Performance measurement and data

A popular saying in our field is, "If it gets measured, it gets done." Measuring performance--whether of staff members or of employment outcomes--is crucial for understanding what we're doing well, where we're lacking, and how we can improve. Explore this topic in the resources below.

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

DataNote No. 84, 2023

DataNote 84 summarizes Social Security Administration data from 2000-2021 on work incentives and their underutilization by Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. It also compares younger recipients’ likelihood of working and participating in work incentives to older SSI recipients. Lastly, it examines the employment rate trends of SSI recipients across four disability sub-groups: intellectual disorders, developmental disability, autism spectrum disorders, and mental health disorders.

American Community Survey (2021)

DataNote No. 83, 2023

This DataNote summarizes employment and poverty rates across the US in 2021. These data are compared for people with no disability, people with any disability, and people with a cognitive disability, which indicate that people with disabilities continue to have less success in the labor market, and a greater likelihood of being underemployed, compared to individuals without a disability.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services and Outcomes of People with Intellectual Disabilities: 2013–2022

DataNote No. 82, 2023

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.

Intellectual and developmental disabilities agencies’ employment and day services (1988–2021)

Data Note 87 summarizes findings core findings from the Institute for Community Inclusion’s (ICI) National Survey of State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Agencies’ Employment and Day Services through FY 2021. These data focus on participation in integrated employment, community-based non-work, and facility-based services (both work and non-work).

NCI 2023

Many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities want to work, but this is often not reflected in their service plans.