New Jersey

New Jersey was chosen as a targeted community through the Vocational Rehabilitation Technical Assistance Center: Targeted Communities (VR-TAC-TC) or Project E3. Project E3 partnered with State VR Agencies and local community partners to improve outreach and employment-related services to underserved people with disabilities in this community.

New Jersey, also known as “The Garden State”, is among the leaders in many types of agricultural production.  The state is a peninsula, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, southeast, and south.  New Jersey is the fourth smallest state in area and the 11^th most populous of the 50 states.  The geographic location and factories in cities helped to drive the Industrial Revolution.  Today, New Jersey is one of the most ethically and religiously diverse states in the country.

With a median household income of $76,126 in 2016, well above the national average, and a poverty rate of about 10 percent, New Jersey is the second-wealthiest state in the country. In spite of this, large populations in New Jersey experience unemployment rates higher than the national average and median household incomes far below the federal poverty level.

The state-federal vocational rehabilitation system in New Jersey faced many challenges as it strove to serve people with significant disabilities and promote competitive integrated employment. Project E3 provided intensive technical assistance to two regions in New Jersey:

CHILDREN

RECEIVING SSI

VR CASE CLOSURE

UNEMPLOYMENT

POVERTY RATE

Within the targeted communities, Project E3 focused on improving vocational rehabilitation service outcomes for these populations:

These populations were characterized as:

The combination of the challenges above and other factors created significant barriers for persons with disabilities living in New Jersey, including:

Following are some of the key strategies developed and implemented to address the targeted populations’ challenges and barriers to employment.

• Community Engagement: Used existing local resources to engage community participation and create partnerships that lead to better collaboration between community agencies. The partnerships informed ongoing decision-making and will promote the long-term sustainability of successful strategies and outcomes beyond the life of the project.
• Bridges Out of Poverty – Strategies for Professionals and Communities Training: Provided counselors and partners with a better understanding of barriers to and resources for serving the targeted populations.
• Counselor Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training: Provided opportunities for vocational rehabilitation counselors to access training on Motivational Interviewing.  Motivational interviewing is an evidence-based counseling method used to help people resolve ambivalence and develop internal motivation to change behavior.
• Braiding and Leveraging Resources: Increased the capacity and interrelationships of community partners and New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services. The goal was to build a coordinated and comprehensive support system, including connections to federal and state programs.

Project E3 provided New Jersey’s state Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and their partners with the skills and competencies needed to effectively and efficiently address barriers to competitive integrated employment and community integration encountered by persons with disabilities in these regions.

We will leverage promising practices, knowledge, and experience gained from this project to expand employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities from underserved and economically disadvantaged populations throughout New Jersey and across the United States.

Download the New Jersey Overview Presentation (PowerPoint)

For further information about the New Jersey community activities: