empowerment
The primary role of a rehabilitation counselor, Kosciulek (2007) affirmed, is to
empower a person to provide him or her opportunity to make choices and decisions
regarding his or her life. The right to make choices, express preferences, and exercise
control over life issues are critical ingredients for empowering and enhancing the quality
of life of persons with disabilities (Capella & Andrew, 2003).
In affirming the dignity and worth of all people, rehabilitation emphasis is on
consumer empowerment of the holistic nature of people. Consumer empowerment is an
important focus when planning a vocational assessment approach. This holistic concept
includes nurturing the assumption that individuals with disabilities should be treated as
persons with unique skills, residual capacities, functional limitations, and resources who
interact with many life systems, with particular emphasis on family and culture (Power,
2006).
The rehabilitation counselor, in order to successfully bring about client
empowerment, must have multiple behavioral competencies coupled with a
29
comprehensive knowledge base, thus allowing the counselor to work with the whole
person from a multifaceted but integrated service standpoint. As Houser (2000) asserted,
addressing empowerment for those with disabilities is critical as they are faced with
numerous situations and roles that render that result in powerlessness as cited in
Breeding, 2008.
Empowering a client to exercise control over his or her own life is the goal of the
rehabilitation counselor. In the 1970s the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor
Certification established mandates for the rehabilitation counselor to assist individuals
with disabilities to live as independently as possible and integrating them into society.
This is achieved through assessment of the individual’s needs, career counseling,
aptitudes and achievement levels (Mitchell, 2008).
Vocational counseling approaches, Kosciulek (2004a) stated, should be based on
conceptual frameworks useful for facilitating understanding and empowerment. The
keys constructs for that model set forth by Koseciulek, include VR counselor-consumer
working alliance, informed choice, self-determination, and empowerment. If a client
with disabilities is able to experience personal satisfaction and improved quality of life,
the counselor must play a vital role in directing the disability policy and rehabilitation
service delivery that are central to the client’s empowerment (Kosciulek, (2007).
Kosciulek (2004b) created a Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Empowerment
Model which set forth a framework describing how vocational rehabilitation counseling
engenders the empowerment of the consumer with disabilities. It includes VR counselor-
30
consumer working alliance, informed choice, self-determination, and empowerment.
This model, Kosciulek argued, proposed that proficient informed choice and selfdetermination are necessary for increasing consumer empowerment. An effective
working alliance, Kosciulek insisted, is an essential component for success in counseling
represented by a positive collaboration between consumer and his or her counselor
(Kosciulek et al.,2001).
Vocational rehabilitation seeks to help consumers reach a high state of selfreliance, to support themselves in the least restrictive environments, and enjoy the
advantages of independent living and vocational success (Colling & Davis, 2005; Parker
& Szymanski, 1998).
Successful Rehabilitation Outcomes and Client Locus of Control
A number of studies have shown that locus of control influences rehabilitation
outcomes as well as the return to work of individuals suffering a permanent disability
(Millet, 2005).
An early definition of locus of control offered by Rotter (1966) defined locus of
control as a generalized expectancy of perceived internal or external control or the degree
to which an individual perceives events as being upon his or her own behavior which are
assumed to be more or less stable under varying conditions. Individuals, Millet (2005)
clarified, who believe they can influence outcomes through their abilities, efforts, skills
and characteristics are designated as of internal orientation. Employees who experience
satisfaction, Millet explained, is they perceive that their abilities, competence, and values
31
are put to use in employment that may result in further opportunities and rewards, based
on their abilities and performance. From the theory of locus of control, Millet concludes,
those individuals of internal orientation are more inclined than those of external
orientation to a higher level of job satisfaction. Locus of control, Krause and Broderick
(2006) found, was correlated with a number of life adjustments after permanent injury,
with internality being positively correlated with subjective well-being and general
recovery.
Millet (2005) pointed out that vocational rehabilitation is about disabled persons
successfully returning to the labor force. Since the ultimate goal Millet, explained, is for
the rehabilitated individual to find and hold employment, studying the field of work is
important. In a vocational rehabilitation context, Millet continues, persons of internal
orientation may be more reliant and achieve better mobilization of their own internal
resources as they can be expected to have a higher level of perceived competence. Locus
of control, Millet concluded, is a doubly interesting factor for vocational rehabilitation,
influencing an individual’s motivation, resource mobilization, learning, and work
adjustment.
According to Houser (2000), individuals with disabilities experience
disempowerment in many situations, and as such, their experience of disempowerment
may alienate and denigrate persons with disabilities resulting in a shift of toward negative
efficacy and external locus of control. Early theorists, such as Rotter (1966), opined that
locus of control theory hold perception of control can be adjusted through learned
32
reinforcement.
In the context of rehabilitation counseling, Breeding (2008) states a person must
understand his or her rights, privileges, authority to act, capacities and desires, and selfunderstanding of personal attributes before he or she can make an informed decision
about what career to pursue. Accordingly, Breeding concludes, vocationally oriented
self-efficacy and locus of control measures can be employed to gain insight into
consumer capacity for meaningful participation in vocational rehabilitation (Skinner,
2003; Strauser & Ketz, 2002).
Mathis and Roessler (2005) found that an internal locus of control, associated
with higher levels of self-esteem is necessary for successful career planning, exploration
and the acquisition of career information and skills. Mathis and Roessler also discovered
that research indicates a relationship between locus of control and employments
outcomes. Enhancing a client’s base of career-related knowledge and has been supported
by theory and research as predictor of employment outcomes. (Hayward & SchmidtDavis, 2002; Spokane et al., 2002). Successful career development, Savickas (2002)
found, included an internal locus of control necessary for successful career planning,
career exploration, and the acquisition of career information and skills.
