The National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) have emphasized the focus on evidence-based practices (EBP) in all research projects publicly funded through NIDRR (Brannon, 2010). There is now a heightened emphasis on the meaning of research findings and translating and disseminating evidence-based practices so they affect and inform practice and policy (Leahy & Arokiasamy, 2010). NIDRR and the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), as the major funding sources of rehabilitation research, are working to close the gap between practice and EBP research. In a resource-limited environment, evidence of efficacy and effectiveness can help make programmatic funding decisions more rational and, hopefully, more equitable (Brannon, 2010). The current climate calls for empirical evidence to justify VR services, along with the emphasis on the development and implementation of evidence-based practices that can assist state-federal VR programs that are under increasing pressure to demonstrate the effectiveness of VR service provision. The current study was undertaken to explore rehabilitation counselor self-efficacy, perceived benefits of EBP, perceived barriers to the use of EBP, and rehabilitation counselor readiness to use EBP. A sample of 318 certified rehabilitation counselors (CRC) employed in the state-federal VR program, community rehabilitation organizations (CRO), private for profit/workers compensation, and other practice settings within the United States was obtained for this study from the Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor Certification (CRCC) membership base. Results of this study indicate that CRCs demonstrate self-efficacy in the use of EBP by selecting appropriate interventions for their clients in the provision of VR services, understand and value the potential benefits of EBP for clients, and acknowledge barriers to EBP use at the organizational and practitioner levels. In addition, counselor education level, i.e., holding a doctorate degree was found to be a significant, positive predictor or rehabilitation counselor self-efficacy while employment in the state-federal VR program was a significant, negative predictor of rehabilitation counselor self-efficacy. The data generated by this study can be used by a rehabilitation administrators, researchers, educators and counselors to promote the use of EBP in order to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The data may also be used to develop pre-service curriculum to train future rehabilitation counselors how to develop and implement EBP in their practice. Specific implications for EBP in VR service delivery and future research are provided.
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