Factors Associated with Both Successful and Unsuccessful Vocational Rehabilitation Case Closures of Navajo People with Disabilities: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

For many years, vocational rehabilitation services to American Indians and Alaskan natives have been provided by state vocational rehabilitation agencies on a limited basis. Legislative amendments in 1978 allowed Indian nations to assume responsibility for providing vocational rehabilitation services similar to those provided by state vocational rehabilitation agencies. The Navajo Nation was the first American Indian nation to develop and provide vocational rehabilitation services based on an Indian reservation. This qualitative study explores the "lived experiences" of former vocational rehabilitation recipients who were served by the Navajo Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services on the Navajo reservation. By utilizing qualitative interviews, the researcher identifies themes of qualifying factors that contributed to successful and unsuccessful case closures of Navajo individuals (male and female) with a disability who were served by Navajo nation vocational rehabilitation agencies. The researcher personally interviewed thirteen individuals with disabilities.A number of factors were found to contribute to the successful or unsuccessful closure of Rehabilitation cases with Navajo consumers who have different disabilities. These factors included personal characteristics of the consumers, the degree to which consumers knew, understood, and acted upon their cultural teachings, the degree to which counselors provided useful support to consumers, the timeliness of the provision of services, and the degree to which the financial resources provided were adequate for the consumer's eventual success.