As director of the Illinois Institute for Rehabilitation and Employment Research (IIRER), part of the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. David R. Strauser is passionate about improving the lives of individuals with disabilities and chronic health conditions. The Institute focuses on several initiatives as part of this effort, emphasizing career development, employment, health, well-being and community integration. The IIRER carries out this good work through continued research, education and training, service, technical assistance, and evaluation, with over 1,000 individuals, organizations and providers throughout Illinois, the United States and the world being impacted annually by its efforts.
The IIRER oversees several projects aimed to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. The Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center for Quality Employment (VRTAC-QE) is focused on increasing the number and quality of employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. This project conducts research related to career development and employment of individuals throughout the career lifespan. The goal of VRTAC-QE is to help vocational rehabilitation agencies and other community partners increase their knowledge and skill sets as they work with people with disabilities, in order to help individuals achieve quality employment and career advancement, specifically in the area of competitive integrated employment.
Relatedly, IIRER also oversees the Illinois VR Training Project, which partners with the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Rehabilitation (IDHS-DRS) in providing training and technical assistance to vocational rehabilitation counselors. This training is specifically designed to help counselors meet the needs of individuals with disabilities as it pertains to entering or re-entering the workforce.
These vocational rehabilitation initiatives are part of IIRER’s effort to improve career development and employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. “When I say ‘career development,’ I mean helping people enter the labor market and continuing to develop over their adult lives. How do they progress and develop new skills and abilities? When I say ‘employment,’ I mean helping someone actually get a job,” Dr. Strauser said.
The IIRER takes a comprehensive approach as it seeks to improve these outcomes and help individuals with disabilities gain meaningful employment. “We try to understand factors like physical, psychological, communication and cognitive components, taking a holistic view of the individual from those four dimensions,” said Dr. Strauser. “How do those interact to impact how people get jobs and progress over their careers?”
Another of IIRER’s projects, the Illinois Pathways to Partnerships Project (IPPP), is geared toward students with disabilities who are between the ages of 10 and 24. The project has marshaled the expertise of IDHS-DRS, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), local educational agencies, school districts and centers for independent living to create a pre-transition system of resources that will provide assistance to students and their families. The project particularly focuses on independent living, professional development and moving students toward competitive integrated employment (CIE) as they transition out of school settings.
Another of the IIRER’s major projects is the Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment Innovative Model Demonstration Project, better known as SWTCIE Illinois, part of a 13-state project funded by the federal government and administered by IDHS-DRS. This project is tasked with assisting agencies with implementing strategies that will enable them to transition individuals with disabilities from subminimum wage jobs to competitive integrated employment, equipping them with the opportunity to do meaningful work that is compensated at or above minimum wage and is comparable to similar work conducted by individuals without disabilities. This work has recently become even more important, as the Illinois Senate passed the Dignity in Pay Act on November 21, 2024, positioning Illinois to become the 19th state to phase out subminimum wage for workers with disabilities.
“The SWTCIE Illinois project is the feather in the cap of the work we’ve done in the state of Illinois to promote competitive integrated employment,” Dr. Strauser said. “The reach that we’ve had in the state has been noteworthy. I think all our people have really worked collectively to achieve good outcomes to date and lay the groundwork for the next three years. That’s when we really make a difference.”
In looking toward the future, Dr. Strauser knows what is most important. “We need to stay true to our mission. This is what we do. This is what we’re built to do. The goal is to sustain and build on our presence in the state of Illinois and across the country, conducting research across the lifespan that impacts people’s lives,” said Dr. Strauser. “Although we focus on career development and employment, the outcome is grounded in the belief that [those things] are important to promoting overall well-being. Our outcome of focus is always well-being, and we believe that engaging through work-related activities, employment and career development is one contributing factor to achieving well-being.”
Dr. Strauser believes that the work that is being done by IIRER and its staff is critically important. Not only that, it’s also a particular area of interest for him personally. “As a psychologist by trade, looking at individuals’ well-being, and looking at how we increase it, is a passion of mine,” he said. Dr. Strauser also acknowledges that it is a topic that affects everyone, and as such, everyone should seek to improve the well-being of themselves and others. “We’re all on this journey ourselves asking, ‘What does well-being mean for me at this time and you at this time?’ How do we promote that, and how do we help others do the same?”
By Danielle Fields, Ed.D. | contact-iirer@illinois.edu