The authors compared 2 approaches to vocational rehabilitation for individuals with severe mental illness: the individual placement and support (IPS) model of supported employment and the diversified placement approach (DPA), which emphasizes work readiness and offers a range of vocational options, including agency-run businesses and…

This article examines the employment and child care responses of families participating in 10 experimental welfare reform programs conducted in the United States between 1989 and 2002. For the programs analyzed, child care use increases by about the same amount as the increase in employment. Most of the increased child care comprises informal care…

This article presents case examples that illustrate strategies for promoting natural job supports for employees with disabilities. Strategies include, among others, collaborating with work-site personnel to develop modifications and providing general consultation on person-environment factors that promote the success of the supported employee and…

The manual describes the vocational rehabilitation program and services for handicapped individuals that are provided by Goodwill Industries of North Central Pennsylvania, Inc., which services an eight-county outreach area. An introductory section provides general background information regarding program objectives, philosophy, and organizational…

Elements of the individual education plan (IEP), developed to provide flexible and meaningful training for the handicapped child, are presented. Deals with awareness, exploration, evaluation, preparation, job development/job placement, employability skills, parents, community interests, and follow-up. An appropriate education strategy is also…

As new Federal legislation for vocational rehabilitation (VR) creates changes affecting future programs, there is a need to evaluate the impact of the VR program in client terms. Accountability requires rehabilitation to develop its own unique model including applicant evaluation, client status, objectives, program evaluation, and employment…

The Youth Career Action Program is an example of a vocational-educational program that can be implemented within a large city in conjunction with a secondary school district. The YCAP Center provides a clearly designated place for hard-to-place young people--primarily those who are under-educated, economically disadvantaged, and have little…

This inservice guide and six companion documents comprise a series developed for assisting disabled persons in their transition from secondary and postsecondary vocational education to work. The model is designed to prepare support teams of school-community persons. This guide is intended for use by the field coordinator, administrator, and/or any…

An evaluation was conducted of the first year (1990-91) of Project HIRE (Hiring into Rewarding Employment). Project HIRE was a 3-year federally-funded project designed to assist students with disabilities to gain and retain meaningful employment by maintaining secondary support services until this transition is completed successfully. During the…

The site visit report describes the private, non-profit Community Work Services program located in Madison, Wisconsin, which provides community-based vocational services to adults (currently 33) with a wide range of developmental disabilities. The program philosophy is that all persons should have the option of working in individually arranged and…

The role of supported employment in the transition of disabled students from school to work is examined. Needed are functional vocational training curricula, student placement in jobs, school collaboration with adult service agencies, development of a community transition team, staff development, collaborative planning, parental involvement,…

The Special Education Parents Alliance created an employment project seeking jobs in the business community for special education graduates and other persons with disabilities. The project serves learning disabled, educable mentally handicapped, trainable mentally handicapped, and physically disabled persons in DuPage County and portions of west…

Project Proud Option of Palmer, Massachusetts, had the following objectives: (1) develop and implement a system for assessing the functioning levels of handicapped students in institutional schools as these functional levels relate to already existing job task outlines and performance objectives; (2) develop new job opportunities within the…

Evaluations of thirty career education projects in the school district of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are contained in this report. Fifteen of the projects concern classroom or shop instruction, six concern development and/or field testing of curriculum materials, and the remainder involve staff development, installation of shop equipment, job…