Editor's comment.
The articles in this Winter issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation have a decidedly applied focus. The article by Kuipers and Quinn provides a paradigm for comprehensively evaluating community rehabilitation services. The next three articles discuss rehabilitation issues related to specific disability groups. Work and employment issues are analyzed for individuals with Prader-Willi Syndrome as well as individuals with HIV/AIDS. Often, concerns with other issues related to HIV/AIDS have received attention in the past, to the exclusion of employment and work issues. The programs described represent a step toward changing that focus.The next article describes a program evaluation model. Lee, Yoo and Peters describe in excellent detail a model for evaluating the success and total impact of a supported employment program. Developed in Korea, this model goes beyond recording successful placements and provides a framework for evaluating employment programs' impact in a more extended manner. While developed in Korea, this model may provide a more comprehensive method of evaluating program impact and effectiveness that could be adapted for use in other rehabilitation systems.
The final article in this issue is the Graduate Literary Award winning paper for 2001. This paper reviews in depth the special problems associated with providing rehabilitation services to individuals who have both mental retardation and mental illness. The paper also includes suggestions for achieving greater success with this very challenging combination.
I want to express my appreciation to these researchers and professionals for sharing their information and insights. The information in this issue has the potential to significantly enhance the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs as well as clinical work directly with individuals with disabilities. That, in itself, is a basis for a good feeling regarding this issue of the Journal.
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| Author: | Alston, Paul |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Journal of Rehabilitation |
| Date: | Jan 1, 2003 |
| Words: | 287 |
| Previous Article: | Chemical dependency counseling: a practical guide (2nd ed.). |
| Next Article: | The Template: a cooperative approach to evaluating community rehabilitation services. (Template For Cooperative Evaluation). |
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