Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals’ Competencies in Taiwan

Ming Hung Wang, Ph. D., CRCVincent Lin, MS

Terri Lewis, Ph. D.Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Counseling,

National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan

2

Topics

• Disability Population • Laws and VR System• Current Development of VR Profession • Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals’

Competencies

3

Disability Population

4

2013 Taiwan PopulationGeneral Individual with

disabilities%

Population 23,000 000 1,130,000 4.8%

Working Ages(≧15)

11,515,000 202,171 1.76%

Workforce Participation

58.53% 19.7% 33.66%

Unemploymentrate

4.03% 11.0% 2.73

2013 Population with older Classification system

Disability Classification 1,125,113

Vision Disability 56,840 5.05%

Hearing Mechanism Disability

122,348 10.87%

Limbs Disability 379,405 33.72%

Mental Disability 99,488 8.84%

Losing Functions of Primary Organs

136,599 12.14%

Chromic Psychosis 119,666 10.63%

Multi-Disability 116,735 10.38%

6

Laws and VR System

7

Laws

• People with Disability Rights Protection, since 2007–Classification of Disability – ICF

framework–Quota System –VR service and Individualized VR plan

Quota Public organizations with employees more

than 34 must hire 3% of workers who have disabilities.

Private companies with employees more than 67 must hire 1% of workers who have disabilities.

9

Services and Resources

VR servicesCentral Government

Employment Services

Five regional Branches

Five Regional VR Resources

Centers

Local Government

One-Stop VR Window

Community-based VR services

VR services

11

Job-Matching Model

Case management Model with community-based VR services

Applicants with less support needs

Applicants with more support needs

Persons with Disabilities

Central Government Local Goverment

Medical services

Psychosocial counseling/Career counseling

Sheltered Workshop and supported employment services

Independent Living services

Social welfare services

Vocational Evaluation/vocational training

One stop windows

13

Official Professional Title

• Based on the task performed, the professional titles can be certificated with:− Supervisor − Case Manager − Vocational Evaluator − Employment Service Staff − Vocational Skill Trainer

VR Positions

Titles Number Consumers served

Employment Service Staff 700

Vocational Skill Trainers 300

Vocational Evaluators 100

Case managers 150 5600/year

Total 1250

15

Professional supports for VR Professionals

Graduate Institute of RC, NKNU

Becoming a VR professional

RC master’s programs

Work experiences

Others (social work, OT, PT, counseling)

Pre-job training hours

Work experiences

Supports for professional growth

VR professionals

Govern-ment

UniversitiesTVRA

Supports from governments

Free on- the-job training

Support frequent Consultation fees

VR resources centers

Support international conferences

VR Resources Centers

20

Missions of VRRC

Professional Support(專業支持 )

Resources Integration(資源整合 )

Research & Developmen

t

(研究發展 )

21

Professional Disciplines and Academic Credential

• Since 2003• Three RC master level graduate programs

− National Changhua University of Education (2003)− National Kaohsiung Normal University (2004)− National Taiwan Normal University (2004)

• In 2004, Taiwan Vocational Rehabilitation Association has been established

• The major missions are:– Publish the Taiwanese Journal of Rehabilitation Counseling

(research articles)– Improve vocational rehabilitation services– Advocate for VR counseling Profession

23

Best Outcomes/Practice • Several efforts to make sure the people with disabilities will

receive quality services.

1. There are regulations to define the qualifications for setting up institutes that provide VR services.

2. Continue education 90 hours/ 3 years to maintain certification

3. There are annually or biannually program evaluations to oversee the quality and quantity of the VR services.

Studies on VR Professionals’ Competencies

Chuang ＆Wu (2013)

• investigated 201 VR professionals’ views on roles and functions

• the most frequently performed job function: Case Management

• Case Management was seen as the core job function of VR case managers

• under-prepared areas: applications of occupational information and research outcomes, resource negotiation and advocacy for rights, as well as supervision of new personnel.

Lin (2012)

• investigated 151 supported employment specialists’ perspectives on their job and function and competency level.

• Using government’s policy instruments to improving employers’ motivation to hire persons with disabilities was the least prepared area.

Wang et. al. (2015)

• investigated VR case managers’ competency level and support needs.

• low competency levels on areas such as counseling skills, evaluation skills, career counseling, ethics, and advocacy for resources.

Dutta et. al. (2015)

• assessed 116 vocational rehabilitation professionals’ competencies by using the Taiwanese version of SAP-SASC.

• the highest level of competence in providing job seeking and social skills training, job modification, job analysis, and referring community-based support services.

VR competencies

Consumers’

Views

Self-viewsEmployers’

views

30

Welcome to Taiwan

The First Asian-Pacific Vocational Rehabilitation Conference in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, November 2005.

Thank you