John Butterworth

Director for Employment Systems Change and Evaluation and Senior Research Fellow
 
John has over 40 years of experience in research, training, employment support and the management and development of employment services. He manages projects on employment support and state systems change including Access to Integrated Employment, a 35 year national data collection project on day and employment services and outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and the State Employment Leadership Network, a membership network of state developmental disability agencies committed to improving employment outcomes. John’s interests include systems and organizational change, data-based management and planning, state policy and strategy, employment outcomes, organizational development and transformation, improving employment supports, natural supports , and person-centered planning.

Click here to follow Dr. Butterworth on SelectedWorks.

Data Note 84: Social Security Administration Data Trends: Key Findings on Work Incentive Programs (2000–2021)

This Data Note summarizes Social Security Administration data from 2000-2021 on work incentives and their underutilization by Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. It compares younger and older recipients’ likelihood of working and participating in work incentives. It also examines the employment rate trends of SSI recipients across four disability sub-groups.

Data Note 82: 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 intellectual disability (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.

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:

1. Building trust
2. Getting to know the job seeker
3. Addressing supports planning
4. Finding tasks/jobs
5. Providing support after hire

Building quality supports: Implementation support beyond training

Improving employment outcomes requires not just training, but intentional investment in coaching and supervisory practices that support implementation of best practice. This presentation for the Reinventing Quality Conference 2021 addresses strategies for improving implementation support from practice, research, and policy perspectives. Findings from a project that supported

Data Note 71: Summary of Statedata: The National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes Through 2018

This data note summarizes the findings from the National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes Through 2018. Overall, the findings suggest that across data sources, people with IDD experience greater levels of unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and poverty compared to those without disabilities.

Data Note 69: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Employment Status of People With and Without Disabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a national economic slowdown leading to millions of American workers being temporarily furloughed or losing their jobs. This Data Notes compares the change in employment of individuals with and without disabilities between February 2020 and three successive months.