Doris Hamner

Research Associate

B.A., Georgian Court College
Ph.D., Boston University

Doris Hamner, Ph.D. is the project lead for the RRTC Individual Case Studies project and co-principal investigator on the Emerging Disabilities grant. As a project lead, she is involved in building projects from their original idea to their organization and implementation. She also develops publications that demonstrate the research findings and outline the strategies that arise from the findings. Her major interest is research, developing the essential questions that need to be answered and then creating the best research design to answer the questions. She is currently working on a longitudinal case study project that seeks to discover how people with disabilities find employment in the rapidly changing world of state systems and disability policy.

Doris is intensely fascinated by disability as a social construction and by the ways in which the definition of disability alters depending on social context. This has been a lifetime interest, as she has worked in different roles in the employment field since 1983, when she was involved in the Job Training Partnership Act program. She has worked in human resources and as a recruiter for an employment agency. In addition to her diverse employment background, she has taught a variety of sociology courses at the university level while focusing on using a service-learning approach. Doris received her Ph.D. in sociology from Boston University with an emphasis on medical sociology and qualitative methodology.

Email: doris.hamner@umb.edu
Phone: 617/287-4364

ICI publications by Doris Hamner

Case Studies of Local Boards and One-Stop Centers: Underutilization of One-Stops by People with Significant Disabilities

This series of products offers practical solutions for Local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers as they strive to serve all customers, including those with disabilities. Existing data indicates that people with disabilities underutilize One-Stops. The disproportionately high rate of unemployment among people with disabilities makes this a critical issue. However, many One-Stops have created successful strategies to improve access. (11/2004)

Achieving Quality Services: A Checklist for Evaluating Your Agency

This checklist can help staff and directors at One-Stop Career Centers and state and private agencies evaluate the quality and responsiveness of their services to job seekers with disabilities. Areas covered include access to resources, agency culture, coordination, and consumer-directedness. (11/2002)

Case Studies of Local Boards and One-Stop Centers: Levels of Involvement of State VR Agencies with Other One-Stop Partners

This series of products offers practical solutions for Local Workforce Investment Boards and One-Stop Career Centers as they strive to serve all customers, including those with disabilities. Although WIA's requirements for VR participation are clear, the parameters are flexible. Defining the role of VR has had its challenges, but there are numerous examples of VR agencies working creatively to establish effective partnerships. (9/2004)

State Agency Systems Collaboration at the Local Level: Gluing the Puzzle Together, The Staff Perspective

Some states acknowledge the benefits of interagency collaboration but have trouble putting it into action. ICI researchers worked with local offices to help them improve the One-Stop Career Center network for people with disabilities. This brief gives an "in the trenches" view of tools that worked. (7/2004)

Four Strategies to Find a Good Job: Advice from Job Seekers with Disabilities

An ICI study with job seekers revealed four strategies that can make it easier to find a job. (5/2003)

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