Koscuilek’s 2007 study on informed consumer choice strengthened the idea
between career development and client locus of control by testing the impact of informed
choice on employment outcomes and found that the higher levels of informed consumer
choice were related to higher levels of employment outcomes.
33
Research and career theory support a possible relationship among employment
outcomes and self-esteem, locus of control, and career-related knowledge (Hayward &
Schmidt-Davis (2002); Spokane, Luchetta, & Richwine (2002).
Rehabilitation researchers reported that individuals participating in the VR
program in North Carolina who achieved employment outcomes had significantly greater
knowledge of specific jobs and possessed greater career–related information gathering
skills than individuals who did not obtain employment (Hayward & Schmidt-Davis,
2002).
Role and Function of Rehabilitation Counselor Using Vocational Assessments
Although the history of vocational rehabilitation services started as far back as
1917, specific events such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 resulted in the growth of
assessment and evaluation services. One of the significant factor of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 emphasized client-counselor involvement throughout the rehabilitation process.
The Act mandated client involvement in the rehabilitation planning process emphasizing
a client fully participate with his or her counselor in the forming and planning process by
completing an Individual Plan for Employment (Rubin & Roessler, 2008,).
Counselors must have the training to properly assess and measure client aptitudes,
academic strengths and weaknesses, career ideas and goals in order to effectively guide
them toward successful vocational goals (Colling & Davis, 2005). Rubin et al. (2009)
noted that rehabilitation counselors need strategies and techniques appropriate to meet the
needs of clients with disabilities. An instrument that measures the role and function of
34
the rehabilitation counselor is the five-factor Job Task Inventory [JTI] described by
Rubin et al. One basic rehabilitation counseling skill found in the JTI involves vocational
assessment. The vocational assessment process demands that the rehabilitation counselor
be aware of what information to collect for achieving vocational diagnostic accuracy.
Therefore, the rehabilitation counselor must have an operational understanding of the
components of a comprehensive diagnostic profile of the client’s current and potential
functioning in physical, educational/vocational and psychosocial areas. The accuracy of
this profile is critical for service planning. The first four vocational assessment tasks,
according to Rubin and Roessler (2008), on the JTI that were rated by a national sample
of rehabilitation counselors as a substantial part of their job included the following:
(1) Use test results as a diagnostic aid in getting a thorough
understanding of the whole client;(2) interprets the results of work
evaluation to clients;(3) counsels with clients regarding
educational and vocational implications of test and interview
information. (p.275)
Rubin & Roessler (2006) found one item in a national study conducted in the
1980s to help define the vocational counseling role and function of a rehabilitation
counselor included suggesting to the client occupational areas compatible with
vocational, psychological, and social information gathered to improve the
appropriateness of their rehabilitation choice.
35
Rehabilitation reseachers Tymofienich and Leroux (2000) stressed that a
rehabilitation counselor must be competent in the practice of conducting tests and
measurements of clients to help ensure the best use of client assessments. Counselor test
competency, Tymofienich and Leroux argued, helps ensure better use of adult
assessments with a shift from psychometric model to the edumetric model. The
edumetric model encourages client-counselor collaboration through the assessment
process. Tymofienich and Leroux found that counselors operating within the edumetric
framework obtain additional information about their client to supplement, support, or
refute assessment results. Assessments are used also as tools to promote discussion and
exploration of issues concerning appropriate types of work for the client. An edumetric
approach emphasizes the client’s involvement in interpreting results, i.e., the Holland
Self-directed Search. Counselor and client work together in gathering and examining
relevant information that strengthens overall rapport and relationship.
Clients may underestimate their personal potential, Colling and Davis (2005)
insisted and, therefore, counseling techniques that encourage planning for personal
growth include identifying and selecting individual goals that allow the client to make
thoughtful, sound choices and to accept responsibility for the outcomes of those choices
is a solid formula for rehabilitation success.
Counselor encouragement and support of the client’s growing commitment and
reliance are essential. The rehabilitation counselor’s primary functions in this stage are to
learn about the world of the client and facilitate exploration of values, feelings,
36
challenges, needs, and goals. Careful exploration is a necessary precursor to
rehabilitation planning. A solid understanding of the client’s background is the
foundation of a successful plan (Colling & Davis, (2005).
Rehabilitation planning involves seeking new perspectives and sources of
inspiration. The counselor’s role and function is to encourage and empower the client to
entertain new possibilities in order to form visions of what a satisfying future might
include (Rubin & Roessler (2008).
Vocational Assessment in the VR Process
Since 1970, rehabilitation assessment, especially vocational assessment, has
experienced a productive yet conflicted history. Technological advances, specialized
evaluation programs and certifications, and creative approaches to responding to life
situations of diverse populations have all contributed to the development of meaningful
assessment methods. Factors such as reduced funding, increased caseloads, and the
demand to expedite rehabilitation process collectively inhibit the practice of assessment
in the rehabilitation process (Power, (2011). Counselors in the rehabilitation assessment
field, Mpofu (2011) suggests, should take a new approach to the practice of vocational
assessment emphasizing the value of exploring aspects of client functioning which may
make a difference in the life adjustment of a person with a disability. These aspects,
Mpofu explains, should include universal design in physical environment, rehabilitation
assessment outcomes, and intrinsic areas of a client’s life such as subjective well-being,
forgiveness, spirituality, and religiosity, often overlooked but no less important.
37
The goal of assessment interpretation by a counselor, according to Power (2000),
is to organize and synthesize interview and test information into a comprehensive,
integrated portrait of client’s rehabilitation potential. The composition of the assessment
battery may depend on the focus of the specific rehabilitation program. Counselors
should provide basic education to their clients about assessment tests including their
strengths and weaknesses. This approach will not only ensure client involvement in the
assessment approach but also orient the client to the test -taking event. By sharing
assessment results with the client, the counselor conveys responsibility for acting upon
the results. Counselors are ultimately responsible for understanding both the assessment
instrument and the results well enough to enable clear, cogent and comprehensive
interpretations of the findings to clients either verbally or in writing (Parker, 2005,
Power, 2000).
The vocational assessment process, Rojewski (1994) explains, refers to data
collection methods, usually formal assessment approaches and standardized testing, used
to gather information about individual interests, abilities, and aptitudes in order to explore
and to provide information to help these individuals gain insight into their vocational
potential. Power (2006) further explained that evaluation uses factors involving
vocational strength and weaknesses, which can be assessed in the areas of personality,
aptitude, interest, work habits, physical tolerance, and dexterity. Assessment, Power
argues, is also prognostic because it attempts to determine whether a client will be able to
work or the type of productive activity a client could manage.
38
All counselors must know about and understand the proper use of assessments
because the Vocational Rehabilitation Code of Ethics devotes an entire section explaining
and emphasizing the merits of evaluation, assessment, and interpretation during the
counseling process (Whiston, 2009). Hence, vocational rehabilitation counselors are
held to these professional expectations and are required to have proper training and
knowledge in assessment and in appropriate use of assessment instruments and
techniques (Whiston, 2009).
The purpose of rehabilitation assessment, according to Power (2006), is to plan a
course of action for the client. The scope of assessment should ultimately be sufficiently
broad to include the identification of specific problems relevant to achieving career goals,
the development of goals and planning of strategies to resolve problems in order to reach
established objectives. Approaches in assessment, Power concludes, are not used to
measure people themselves, but their characteristics such as verbal skills, intellectual
capacities, and self-confidence.
Assessment is supported by the VR Code of Ethics (2011) within the context of a
public vocational rehabilitation agency; when developing a client’s IPE, a counselor is
required to conduct an assessment of the client to determine vocational rehabilitation
needs.
An important factor to keep in mind, Inge (2008) emphasized, when providing
vocational guidance to a client is that all people regardless of the type or severity of their
disabilities have unique talents and gifts to offer their communities. The key is to focus
39
on the person’s abilities and interests rather than concentrating on his or her disabilities
and what that individual cannot do. One strategy, Inge explains, is to learn as much as
possible about the individual in order to customize a job that reflects the person’s
interests and ability. Vocational assessments help identify an individual’s unique talents
and skills that he or she can bring to a job or customized employment setting. Once these
skills, talents, and interests are identified, employers can approach, negotiate, and
customize a job that benefits both job seeker and the business (Inge, 2008).
Assessments can be beneficial conducted in a group setting or an individual
setting depending on the goals set by the rehabilitation counselor.
Individual Vocational Assessment
Conducting assessments, Power (2006) asserted, is a dynamic part of the
rehabilitation process and integral part of a client’s rehabilitation. One of the challenges
for a counselor, Power pointed out, however, when determining the most effective
assessment method for a client, is to decide whether to assess the individual separately or
place him or her in a group setting. An individual who has difficulty communicating or
expressing ideas may be more comfortable being assessed in a private setting.
A VR counselor can choose appropriate assessment tools and spend time with the
client observing his or her behavior to learn more about his or her ideas on what jobs they
would enjoy performing (Inge, 2008). Often after a client is referred to a rehabilitation
facility, there is a considerable delay to receive rehabilitation services. Rehabilitation
counselors should conduct beginning assessments after the first initial meeting to keep a
40
client motivated. This first assessment becomes the first step toward developing an
effective rehabilitation plan as it provides the client with new awareness of productiveoriented strengths and capabilities (Power, 2006). Self-assessments, Power found, are
especially beneficial for the VR counselor since they can be conducted in an individual or
group setting.
Self-assessment strategies are becoming more commonplace in vocational
rehabilitation practice. Due to budget reductions in many states, rehabilitation counselors
encourage clients to take an active role in evaluating their interests, abilities, vocational
options, and what will be the best fit for them in the world of work. Self-administered
interest inventories, vocational assessment workshops, and career planning workbooks
are slowly replacing standardized tests (Kock & Merz, 2001).
Conducting Group Vocational Assessments
The benefit of placing clients in a group assessment setting, Inge (2008)
concluded, is the counselor can participate in direct observation of the client in a
naturalistic context to collect data or a descriptive analysis about the client’s behavior as
it occurs in real time. Each client has a different disability and, therefore, each client
expresses his or her coping abilities in a unique way. A counselor can observe through
the group assessment process whether a client displays appropriate behavior in a group
setting, whether the client can interact and be of support to other participants, or whether
the client exhibits inappropriate behaviors and is not ready to function in a work
environment (Inge, 2008).
41
In an interview with VR Counselor Ricky Chapman, QRP, conducted in October
2011by this author, she pointed out that the group dynamics and career exploration
process made the workshop unique from other outsourced VR evaluation programs. The
workshop setting is conducted with approximately four to five clients over consecutive
days, which allows for a group dynamic to take place, promoting a sense of
connectedness between the client and the counselor, preventing isolation, confusion, and
intimidation, and leveling the playing field; that is, renders less judgment, encourages
support among the clients, fosters camaraderie, and gives hands on experience in the
client’s job search journey. Clients gain a sense of ownership as the week progresses.
