#RuralDisability
An eNewsletter of the Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities
Using Improv to Teach Advocacy: RTC:Rural Advocacy Skill Building Toolkit now available
RTC:Rural is excited to release the Advocacy Skill Building Toolkit, a new set of resources to conduct workshops that develop the advocacy skills of emerging Independent Living leaders and youth with disabilities. The toolkit contains videos, worksheets, a facilitator's guide and more! It is designed for Centers for Independent Living and others. We developed it in partnership with BASE Missoula, Summit Independent Living and Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living.
Our State of the Science seminar on rural VR well attended and informative
Over 120 individuals registered for our 2017 State of the Science event, “Effective Rural Vocational Rehabilitation Job Development.” The live, participatory webinar was held June 22, 2017 and was attended by State Vocational Rehabilitation staff and administrators, researchers and job development providers from around the country. For those who missed or were unable to register for the live session, an archived recording of the webinar is now available. Click the button below for a full report on the event.
Mapping Disability and Employment
Using data from the American Community Survey, RTC:Rural researchers created three maps to explore disability and employment. The three maps are: Disability in America: Employment Rates; Disability in America: Unemployment Rates; and Disability in America: Out of Labor Force. Overall, employment rates for people with disabilities are lower in rural areas, which follows the national trend of lower employment rates in rural areas. However, in some rural communities employment rates of people with disabilities are higher than the national average of 33%. The rural/urban disparity in employment rates can be explained in part by lack of infrastructure and limited access to programs and specialists, which makes the Vocational Rehabilitation agencies that serve rural communities especially important. Click the button below to view the maps!
The Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC:Rural) conducts research on disability as part of the Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities at the University of Montana.
RTC:Rural is funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) Grant No. 90RT50250100 to improve the ability of people with disabilities to engage in rural community living