Employment Learning Community

The Employment Learning Community (ELC) assists states in improving systems and services to increase inclusive, competitive employment for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Major activities:

The ELC has three key components:

Delphi panel
Communities of practice
Technical assistance

The Delphi panel has identified emerging and promising practices that inform the work of the ELC. Browse ELC products and webinars below. You can find ELC webinars here. You can browse the Delphi Panel Briefs here.

You can also download specific briefs by clicking on the following links:

Brief 1: Introduction, Values and Major Themes

Brief 2: Transition from School to Work

Brief 3: Collaboration Across Agencies

Brief 4: Education and Training for Job Seekers

Brief 5: Processes Within State Agencies

Brief 6: Generation and Use of Data and Evidence

Brief 7: Paths Toward Fair Wages

Two to three communities of practice are convened annually. Participants engage in time-limited but intensive work on issues that support their state-level systems-change efforts, and lead to the development of products that can be used by other states.

Communities of practice are open to any state that has an active consortium or coalition working to improve employment opportunities for individuals with IDD. These groups focus on topics such as employer engagement, funding and rate structures, and transition from high school to life in the community.

Five to ten states receive technical assistance to develop and support a state-level consortium that will assist in local employment systems change. Each state has an ELC liaison who will provide technical assistance to the consortium and facilitate peer learning across the project.

New states can join the ELC at any time. Current states are: