Inequitable service delivery to African American clients in vocational rehabilitation

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the patterns of inequitable treatment in rehabilitation service delivery to African American clients, which have been demonstrated and documented across various literature and research. Thus, this research will investigate perceptions of rehabilitation counselors in training in regards to service delivery to African American clients. There is increasing evidence that the trained counselor is not prepared to deal with individuals who come from different racial, ethnic, or socio-economic groups whose values, attitudes, and general life styles are different from and threatening to his own. The underlying reasons of the inadequate service provision to minorities with disabilities can largely be attributed but not restricted to such factors as American culture insensitivity, ethnocentrism of counselors, lack of multicultural training of new and established counselors, and lack of representation of minority members in the field. Legislation has acknowledged this inequitable treatment of in rehabilitation service delivery to African American clients as well. According to the 1992 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, “patterns of inequitable treatment of minorities have been documented at all junctures of the vocational rehabilitation process. As compared to white Americans, a larger percentage of African American applicants is denied acceptance”. The fact that African Americans have been underserved within the system of traditional vocational rehabilitation has created a problem within this system. As stated by Workforce 2000, this inadequate service delivery to African American clients in vocational rehabilitation is a considerable matter of concern considering that African Americans make up more than 50% of new participants into the workforce, maintain more than 53% of all service-related positions, and uphold less than 2% of upper-level management positions. This particular research will explore such factors.