Data Tells a Story: RSA-911 Insights

Find out more about the latest research and analysis of RSA-911 Data: Guiding VR Counselors to Improved Employment Outcomes…

State-federal vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies provide rehabilitation services to about a half a million people each year. And each year, VR agencies provide the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) with data (RSA-911 data) on all closed cases. The information reported includes consumer demographics, types of disability, interventions used, reasons for case closure, employment status, and sources of financial support.

RSA-911 data is intended to track the accomplishments and progress of VR agencies under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. It’s also used by researchers to examine what’s working and not working for people with disabilities who receive services from state-federal VR agencies.

In 2016, leading researchers Fong Chan, University of Wisconsin-Madison and David Strauser, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, shared with rehabilitation practitioners and professionals their approach to analyzing RSA-911 “big data.” Especially relevant, their presentation gives insight into how analysis of RSA-911 data can provide counselors with guidance on how to practice in a way that results in in positive employment outcomes for people with disabilities.

You can learn more about RSA-911 from the RSA’s Frequently Asked Questions page.