Guest editorial: adult rehabilitation training programs and support services: a collaborative, person-centered approach.

vii Despite substantial policy and system change efforts to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities, disabled Americans still experience higher rates of unemployment, lower average earnings, limited access to employee benefits , disproportionately higher representation in lower-skilled jobs, and higher rates of poverty than their nondisabled peers [1]. Gajar reports that the percentage of youth in postsecondary schools reporting a disability has increased in recent years [2]. Although rates of employment have improved over the past decade for people with disabilities, a wide gulf remains between this group and the rest of the population. The National Organization on Disabilities [1] reports that only 35 percent of persons with disabilities are employed compared with 78 percent of the nondisabled population. Awareness regarding accessibility issues faced by youth with disabilities seeking postsecondary education and employment has grown in recent years, and society widely accepts that a key barrier preventing successful outcomes after they leave school is the lack of adequate transition planning [3]. The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB), founded in 1858, is the nation's most diverse and comprehensive education, rehabilitation, and service delivery system serving children and adults who are deaf, blind, and multidisabled. AIDB provides seamless, coordinated, and comprehensive education and rehabilitation services, as well as employment opportunities for children and adults of all ages with hearing and vision loss. AIDB provides traditional and nontraditional programs in residential, home, and community environments. Alabama residents receive all services at no charge, and individuals from other states and countries receive services for a fee. Children and youth ages 3 to 21 are served through the Alabama School for the Deaf, Alabama School for the Blind, and the Helen Keller School (for children with multiple disabilities). Nine regional centers throughout Alabama serve people from birth and all through life, including seniors, by