CRP 
BRIEF
Your Source for 
Issues and Trends in 
Community Rehabilitation 
This project is in part supported under a grant from the Department of Education. However, the contents do not necessarily represent the 
policy of the Department of Education and endorsement by the Federal Government should not be assumed. 
Vol. 3, No. 2 August 2004 
Why Diversity Matters to Community 
Rehabilitation Programs 
BACKGROUND 
Defining “Diversity” 
The word, “diversity,” means different things in 
different contexts. In some cases, it is used to refer 
to classes protected by law, namely race, gender, 
and disability. This definition of the word gained 
popularity during the 1990’s and continues to be 
used by state and federal programs. A broader 
definition of “diversity” is emerging, one that includes 
other attributes such as age, educational level, family 
structure, job function, sexual orientation, ethnicity, 
and values. This more inclusive meaning of “diversity” 
focuses on the varied perspectives and unique 
contributions of people from all types of backgrounds. 
Our Nation’s Racial and Ethnic Diversity 
The racial and ethnic profile of America is 
changing. In the past decade there has been tremendous 
growth of the Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial 
populations (Census 2000). According to Lindsay 
& Singer (2003) of the Brookings Institute, an 
important factor behind these growth trends is 
immigration. From 1970 to 2000, nearly 21 million 
immigrants arrived legally in the United States, the 
biggest influx since the classic era of immigration 
from 1880 to 1930. 
These two periods of immigration are vastly 
different in terms of race and ethnicity. Whereas a 
century ago the majority of immigrants came from 
Europe, today’s immigrants are mostly Hispanic and 
Asian. Fifty percent (50%) of our recent immigrants 
came from Latin America, with Mexico as the 
largest source country. A century ago, the Chinese 
Exclusion Act of 1882 deliberately sought to keep 
Asians off U.S. soil. This shameful example of racist 
legislation was eliminated by the Immigration Act of 
1965, and today 34% of recent immigrants are 
Asian. The remaining 16% of the immigrant population 
are from Europe and Africa. 
Section 21 of the Rehabilitation Act 
Unfortunately, disabling conditions seem to 
strike ethnic and racial minority groups at a disproportionately 
high rate. For instance, African Americans 
are one and one half times more likely to be 
disabled than whites and twice as likely to be 
severely disabled. In Section 21 of the 1992 Rehabilitation 
Act Amendments, Congress concluded that 
“patterns of inequitable treatment of minorities have 
been documented in all major junctures of the 
vocational rehabilitation process.” These patterns 
include lower participation rates and higher rates of 
unsuccessful case closures for minority individuals. 
“Minorities are provided less training than their white 
counterparts. Consistently, less money is spent on 
minorities than their white counterparts” (Section 
21). 
The Rehabilitation Research Initiative (RRI) at the University of Texas Pan American (UTPA) is funded by the Rehabilitation 
Services Administration to conduct research and training on capacity building for community rehabilitation programs (CRPs). This 
report discusses some of the barriers to employment for people with disabilities from diverse backgrounds and provides some resources for 
CRPs to enhance their multicultural competencies. Joan Mueller Reed, the author of this Brief, is the Project Coordinator at the RRI 
and Tom Shefcik is the Project Director.

The Rehabilitation Research Initiative: 
Capacity Building for CRP’s 
Section 21 is the authorizing legislation for a 
variety of capacity building projects funded under 
the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). 
The Rehabilitation Research Initiative, funded initially 
in Fall 2002, is the first such project to focus on 
capacity building for community rehabilitation 
programs (CRP’s). RRI is a partnership between the 
Department of Rehabilitation at The University of 
Texas-Pan American and the Department of Rehabilitation, 
Social Work, and Addictions at the 
University of North Texas. 
The overall goal of RRI is to increase the 
capacity of CRP’s to serve individuals with disabilities 
from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. 
Three primary objectives guide the project’s work: 
(1) identify barriers to access by conducting research, 
(2) identify new and innovative strategies to 
circumventing these barriers, and (3) disseminate the 
results of this research to a national audience. 
IMPLICATIONS FOR 
CONSUMERS 
Barriers Identified 
In order to identify barriers to CRP access for 
consumers of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, 
RRI has conducted several types of research 
including a literature review, focus groups, and 
telephone interviews. Preliminary results of this 
research indicate numerous barriers, the majority of 
which fall into the following seven categories: 
transportation, language, technology, cultural mistrust, 
lack of knowledge of the rehabilitation process, 
low expectations of job placement, and 
differing concepts of time. 
Census data shows that both disability and 
poverty strike minority groups more frequently than 
they do the white majority population. This means 
people with disabilities referred to CRP’s for 
employment-related services are more likely to be 
low-income and non-white. Considering that the 
minority population is increasing at a faster rate than 
the white population, and that federal funding for 
vocational services tends to focus on areas of 
greatest need, it is clear that CRP’s will need to 
develop the capacity to provide culturally relevant 
services to consumers from diverse racial and ethnic 
backgrounds. 
RELEVANCE FOR CRP’S 
Knowing the Community 
Community-based rehabilitation programs are, 
by definition, linked to the communities they serve. 
According to the Census 2000 American Community 
Survey, the growth of minority populations 
(especially Hispanic and Asian groups) has been 
more rapid in certain states, and less dramatic in 
others. For instance, 75% of Hispanic individuals 
live in only seven states: California, Texas, New 
York, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and New Jersey. 
50% of these live in only two states: California and 
Texas. As for Asian-Americans, 60% live in only five 
states: California, New York, Texas, Hawaii, and 
New Jersey. Thirty-five percent (35%) of these live 
in California alone. 
It is worth noting that the Census does not 
show the geographical distribution of undocumented 
workers. According to the US Immigration and 
Naturalization Service (2003), there are some 7 
million illegal immigrants currently working in the US. 
Since our nation’s communities are demographically 
different from each other, it stands to 
reason that cultural competency needs might also 
vary from community to community and region to 
region. For instance, a CRP located in a West Coast 
urban community may serve a sizeable Asian population 
with representation from a variety of national 
origins, while another program located in a rural 
Midwestern community may be predominantly white 
with a growing Mexican-American population. The 
cultural competency skills needed by staff in each 
CRP would vary to some degree, in order to best 
serve the needs of the consumers in a given community. 
Diversity Training for CRP’s 
A number of research subjects suggested 
diversity training as a strategy for helping minority

