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Series - Data Note

Students with Autism: Setting Higher Expectations for Postsecondary Education

DataNote No. 31, 2011

Setting expectations and goals in high school is key for a successful transition into adulthood. Postsecondary education is a particularly important goal because higher levels of educational attainment are associated with increased quality of life, including better employment outcomes. Unfortunately, the transition plans of students with autism do not often include postsecondary education as a goal.

Examining Collaboration between State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agencies and State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

DataNote No. 30, 2011

Since Fiscal Year 1988, the Institute for Community Inclusion has administered the National Survey of State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agencies' Day and Employment Services. The FY 2009 survey included a module to assess the ways in which state intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) agencies collaborate with their state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies to support integrated employment outcomes for adults with IDD. A total of 40 agencies responded to the module. Their responses provide a broader understanding of the relationship between the two types of state agencies, and the ways in which they work together to provide integrated employment services.

State Intellectual and Developmental Disability Agencies' Service Trends

DataNote No. 29, 2011

Since Fiscal Year 1988, the Institute for Community Inclusion has administered the National Survey of Day and Employment Programs for People with Developmental Disabilities to state Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) Agencies. The work is funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and is designed to describe the nature of day and employment services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Measuring the Outcomes of Job Seekers with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities in the Vocational Rehabilitation Program

DataNote No. 28, 2011

Most people with intellectual or developmental disabilities aspire to gainful employment. To assist them with this goal, state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies offer employment-development services that are based upon Individualized Plans for Employment (IPEs)

Vocational Rehabilitation Employment Outcomes for Transition-age Youth with Autism and Other Disabilities

DataNote No. 26, 2010

Youth with autism, like youth from other disability subgroups, often participate in state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs to obtain employment. While youth with autism represent a small percentage of all VR closures, the number with autism who closed out of VR more than tripled between 2003 and 2008 (see figure). In this Data Note, we compare employment outcomes for two subgroups of youth who exited VR in FY 2008, those with autism and those with all other disabilities.

Job Seekers with Disabilities at One-Stop Career Centers: An Examination of Registration for Wagner-Peyser Funded Employment Services from 2002 to 2007

DataNote No. 25, 2009

The Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933 established a nationwide system of public employment services, known as the Employment Service. Wagner-Peyser funds are a primary source of funding for the services of One–Stop Career Centers that provide employment services available to all people, including people with disabilities. This data note examines trends on a national and state-by-state basis in the number and percentage of job seekers who self-identified as having disabilities who register for Wagner-Peyser Employment Services. Readers should note that because disability status in this data source is self-identified, it is likely disability among job seekers who register for Wagner-Peyser services is underreported and the actual numbers of people with disabilities who register for services are higher.

Patterns of State, County, and Local ID/DD Funding Allocation

DataNote No. 24, 2009

State, County, and Local ID/DD dollars are one of the largest sources of funds for day and employment services; additionally as a funding source that is directly controlled within each state it is one of the most flexible sources of dollars for day and employment services. As Figure 1 shows, the allocation of these funds varied based upon year and service category: integrated employment, community based non-work, facility based work, and facility based non-work.

Indicators of Labor Market Success for People with Intellectual Disabilities

DataNote No. 22, 2009

Reporting meaningful indicators of labor market success for individuals with disabilities, particularly Intellectual Disabilities (ID), is challenging for a number of reasons. Measures that allow people to indicate specific disabilities like ID are uncommon in large national data sets. Additionally, the use of the “traditional” unemployment rate reported by the Department of Labor as an indicator of labor market success for people with disabilities leaves people who are not in the labor force, a significant group when it comes to subpopulations of people with disabilities, out of the calculation. In this data note, we discuss the implications of using the 2007 American Community Survey (ACS) from the U.S. Census Bureau for indicators of labor market success, including for people with ID.

Postsecondary Education and Employment Outcomes for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities

DataNote No. 21, 2009

Completion of postsecondary education is commonly associated with better employment outcomes for the general population. There is increasing interest in postsecondary education as an opportunity for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). One role that vocational rehabilitation (VR) serves is to support postsecondary education in accordance with their Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE).