Jaimie Timmons

Over the course of 20 years at the Institute for Community Inclusion, I have had leadership roles in projects related to family engagement, transition, and employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in particular, making me well suited as Principal Investigator on the current application. I have developed expertise in research and evaluation of transition practices as it relates to employment, post-secondary education, and community life engagement for youth with IDD. I am currently Co-PI on a 4-year research project exploring transfer-of-rights and guardianship for transition aged youth with IDD funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, as well as Co-PI on a 5-year National Youth Resource Center on Alternatives to Guardianship funded by the Administration on Community Living. I recently acted as Principal Investigator on two lines of research as part of ICI’s Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Advancing Employment for Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. One is related to organizational transformation of employment support providers seeking to close their sheltered workshops and the other involves research around the creation of a comprehensive information, outreach, and support framework for parents of youth with IDD that enables ready and timely access to information about employment throughout the lifespan. My research interests stem from my background providing direct services to families with children with disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and special health care needs.

The Arc of Westchester: Creative Partnership with Mercy College

The Arc of Westchester benefits from an agency culture that values innovative partnerships. In fact, an agency leader explained that the organization “will work with anybody who is willing to sit and talk.” This collaborative spirit led to a creative endeavor with Mercy College, a four-year school offering degrees in Business, Education, Liberal Arts, Health and Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Within Health and Natural Sciences are departments such as nursing, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and nutrition.

Data Note 61: Social Security Administration Data Show a Record Low Level of PASS Usage Among SSI Recipients

The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers a set of work incentives for Supplemental Security income (SSI) beneficiaries. Work incentive employment supports help SSI recipients go to work by minimizing the risk of losing their SSI or Medicaid benefits (Social Security Administration, 2018). One such incentive, the Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS), allows approved individuals to set aside earned or unearned income and resources to achieve an employment goal.

A Roadmap to Competitive Integrated Employment: Strategies for Provider Transformation

The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) partnered with The Arc of the United States to identify ten elements of successful organizational transformation to competitive integrated employment. They asked four providers who successfully closed sheltered workshops to provide implementation strategies that they used according to each of the ten elements. Based on the information gathered from these providers, the attached brief will:

State Employment First Policies #3: Investing in Training and Technical Assistance to Build Capacity in Integrated Employment

This brief is the third in a series focusing on Employment First implementation as it relates to one of the seven elements within the High-Performing States in Integrated Employment model. As states undergo implementation of their policies, it is important to understand how state agencies have built employment knowledge and capacity. Download here.

State Employment First Policies #2: Engaging Stakeholders in Development and Implementation

This brief is the second in a series focusing on Employment First implementation as it relates to one of the seven elements within the High-Performing States in Integrated Employment model. It looks at the interagency collaboration and partnership element in depth. Interagency partnership and collaboration includes interagency agreements and relationships, provider collaboration, and outreach to stakeholders to ensure that integrated employment is a shared goal.

State Roles in Promoting Community Life Engagement: Themes from the State Employment Leadership Network's Working Group

The State Employment Leadership Network (SELN) is a membership-based network of state IDD agencies committed to making changes in their service systems to ensure access to competitive integrated employment for people with IDD (www.selnhub.org/home).

Lessons Learned from the Learning Academy: Optimizing Transition Supports for Young Adults with Autism

The Learning Academy (TLA) at the University of South Florida is a 30-week transition program for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) between the ages of 18 and 25. The program provides services, supports, and experiential opportunities, with the aim of enhancing skills that will prepare students to succeed in the workplace and postsecondary education settings.

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