What: Rehabilitation Sciences Clinical Teaching Laboratory Grand Opening. The event is open to members of the media.
When: 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10
Where: UTEP Campbell Building, 1101 N. Campbell
The College of Health Sciences will celebrate the grand opening of the Rehabilitation Sciences Clinical Teaching Laboratory, which will assist individuals with disabilities to obtain gainful employment and prepare graduate students to become vocational rehabilitation counselors.
UTEP is an approved provider with the Division of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services – Division of Rehabilitation Services (DARS-DRS), a Texas state agency. This partnership enables UTEP’s professional staff and Master of Rehabilitation Counseling graduate students, with appropriate supervision, to provide vocational rehabilitation services to clients receiving services from DARS-DRS. The Community Rehabilitation Program Director, Luis A. Aguilera, is a certified rehabilitation counselor with more than 30 years of experience serving the El Paso community.
“The lab’s mission is to provide DARS-DRS participants with quality services leading to successful employment, and to offer MRC students the opportunity to gain the skills necessary to become competent and effective rehabilitation counselors through working with individuals with disabilities in their pursuit of rehabilitation goals,” said Barbara A. Schoen, Ph.D., director of the Master of Rehabilitation Counseling Program in the College of Health Sciences.
The Rehabilitation Sciences Clinical Teaching Laboratory will provide a full spectrum of services including job development/job placement, job coaching, and supported employment services. The lab also will provide Vocational Adjustment Training (VAT), which offers training on soft skills such as goal setting, problem solving, social skills and conflict resolution. Upon completion, VAT participants will receive a certificate of completion from UTEP.
The laboratory is currently accepting client referrals from DARS. Individuals with disabilities who are interested in receiving employment-based services should contact the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services at www.dars.state.tx.us or 866-581-9328 to be referred to a local office.
The celebration also will highlight the past, present and future of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program through a Centennial Event and spotlight top achievements in the field over the past 100 years.