The counselor can alleviate a client’s anxiety when it is explained that the assessments
are made to gauge each client’s aptitudes and personality traits and that it is not a graded
test. She also pointed out that there are cost savings to the rehabilitation agency, which is
another compelling reason for in-house assessments. An outsourced vocational
evaluation service can cost approximately $1,000.00 per client. Chapman has conducted
the VAW for several years and she believes it has substantial impact on both counselor
and client and is an invaluable tool for deciding which career path to pursue.
Other advantages of administering assessments to a group instead of
administering an instrument to one person at a time is the convenience, and time, and
cost-saving benefits for the counselors (Whiston, 2009). For example, administering the
Keirsey Temperment II Sorter to a group of four to five VAW clients at once allows
adequate time for the group to complete the assessment in 20 to 30 minutes. Since the
42
Kiersey is a paper-and-pencil assessment, clients tally their own results and receive their
four-letter personality code immediately, saving counselor time and cost by not having to
send it out to a private vendor for final computation (A. Ham, personal communication
January 15, 2012.)
As Inge (2008) explained in her article Choice and Customized Employment ,
encouraging a client to choose an appropriate employment goal can be supported in
several ways. An effective starting point is for a counselor to learn to be not just a
provider of services but to act as a facilitator, developing a fabric of support and trust
with the client. This means focusing on the individual’s personal assets, not his
disability. The counselor can assist the person in learning more about his personal
interests as he relates to the world of work. Learning about the power of supports and
basic facilitation skills that help promote choice is an important component of effective
vocational rehabilitation guidance counseling; Also documenting the individual’s
abilities, preferences, and choices so that they can use these data points during the job
selection process (Inge, 2008).
Summary
The review of literature began with an overview of the history of the evolution of
vocational assessment followed by an historical view of vocational assessments used by
the U.S. Military. Thereafter, a review of early vocational assessment instruments was
presented. Next, informed choice, client self-determination, and empowerment was
discussed, followed by the connection between employment outcomes and client locus of
43
control. The role and function of rehabilitation counselors administering vocational
assessments in the VR process was next. Finally, the contrast between conducting
individual vocational versus group vocational assessments was presented.
Literature related to need and value for a VR counselor to conduct vocational
assessments throughout the rehabilitation process was reviewed. The search for
vocational assessment literature included textbooks, manuals, vocational assessment
workbooks, power point presentations, peer review articles, and a variety of internet
resources that provided information and guidance to the importance of conducting
vocational assessments in a rehabilitation setting.
44
Chapter 3
METHODOLOGY
Method
The process for completing this project began by attending a Culminating
Experience Workshop hosted by Dr. Guy Deaner and Patricia Ortman in the Spring of
2011. Ms. Ortman is co-author of Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Masters Project
Handbook. The handbook is specifically designed to be used for completing the
Culminating Project for the Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Master’s Program.
The information included in the handbook was the focus of discussion presented at the
forum. The handbook was used throughout the entire construction of this project.
The idea for this project was formed by this author, a current Graduate Student
Assistant Intern at DOR, when she attended a vocational assessment workshop hosted by
DOR in Auburn, California, where she was working from May 2010 to December 2011.
The workshop was conducted by Arleta Ham and Nelda Grimes, Rehabilitation
Counselors who work at DOR in Auburn. After inquiries were made with other
rehabilitation counselors at other offices, it became apparent that this vocational
assessment workshop was the only workshop of its kind held in this geographical area.
Further investigation revealed the pressing problem that rehabilitation counselors
working in the rehabilitation field do not receive formal training to conduct group
vocational assessments for their clients, neither through an academic setting nor through
on-the-job training. An instructional training video to teach vocational rehabilitation
45
counselors how to effectively conduct a group vocational assessment workshop that will
help them better understand their client’s aptitudes, academic achievements, personality
traits, transferable skills, personal values and career interests was created.
Two separate sessions of the Vocational Assessment Workshop were videotaped
and recorded; the first session on December 19, 2011, and the second session on March
19, 2012, at DOR in Auburn. Several DOR clients and DOR professional counselors
were interviewed and videotaped during the production of this training video. These
DOR clients and DOR professional counselors signed Releases permitting them to be
videotaped and recorded.
Chapters 1 and 3 of this Project were submitted to the Human Subjects
Committee of the Department of Special Education, Rehabilitation, School Psychology
and Deaf Studies at California State University, Sacramento [CSUS]. The Committee
reviewed the material submitted and found it to be of “no risk.” Documentation of
approval can be found in Appendix F.
Review of Sources
In addition to information gathered by this author for use in the VAW prior to
beginning this project, this author gathered a vast array of information and sources
relevant to conducting vocational assessments for clients receiving services from public
and private vocational rehabilitation service agencies after the project began. Research
for this project began in July 2011 and concluded in March 2012. Relevant information
46
was systematically reviewed and included in the training video, the VAW workshop
client folder, and the vocational assessment power point presentation.
Information for this project was obtained from professional journals, library
resources, EBSCOHost, ERIC data base, personal interviews, and a variety of other
internet resources. The information sources include peer-reviewed journal articles,
textbooks, information from relevant websites, manuals, the Vocational Assessment
Manual, and power point presentations that provide information on appropriate
vocational assessment career search tools and techniques for rehabilitation counselors to
use to assess their clients. The Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling Masters Project
Handbook (Ortman, 2009), the Vocational Assessment Workshop Power Point
presentation, and companion Vocational Assessment Workshop folder (2007) provided
the structural framework for the project.
