VR Partnerships Workgroup Chair

Photo of a white women with brown hair in front of a brick background.

Jaclyn Camden. Ph.D.
Email: jlcamden2@vcu.edu

Related Links

VR Partnerships

The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Partnerships Workgroup was created to increase awareness and outreach to VR professionals about postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability. This group met regularly to ensure that existing and newly developed VR-focused information, resources, and tools reached the individuals and agencies/programs that needed them most. The need to focus on VR emerged through the work of the Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup, an initiative of the Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network from 2021 to 2024.

Under the leadership of Jaclyn Camden and her team at Virginia Commonwealth University, the workgroup brought together representatives including VR counselors and administrators, Think College staff, and other experts as needed in order to identify and address policy and practice barriers to build capacity for stronger collaboration between VR and postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability. The workgroup helped disseminate resources to raise awareness, highlight promising practices, and replicate successful collaborative partnership activities. 

One of the culminating activities of the workgroup was developing a page specifically for Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals, which can be found at https://thinkcollege.net/vr.

Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup (2021-2024)

The Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup represented an array of practitioners and experts who bring expertise in effective collaboration between colleges and universities, vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, developmental disability (DD), employers, and employer organizations. The Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup's goal was to promote and improve collaboration between college and university programs for students with intellectual disability and entities that can support the employment and career goals of their students. The workgroup identified barriers and facilitators to employment partnerships and developed resources to raise awareness and highlight promising practices.

Thank you to the members of the Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup!

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the role of the Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup?

The primary goal of the Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup was to identify barriers and facilitators to employment partnerships and to address the challenges with system collaboration. The workgroup developed and shared resources to raise awareness, highlight promising practices, and replicate successful local partnership activities.

What is the focus of the VR Workgroup currently?

Based on work in the first three years of the Employment Partnerships Collaborative Workgroup, the VR Workgroup members will focus on developing a plan to engage and support VR partnerships across the country through training, information, and resources that can lead to increased student engagement and employment.

Can I get involved in the workgroup?

If you are interested in becoming involved in the VR workgroup, please contact the workgroup facilitator, Jaclyn Camden, for more information. Specific related experience and time commitments may be required and workgroup membership is not guaranteed.

What are other ways I can learn more about developing VR partnerships to support college students with intellectual disability?

We welcome those with an interest in understanding VR partnerships you can find information here Understanding VR.

Do you have any other questions?

Email ta@thinkcollege.teamwork.com