Our Projects

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.

The BenchmarkABILITY® self-assessment tool is for employers who recognize the business benefits of including people with disabilities in the workplace.

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.

This project will assess the impact of employer practice adoption on the retention, advancement, separation, and workplace experience of individuals with disabilities.

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.

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.

Provides easy access to the most current sources of disability statistics as well as a variety of tools and resources for researchers interested in performing secondary data analysis.

The Yang-Tan Institute and Cornell University offer a wide array of courses focused on all aspects of disability. They allow interested students an opportunity to examine the experience of persons with disabilities across all domains of life, but focus primarily on human rights and inequalities.

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.

Research into 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.

In partnership with Oregon Department of Human Services – Vocational Rehabilitation (DHS-VR) and community colleges across Oregon, the Yang-Tan Institute will work to implement an inclusive career pathways program for recipients of Vocational Rehabilitation services in Oregon.

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.

In partnership with the Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Vocational Rehabilitation and Blind Services (VRBS), 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. Topics vary, with each providing an opportunity for participants to enhance their employment services skills and ethical service delivery in support of individuals with disabilities.

The Yang-Tan Institute partnered with five multi-national companies to design and implement engaged-learning internships focused on workplace neurodiversity inclusiveness. These are 14-week, for-credit experiences for Cornell ILR School undergraduates. Students worked in the companies to support applicant recruitment, screening, supervisor training, and working effectively with higher education institutions. Students also worked on other special initiatives focused on identifying neurodiverse job applicants and integrating neurodiverse employees into the business.

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) Office of Special Education (OSE) was awarded a State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG) to implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports – Integrated (MTSS-I) model of supports within 50 schools in New York State. The 5-year project will conclude in September of 2025.

The goal of the Northeast ADA Center is to educate and empower all ADA stakeholders throughout New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands to increase their knowledge of the ADA and to support them to include people with disabilities in local communities and to implement the ADA in their own lives, workplaces, businesses, and communities. The Northeast ADA Center provides a variety of trainings and technical assistance, and it distributes materials focused on disability-related topics. It is not an enforcement agency and does not provide advocacy services.

The New York State Consortium for Advancing and Supporting Employment (NYS CASE) provides free professional development, training, and technical assistance to employment service providers with a current contract with the New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of Adult Career and Continuing Educational Services - Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCESS-VR).

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.

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.

The New York State Education Department Office of Special Education (OSE) has created a coordinated and cohesive network of support focused on enhancing services and supports for students with disabilities ages birth to 21. The network is called the Educational Partnership and is focused on increasing capacity using an intensive team approach to technical assistance and professional development that is implemented with consistency across New York State.

The New York State Education Department Office of Special Education (OSE) has created a coordinated and cohesive network of support focused on enhancing services and supports for students with disabilities ages birth to 21. The network, which is called the Educational Partnership, focuses on increasing capacity using an intensive team approach to technical assistance and professional development. This approach is implemented with consistency across New York State.

The Work Incentive Support Center provides remote learning experiences that focus on supporting positive employment outcomes and greater economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities.

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.

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.

The goal of Combat2Careers is to assist student veterans with entering and sustaining employment, and with increasing their financial independence.

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 helps professionals learn to create improved business relationships in order to find better employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

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.

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.

The Yang-Tan Institute (YTI) has partnered with New York State Education Department (NYSED), Office of Adult Career and Continuing Educational Services - Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR) in order to assist the agency in several key areas: Identifying the existing needs of New Yorkers with the most significant disabilities, including those who need supported employment and/or customized employment options Understanding the needs of New Yorkers with disabilities who have been historically marginalized and unserved or underserved (i.e., individuals from racial and ethnic minority gro

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.

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.

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

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.