Design and Content of the Workshop
The Vocational Assessment Workshop includes a Power Point presentation and a
Vocational Assessment Workshop folder with handouts covering personality trait
assessments, guidelines and steps to conduct an effective career search, academic
aptitudes, informational interview techniques, and proper resume writing. The VAW
folder is provided to each client who participates in the 4- day workshop. The VAW
Power Point presentation and folder played a major role in the development of this
project.
47
The training video is divided into 4 days of conducting the workshop. Day 1 :
Orientation and Purpose of Vocational Assessment Workshop, Holland Code Self
Directed Search, Personal Strengths and Values Homework; Day 2: Academic
Achievement and Aptitude Testing; Day 3: Personality and Character Trait Assessment,
Eureka Career Search; and Day 4: Applied Career Search and Job Interviewing
Techniques and Resume Review. The information included in each section of the project
was selected from all of the information gathered through research after conducting a
thorough examination and investigation. At the end of the workshop a VAW Evaluation
is completed by every participating client.
48
Chapter 4
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The purpose of this project was to develop a training video for Vocational
Rehabilitation Counselors to implement and conduct a group Vocational Assessment
Workshop for assessment of personality traits, academic aptitudes, and career exploration
of consumers seeking vocational rehabilitation services. The benefit of administering this
Workshop in a group setting is realized in cost savings to the vocational rehabilitation
counseling entity through economies of counseling resources, testing materials, and
receipt of test results in an expedient timeframe. The Workshop also demonstratively
encourages client empowerment and informed consent.
A search for an existing VAW workshop training video, manual, or power point
presentation created specifically for a group of clients receiving rehabilitation services
was unsuccessful. There were no resources found specifically designed to train VR
counselors how to conduct a VAW workshop in a group setting for their rehabilitation
clients.
The training video was developed during the 2011 and 2012 academic years. A
review of the literature included a search of journal articles and books, power point
presentation, and workshop manuals pertinent to the topic of vocational rehabilitation
assessment in the private and public sectors, and personal interviews. Further research
included historical overview of how the use of vocational assessments evolved; the
49
historical development of assessments in the U.S. Military, early vocational assessments
the impact of assessments on informed choice, client self-determination, and
empowerment; employment outcomes and client locus of control; role and function of
the rehabilitation counselor administering vocational assessments; and, finally, pros and
cons of conducting individual or group assessments. A vocational assessment is mainly
one of diagnosis and prediction assisting both counseling professionals and the client to
gain information concerning promising direction for client development.
The rehabilitation process should help consumers become empowered as well as
to assume responsibility for the achievement of appropriate life goals. A VR counselor
must effectively measure a client’s pre-employment skill level and assess his or her
academic aptitude as part of the counseling and guidance process to establish a client’s
readiness to work.
The end product of this project was to develop a training video for rehabilitation
counselors to conduct group vocational assessments for their clients. This training
currently does not exist neither through an academic setting nor through on-the-job
training. An instructional training video was created to teach vocational rehabilitation
counselors how to effectively conduct a group vocational assessment workshop that will
help them better understand their client’s aptitudes, academic achievements, personality
traits, transferable skills, personal values, and career interests.
50
Recommendations
Throughout the process of gathering information for this author’s project, it
became clear that accurate and thorough data collection is needed to account for
incidence, trends, and growth of clients with disabilities. The author recommends that
the information and content in the power point presentation and the VAW client manual
be updated and tailored to the specific region where the workshop is conducted. The
vocational rehabilitation service delivery system is subject to constant change. It is
recommended that other vocational rehabilitation counselors in the public and private
sector be consulted to provide direction in search of pertinent data relevant to vocational
assessments in current use at other vocational rehabilitation facilities. This author also
recommends that state-of-the-art social media communications be included and updated
regularly in the client VAW manual and the power point presentation.
This author also recommends that specific training should be provided at the
graduate school level to specifically address group vocational assessments by the faculty
and staff who may interact or provide services to graduate students training to work in the
vocational rehabilitation field. Vocational rehabilitation counselors must engage in
qualitative and quantitative research on topics such as ethical and appropriate use of
proper vocational assessments, emphasis on client empowerment and informed consent,
and a collaborative working relationship between rehabilitation counselor and client.
51
APPENDIX A
Video Transcript
52
Video Transcript
KEY:
N – Narrator - Pamela Buck
PB
- Pamela Buck as Instructor
DL
- Dave Luke, Rehab Supervisor
AH
- Arleta Ham, VR Counselor
NG
- Nelda Grimes, VR Counselor
R
- Robyn , Client
T
- Tamara , Client
B
- Brent , Client
Day One
N: Hello, I am Pam. As a VR Counselor working clients with disabilities, I know that
helping a client make an informed choice about their new career path is a vital part of
their rehabilitation. Part of the process involves conducting thorough client assessments.
The role and function of a rehab counselor is to interpret and understand a client’s
abilities, skill sets, and academic achievements. A counselor and their client can review
this information together which will help the client make an informed choice for a new
career.
Here, in this office, the counselors conduct a vocational rehabilitation workshop. During
this video, we will demonstrate how to implement and conduct a vocational assessment
53
workshop. This is a four day workshop is designed to assist your clients make informed
decisions about what career path to pursue. The client takes part in a process that will
involve finding out about their interests, values and skills.
Along with finding out more about themselves, the client will explore various jobs and
what is required to enter these occupations. You will also find out about the labor market
and what jobs have a bright outlook.
