Resources for Service Providers
Resources for Service Providers/Professionals
For Service Providers
Explore our resources developed for Service Providers.
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You may also find more resources on our NTAC-BLV Resources page.
Working with Businesses to Improve Employment Outcomes
A recent five-year research project consisting of four separate studies focused on how VR agencies and their staff interact with businesses and the relationship of these interactions with consumer employment outcomes. This evidence-based practice guide presents key research findings from these studies and recommendations for agencies and counselors about working with businesses based on the findings.
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Business Enterprise Program Brochure
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Employment Mentoring Manual
The Employment Mentoring Manual is a resource for consumers and service providers who are interested in looking for a mentor and/or starting a mentoring program.
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Job Retention and Career Advancement Resources
The WIOA stresses the importance of helping people with disabilities retain and advance in their careers. To assist with this endeavor, the NRTC has developed two checklists to assess the need for career advancement or job retention services for employed VR consumers. Because many persons with visual impairments request services while employed, these checklists are ideal for use during intake. However, for those consumers who gain employment later in the VR process, these checklists can help you assess if they have any job retention or advancement needs prior to closure as rehabilitated.
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Career Advancement and Job Retention Resource List
In addition to the checklists, the NRTC has developed a collection of resources for professionals and for people with vision loss that address common challenges to career advancement and job retention.
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Accessible Documents
The following are links to resources and information for making your documents more accessible.
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Creating an Accessible Word Document
Provides tips and guidance for formatting, designing, and saving an accessible document and PDF.
NRTC Guide for Creating Accessible PDFs
Provides tips for creating a PDF document with Adobe Acrobat Pro that meets accessibility standards.
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Yes, Youth Can Work and Still Receive SSI
Did you know that youth with visual impairments can often reap the benefits of working while retaining some or all of their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments? These SSI fact sheets, written for youth with visual impairments who receive SSI benefits and their parents, provide general information about several SSI work incentives, examples of calculations, and links to more detailed information.
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Does Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Structure Matter?
This brief document provides a review of the research on outcomes for blind and visually impaired consumers served in separate vs. combined agencies.
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Orientation Packet for New Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals Working with Individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired
This orientation packet for vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals will familiarize you with the blindness field and NRTC products and online courses. Along with providing an intensive list of resources, the guide presents misperceptions about blindness and appropriate blindness etiquette. While geared towards new VR professionals working with blind and visually impaired consumers, the guide's content will be useful to all people new to the field and VR professionals who occasionally work with this population.
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Combined Traumatic Brain Injury and Visual Impairment: Recommendations for Service Provision
These information sheets offer recommendations for providing services to individuals with a combined traumatic brain injury (TBI) and visual impairment based on the results of a research study. They also include a list of training options about TBI. The fact sheet was developed for vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals who work directly with consumers, and the policy brief was developed for VR administrators.
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NRTC Policy Brief
Recommendations Regarding Services for Individuals with Combined Traumatic Brain Injury and Visual Impairment
NRTC Fact Sheet
Providing Services to Individuals with Combined Traumatic Brain Injury and Visual Impairment
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Practices for Recruiting Transition-Age Youth into the Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program
The purpose of this resource guide is to assist Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program (BEP) staff in recruiting transition-age youth with legal blindness into the program. The guide discusses recruitment strategies for transition-age youth currently used by BEPs across the country. It also provides suggestions for developing recruitment practices for transition-age youth and the benefits that may be derived from implementing such activities.
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A Transportation Guide for Persons who are Blind or Have Low Vision
A Transportation Guide for Persons who are Blind or Have Low Vision contains helpful information about finding and using transportation options, and is designed for persons with vision impairments or those who serve them. Forward the link or print copies of the document as needed. Students or researchers may prefer to use the version with in-text citations, located on our publications page.
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The NRTC Community Outreach Guide: How to Host A White Cane Awareness Day Celebration (October 15)
This Community Outreach Guide will introduce you to the history of White Cane Awareness Day, provide inspiration for activities (from a signing ceremony to a large, public event), and offer general event tips to support you as you create a successful celebration.
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Accessibility Recommendations for Online Surveys
The following document provides recommendations on improving the accessibility of online surveys for users with blindness or low vision.
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Transportation Briefs: Navigating Your Neighborhood
Effective transportation begins in your neighborhood! Determine whether where you live is impacting your ability to travel and/or use public transportation.
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You Can Work with Blindness or Low Vision
This trifold brochure (available in English and Spanish) provides information for persons with newly acquired vision loss about the services available to support them in efforts to maintain or get a job. The brochure may be distributed to venues such as local medical offices. The associated guide provides more specific information, introducing persons new to vision loss to services, resources, and tools associated with employment. We invite you to use these materials to recruit potential program participants at risk of unemployment due to recent vision loss.
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4to24 App
The 4to24 app is a free resource for parents of children and youth who are blind, have low vision, or are deafblind with additional disabilities. It covers ages 4 to 24 years, to go from preschool age into young adulthood and early career. Modules of information are delivered from the app over time based on things such as the child’s age or experiences. The modules are self-paced (no deadlines!), so parents can use the information at their convenience.
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Transportation Briefs: Public Transportation
When available, public transportation is typically the most cost effective method to get to and from work. If you're thinking about using public transportation, check out this brief for some helpful tips and questions to ask your local public transit providers.
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Customized Transportation Plan
This customized transportation plan is meant to generate conversation between counselor and consumer regarding the consumer's transportation situation. The questions guide the conversation through various transportation routes, the consumer's transportation history, and the consumer's transportation options.
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Employment Statistics for People with Dual Sensory Impairments
This data summary describes current (2016-2020) employment data for individuals with dual sensory impairments. The unemployment rate, labor force participation rate, and employment-population ratio are reported for the general U.S. population, for individuals with all disabilities, and for individuals with dual sensory impairments. A brief history and analysis of the data is also included.
