Self-Employment for People With Disabilities

Abstract

In 2001, an exploratory survey was distributed to more than half of all Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) across the United States to identify how SBDCs and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies interact to provide self-employment services to people with disabilities and to evaluate how these agencies might further this collaborative relationship. Despite a low percentage of SBDCs that have formal interagency agreements with state VR agencies (8%), the majority of respondents (93%) felt that it was “very important” to have VR assistance for disability issues. SBDC respondents who had formal state interagency agreements or an informal local agreement with the VR agency reported higher rates of referrals between the two agencies, more experience serving people with disabilities in self-employment, and more preparedness to meet the needs of clients with disabilities. Data from this study indicate that SBDCs may be willing partners in the development of cross-agency support for people with disabilities who desire self-employment.

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