Project Description:
Successful training initiatives in rehabilitation service must not only provide high quality educational instruction, but also training as to the structure of vocational rehabilitation services, and work-study experiences which prepare the graduates for utilization of this knowledge and skill set from the very beginning of their careers.
Project TechTeam 2 brings together the educational and clinical service capabilities of the Assistive Technology Unit (ATU), a teaching and public service component of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Department of Disability and Human Development, with the state's vocational rehabilitation agency, Tech Act office, and Centers for Independent Living leadership to produce a long-term training program in Rehabilitation Technology to enable students to make meaningful contributions in the area of vocational rehabilitation.
Project TechTeam 2 combines existing Rehabilitation Technology coursework (5 courses taken over a 2-academic year period) with daily clinical experience in one of the leading Assistive Technology clinical service outlets in the country.
Project TechTeam 2 students will learn of the application of Rehabilitation Technology in urban, suburban, and traditionally underserved rural areas of the state, enabling graduates to be
prepared for work in a wide variety of settings. Rehabilitation Technology applications in urban and suburban settings will be achieved through weekly work with the ATU, applications in rural
settings through a semester-long internship course. In addition, students will study Rehabilitation Technology applications in another state via work with the Great Lakes ADA and Accessible IT
Center, also located at IDHD.
Project TechTeam 2 represents an expansion of the previously-supported RSA-funded Project TechTeam, which produced 11 Rehabilitation Technology graduates during the period federal fiscal years 1997-2001.
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
Geographic Areas, Empowerment Zone, Rural/Remote, Urban