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SSDI Beneficiaries who are Blind or Visually Impaired
A recent five-year research project consisting of three separate studies focused on analyses of FY 2011 national RSA-911 data. Study results give us more specific information than ever before about what factors influence the achievement of competitive employment for consumers who are also SSDI beneficiaries at application. This evidence-based practice guide presents key research findings from these studies and recommendations for agencies and counselors derived from these findings.
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Practice Guide: Recommendations for VR Professionals Regarding a First Meeting with an Employer
This practice guide summarizes the findings of a research study about the impact of a first meeting with an employer and provides recommendations for VR professionals based on these findings.
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Services for Consumers who are Deafblind: Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Service Models Utilized and Their Effectiveness
The purpose of this study was to investigate vocational rehabilitation (VR) service models used for providing services to consumers who are deafblind and their effectiveness. Four VR agency service models were identified: specialist, professional collaboration, specialist plus professional collaboration, and miscellaneous. Significant differences in competitive employment closure rates were found based on the service model type.
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Report: Youth with Deafblindness
This report provides a picture of a nationally representative sample of deafblind youth during the 2000s (from 2001 to 2009), obtained from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2). The literature about transition-age youth with deafblindness is extremely limited; in response to this lack of research, the purpose of this report is to describe the characteristics, secondary school experiences, academic achievements, postsecondary school attendance, and employment experiences of this population from the perspectives of parents/guardians, youth, and teachers.
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Availability of Mental Health Services for Individuals who are Deaf or Deafblind
A survey of state mental health agencies found that a majority have no specific policy or procedure regarding how to provide mental health services to persons who are deaf or who are deafblind. Agency representatives report that staff lack knowledge of how to provide mental health services to persons who are deafblind and the agencies lack qualified interpreters. They recommend training for social workers and counselors to address best practices in working with people who are deafblind concerning communication methods and strategies, physical interaction, cultural issues, everyday life, sensory deprivation, ethics, use of an interpreter, and other general issues.
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Working with Blind Entrepreneurs who have Hearing Loss in the Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program Resource Guide
This resource guide was developed to assist Randolph-Sheppard Business Enterprise Program (BEP) staff working with blind entrepreneurs with hearing loss. It gives suggestions and strategies for accommodating these entrepreneurs in training activities, on-the-job, and at meetings. It also contains advice from blind entrepreneurs with hearing loss and from BEP staff experienced in working with this demographic. The guide can serve as one resource BEP staff can use when working with a blind entrepreneur with hearing loss for the first time. An additional purpose of this guide is to promote the fact that individuals with combined hearing and vision loss are and can be highly successful entrepreneurs in the Randolph-Sheppard Program.
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Transition Activity Calendar
This Transition Activity Calendar designed by The National Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University lists tasks which students who are blind or visually impaired need to complete as early as middle school in order to be ready to attend college. From taking the right high school courses, to learning to use the most appropriate assistive technology, to career exploration and finding the colleges best suited to the selected course of study, to what the student is looking for in campus life, the demands of good preparation start early and continue through 12th grade and the summer before the first Fall semester of college.
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Factors associated with proficient Braille skills in adults
This article provides the results of a research study about six factors found to be associated with self-perceived proficient braille skill versus moderate, minimal, or no braille skill.
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Braille: What It Is and Why It Is Important
This 1-hour online course discusses how braille is relevant in today’s world and why it is still important for people with vision loss. It also provides an overview of how the code works, equipment used for reading and writing braille, and barriers faced by those who want to learn and use braille. Professionals will find valuable information to share with consumers and support them in learning braille.
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Is Braille Use Related to Employment?
Summaries of several research studies on whether or not Braille use is linked to employment
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Accessibility Resources
The most common challenge experienced in the workplace by people who are blind or have low vision is inaccessible documents, according to a recent NRTC study. These resources provide guidance and information for making your documents accessible to all employees.
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Virtual Interview Training Toolkit
The Virtual Interview Training Toolkit is a resource to help service providers quickly access research-based information and practical resources for preparing youth for job interviews using Virtual Interview Training for Transition-Age Youth (VIT-TAY) and other virtual training tools.
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Meet Employees
Our Employee Spotlights introduce you to talented people with blindness and low vision who work successfully in a wide variety of careers.
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The NRTC Community Outreach Guide: How to Host an Adapted Sports Outreach Event
The Adapted Sports Outreach Guide highlights the importance of inclusive recreation, offers recommendations on ways to adapt sports and games, and is full of great resources to help you develop your own adapted sports event.
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Tip Sheet: Designing Remote Group Training for Adults who are Blind or Have Low Vision: Research-Based Tips
This tip sheet provides insights from a pilot study on a job search skills training program conducted via Zoom. It offers practical recommendations for delivering effective and engaging remote group training for participants who are blind or have low vision.
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Braille Resources
This page is a resource for professionals and others interested in braille. We have summarized several research studies about braille use and the relationship between braille use and employment. Links to online courses and articles published by the NRTC related to braille are provided, along with resources for learning braille through other organizations.
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Implicit Association Test (IAT-BVI)
The NRTC developed an IAT to measure implicit attitudes about the competence of individuals who are blind or visually impaired, the IAT-BVI. This test examines how readily a person associates the concept of competence with vision level (sighted or blind).
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Additional Transportation Briefs
The following transportation briefs are additional resources to help you navigate public transportation options. Check out these briefs for information on ADA regulations, different public transportation modes, and tips for ride hailing services.
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Spanish Versions
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Professional Resources on NTAC-BLV
On this page, you will find links to a wide variety of third-party resources and organizations related to blindness and low vision.
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