At the CCLC, we believe collaborative efforts are crucial for producing the most significant research breakthroughs. Our team is dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities through meaningful participation in their work and community. We achieve this through research, education, and service.
Research
Work With Us
We're eager to support your research efforts—from discovery and execution to dissemination. For more information, use the button below to send us your inquiry.
The project evaluated eight newly piloted seamless transition sites in schools across Indiana. The project included one interagency team at each pilot site, comprised of adult service providers (e.g., Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), developmental disability services), school personnel (e.g., special educator), the student, and family participants. We collected data from students, family participants, and interagency teams. Content related to the barriers and facilitators to seamless transition practices and policy informed the project's development of professional products and recommendations for training.
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D., Cathlene Hansen Ph.D., Ellie Bowen, Ph.D., Sarah Lamb M.S.Ed., Annette Knudsen, B.S.Ed., Rebecca Jones, B.S.H.S.
This project gathered information regarding needs and best practices in supporting adults with disabilities and their families during the transition from sheltered work to competitive employment. Through qualitative research, we investigated family and service provider experiences when transitioning out of sheltered work to competitive employment and created products for stakeholders that communicate:
- Research and best practices during the transition from sheltered work to competitive employment.
- "Lessons learned” strategies that can be applied to transition from all segregated service settings (e.g., day services).
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D.,Mariella Arredondo, Ph.D., Mary Pearson, Ph.D., Sandra Block, M.Ed., Rebecca Jones, B.S.H.S.
Partners: Division of Disability and Rehabilitative Services at Family and Social Services Administration
We've gathered insights from extensive research and interviews with agency staff currently supporting individuals in the transition process, job seekers, and their families. To review our resources, visit our Competitive Integrated Employment webpage.
Indiana is one of five states offering FEAT to increase expectations and support for competitive integrated employment for individuals with disabilities. This two-part training is for youth with disabilities transitioning from school to adulthood, their families, and the professionals who support them. The training bridges the gap between secondary school and adulthood by organizing and simplifying transitional issues related to finding jobs and accessing services and supports and providing transition-age youth and those who support them with guidance to facilitate a successful school-to-employment transition. FEAT attendees learn about (a) new ways to think about employment; (b) others’ experiences with employment; (c) local resources; and (d) ways to maximize their resources through effective use of Social Security and other program provisions and asset development opportunities.
Research Project Products:
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D.
Partners: Mathematica
This project provides formative research with transition-age autistic adults to identify barriers and facilitators to use of conversational relational agents and conversational automation in general. Project participants will evaluate the Care Coach product, a digital adaptation of a model promoting competency and success in autism. Indiana University (IU) researchers recruit participants for this research, complete study sessions with each participant (up to two hours each), provide limited interviews (audiotaped and transcribed verbatim), and collect data as necessary. IU investigators collect informed consent and baseline assessments, facilitate a demo of the product, and complete structured interviews with each participant. Additionally, they facilitate participant identification of personal vision and life goals as well as several other use perception surveys. The investigators communicate all observations to the Friend.fi technology teams to support technology redesign needs and requirements.
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D. and Sandra Block, M.Ed.
Partners: Friendi.fi
Pathways to Opportunity is an employment program embedded within Easterseals Crossroads. This project collects qualitative information through annual staff and participant interviews, pre-employment surveys, and post-employment surveys. Then, the program aggregates and synthesizes the information to provide ongoing formal and informal feedback to program leadership. Leadership uses this information to adjust program delivery and engagement methods, and to track cumulative program outcomes.
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D. and Sandra Block, M.Ed.
Partners: Easterseals Crossroads
This project focuses on a policy analysis of the Economic Disincentives to Equitable Employment for Indiana College Graduates with Physical Disabilities. The Gregory S. Fehribach Center at Eskenazi Health in Indiana requested a policy analysis, researchers produced a white paper and presented it to the center's leaders.
The content includes, but is not limited to:
- A quick overview of Supplement Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicaid, Medicare, MED Works, and other local, federal, and state benefits defined in layperson terms;
- A description of benefits resource and asset limits;
- A description of current laws and policies that are disincentives at both state and federal levels;
- Examples of better policies or laws in place in other states;
- Stories of interns from the Fehribach Center who have struggled with benefits or other programs;
- Recommended action items for the Fehribach Center to educate interns regarding these topics and potential concerns.
Research Project Products:
Meet the CLCC contributors: Brady Powers, M.A., CPWIC and Cecilia Buckley, M.S., LPC, CPWIC.
Partners: The Gregory S. Fehribach Center at Eskenazi Health in Indiana
This project evaluates Quillo Connect and LifeCourseOnline (LCO) – two applications (e.g., downloadable mobile or desktop apps) that comprise a new Indiana waiver service: LifeCourseConnect. Quillo uses microlearning (e.g., 60-second videos) to foster high expectations for persons with disabilities within the six LifeCourse domains (e.g., daily life and employment, community living, healthy living, safety and security, social and spirituality, advocacy and engagement). LCO has brought the Charting the LifeCourse framework online to promote more flexible and fluid planning. Our evaluation will consider user experiences with the apps, user outcomes, and application usability. Data will be collected from surveys, individual interviews, document analysis (e.g., person-centered plans, Medicaid waiver budgets, and/or LifeCourse documents), and focus groups with teams of Quillo and LCO users.
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D., Ellie Bowen, Ph.D., and August Trepanier.
Partners: Quillo and LifeCourseOnline
For young people with disabilities, self-advocacy skills can lead to increased independence, improved transition outcomes, positive identity, better stress-management and self-esteem, confidence, life satisfaction, and quality of life (Beebe, 2022; Chen et al., 2022). However, helping students develop self-advocacy and self-determination skills can be challenging for families, for educators, and for the students themselves. CCLC is conducting a mixed methods research project for the Crann Centre and Turnstone. We have collected survey and interview data from persons with disabilities, family members, and professionals to report self-advocacy experiences, needs, and wants related to education and other service sectors. These data will inform self-advocacy product development. Crann and Turnstone identified the Aspen Institute’s 2 Gen Approach as fundamental to this project and product development. This approach considers all family members’ needs (Aspen Institute, 2024) to help them navigate systems and assist them as they obtain needed supports.
Meet the CCLC contributors: Judith Gross, Ph.D., Ellie Bowen, Ph.D., and August Trepanier.
Partners: Cork Education and Training Board, CRANN Centre, Turnstone Center for Children & Adults with Disabilities, and Lily Endowment.
