Over a five-year period, Rusch and his students helped start over 125 supported employment programs in the states of Illinois and Kansas.
During this period he worked with Senator Paul Simon's staff in crafting changes in legislation that promoted the emergence of transition service for high school students in an effort to better prepare youth to escape the potential of sheltered employment by being better prepared for work and independence after high school.
Over the past 30 years, Rusch and his students have been studying self-instructional strategies that utilize coworkers as change agents, and issues related to secondary education reform, including program development (cost-benefit analysis).
Rusch is one of the most-cited social scientists in the country; he was identified as the 15 most productive researcher in the field of mental retardation worldwide.
Rusch joined the Penn State faculty in 2004,[3] and is continuing his research related to utilizing cognitive strategies to promote learning among persons with intellectual disability.