The purpose of this brief is to:
1. Present findings from 13 expert interviews regarding essential elements of high-quality Community Life Engagement, organized into four guideposts.
2. Consider these guideposts as a set of key principles states and providers can use to move their Community Life Engagement efforts forward.
Improving employment outcomes has been identified as a priority by self-advocates, states agencies, the National Governor’s Association, and federal policy makers. The recognition of the pivotal role that work can play in the lives of people with IDD is driving many state developmental disabilities agencies to adopt “Employment First” policies that prioritize employment in integrated settings as the preferred day service alternative. The need for this policy shift is clear.
Individual control over service delivery and life choices is well established as a value in supports for individuals with developmental disabilities. One policy-based strategy for expanding individual control is the use of mechanisms that provide for consumer direction of funding resources. This manuscript reports on the prevalence of consumer-directed funding for day and employment services, and the mechanisms that states are using to implement consumer-directed funding.
This is the first in a series of Research to Practice briefs based on the FY2002-2003 National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. This brief presents findings on people with developmental disabilities in employment services and characteristics of the community rehabilitation organizations that provide those services.
Job developers can influence decision-making during the job search and placement process. For a study exploring the employment decisions of people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), researchers interviewed 16 individuals with IDD, their family members, and professionals involved in their job search. Participants were asked what factors, circumstances, or people affected their decisions about work. The job developer was consistently named the most influential person in the job-search process.
Where do individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities (DD) work, and what types of jobs do they have? How many hours do they work, what do they earn, and who pays their wages? Do they have access to health care benefits and paid time off? This Research to Practice brief provides answers to those and other questions. It is the first in a series of brief products that present findings from the FY2004-2005 National Survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers Individual Employment Outcomes Survey funded by the U.S. Administration on Developmental Disabilities.
This fact sheet summarizes data on integrated employment (supported and competitive) and facility-based employment activities (sheltered workshops) from two national surveys of community rehabilitation providers (CRPs). These surveys were part of an ongoing national data collection project that addresses trends in day and employment services for people with disabilities. The 1986 survey used a random sample from all states while the 1991 survey used a stratified sample of 20 states.
In 2002 and 2003, the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) conducted a national survey of Community Rehabilitation Providers (CRPs) that was funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. The goal was to identify major trends in employment and non-work services for people with developmental disabilities. Since CRPs are key partners in implementing disability-related employment policy, including TWWIIA and WIA, researchers were interested in the extent to which organizations participated in these initiatives.
The proportion of individuals participating in non-work programs has grown noticeably over the past decade. Despite the push toward integrated employment for people with developmental disabilities in many states, non-work day programs continue to be a substantial component of the service mix. Butterworth et al. (1999: 23) suggest that "services are becoming increasingly individualized and differentiated... traditional service categories may not be sufficient to capture the full range of how individuals with developmental disabilities are spending their day."