Abstract
<p>Effective communication between vocational rehabilitation (VR) personnel and their clients is critical to the rehabilitation process. This paper stresses (a) the importance of VR personnel and clients sharing the opportunity and challenge for establishing effective communication, and (b) the importance of an integrated approach to sign communication skills assessment and development/learning opportunities for VR personnel. The Georgia and New York State VR programs for assessing and developing the sign communication skills of VR personnel are described, and an overview of the sign communication assessment instrument used by both programs, the Sign Communication Proficiency Interview (SCPI), is provided.</p>
