Year	2025
Project Title	Promote Employment Outcomes of College Students with Disabilities
Participator	Jasin Wong
Job Title	Principal investigator
Period	2025.01 ~ 2027.12
Abstract	Background: Acquiring completive employment that aligns with individuals’ education levels is the primary career goal for college students with disabilities. Maintaining employment means individuals successfully transitioning to adult life and contributing to society. However, many college graduates with disabilities are forced to work in low-paying jobs that do not use their professional capacities. The current career services at colleges are often constrained in the school context. There is an urgent need to establish a direct school-business communication channel and provide vocational support to help college students with disabilities gain the necessary work-related skills and experience for proper employment. Objectives: The proposed study is to: (1) create more internship opportunities by extending our collaborations with other companies, (2) optimize the supported internship program based on participants’ feedback, and (3) examine the effectiveness of the supported internship program. Methods: The supported internship program will include an individualized resume and job interview training, total workplace immersion, one-on-one career counseling, and self-determination-focused curriculums. We will use community-based participatory research (CBPR) as a research paradigm to design the study and facilitate research-business collaborations. The primary outcomes are participants’ work status and self-determination. We will also examine participants’ goal attainment and satisfaction as secondary outcomes. We will conduct personal interviews and focus groups to collect stakeholders’ feedback on the proposed internship program.
Language	English