Access to Integrated Employment

Since 1988, Access to Integrated Employment (AIE) has described trends in day and employment services and outcomes for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). This research project explores the factors that contribute to employment outcomes at multiple levels: individual achievement, employment support practices, service provider engagement, and state policy reform. AIE is funded by the Administration on Disabilities, Administration for Community Living.

AIE’s efforts have impacted employment supports, informed complementary research and evaluation projects, led to a model of employment systems change, supported individuals with IDD to tell their employment story, and facilitated the use of data as a performance management strategy. Explore Access to Integrated Employment projects below!

The image has a circle in the middle that says Access to Integrated Employment. The circle has arrows pointing outward to circles that say (clockwise) Employment Supports, Research and Evaluation, Systems Change and Policy, Story Telling, Data and Performance Measurement.

Projects Supported by Access to Integrated Employment

StateData.info

StateData.info is a compilation of federal, state, and self-collected data sets on employment of people with IDD. StateData.info allows users to generate customized charts, conduct their own analyses, and download free publications that analyze critical issues and important findings in the area of disability and employment. Go to StateData.info to learn more!

National Survey of State IDD Agencies' Day and Employment Services

This annual survey describes the nature of day and employment services for individuals with IDD. The data collected is summarized annually in the National Report (below) and available on StateData.info. Read summaries of previously collected data.

Blue Book 2017 StateData: The National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes Through 2017

Access the latest information about employment and economic self-sufficiency for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Both national and state-level statistics are included.

Download the PDF here*
Download the report narrative, no tables (Accessible PDF)

State Agency Promising Practices

This promising practices database highlights innovative policies and strategies that state IDD agencies are using to increase integrated employment opportunities. Go here to learn more: State Agency Promising Practices

Service Provider Promising Practices

The national landscape is changing, with an increasing emphasis on community employment opportunities for individuals with IDD. This activity focuses on service providers engaged in practices that reflect individual integrated employment as a priority outcome. Go here to learn more: Service Provider Promising Practices

Think Work Stories

Think Work Stories shares stories of people with IDD who are thriving in competitive jobs in their communities. The stories highlight these individuals’ achievements, and also showcase how state agency staff have helped them get hired and maintain fulfilling careers. Go here to learn more: Think Work Stories

DataNote: The Amercian Community Survey

The American Community Survey (ACS) offers a broad population view of employment outcomes for working-age people with disabilities. This Data Note summarizes findings from an analysis of 2021 ACS data on employment rates, weeks worked, and poverty rates of people with and without disabilities across the US.

Miranda: Building Skills and Experience while in High School Helps Lead to Career Goals

Miranda is in her early 20s and describes herself as kind, confident, a hard worker, and multilingual. Her family and service providers describe her as independent and motivated to lead a self-determined life. She has a part-time job working at Marshall’s as a merchandise associate and volunteers at a local senior center and major medical center in the Boston area.

Alabama Department of Mental Health: Increasing the Number of Certified Benefits Counselors

In 2016, Alabama’s Department of Mental Health (ADMH)/Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) contracted with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) to train Community Partner Work Incentive counselors (CPWICs) to provide benefits counseling to individuals served by ADMH who were moving from facility-based day services into competitive integrated employment. State agency staff were aware that many individuals and their families chose not to pursue integrated employment for fear of losing Medicaid, cash benefits, and other income support programs.

Benefits Counseling Service from the Alabama Department of Mental Health Encourages Community Employment

In 2016, Alabama’s Department of Mental Health (ADMH)/Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) contracted with the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services (ADRS) to train Community Partner Work Incentive counselors to provide benefits counseling to individuals served by ADMH who were moving from facilitybased day services into competitive integrated employment. State agency staff were aware that many individuals and their families chose not to pursue integrated employment for fear of losing Medicaid, cash benefits, and other income support programs.

DataNote: Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Outcomes of People with Intellectual Disabilities: 2013–2022

This DataNote describes the characteristics, services received, and employment outcomes of adults with an (ID) who exited from the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program during fiscal years (FY) 2013 through 2022, in the 50 states and the District of Columbia (DC). We compare the findings of adults with ID to the findings of people with other disabilities.

Tatiana: Finding and Maintaining a job at CVS through Family Supports

Photo of a white teenage girl with brown hair, a white shirt and a long flowing red skirt, posing in front of a wood paneled wall Tatiana is a transition-age youth who lives with her family in the Boston, Massachusetts metro area. She enjoys modeling, theatre, spending time with her family and friends, and being part of her community. Tatiana also volunteers her time in the community and serves as a board member for two nonprofit organizations. Tatiana is willing to learn and take on new challenges with a positive outlook. She currently works at CVS and is also a student at a local community college. Tatiana’s goal is to teach young children.

Texas’s Vocational Apprenticeship Program: Moving Adults into Integrated Employment through Training in Transferable, Marketable Skills

This promising practice describes how the Texas Department of Health and Human Services has developed the Vocational Apprenticeship Program (VAP) as a statewide initiative to support the development of transferable and marketable employment skills in working-age adults.

Ethnic Disparities in Vocational Rehabilitation Access and Employment Outcomes Among Youth and Young Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

DataNote 78 explores the employment outcomes of youth with intellectual disabilities of Hispanic ethnicity compared to non-Hispanics.

Ellice: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts

image of Ellice singing on the stage wearing a black dress Ellice used her network to create a professional dance company that embraces diversity and inclusion. Abilities Dance Boston is a space for innovative professional dancers and the development of innovative dance forms that incorporate differences in movement and in each dancers lived experiences.

Frank: Leveraging Natural Supports in the Workplace

Frank Hellmer is a 31-year-old man who lives alone in Little Rock, Arkansas. He enjoys playing video games in his spare time. Frank currently works as a data analyst for Centene Corporation where he has accessed a range of natural supports that have enabled his ongoing success. Read the story in an accessible format here.

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