At the end of the workshop, the client will end up with three career goals that the client
has chosen. The workshop provides an in depth look at their client’s skills sets
communication skills, academic competencies, ability to participate and contribute in a
group setting, the ability to arrive on time, stay on task and follow instructions.
The counselor selects the client who will participate in the workshop during their intake
interview. The counselor needs to determine whether the client is appropriate and can
benefit from participating in the workshop. The counselor then signs the client up for the
workshop and then sends out a confirming letter.
AH explains to the group that the more information n they gather the more accurate their
career choice will be. She emphasizes that taking responsibility in their career choice is
important to make sure the job they chose fits their goals, interests and aptitudes. It is
also an important part of their rehabilitation plan. The workshop is designed to guide the
client towards an informed decision about a job. She explains that the counselor s will
not tell them what to choose, rather the client will make the decision about what they
want to do.
54
Clients are asked to fill their names on cards while Arleta explains a few rules on how the
Workshop runs.
AH:
What I need everyone to do is to have your name tags filled in. There are some
housekeeping rules. I would like cell phones silent during the workshop – you can use
cell phones on the break. There will two ten minute breaks. We request that there be no
sexual harassment of others and no demeaning or derogatory remarks. This a group
learning lesson and we need to be respectful of each other. This workshop runs from
9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday thru Thursday. You must attend all four days to receive
credit. We also have homework lab from 12:00 to 1:00. The homework builds on what
we talk about in the workshop for the next day.
I will cover Day One Agenda and the purpose of the workshop. We’ll talk about who
you are and why you are here. Then we will discuss Job Zones 1-5. This is the Holland
Testing – a Career Interest test. The homework today will focus on the Values Worksheet
and the Personal Strengths worksheet. So if everyone will look in their left hand side of
their folder. It called the Vocational Assessment Results Worksheet which what you will
fill in over this week . This is what I’m going to be referring to as “your best friend
during this entire workshop”. What it is is called a vocational assessment results sheet
and everything you do for your homework will be put on your sheet and this is what
you’re gonna work off of.
55
So if everybody will please put their name, um, today’s date, which is the 19th, and who
you’re counselor is. If you’ve got an opportunity even if it’s in Roseville, you know, um
you know, go ahead and take a look at the One Stop.
There’s two sheets of paper. One is the orientation and the schedule of classes. The one
orientation, what you need to do is you need to register for the Auburn One Stop, and..
Are you registered? How was it?
Client: Yes, I went to the One Stop in Roseville, and they put me through the orientation
and gave me this card.
Client Tim shows his One Stop card to classmates…
AH: Okay everybody, that’s the card, that’s the card that they give you after orientation
at the O.S. and what it does is it enables you to use the services at O.S. You can use the
fax machine, and so on…
Class chats about One Stop.
Arleta: Basically, when we do our intake interviews, we tell clients about O.S.
N: A counselor should point out several different job search websites to clients. There are
a number of job websites a client could use to figure out what career is best for them such
as Cal Jobs or USA Jobs.
AH: …and what you are gonna do is you are gonna take a look at each individual job
zone and you are gonna highlight a job title along with the number that interests you.
Don’t think about your disability right now, just any job title that interests you. Highlight
it. Make sure you also highlight the number, okay?
56
We’re gonna work on this Wednesday. Also too, if you are gonna decide there are titles
you are not interested in, just write at the top, “not interested”.
We as counselors can be teachers that open the door for you but you as clients have to go
through the door by yourself. We can give you all the information but you have to do
more research and take a particular career goal for yourself. Arleta gives examples…
You need to make sure the career you choose is one you can do with your disability.
DL: We don’t do orientations here at this office. It’s a way for clients to get information
about The Department and focuses on their process and the vocational rehabilitation
process.
N: Arleta asks clients for background information to provide their name, what brought
them to the workshop, to share their interests and hobbies, and what do they hope to
achieve from the workshop. What are their employment goals?
AH: Who wants to be our first volunteer? Taya, formerly a nurse, shares her story about
breaking her back, followed by another client.
N: Arleta has the clients pull out the Holland self-directed search, which discusses 6
career clusters, which can match a person’s interests and personality traits. We use the
Holland and self-directed search because the client can complete the assessment in a
relatively short amount of time and they can identify a 3-letter code by themselves.
Once the clients complete the Holland, Arleta introduces a homework assignment, which
focuses on personal strengths. Arleta created this list of strengths, but this list can be
modified and changed if desired. The client places a check mark next to each personal
57
strength that they feel they have. The client will eventually transfer the 9 personal
strengths onto the vocational assessment results sheet. The second homework assignment
that Arleta explains is the value survey homework. This exercise will focus on client’s
attention towards discovering their values in life, which they will incorporate into the
kind of work they choose that has meaning and importance for them. The goal is to
choose a career that compliments their value system.
Arleta concludes Day One of the workshop. Clients are invited to stay to complete their
homework, but they can also complete the assessment at home. She reminds them to
arrive early for the next day, to start on time for Day Two.
Client Robyn: The assessment helped me to determine which career I would like to work
in. If it wasn’t for that, I was a little lost. The strengths I had was working with the
public, which was usually in restaurants, but I wanted to get out of that sort of work.
Since I have a passion for animals, the test showed that I would be good starting with the
vet tech program which is what I do now. She goes on to introduce “Hooter the owl”.
DayTwo:
N: Day two starts much the same way that day 1 started. Arleta reviews the rules once
again. This review helps clients focus, pay attention, and get undivided attention to the
workshop. After Arleta reviews the agenda, she has clients pull out their homework from
the day before. The clients produce their vocational assessment results yellow sheet, and
read their personal strengths and values. She leads them into a discussion about what
each client found and what personal strengths and values the survey revealed.
