Current Projects
Autism Transition to Adulthood Initiative (ATTAIN)
ATTAIN identifies evidence-based scalable transition practices for youth with Autism. It leverages existing longitudinal data from a transition-focused randomized control trial while extending the scope of research to cover the nation.
BenchmarkABILITY®
The BenchmarkABILITY® self-assessment tool is for employers who recognize the business benefits of including people with disabilities in the workplace.
Best Buddies International JOBS Team Training and Technical Assistance
This project provides a comprehensive blend of virtual instruction, individualized support, and expert consulting, including dedicated office hours, personalized consulting services, learning assessments, certificates, and evaluation to measure impact.
Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth)
The center works to improve employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities by helping states build capacity in their youth service delivery and workforce systems.
Connecting Practices to Outcomes: Lessons from the Federal Sector Workplace
This project will assess the impact of employer practice adoption on the retention, advancement, separation, and workplace experience of individuals with disabilities.
Convergence Accelerator Phase I (RAISE): Empowering Neurodiverse Populations for Employment through Inclusion AI and Innovation Science
This project aims to incorporate the experiences of individuals with ASD, educational institutions, community employment service providers, and employers into system design that will create deployable AI-based tools and platforms.
Convergence Accelerator Phase II: Inclusion AI for Neurodiverse Employment
This project aims to incorporate the experiences of individuals with ASD, educational institutions, community employment service providers, and employers into system designs that will create deployable AI-based tools and platforms.
Disability Statistics
This website provides easy access to current disability statistics, as well as tools and resources for secondary data analysis.
Disability Studies Program
The Yang-Tan Institute and Cornell University offer courses that allow students an opportunity to examine the experience of persons with disabilities across all domains of life, but focus primarily on human rights and inequalities.
Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability (EARN)
EARN increases the capacity of employers to recruit, hire, retain, and advance people with disabilities through the identification and dissemination of evidence-based polices and effective practices.
Improving VR Outcomes for Out-of-School Youth Involved in the Justice and/or Foster Care Systems
A project to research how the public Vocational Rehabilitation program can effectively serve out-of-school youth with intellectual, developmental, and mental health disabilities who are involved in the justice and/or foster care systems.
Inclusive Career Advancement Program – Disability Innovation Fund
This partnership works to implement an inclusive career pathways program for recipients of Vocational Rehabilitation services in Oregon.
Just-in-Time Disability Toolkit™
The Just-in-Time Disability Toolkit project creates research-based “toolkit” websites for organizations interested in enhancing their disability inclusiveness. Each toolkit is customized to an organization’s policies and practices.
Montana DPHHS CRP Training Institute for the Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services
As a partner, the Yang-Tan Institute develops and delivers professional development training to community rehabilitation program (CRP) and state vocational rehabilitation (VR) staff across the state of Montana.
Neurodiversity at Work
The Yang-Tan Institute partnered with five multi-national companies to design and implement engaged-learning internships focused on workplace neurodiversity inclusiveness.
New York State Education, Office of Special Education, State Personnel Development Grant
The Yang-Tan Institute has engaged with the New York State Office of Special Education to form the evaluation and technical infrastructure to support and evaluate the implementation of the MTSS-I model in schools.
Northeast ADA Center
Focusing on New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands, the Northeast ADA Center aims to increase knowledge of the Americans with Disabilities Act by providing a variety of resources and services.
NYS Consortium for Advancing and Supporting Employment (NYS CASE)
In collaboration with consortium partners, the Yang-Tan Institute provides certification training to supported employment professionals.
Pro Se: Speech & Debate Mentoring Program for Justice-Impacted Youth
Pro Se Speech & Debate is an engaged learning program for Cornell undergraduate students who provide peer mentoring and education to justice-impacted youth, ages 14–17, in Central New York.
Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE)
We are conducting the program evaluation of a demonstration project aimed at increasing the number of people with disabilities in New York who are employed at a competitive wage, instead of at a subminimum wage.
Technical Assistance Partnership for Data
We support the Educational Partnership in New York State to provide training and technical assistance in the development of effective programs and services for students with disabilities. This includes creating materials and establishing and maintaining a website and data management system.
Technical Assistance Partnership for Transition
We support the Educational Partnership in New York State by providing professional development, coaching, and technical assistance, with the aim of enhancing services and supports for students with disabilities in New York state.
Work Incentive Support Center (WISC)
The Work Incentive Support Center at YTIOnline provides credentialing in the field of work incentive planning.
Recently Completed Projects
AMPLIFY-NY Technical Assistance and Evaluation
AMPLIFY-NY is an initiative of the YOUTH POWER! network that provides opportunities for young people with disabilities to speak up, build skills, and prepare to take on leadership roles. Parents and caregivers also have the opportunity to attend a series of workshops.
An Investigation of Trends in Charges Filed Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
This study aimed to shed light on the causes and consequences of age discrimination charges while identifying classes of employers that are most at risk to receive age-related charges.
Combat2Careers
The goal of Combat2Careers is to assist student veterans with entering and sustaining employment, and with increasing their financial independence.
Disability & Human Resource Tips for HR Professionals
This Disability & HR Tips for HR Professionals website contained a series of 36 searchable articles and four disability nondiscrimination and best practices checklists. The articles and checklists were designed in response to specific questions raised by Human Resources (HR) professionals about managing disability issues in the workplace.
Diversity Partners Employment (DRRP)
Diversity Partners helps professionals learn to create improved business relationships in order to find better employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Employer Practices Rehabilitation Research and Training Center
This project highlights the employer’s role in addressing the continuing problem of the employment disparities between Americans with and without disabilities.
Identifying barriers to improve the current situation and employer practices that advance the employment of people with disabilities is imperative and the aim of this project.
Keeping People with Disabilities in the Workforce: Negotiating Work, Life and Disability – Field Initiated Research Project
Whether a person has a disability or not, it is essential for a person to find the proper balance between work and other life domains. This study is one of the first to investigate the specific work-life experiences and strategies of individuals with disabilities.
NYS Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment with ACCES-VR
We partnered with New York State Education Department, Office of Adult Career and Continuing Educational Services - Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) in order to assess needs related to disability and vocational rehabilitation.
Oregon DHS-VR: Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Learning Collaborative
In partnership with Oregon Department of Human Services – Vocational Rehabilitation, the Yang-Tan Institute will develop and deliver robust training and professional development to vocational rehabilitation counselors and staff, as well as vendors, across the state of Oregon. The content will include a broad array of topics, such as vocational rehabilitation, employment services, and transition.
Transit Research & Accessibility Center (TRAC)
Despite transportation providers’ efforts, people with disabilities continue to experience significant barriers to reliable, accessible public transportation. The goal of the TRAC is to enhance community participation of people with disabilities in the Capital District Area, through improved access to public, fixed-route bus services.
Vocational Rehabilitation – Training, Education, and Development (VR-TED)
A collaboration with the NYS Adult Career and Continuing Education Services – Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) agency to provide up to 800 hours of training and professional development to ACCES-VR counselors and staff across New York State
Youth Reentering the Community through Opportunity, Networking, Navigation, Education, Collaboration and Transition Supports (Y-ReCONNECTS)
During this 5-year demonstration project, the Yang-Tan Institute created a sustainable statewide Community of Practice (CoP) on Reentry for Youth with Developmental Disabilities.