Jennifer Bose

Jennifer Bose is a researcher on the State Systems team at the Institute for Community Inclusion. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Wellesley College in 1992 and an M.A. in education and developmental psychology from Boston College in 1997. Her primary research interests are the study of promising practices in employment at the state, organizational, employment specialist and individual level and the interactions between individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), families and disability service agencies. Her work includes research on effective strategies to find employment, factors affecting the employment choices made by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, diabetes management in the workplace and Employment First policy implementation. Besides continuing to research promising employment practices, much of her current work centers around tools to increase self-determination for transition-age youth with IDD, including Charting the Life Course™ and alternatives to guardianship.

Email: Jennifer.bose@umb.edu * Phone: 617-287-4353

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.

BRINGING EMPLOYMENT FIRST TO SCALE: Assisting Job Seekers with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Guide for Employment Consultants

The literature about effective support practices for assisting job seekers with disabilities is extensive. However, employment consultants do not always implement these practices consistently. This suggests that there is a need for articulating these practices into a clearer, more easily communicated support guide. To meet this need, this brief provides a checklist of support activities, organized around five key elements:

Moving Forward after COVID-19: Implications for Ongoing Use of Remote and Virtual Supports in Promoting and Supporting Integrated Employment

This brief describes the findings from a survey developed and implemented by the Association of Persons Supporting Employment (APSE) on how employment and day service providers used remote and virtual supports. Findings from the survey and a set of considerations to improve employment services, policies, and practices based on lessons learned are offered.

Supporting Parents of Transition Age Youths with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Findings from a Facebook Group Using Tools from Charting the LifeCourse

This brief shares findings from a research study conducted with parents of youths with intellectual and developmental disabilities who participated in a 6-month transition planning intervention. This intervention was based on content from Charting the LifeCourse’s (CtLC) Daily Life and Employment Toolkit. We delivered the intervention through a private Facebook group.

Ohio’s Technology First Policy: Enabling Swift Delivery of Remote Supports During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Ohio’s Technology First policy ensured that people eligible for services through Department of Developmental Disabilities had increased opportunities to live, work, and thrive in their homes and communities during the Covid-19 pandemic through state-of-the-art planning, innovative technology and supports.

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

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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.

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

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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.

Families and Employment of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Results from a Scoping Study

Download the article here. Purpose: Recent policy changes expanding community employment for people with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and awareness of the important role of family members as facilitators of these opportunities motivated this scoping review of the literature on family engageme