58
AH: By the end of the week you will have this sheet completely filled in with your
personal information and you will take this with you. Write in your name and date and
your counselor. The One Stop You need to register for the Auburn One Stop. Have you
registered?
N: This exercise gets clients to share and to open up to each other, a great group-building
technique. Arleta also shares her own personal strengths and values with the group,
which lets them know this is a useful tool for everyone. Next, Arleta explains that there
will be tests administered for the measure of clients’ math and verbal skills. through the
Beta and BASI testing.
DL: … but, I also think it befits the uh client in the sense that they are gonna get some
realistic information about where they are right now. It is a snapshot about reading and
math abilities and maybe some of their nonverbal aptitudes.
DL: So, I think it really benefits both, but that… the second day of our vocational
assessment is geared to helping counselors get a baseline of where that individual is
academically and in aptitude. But again, it can help the client if they are willing to be
open to you know.. where they’re at academically.
N: The BASI Test, the Basic Achievement Skills Inventory is a non-referenced
achievement test that measures math, reading, and language skills for adults. We chose
the BASI test because it provides a complete evaluation of skills for clients. The
advantage of using this test is that it can be administered to a group and it can be done
using a pencil and paper. The test in also inexpensive to administer. This can be tallied
59
within the same week. Again, there are other skills tests that counselors may use and the
choice is up to them.
DL: It’s a good way for us to frankly save money, uh, instead of sending out an
individual for a psychological examination that focuses mainly on psychometrics instead
of aptitude and academics. It allows us to do it at a cheaper rate and we are able to get
that information, as I said earlier, right away.
DL: I think there’s an advantage financially, as well. The Beta III is designed to be used
as a nonverbal assessment of general intelligence about that is highly correlated with the
Wechsler III tests.
DL: The Beta III is desirable for adults ages 16-89 years old, who may have literary
problems, or other language difficulties. The benefits are, it can be administered to a
group, and the score provides quick assessment of an adult’s nonverbal intelligence
abilities. The result can be tabulated within a week at a very low cost.
NG: We do numbers of assessment tests. On that day, we do the English. We do these
tests to find out, number 1, where they are educationally. We do it for another reason,
because a lot of times the client is not aware of where they are. Maybe they dropped out
of school, or maybe they have not been in school for 20-30 years. There is a lot of
different reasons we do the tests. It gives the counselor a clue of where, if they’re ready
to participate in an education plan or in job development. It gives us insight into how
they think whether they think spatially, or logically.
60
N: Arleta explains that these tests are assessments to provide information of where the
client’s strengths and weaknesses are. The results are confidential, and Arleta is the only
counselor that tabulates the results. The results will only be shown to a client’s counselor.
N: Arleta introduces Day Two’s homework. She directs client’s attention to the job
specific skills checklist handout. She instructs them to place a checkmark to each item
that identifies a job-specific skill the client has used during a paid or unpaid employment
or volunteer opportunity or an internship. She then instructs the clients to pull out the
transferrable skills checklist. Again, she instructs the client to put a checkmark next to
each item that identifies a skill they used in their life, school, internship, or prior work
experience. The client again, will fill out their responses on their yellow vocational
assessment worksheet. The last assessment she has them work on has the career interest
inventory that will help the client select there occupational choices.
Client Brent: It opened my eyes; It showed me a direction I can go, that I can work with
people. I could be a good counselor, that my personality would fit with counseling people
and helping people, which I’ve always liked to do.
Day Three
N: The clients pull out their homework on transferrable skills inventory choices and
Nelda starts a group discussion and asks each client to talk about their skills and the
career interest choices they came up with. Nelda introduces the Kiersey Temperament
Assessment. She explains how it is used to determine distance personality traits that will
work well in certain career areas. She explains how the client can fill out the Kiersey
61
Assessment themselves, and tally their own results, and end up with the 4-letter code
indicating their specific personality traits. She asks whether the clients were surprised
with the results or if the code they arrived at accurately reflected their personality.
NG: One of my first interests is to get the client to feel comfortable with me. Before
people can share, they need to feel safe to share, they need someone who can identify
with their own disability. By sharing my own story, I break up the ice in order for them
to be relaxed, and say it’s okay to tell what their disability is about. I personally tell these
little funny stories because they’re true, number one, and number two, so that they can
relax and open up.
NG: Whenever you go to a group of strangers, you don’t want to share. By being the first
to share, my own story, it tends to open up a floodgate of their emotions or of their
disabilities. So that everybody starts by telling their story; that’s my criteria, to get them
to open up.
NG: Many times, people don’t have a chance to talk about their disabilities and how it
affects them psychologically. Before I can offer them services, I need them to have their
heart open. I need to have that ability to reach in and pull them out so that they can work
with me.
N: Next, we show the client how to use ONet online, how to conduct labor-market
research on the web for looking up specific jobs. We then show the client how to look up
the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Occupational Handbook to learn about jobs and
weather they are in a growth market.
62
N: Arleta shows a video on informational interviewing, and then she talks about the
importance of networking.
Client: When I came in to the workshop, I had no idea what I wanted to go into. I had
been in the retail grocery business for twenty years. I wanted to take some of what I had
learned there and implement it into what I could learn at the assessment, my personality
and things. It really helped me to zero in on what the things that I possibly was interested
in and directions of different jobs I could possibly physically do and that interested me.
And also things that I never really thought of and so it gave me a wide variety of things to
look at.
Client: I really enjoyed the personality testing and it confirmed some things I thought
about myself but also I really didn’t know about myself, so it surprised me. So it was
really fun and was interesting and I’m just really glad that I participated in it.
