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Contributors and Partnerships

Our sincere gratitude to many individuals, providers, partners and students who generously shared their perspectives on vocational rehabilitation disparity challenges and on opportunities for Chicago-based Asian Americans with disabilities. Heading link

The information they provided contributed greatly to our exploration of the cultural and institutional barriers that Chicago’s Asian Americans with disabilities face as they navigate vocational rehabilitation and work opportunities. Much of what was learned about Asian American culture and outreach is transferable to other ethnic and cultural groups, who also benefited from the work conducted during this initiative.

First, the ADOPT team would like to thank the Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS) of the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) for funding this pilot initiative through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This funding supported the creation of new jobs, vocational rehabilitation opportunities, and support for job seekers with disabilities of all ethnicities and cultures, including Asian.

Very special thanks go to the members of the project’s advisory board and three task forces for their unwavering commitment and dedication to ADOPT’s systems-change and capacity-building efforts. They helped further the project in directions far beyond what was expected of ADOPT’s initiative. We recognize individuals who contributed considerably to the success of our work in the introductory part of the project’s toolkit.

We value all the undergraduate and graduate students who joined in with our team spirit and helped to make this small pilot into an initiative with a big vision. We could not have succeeded without their interest in and curiosity about community-based research and advocacy. We are grateful to William Barrett, Susana Sylvester, Darryl Reynolds, Edward Seighman, Claudia Garcia, and Shawn Dimpfl at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), who helped us with the monthly ARRA reporting demands. We also would like to extend our special admiration to Kay Robin Alexander and Joan Kocsis, who provided endless input, suggestions, and feedback on this work. We express special gratitude to Jae Jin Pak for his bountiful support of ADOPT and its vision.

We also want to thank Francisco Alvarado, Assistant Director of the DRS, for his leadership in addressing the needs of Asian Americans with disabilities in the context of vocational rehabilitation services and employment. Doug Morton, Mike Scott, Lisa Reigal, and Joan Davis also gave unfeigned support and guidance through the administrative phases of the project. Finally, special thanks to former director Robert Kilbury and the new DRS Director Dave Hanson for their support.