Heike Boeltzig

Research Associate

B.A., Sociology and Japanese; M.Sc., Applied Social Research, University of Stirling (UK)

Heike Boeltzig, B.A., M.Sc., is a Research Associate at the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) and a Ph.D. candidate at the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her key research interests center on disability and employment issues. Most recently, she participated in a project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy that identified effective practices, barriers, successful strategies, and policy recommendations to better serve persons with psychiatric disabilities through the workforce development system. In addition, she is a lead researcher in a multi-year comparative policy study of One-Stop Career Centers and Workforce Investment Boards identified as providing exemplary services to customers, including those with disabilities. The research is part of the National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult, which is funded by the U.S. DOL/ODEP. Ms. Boeltzig is also involved in survey research as the project lead on the National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers funded by the U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities.

Cross-national comparative research into disability is another area of great interest to Ms. Boeltzig, who is conducting research with Doria Pilling of City University London into UK and U.S. initiatives that successfully reach disadvantaged groups and equip them with the skills and motivation to use the internet, particularly government e-services. This study is funded by the IBM Center for the Business of the Government.

Before joining ICI, Ms. Boeltzig conducted cross-national comparative research on disability and employment policy at the Center for Comparative Research in Social Welfare at the University of Stirling in Scotland. She also participated as a "national reporter" on German disability employment policy in a thirteen-country research project that was funded by the European Commission. A graduate of the University of Stirling, Heike has a bachelor's degree in sociology and Japanese, and a Master of Science degree in applied social research.

Email: heike.boeltzig@umb.edu

ICI publications by Heike Boeltzig

Collaboration between State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agencies and State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies: Results of a National Survey

Do state intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) agencies collaborate with their vocational rehabilitation (VR) counterparts? If so, in what ways and how formalized are these collaborative efforts? This Research to Practice Brief provides answers to those and other questions. (4/2011)

Press Release: New Report from ICI on Routes to Employment in US and UK - Strategies to Improve Integrated Service Delivery

In the United States and the United Kingdom there are large numbers of working age people with disabilities who are not working and claiming benefits: 10.6 million in the US and 2.64 million in the UK. This report has identified strategies that Public Employment Services activities in both the US and the UK have used in delivering services in a way that meets the more complex employment support needs of people with disabilities within systems designed for the “universal” job seeker as well as investigating how effective these strategies are in reaching that goal. (6/2009)

Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership: Effective Strategies for Building the Capacity of Parent Advisory Councils in Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, last amended in 2004 (IDEA 2004), encourages parents and educators to work collaboratively, emphasizing that as a team they are uniquely suited to make decisions that help improve the educational experiences and outcomes of children with disabilities. The Advancing Parent-Professional Leadership in Education (APPLE) Project was funded to develop the leadership skills of parents individually and within their communities. The project took place in Massachusetts, where school districts are required to have a special education parent advisory council (SEPAC). (4/2009)

Effective Career Development Strategies for Young Artists with Disabilities

One potential arena of employment for young people with disabilities is the arts. This brief reports on effective strategies that 47 young artists with disabilities used to gain access to arts-related experiences in order to further their educational and career pathways. Across program years 2002–2005, these young artists, all aged 16 to 25, were finalists in the VSA arts/ Volkswagen of America, Inc. Program, an arts competition that was intended to showcase their talents and accomplishments. As part of the overall evaluation, we were able to identify career development strategies based on a review of finalists’ program applications. This brief is mainly targeted at visual artists, although the strategies may also apply to other groups of artists. (6/2008)

Press Release: Institute for Community Inclusion Bridges Digital Divide

In both the United States and the United Kingdom, some hard-to-reach groups are excluded from online government services and transactions (e-government) through lack of access. This publication identifies technical and social barriers currently limiting access to e-government as well as suggested solutions. By presenting six case studies, Boeltzig and Pilling provide ten recommendations to increase access to and use of the Internet among the hard-to-reach. (7/2007)

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Select outside publications by Heike Boeltzig

Boeltzig, H. & Clasen, J. (2002) A comparative analysis and assessment of the policy implications of alternative legal definitions of disability on policies for people with disabilities: National report Germany. Source: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/depts/govn/research/NATREP.html