Day Four:
N: Day four begins with Arleta welcoming clients and reviewing the agenda. Arleta has
the clients list their four career goals from the Day Three homework. She processes those
goals through the Eureka career search program and she’s going to mail the results to
each client. She has the clients pull out two different resumes. Arleta has clients point
out an example of a good resume and a bad resume.
She starts with a discussion asking the clients for what is wrong with the bad resume and
why. Then she asks them what a few good points are on the good resume.
63
N: Arleta splits the class into two groups. Group 1 will complete an online job application
with either Sears or Target. While the other group0 will sit at the individual job club
computers and research one or two of their chosen jobs. They can print out their results.
This activity should run for about half an hour.
N: Volunteer Legal Services is a good pro-bono service that provides legal aid to
individuals who need help and representation in legal matters. Arleta passes out the
vocational assessment workshop evaluation. This evaluation is to be filled out by each
client and turned in by the end of class.
N: This evaluation provides valuable feedback to the counselor after the workshop to
know what areas to improve. What things to include and what changes could possibly be
made to improve the workshop.
Clients bring the vocational assessment results worksheet with them to decide on a career
goal for their written Independent Plan for Employment. This is how we put on a
vocational assessment workshop in Auburn. The process has evolved and changed over
time. Keep in mind that there are several different types of assessments that a counselor
can use. It’s up to each individual counselor to change and modify the workshop and the
tests that are included.
N speaking to DL: Dave, you’ve been involved with the workshop from the very
beginning. What do you notice that has changed over the years and what would you like
to add, ultimately?
64
DL: Well, yeah, we started the vocational assessment 15 years ago. We used a variety of
tests that were not doing today. We’ve tried to modernize it, we’ve tried to use tests that,
uh, gave counselors and clients good information on their strengths and weaknesses. Uh,
something we’ve added recently has been labor market research tools. We started that
about 5-6 years ago because we felt that part of a complete assessment is to empower the
client to really find out information about trends and local market issues. Sometimes,
there is very small regional differences in labor markets, so beefing up that is really been
helpful.
Something we’ve just recently done, like in the past year or two is to add social media.
N: Like Facebook, LinkedIn?
DL: Right, right, as well as online applications. You know, companies now are only
really looking at online application processes for the first step. Giving our clients some
tools and just a ‘heads up’ on how these online applications, how they work is important.
We touch on that. It’s a little bit divorced from what an assessment is really all about but
we believe touching on it in the workshop is important because there’s been such a
revolutionary shift in how people look for work.
N: It’s changing all the time. Its highly competitive these days as we all know.
DL: Right, right, so we felt we had to add some of that. Frankly, even in the job search
process or the assessment process, it’s important to be familiar with LinkedIn and
Facebook. It’s important to know about online applications, as you research various jobs.
Having those tools is important.
65
N: Thank you, thank you. So, as you see, the possibilities are endless. You can make this
workshop into anything you want. We hope that this helps. Thank you so much.
66
APPENDIX B
VAW Power Point Slides
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76
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85
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APPENDIX C
VAW Tests and Assessments
108
109
110
Figure 1Kiersey Temperment Sorter
111
112
113
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116
APPENDIX D
Client Release, December 2011
117
I, (Client Name), give permission to have Deborah Klenzman, Videographer,
videotape my participation in the December 19, 2011 Vocational Assessment Workshop.
Deborah Klenzman agrees to keep confidential my participation with Dept. of
Rehabilitation, State of California and all associated activities conducted during the
Vocational Assessment Workshop.
Date:
By: ________________________________
(Name of Client)
118
APPENDIX E
Client Release March, 2012
119
I, (Client Name), give permission to have Deborah Klenzman, Videographer,
videotape my participation in the March 19,, 2012 Vocational Assessment Workshop.
Deborah Klenzman agrees to keep confidential my participation with Dept. of
Rehabilitation, State of California and all associated activities conducted during the
Vocational Assessment Workshop.
Date:
By: ________________________________
(Name of Client)
120
APPENDIX F
Human Subjects Committee Approval
121
Human Subjects Review
From:
"Gonsier-Gerdin, Jean A" <jgonsier@saclink.csus.edu> [Add]
To:
"ziljin@operamail.com" <ziljin@operamail.com>, "Deaner, Guy"
<deanerg@csus.edu> [Add]
Date:
Wed, 14 Mar 2012 7:28 AM (3 weeks 2 days ago)
Show Raw Message
Show full header
Pamela,
Good news.
I have heard back from all the committee members and your
project was deemed "no risk."
Best wishes for a successful project!
Take care,
Jean G.G.
________________________________________
122
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Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]. (1990a). Home page. Retrieved December 15,
2011, from http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm.
Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]. (1990b). Public Law 101-336,
24 U.S.C. 12101.
Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]. (1998). Rehabilitation Act Amendment of
1998. Public Law 102-569, Sec. [a][3][c].
Andrew, J.D., Capella, M.E., (2004). The relationship between counselor job
satisfaction and consumer satisfaction in vocational rehabilitation.
Bast, S., Dunn, P.L., & Giesen, J. (2006). Factors considered by vocational
rehabilitation professionals in employability and earning capacity assessment.
Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin 50, 66-75.
Binet, A. (1905). Stanford-Binet intelligence scale examiner’s handbook: An expanded
guide for fourth edition. Chicago: Riverside Publishing.
Beveridge, S., & Fabian, E. (2007). Vocational rehabilitation outcomes: Relationship
between individual plan for employment goals and employment outcomes.
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