The STRIDE research project is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Rehabilitation Services Administration (Grant Number H235S040121). Please click on the links below to learn more about us.

Purpose  |  Target Population  |  Goals and Objectives    |  Strategies  |  Project Outcomes  

Purpose: Successful Transitions in Diverse Environments (STRIDE) Hawai`i is a collaborative project to design, develop, implement, and evaluate an effective vocational rehabilitation model for mentoring culturally-diverse youth and young adults with disabilities as they transition into meaningful community environments, post-secondary education or employment. Collaborators include state agencies, university and disabilities organizations.

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Target Population: The project will target 225 youth and young adults in transition referred by the Hawai`i Vocational Rehabilitation Division. The total target population (N=1,475, July 2003) corresponds to Hawai`i’s ethnic diversity--those individuals served by Vocational Rehabilitation between the ages of 16 to 26. Hawai`i is a culturally diverse, with no ethnic majority. The target population (e.g., Hawai'ian/Pacific Islander 38%, Asian 33%, Caucasian 23%, and Other 6%) mirrors the state’s ethnic distribution.

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Goal and Objectives: The project’s goal and objectives reflect the purposes of the Rehabilitation Act, that is to: a) expand and improve services authorized under the Rehabilitation Act and b) empower individuals with disabilities to maximize employment, postsecondary education, self-sufficiency and independence.

The project goal is to develop an effective mentoring model and program for culturally diverse youth and young adults with disabilities transitioning into meaningful community integration, postsecondary education and employment outcomes. Project objectives are to:

• Obj 1) Implement and evaluate a research- and community-based mentoring vocational rehabilitation model of services for culturally diverse youth and young adults with disabilities in transition, including individuals who are low-functioning and deaf or hard-of-hearing;

• Obj 2) Recruit, train and monitor 225 mentors to coach 225 mentees to develop and improve self-confidence, community integration, work skills, self-determination and decision-making;

• Obj 3) Increase meaningful community integration, post-secondary education, employment outcomes for 80% of the total 225 youth and young adults with disabilities in the project;

• Obj 4) Increase collaboration between Vocational Rehabilitation and Advisory Council agencies to further project objectives and adapt, replicate or integrate successful mentor methods; and,

• Obj 5) Disseminate results to local and national audiences to increase knowledge of culturally appropriate mentor methods and best practices in vocational rehabilitation.

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Strategies: The project will:

• Employ an existing consortium of organizations to form a working project Advisory Council.

• Recruit, train and monitor culturally-diverse project participants (mentees, mentors, mentors-in-training, family, VR counselors, and educators) to improve knowledge of mentoring, self-advocacy, decision-making performance, and set high-level personal/career mentee expectations.

• Evaluate current community-based models, tools, and surveys for cultural appropriateness.

• Evaluate the project context (i.e., policies, procedures, infrastructures) to determine factors that may influence future mentor program sustainability (i.e. identify barriers and supports).

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Project Outcomes:

• Obj 1) An effective, culturally-appropriate, mentoring model for Vocational Rehabilitation;

• Obj 2) Success in recruitment, training, and monitoring of 225 mentors/mentees;

• Obj 3) Demonstrate improvement in at least 80% of the mentees in one of the three target areas;

• Obj 4) Successful collaboration among VR and adaptation, replication, and integration of mentor methods in disability organizations, and,

• Obj 5) Project products disseminated will receive positive evaluations by varied audiences.

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