Research History

With a 20-year history, the Wichita Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center, funded by the Department of Education National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, was a collaborative research effort of CPRF and Wichita State University (WSU) College of Engineering. Over the years, its objectives involved developing fundamental research strategies in the areas of employment, independent living, and special education targeting individuals with the most severe cognitive/physical disabilities.

Through a contract with Kansas Rehabilitation Services, CPRF created a mobile rehabilitation engineering shop equipped with fabrication facilities installed in a gooseneck trailer that enabled rehabilitation engineers to travel throughout Kansas and provide home and worksite accommodation onsite for KRS clients.

Through the Supported Employment Initiative of Kansas (SEIK), funded by Kansas Rehabilitation Services, CPRF demonstrated the value of rehabilitation engineering and worksite accommodations to increase the productivity of clients employed by sheltered workshops across Kansas.

The Assistive Technology Solutions project was a field-initiated knowledge dissemination project to expand the availability of assistive technologies that enrich the quality of life of people with disabilities.

The project focused on:

• Encouraging technology originators and developers to disseminate information
• Improving the quality and reliability of the design and fabrication of such assistive devices
• Facilitating better use of local resources in fabricating assistive technology

A website was developed to disseminate information about available products and technology to people with disabilities, family members, and professionals.

Project INCREASE (Increasing Natural Community Resources during Employment Assessment and Supported Education) was a collaborative effort to provide Career Development Services for Kansas Rehabilitation Services (KRS) clients.

CPRF was one of four Wichita service providers awarded 18-month grants to provide situational assessments and supported education services to individuals with disabilities, ages 16 to 60, referred by KRS.

CPRF operated a network of rehabilitation professionals in Kansas — called the Kansas Benefits Counselors Network (KBCN) — under the Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) program through a cooperative agreement with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The KBCN provided information, referrals and comprehensive benefits information to SSA beneficiaries with all types of disabilities to facilitate successful employment decisions.

In 2000, CPRF was awarded its first Projects With Industry (PWI) grant, funded by the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration. It was a multi-state project in partnership with Digital Consulting and Software Services of Houston, Texas, to train 25 individuals with disabilities each year in information technology, culminating in Microsoft certifications and placement in jobs with long-term career potential. Information technology training was provided in Wichita, Kansas; Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

In its second PWI grant, initiated in 2005, CPRF expanded on the partnership with Digital Consulting and Software Services and included another private-sector partner. With the assistance of EDS Corporation, a satellite training facility was developed in Atlanta, Georgia, CPRF’s second PWI grant provided information technology training and placement activities in two locations — Atlanta, Georgia and Wichita, Kansas.

A third PWI Grant was awarded in 2008 to expand and create job and career opportunities in Kansas for individuals with all types of disabilities, ages 16 and up, served by CPRF’s School of Adaptive Computer Training and Job Placement programs. This grant provided training in computing fundamentals, computer support specialist, income tax preparation, and customer service.

The Disability Information Technology Initiative, funded by the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration, was a cooperative effort to address the shortage of qualified workers in information technology (IT) by expanding employment opportunities for people with disabilities through IT training and job placement activities.

Participating organizations:

• Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas, Inc. (CPRF)
• Digital Consulting & Software Services (DCSS) of Houston
• Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Corporation of Plano, Texas
• Local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Centers of Atlanta and Houston

During the three-year project, CPRF established IT training programs at three project sites — Atlanta, Houston, and Wichita, Kansas — and assisted individuals finding in IT employment in their respective communities upon program completion.

This multi-year federal research project used semi-structured interviews with business executives across a broad array of industries and geographic regions to examine why employers don’t hire people with disabilities and what they believe can be done to change this situation.

The LITC assisted low-income individuals, especially those with disabilities, in the legal resolution of tax issues, including the complex interactions between the public benefits and tax systems.

CPRF operated the Kansas Work Incentives Network (KWIN) under a cooperative agreement with the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program of the Social Security Administration.

The KWIN supported employment specialists and case managers in disability service organizations across Kansas by providing expert support, training, continuing education and networking to increase their ability to provide the accurate and current counseling that people with disabilities need to make informed employment decisions in their local communities.

The AmeriCorps Financial Empowerment Services Program (AFES) was established to advance financial self-sufficiency for people who have disabilities and receive social security benefits.

The AFES program assisted people with disabilities by training a team of AmeriCorps members to serve as financial coaches — offering information sessions on work incentives, free tax preparation assistance and financial literacy classes to guide and support working, low-income individuals with disabilities on their pathways to financial self-sufficiency.

The program was a multi-state project with AmeriCorps team members located in:

• Boston
• Bridgeport, W.Va.
• Denver
• Grafton, Wis.
• Lansing, Mich.
• Pensacola, Fla.
• Seattle
• Wichita, Kan.

The Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) was a collaboration of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) to improve the effective and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce system.

As a sub-recipient of federal funding through the Kansas Department of Commerce, CPRF’s School of Adaptive Computer Training established five satellite training facilities across Kansas using video-conferencing technology to provide Microsoft Office certification and customer service training to individuals with disabilities throughout Kansas.

The Empower Kansas Project grants are designed to support the first wave of professional development for Medicaid beneficiaries living with disabilities in Kansas who are seeking employment in the state.

End-Dependence Kansas (EDK) was an initiative to increase the employment of Kansans with disabilities. The CPRF EDK program used the Vermont Progressive Employment model to place youth with disabilities in entry-level employment.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Young Adult Program offers free education and employment services to young adults ages 16-24 who have a desire to become self-sufficient but face significant barriers in making a successful transition to adulthood, including entering the workforce, higher education or advanced training.

The GILA program addresses the need for a methodology that measures the readiness of individuals with disabilities to live independently in the community, provides individualized and group training to address skills gaps, and creates personalized plans for future independent living.