Introduction

The American Indian Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (AIRRTC) received funding from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education for a five year grant: Employment Opportunities for American Indians. The AIRRTC will conduct 8 research and 6 training projects over a five-year period (10/1/1998 through 9/30/2003). The AIRRTC is a project of the Institute for Human Development, an Arizona University Center on Disabilities at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

Priscilla Sanderson AIRRTC Director

Robert Schacht Research Associate

Download AIRPEM Monograph ( .pdf, .rtf, .txt )

Since 1983,  the AIRRTC has conducted research and training to improve rehabilitation services for American Indians with disabilities. Various collaborative working relationships have been established with rehabilitation agencies: American Indian vocational rehabilitation programs, Consortia of Administrators for Native American Rehabilitation (CANAR), Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTCs), Capacity Building Projects, tribal health and social service programs, and federal services agencies such as Indian Health Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs. AIRRTC maintains a national emphasis on research, research-dissemination, training, technical assistance, and dissemination activities that have been designed to improve the employment status of American Indians and Alaska Natives with disabilities. Research and training projects are conducted at various sites throughout the United States. The Center produces a variety of dissemination products such as research reports, monographs, training curricula, videotapes, and newsletters. Publications are offered in alternate media for people with vision impairments and other disabilities.

Julie Clay Training & Dissemination Coordinator

John Sargent Instructional Specialist

RRTC CONSORTIUM MEMBERS

Study Volunteers Wanted

Announcements

We are pleased to announce open applications for our postdoctoral program funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (H133P020009). The goal of this program is to train both junior and senior postdoctoral scholars, in any discipline, to be leaders in disability studies and rehabilitation research and mentorship. Based at
the University of California, Berkeley, a San Francisco Bay Area Consortium of universities, research institutes, and disability agencies will recruit people with advanced professional degrees who want to broaden their theoretical outlook and their disability research methodological skills.

Application
University of California, Berkeley

Four Core Areas for Research and Training

Core Area I:
Investigate and analyze existing disability and employment data, and recommend improvements in the usefulness of such data for planning and evaluating employment services for American Indians and Alaska Natives with disabilities.

Core Area II:
Recommend successful strategies to improve employment outcomes, including existing employment and vocational rehabilitation service practices, for American Indians and Alaska Natives with disabilities residing on and off reservations.

Core Area III:  
Develop and evaluate innovative and culturally appropriate vocational rehabilitation services for employment of American Indians and Alaska natives.

Core Area IV:
Disseminate results of the data collection and evaluation of model employment services to a range of relevant audiences, using appropriate accessible formats.

Philosophy of AIRRTC