Project FIRST
Project FIRST aims to address the shortage of qualified vocational rehabilitation (VR) counselors
and pre-employment transition service (Pre-ETS) specialists working with transition-age
youth (14 to 30 years old) with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
by engaging employers in in-demand fields and STEM. Project FRIST will develop an
innovative in-service training program that is:
Click here to read more on the Project FIRST initiative.
Published Research
- Mackay, M. E., Suedmeyer, E., Schiro-Geist, C., West, S. L., & Strohmer, D. C. (2018). Closure rates and counselor education: An exploration of why counselors with MRC degrees do not have better client outcomes than other master’s-level counselors. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 49(3), 389–400. https://doi.org/10.3233/jvr-180982
- Mackay, M. E., Dunn, J. P., Suedmeyer, E., Schiro-Geist, C., Strohmer, D. C., & West, S. L. (2020). Rehabilitation Counselor Degree Type as a Predictor of Client Outcomes: A Comparison of Quantity Versus Quality in Closure Rates. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 63(2), 91–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0034355218806378
- Harmon, M., Yu, X., Schiro-Geist, C., Zhang, X., Kansakar, Y., Krolik, P., Williams, M., Goodwill, L., & Cozort, S. Having a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling leads to higher closure rates among persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities from the outcome-based perspective. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling. DOI: 10.1891/JARC-2021-0020
- Yu, X., Schiro-Geist, C. Harmon, M.J., Zhang, X., Kansakar, Y., Krolik, P., Williams, M., Goodwill, M.L., Cozort, S. (2022). The Outcome-Based Perspective: Benefits of Field-Specific Rehabilitation Counselor Education. The Journal of Forensic Vocational Analysis, Vol. 21 (2)/ Vol. 22(1)
- Xinhua Yu, Chrisann Schiro-Geist, Xiaofei Zhang, Patrick Krolik, Jun Cai, Margret Goodwill, Beth A. Harms & Jayasimha Reddy Tippireddy. (2023). The Impact of Caseload on Case Closure Rates for Clients with Intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Forensic Vocational Analysis.
Conference Presentations
Conference Posters
American Public Health Association Conference Fall 2023 - Xinhua Yu, MD, PhD, MS.
American Public Health Association Conference Fall 2023 - Xinhua Yu, MD, PhD, MS.
Project First: Finding Innovative Rehabilitative Services Training