Announcing State of the Science Online Discussion Series

Authors

How Do Families Enhance Employment Opportunities?

From September 11–15, team members from the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) will be leading a discussion on ways to engage people with disabilities, their families, and their services providers in creating employment options.

What we will be doing: 
  • We will discuss what families, service systems, and self-advocates tell us about their experiences right here in IdeaScale.
  • We will brainstorm ways to work together more effectively. 
  • We will prioritize which issues around employment researchers should focus on in the future.
What we know:
  • Families shape employment experiences
  • Engaging families in the employment process supports the outcome
  • Family circumstances and demographics are important
But families tell us
  • Guidance is confusing and low expectations are a problem
  • Navigation of services and experiences is hard
  • There isn’t always the right help available (the system lacks capacity)
  • Some families have more success doing it on their own

What is the "State of the Science" series of events?

This online conversation is part of the State of the Science initiative, run by the ICI’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Advancing Employment for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

The State of the Science, or SoS, is a chance for the ICI to share our research around employment. It’s also an opportunity for us to learn about the strategies service providers, family members, and self-advocates are using to support people with intellectual and development disabilities to build fulfilling careers.

The Engaging Families in Employment four-day open online discussion is the first of three we’ll be running. The topics and dates of the next ones are:

Join us as often as you like for all three events!

We look forward to a lively and productive discussion starting here on IdeaScale starting September 11!