consumers with disabilities overcome barriers to 
accessing CRP services. This training should both 
enhance an awareness and appreciation in CRP 
personnel of the range of differences among people, 
and help service providers to know what resources 
are available in their communities. According to 
Thomas and Ely (1996) in their Harvard Business 
Review article, “Making Differences Matter,” it is 
important for organizations to move beyond a strict 
focus on discrimination and 
access in diversity training. 
They recommend incorporating 
the broad, inclusive definition 
of “diversity” described in 
the first paragraph of this 
article, where diversity is 
viewed as a resource to be 
cultivated. With this approach, 
diversity training incorporates 
team-building, and is seen as a 
way of improving the way a 
CRP’s services are provided. 
Generic diversity training 
may not address the specific 
needs of CRP staff and 
consumers. What is needed is 
an approach tailored to CRP’s 
and the unique challenges they 
face, such as: 
• Training culturally competent CRP staff, regardless 
of their racial or ethnic background; 
• Hiring, training, and promoting CRP staff from 
diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds; and 
• Dealing with issues or conflicts arising out of 
cultural differences as CRP staff provide services 
to an increasingly diverse group of consumers. 
SUMMARY 
The racial and ethnic profile of our nation is 
changing, with rapid growth of the Hispanic and 
Asian populations. In Section 21 of the 1992 
Rehabilitation Act Amendments, Congress concluded 
that “patterns of inequitable treatment of 
minorities have been documented in all major 
junctures of the vocational rehabilitation process.” 
Section 21 is the authorizing legislation for capacity 
building projects funded under the Rehabilitation 
Services Administration. The Rehabilitation Research 
Initiative (RRI) is the first such project to 
focus on community rehabilitation programs. Preliminary 
results of research conducted by RRI 
indicates a need for training in diversity awareness 
and cultural competency. Diversity training tailored 
to the specific needs of 
CRP’s seems to be a 
critical need, in order to 
prepare CRP personnel to 
be effective service providers 
to an increasingly 
diverse consumer population. 
Websites and 
Resources 
Few resources exist 
that specifically target the 
diversity training and 
cultural competency needs 
of CRP’s. However, the 
web site of the Rehabilitation 
Research Initiative 
(RRI) is a good place to 
start for a list of links 
related to diversity and 
CRP’s. Selected links from 
the RRI website are included below. 
• The Rehabilitation Research Initiative (RRI) 
website www.panam.edu/dept/rehabri 
• Guidelines for Conducting Diversity Training (US 
Office of Personnel Management) http://opm.gov/ 
hrd/lead/policy/divers97.asp 
• 101 Tools for Tolerance (Southern Poverty Law 
Center) http://www.tolerance.org/101_tools/ 
index.html 
• FREE MATERIALS for trainers, designed to 
promote respect and equity. http:// 
www.tolerance.org/teach/expand/res/index.jsp 
• Rehabilitation Providers Guide to Cultures of the 
Foreign Born (CIRRIE) http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/ 
mseries.html#series 
Rate your Own Diversity 
Behavior 
How often do you: 

 interrupt someone who is telling a 
racial or ethnic joke? 

 challenge friends expressing a gender 
stereotype? 

 examine your own language for 
unconscious bias or stereotypes? 

 take the lead in welcoming people of 
color to your class, club, job site, or 
living situation? 

 protest unfair or exclusionary practices 
in an organization? 

 think about ways you belong to 
oppressor or oppressed groups? 

 celebrate your uniqueness?

Region VI CRP-RCEP 
PO Box 311456 
Denton, TX 76203-1456 
71954 
Meeting the continuing education needs of community rehabilitation providers 
The CRP Brief is published 3 times a year by the Region VI 
CRP-RCEP and is also available on our website: 
www.crp.unt.edu 
For more information contact: 
Linda Holloway, Editor, 
University of North Texas - Region VI CRP-RCEP 
PO Box 311456, Denton, TX 76203-1456 
940/565-4000 
VISIT OUR WEBSITE! 
• The 2002 American Community Survey (US 
CensusBureau) http://www.census.gov/acs/www/ 
Products/Profiles/Single/2002/ACS/index.htm 
• Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of US 
Diversity http://www.census.gov/population/ 
www/cen2000/atlas.html 
• Quiz: Test your cultural competency (US Bureau 
of Primary Health Care) http://erc.msh.org/ 
mainpage.cfm?file=3.0.htm&module= 
provider&language=English 
• Quiz: Test yourself for hidden bias http:// 
www.tolerance.org/hidden_bias/index.html