RRTC Training and Dissemination

The SARDI Program focuses on three key elements throughout the RRTC: research, training, and dissemination. The effort to offer training opportunities and materials to professionals working in the rehabilitation field is driven by a very real need for such resources. Listed below are projects which help bridge the gap between research and consumers.

The RRTC will develop an extensive "tool kit" for rehabilitation professionals that will assist them in addressing substance abuse among persons with disabilities. The tool kit will include information on screening for substance abuse, as well as policy and practice considerations to maximize successful outcomes. Margaret Glenn, at West Virginia University, is the Training Director for the RRTC.

Research findings and related products will be converted into electronic formats for web-based applications. Several "e-packs" or modules on special topics will be developed and disseminated through services such as WebCT in order to transfer research findings into training.

The RRTC will work with the WSU School of Education, Department of Human Services, Chemical Dependency Rehabilitation Counseling program (Joseph Keferl, Coordinator) to assist them in creating a complete on-line curriculum for a Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling. The RRTC will assist in recruiting students into their program using a web-based dissemination plan. Students in Rehabilitation Counseling at WSU also will have the opportunity to do clinical practical in the CAM treatment program or research practice in the RRTC.

A specialized seminar experience developed by the previous RRTC in SARDI will recruit minority students at Wilberforce University to learn more about the field of rehabilitation as a career option. This Minority Student Enhancement Program (MSEP) will be conducted in concert with Sharon Brown, dean of Education at Wilberforce University.